--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I mean, if I went into my closet, I could…" description: "\"I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous draft and try to figure that out, but it takes a long time for me to find the voice to tell a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg" --- # I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous… ![“I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous draft and try to figure that out, but it takes a long time for me to find the voice to tell a story in. I was working from other points of view for a couple years there.” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg) > “I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous draft and try to figure that out, but it takes a long time for me to find the voice to tell a story in. I was working from other points of view for a couple years there.” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work often requires revisiting past drafts, but finding the authentic voice can be time‑consuming and frustrating. **In simple terms:** Finding your true voice in writing takes patience. Key Takeaway Give yourself space to explore and refine. Themes creativity process voice Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - novel development - personal journaling - content creation Key Concepts drafting self‑discovery Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when a draft is ready to move forward? - What strategies help you reconnect with your narrative voice? A Different Perspective Perfectionism may stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Couple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/couple/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) ## Related quotes > [If you look at pop stars through the ages, we've had camp, glam popstars from the 80s - your George Michaels and what have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olly-alexander/if-you-look-at-pop-stars-through-the-ages-we-ve-had-camp-glam/) [Olly Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olly-alexander/) > [It's amazing what eliminating energy drains can do to our mood. Remember how good you felt when you finally went through your closet and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-richardson/it-s-amazing-what-eliminating-energy-drains-can-do-to-our-mood/) [Cheryl Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-richardson/) > [“He was still telling himself to calm down, patting his pockets for a Tootsie Pop—something he hadn’t done all week—when he went into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wax/he-was-still-telling-himself-to-calm-down-patting-his-pockets-for-a/) [Wendy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wax/) > [At some point, I came out to a lot of friends and some family, but then I went back in the closet when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keiynan-lonsdale/at-some-point-i-came-out-to-a-lot-of-friends-and-some-family-but-then/) [Keiynan Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keiynan-lonsdale/) > [I like to be involved with the scriptwriter early on, helping shape the story, and working out how the story can be told directorially.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-davis/i-like-to-be-involved-with-the-scriptwriter-early-on-helping-shape/) [Garth Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-davis/) > [When I'm writing, I really want to satisfy myself. I've got a story that I am working on and struggling with, and I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/when-i-m-writing-i-really-want-to-satisfy-myself-i-ve-got-a-story/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [With each of those projects I wasn't thinking about how the layout would really affect the story I was working on - it wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chester-brown/with-each-of-those-projects-i-wasn-t-thinking-about-how-the-layout/) [Chester Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chester-brown/) > [I can't speak in too much detail about a book or story I'm working on because I find that it takes the energy out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-coe/i-can-t-speak-in-too-much-detail-about-a-book-or-story-i-m-working-on/) [David B. Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-coe/) > [“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Artists are not helper monkeys; they’re not in it to visualize 'your' story, because it stopped being 'your' story the moment you engaged in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-waid/artists-are-not-helper-monkeys-they-re-not-in-it-to-visualize-your/) [Mark Waid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-waid/) > [I don't consciously sit down thinking I'm blurring genre lines, for the most part. I try to stay focused solely on serving the needs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-g-tremblay/i-don-t-consciously-sit-down-thinking-i-m-blurring-genre-lines-for/) [Paul G. Tremblay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-g-tremblay/) > [That would just mean so much to be to be thought of as the best player in the draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-bosa/that-would-just-mean-so-much-to-be-to-be-thought-of-as-the-best/) [Nick Bosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-bosa/) > [The first draft is usually junk. You have to work on it seven to eight times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-subramanian/the-first-draft-is-usually-junk-you-have-to-work-on-it-seven-to-eight/) [Ravi Subramanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-subramanian/) > [A draft doesn't produce the people we need to satisfy our real manpower shortage. We need specialists to keep our jets flying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/a-draft-doesn-t-produce-the-people-we-need-to-satisfy-our-real/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [A lot of young guys coming up in this league, they're given the spotlight right away, depending on draft stature or whatever the case…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desean-jackson/a-lot-of-young-guys-coming-up-in-this-league-they-re-given-the/) [DeSean Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desean-jackson/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Closets quotes > [I always sleep on my own. I can't sleep with somebody else. Always separate bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. I'm very individual and I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-tonioli/i-always-sleep-on-my-own-i-can-t-sleep-with-somebody-else-always/) [Bruno Tonioli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-tonioli/) > [I own about 300 pairs of shoes. When I start to go over 300, I have mini-sales from my closet and give the money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-london/i-own-about-300-pairs-of-shoes-when-i-start-to-go-over-300-i-have/) [Stacy London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-london/) > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [I used it in a shot where Richard Burton goes down the hall to get a gun in a closet. And I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haskell-wexler/i-used-it-in-a-shot-where-richard-burton-goes-down-the-hall-to-get-a/) [Haskell Wexler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haskell-wexler/) > [I feel like I've been shut in a closet, and he's on the other side, and he doesn't have the key to unlock the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/i-feel-like-i-ve-been-shut-in-a-closet-and-he-s-on-the-other-side-and/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [People dance and we have a lot of music and... this might be the closet I get for a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-crowe/people-dance-and-we-have-a-lot-of-music-and-this-might-be-the-closet/) [Cameron Crowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-crowe/) > [We will not win our rights by staying quietly in our closets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/we-will-not-win-our-rights-by-staying-quietly-in-our-closets/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [Fairy tales have always been about getting through the worst of everything, the darkest and the deepest and the bloodiest of events. They are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/fairy-tales-have-always-been-about-getting-through-the-worst-of/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [Friends are readily disappointed by the size of my closet. And I thought it was big!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-jessica-parker/friends-are-readily-disappointed-by-the-size-of-my-closet-and-i/) [Sarah Jessica Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-jessica-parker/) > [All of my life, actually, I had a real strong relationship with God, but I was always in the closet about it. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/all-of-my-life-actually-i-had-a-real-strong-relationship-with-god-but/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [SM is an art. Doing it well requires more than a bag full of expensive whips and exotic electrical toys, a closet full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sm-is-an-art-doing-it-well-requires-more-than-a-bag-full-of-expensive/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Weddings seem to be magnets for mishap and for whatever craziness lurks in family closets. In more ways than one, weddings bring out the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-fulghum/weddings-seem-to-be-magnets-for-mishap-and-for-whatever-craziness/) [Robert Fulghum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-fulghum/) > [Twenty-eight years ago, I created my first game on an Apple II in my bedroom closet at a time when the interactive entertainment industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-garriott/twenty-eight-years-ago-i-created-my-first-game-on-an-apple-ii-in-my/) [Richard Garriott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-garriott/) > [That holy, humble, meek, modest, retiring Form, sometimes called the Spirit of Prayer, has been dragged from the closet, and so rudely handled by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asahel-nettleton/that-holy-humble-meek-modest-retiring-form-sometimes-called-the/) [Asahel Nettleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asahel-nettleton/) > [No one is ignorant that our character and turn of mind are intimately connected with the water-closet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/no-one-is-ignorant-that-our-character-and-turn-of-mind-are-intimately/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) Browse all 594 Closets quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous draft and try to figure that out, but it takes a long time for me to find the voice to tell a story in. I was working from other points of view for a couple years there.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Sebold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could-find-a-previous-draft-and-try/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Closets" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could-find-a-previous-draft-and-try/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/67d/alice-sebold-999_closets_i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could_1191011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I mean, if I went into my closet, I could find a previous draft and try to figure that out, but it takes a…” — Alice Sebold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Sebold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I mean, if I went into...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could-find-a-previous-draft-and-try/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-mean-if-i-went-into-my-closet-i-could-find-a-previous-draft-and-try/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```