--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seven years into writing a novel, I…" description: "\"Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008 was approaching, and I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/akhil-sharma-14942_accomplish_seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-start_138897.png" --- # Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my… ![“Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008 was approaching, and I was constantly aware of how little I had managed to accomplish.” quote by Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/akhil-sharma-14942_accomplish_seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-start_138897.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/akhil-sharma-14942_accomplish_seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-start_138897.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/akhil-sharma-14942_accomplish_seven-years-into-writing-a-novel-i-start_138897.png) > “Seven years into writing a novel, I started to lose my mind. My thirty-seventh birthday had just come and gone, the end of 2008 was approaching, and I was constantly aware of how little I had managed to accomplish.” [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. After years of writing, the author feels overwhelmed by unaccomplished goals as a birthday approaches, causing mental strain. **In simple terms:** He feels pressure from unmet goals. Key Takeaway Acknowledge progress and reset expectations. Themes writing mental health productivity Mood reflective hopeful Type motivational supportive When to use this quote - creative blocks - deadline pressure - life transitions Key Concepts goal setting self‑compassion Questions to Reflect On - What realistic milestone can you set this month? - How can you celebrate small writing victories? A Different Perspective Perfectionism may intensify stress and stall work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Seventh birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seventh-birthday/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I wish I could spend six years writing one novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paullina-simons/i-wish-i-could-spend-six-years-writing-one-novel/) [Paullina Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paullina-simons/) > [Back in my 20s, when I wrote 'A Place of Greater Safety,' the French Revolution novel, I thought, 'I'll always have to write historical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/back-in-my-20s-when-i-wrote-a-place-of-greater-safety-the-french/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [The Apple Pie Hubbub was a significant novel for me, because that's when I first started using verbs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/the-apple-pie-hubbub-was-a-significant-novel-for-me-because-that-s/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I was heavily influenced by my first attempt at a novel. 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Courtney Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-courtney-sullivan/) > [Pulling out his daggers, he kept them in his sleeves, just in case he happened upon someone who wouldn’t understand why a tall, dark-haired…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/pulling-out-his-daggers-he-kept-them-in-his-sleeves-just-in-case-he/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [“On my seventh birthday, my father swore, for the first of many times, that I would die facedown in a cesspool. On that same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-berg/on-my-seventh-birthday-my-father-swore-for-the-first-of-many-times/) [Carol Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-berg/) > [“On my seventh birthday party: No, you can't have a bouncy house at your birthday party...What do you mean, why? Have you ever thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-halpern/on-my-seventh-birthday-party-no-you-can-t-have-a-bouncy-house-at-your/) [Justin Halpern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-halpern/) > [“Betsy hadn't had sex, actual; sex-sex, full sex, in two hundred and fifty-three days. She decided on her thirty-seventh birthday that she wouldn't sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dunn/betsy-hadn-t-had-sex-actual-sex-sex-full-sex-in-two-hundred-and-fifty/) [Sarah Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dunn/) ## More by Akhil Sharma > [The little babies are missing their families from their past lives. The babies have old souls and the old souls have to shrink to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/the-little-babies-are-missing-their-families-from-their-past-lives/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It's easy when you grow up in fear to act out of fear. I don't want to embrace that fear; I prefer to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-s-easy-when-you-grow-up-in-fear-to-act-out-of-fear-i-don-t-want-to/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I think that books are fundamentally educational.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/i-think-that-books-are-fundamentally-educational/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [As a teacher, I can help my students see what is working and not working. I can show them certain solutions. I can guide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/as-a-teacher-i-can-help-my-students-see-what-is-working-and-not/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Exposition suggests a great trust in the reader, and this expression of trust makes a book feel tender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/exposition-suggests-a-great-trust-in-the-reader-and-this-expression/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world, and my parents are the most extraordinary father and mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/my-wife-is-the-most-wonderful-woman-in-the-world-and-my-parents-are/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Novels should be judged rigorously. Either a book works or it doesn't. The fact that something is true in the real world should not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/novels-should-be-judged-rigorously-either-a-book-works-or-it-doesn-t/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“We have to keep trusting God. We can’t just trust God when he’s doing what we want. We have to trust him even when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/we-have-to-keep-trusting-god-we-can-t-just-trust-god-when-he-s-doing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It is hard to write about physically difficult things without causing the reader to disengage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-write-about-physically-difficult-things-without-causing/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [During my breakdown, many things, tiny things I had not even registered before, had begun to torment me with guilt. I used to steal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/during-my-breakdown-many-things-tiny-things-i-had-not-even-registered/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“History repeats itself and mine is full of failures, so I am not surprised.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/history-repeats-itself-and-mine-is-full-of-failures-so-i-am-not/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narrator-that-can-be-a-child-and/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [I need to tell the things that are important but which don't make sense in terms of the narrative, things that would destroy symmetry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/i-need-to-tell-the-things-that-are-important-but-which-don-t-make/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [As a human being living one's life, one is more open to relief when there is rain or the expectation of rain. 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That's the name of the game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schwarber/there-s-things-that-you-want-to-accomplish-but-to-do-that-you-have-to/) [Kyle Schwarber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schwarber/) > [To accomplish much you must first lose everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/che-guevara/to-accomplish-much-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/che-guevara/) > [We have to think about the future and what it is we want to accomplish from this party.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-bernice-johnson/we-have-to-think-about-the-future-and-what-it-is-we-want-to/) [Eddie Bernice Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-bernice-johnson/) > [Everything that I have ever hoped to accomplish, she has done and done better than anyone I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-hathaway/everything-that-i-have-ever-hoped-to-accomplish-she-has-done-and-done/) [Anne Hathaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-hathaway/) > [There's a lot that I want to accomplish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/there-s-a-lot-that-i-want-to-accomplish/) [George W. 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