--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote a whole novel before The Beach…" description: "\"I wrote a whole novel before The Beach. Unpublishable. Junk. But, for some reason I stuck at novels and wrote a second. Still not sure why I didn't giv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/alex-garland-8441_beach_i-wrote-a-whole-novel-before-the-beach-u_1124586.jpg" --- # I wrote a whole novel before The Beach. Unpublishable… ![“I wrote a whole novel before The Beach. Unpublishable. Junk. But, for some reason I stuck at novels and wrote a second. Still not sure why I didn't give up. Stubborn, maybe.” quote by Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/alex-garland-8441_beach_i-wrote-a-whole-novel-before-the-beach-u_1124586.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/alex-garland-8441_beach_i-wrote-a-whole-novel-before-the-beach-u_1124586.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae8/alex-garland-8441_beach_i-wrote-a-whole-novel-before-the-beach-u_1124586.jpg) > “I wrote a whole novel before The Beach. Unpublishable. Junk. But, for some reason I stuck at novels and wrote a second. Still not sure why I didn't give up. Stubborn, maybe.” [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author acknowledges early works were poor but persisted, showing resilience in creative pursuits. **In simple terms:** Early failures can lead to continued effort. Key Takeaway Persist despite early setbacks. Themes resilience creativity perseverance Mood reflective determined Type inspirational personal When to use this quote - writing - publishing - career development - self‑discipline Key Concepts self‑efficacy growth mindset Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to continue after a failure? - How can you turn early criticism into growth? A Different Perspective Success may still be elusive without strategic improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beach/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Junk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/junk/) [Not sure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/not-sure/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Beach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-beach-2098269/) [Novels Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-wrote-1306868/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Stubborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stubborn/) [Stuck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck/) [Stuck Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuck-novels-3060225/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote/) [Wrote Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-novel/) ## Related quotes > [“Great mystery novel for the beach. Just when you think you know where the plot is going, it goes somewhere else. Big surprise ending!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-a-milman/great-mystery-novel-for-the-beach-just-when-you-think-you-know-where/) [Harry A. Milman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-a-milman/) > [When my novel 'Beach Music' came out in 1995, I had included a couple of recipes in the book and had tried to impart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/when-my-novel-beach-music-came-out-in-1995-i-had-included-a-couple-of/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [I was well under the spell of the old Gold Medal Crime novels when I wrote 'Savage Season,' and I wanted to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-was-well-under-the-spell-of-the-old-gold-medal-crime-novels-when-i/) [Joe R. 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But they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-soule/i-actually-started-trying-to-be-a-professional-writer-with-novels-and/) [Charles Soule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-soule/) > [“David Goodis didn’t write novels, he wrote suicide notes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-gorman/david-goodis-didn-t-write-novels-he-wrote-suicide-notes/) [Ed Gorman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-gorman/) > [Of the first seven novels I wrote, numbers four and five were published. Numbers one, two, three, six, and seven, have never seen the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-grafton/of-the-first-seven-novels-i-wrote-numbers-four-and-five-were/) [Sue Grafton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-grafton/) > [But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags that time cannot decay, I'm junk but I'm still holding up this little wild bouquet: Democracy is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/but-i-m-stubborn-as-those-garbage-bags-that-time-cannot-decay-i-m/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I had an American journalist say to me, "Is it true you wrote the whole of the first novel on napkins?" I was tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-had-an-american-journalist-say-to-me-is-it-true-you-wrote-the-whole/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [You know what I did after I wrote my first novel? I shut up and wrote twenty-three more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/you-know-what-i-did-after-i-wrote-my-first-novel-i-shut-up-and-wrote/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I wrote my first novel in the same conditions as most first novelists - I had a full-time job, I shared an apartment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-dee/i-wrote-my-first-novel-in-the-same-conditions-as-most-first-novelists/) [Jonathan Dee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-dee/) > [I guess I've always been an aspiring novelist. I went to Princeton and wrote a novel for my thesis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-gordon/i-guess-i-ve-always-been-an-aspiring-novelist-i-went-to-princeton-and/) [Howard Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-gordon/) > [I'd never written a novel before, and I wrote a novel, and that turned out OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/i-d-never-written-a-novel-before-and-i-wrote-a-novel-and-that-turned/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Each time I write a new piece, whether a novel, a picture book, a speech or anything, really, it has so much to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-maclachlan/each-time-i-write-a-new-piece-whether-a-novel-a-picture-book-a-speech/) [Patricia MacLachlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-maclachlan/) ## More by Alex Garland > [The first draft of 'Ex Machina' is extremely different than the finished film. That would be like 10% of the original draft stayed into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/the-first-draft-of-ex-machina-is-extremely-different-than-the/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > ['The Beach' novel, in my mind, was, in some respects, subversive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/the-beach-novel-in-my-mind-was-in-some-respects-subversive/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Dream life, I realized, was only confusing when you were awake. It was from the perspective of waking life that dream life seemed fractured…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/dream-life-i-realized-was-only-confusing-when-you-were-awake-it-was/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Of course witnessing poverty was the first to be ticked off the list. Then I had to graduate to the more obscure stuff. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/of-course-witnessing-poverty-was-the-first-to-be-ticked-off-the-list/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [“That was longer than a heartbeat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/that-was-longer-than-a-heartbeat/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [The truth is, I hadn't grown up really wanting to be a writer. The whole thing was a weird aberration in some ways, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/the-truth-is-i-hadn-t-grown-up-really-wanting-to-be-a-writer-the/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [If someone says Wes Anderson is an auteur, I'll believe it 100 percent. Fine. He's an auteur, but I'm not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/if-someone-says-wes-anderson-is-an-auteur-i-ll-believe-it-100-percent/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [“Moshe was an Israeli with an ear-slitting laugh. He used it in the same way as a madman uses a gun, spraying it around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/moshe-was-an-israeli-with-an-ear-slitting-laugh-he-used-it-in-the/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [I've never been to Comic-Con, but I'm certainly aware from this side of the Atlantic that it's a very important part of film marketing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/i-ve-never-been-to-comic-con-but-i-m-certainly-aware-from-this-side/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Vietnam, me love you long time. All day, all night, me love you long time. (...) Dropping acid on the Mekong Delta, smoking grass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/vietnam-me-love-you-long-time-all-day-all-night-me-love-you-long-time/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Personally I don't think there's any real intrinsic difference between comic books, movies, theatre, novels. I know there's sure to be some differences of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/personally-i-don-t-think-there-s-any-real-intrinsic-difference/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Tourists went on holidays while travellers did something else. They travelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/tourists-went-on-holidays-while-travellers-did-something-else-they/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [I carry a lot of scars. I like the way that sounds. I carry a LOT of scars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/i-carry-a-lot-of-scars-i-like-the-way-that-sounds-i-carry-a-lot-of/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [“You never listen to me anymore. Before, if I was talking to you, you would always listen. But now you have no time to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/you-never-listen-to-me-anymore-before-if-i-was-talking-to-you-you/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) > [Though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil, for I am the evilest motherfucker in the valley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-garland/though-i-walk-through-the-valley-of-death-i-will-fear-no-evil-for-i/) [Alex Garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) [Explore all 81 Alex Garland quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-garland/) ## More Beach quotes > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I love the sea, but I avoid any sort of seaside resort that has skyscrapers or seaside entertainments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-blake/i-love-the-sea-but-i-avoid-any-sort-of-seaside-resort-that-has/) [Quentin Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-blake/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) > [I've said many times before that Pebble Beach is a wonderful thinking-man's golf course. That is why it is such a great U.S. Open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-ve-said-many-times-before-that-pebble-beach-is-a-wonderful-thinking/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [Here about the beach I wandered, nourishing a youth sublime With the fairy tales of science, and the long result of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/here-about-the-beach-i-wandered-nourishing-a-youth-sublime-with-the/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [I love going to the beach and just sitting and watching the sunset by myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tayshia-adams/i-love-going-to-the-beach-and-just-sitting-and-watching-the-sunset-by/) [Tayshia Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tayshia-adams/) > [Carolina beach music," Dupree said, coming up on the porch. "The holiest sound on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-conroy/carolina-beach-music-dupree-said-coming-up-on-the-porch-the-holiest/) [Pat Conroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-conroy/) > [I like trekking and staying in tents, meeting new people and eating good food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tripti-dimri/i-like-trekking-and-staying-in-tents-meeting-new-people-and-eating/) [Tripti Dimri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tripti-dimri/) > [The biggest part of painting perhaps is faith, and waiting receptively, content to go any way, not planning or forcing. The fear, though, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-carr/the-biggest-part-of-painting-perhaps-is-faith-and-waiting-receptively/) [Emily Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-carr/) > [If I'm on holiday, I'm active on the beach, I play tennis, I run, I swim a lot. It's just about making the workouts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candice-swanepoel/if-i-m-on-holiday-i-m-active-on-the-beach-i-play-tennis-i-run-i-swim/) [Candice Swanepoel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candice-swanepoel/) > [The holy grail is right here in this gem of a book. Tosha Silver’s wisdom goes down as easy as a mint milkshake and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lissa-rankin/the-holy-grail-is-right-here-in-this-gem-of-a-book-tosha-silver-s/) [Lissa Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lissa-rankin/) > [Couples without kids have each other, their friends, families, and Siri to talk to. It's not like they're quarantining themselves in an underground bunker,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-kirkman/couples-without-kids-have-each-other-their-friends-families-and-siri/) [Jen Kirkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jen-kirkman/) > [They had me doing Beach Boys remakes and all that. I was basically a marionette.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leif-garrett/they-had-me-doing-beach-boys-remakes-and-all-that-i-was-basically-a/) [Leif Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leif-garrett/) > [When did an old white guy yelling at me, telling me what to think become news? What gives him the right to tell me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-ling/when-did-an-old-white-guy-yelling-at-me-telling-me-what-to-think/) [Lisa Ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-ling/) > [Yes, there was one thing that I missed not being able to do - walk on a beach. I've always had this romantic image…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carr/yes-there-was-one-thing-that-i-missed-not-being-able-to-do-walk-on-a/) [Liz Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carr/) [Browse all 2,185 Beach quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beach/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wrote a whole novel before The Beach. 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