--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Some writers are writing one great, big…" description: "\"Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to be different, bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/chang-rae-lee-3318_artist_some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-b_54154.png" --- # Some writers are writing one great, big book and just… ![“Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to be different, but they're really not. And that's a different kind of mindset. I don't know why it is, but I just feel like I really want to escape myself as much…” quote by Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/chang-rae-lee-3318_artist_some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-b_54154.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/chang-rae-lee-3318_artist_some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-b_54154.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a3f/chang-rae-lee-3318_artist_some-writers-are-writing-one-great-big-b_54154.png) > “Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to be different, but they're really not. And that's a different kind of mindset. I don't know why it is, but I just feel like I really want to escape myself as much as I can - myself as the artist, or as the writer, or as the thinker - with each new project, because one, it's just boredom, but also, I guess I just feel most comfortable starting a new book if I just feel a little in the dark about it.” [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker describes a creative drive that seeks constant novelty, using new projects to avoid stagnation and self‑identification with a single role. **In simple terms:** Avoiding creative stagnation through continual reinvention. Key Takeaway New work fuels freedom from self‑imposed limits. Themes creativity identity novelty self‑escape motivation Mood restless curious hopeful Type personal reflection creative manifesto When to use this quote - starting a new book - shifting artistic personas - escaping boredom - exploring unknown themes Key Concepts artistic process personal growth Practical Applications - writing a series of interconnected novels - using varied projects to maintain creative momentum Questions to Reflect On - How does changing mediums affect personal identity? - What risks arise from perpetual novelty? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Mindset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mindset/) [New books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-books/) [New projects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-projects/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The problems that other writers encounter are so fascinating to me as a writer and as a thinker about writing. 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One chief enemy is stupidity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-foster-snow/the-war-between-the-artist-and-writer-and-government-or-orthodoxy-is/) [Helen Foster Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-foster-snow/) > [People send me songs all the time that are literally no-brainer hits... but for me, I'm an artist because I'm a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsea-ballerini/people-send-me-songs-all-the-time-that-are-literally-no-brainer-hits/) [Kelsea Ballerini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsea-ballerini/) > [The greatness of an artist or a writer does not depend on what he has in common with other artists and writers, but on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-smith/the-greatness-of-an-artist-or-a-writer-does-not-depend-on-what-he-has/) [Alexander Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-smith/) ## More by Chang-Rae Lee > [The truth, finally, is who can tell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-truth-finally-is-who-can-tell-it/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I think my parents recognised that I'd always wanted to be a writer, and so they didn't think that this was some idle, faddish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-think-my-parents-recognised-that-i-d-always-wanted-to-be-a-writer/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [I try to be aware of what I'm concerned about, aware of how I feel about myself in the world, aware of how I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-try-to-be-aware-of-what-i-m-concerned-about-aware-of-how-i-feel/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“Behold a fire from the opposite shore.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/behold-a-fire-from-the-opposite-shore/) [Chang-rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [“I would give most anything to hear my father's talk again, the crash and bang and stop of his language, always hurtling by. 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I wouldn't want to suggest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/the-past-as-you-suggest-is-absolutely-present-at-all-times-and-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Most people don't think about race as much as I do. They don't have to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/most-people-don-t-think-about-race-as-much-as-i-do-they-don-t-have-to/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Not to any really influential effect, but certainly there have been comments that have surprised me. It's surprising sometimes to get particular perspectives on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/not-to-any-really-influential-effect-but-certainly-there-have-been/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [My family immigrated when I was 3, and our predecessors inhabited the Korean Peninsula for as long as can be recalled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/my-family-immigrated-when-i-was-3-and-our-predecessors-inhabited-the/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [After college, I was living in New York and wrote furiously, a huge novel that I knew was a failure. I hoped that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/after-college-i-was-living-in-new-york-and-wrote-furiously-a-huge/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [Usually, when you're talking about work with other writers it's because something seriously bad is going on with your work and you've absolutely thrown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/usually-when-you-re-talking-about-work-with-other-writers-it-s/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [ I had a visceral connection to the period \[of Korean War\]. By visceral I suppose I mean emotional. But every fiction requires so much… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/i-had-a-visceral-connection-to-the-period-of-korean-war-by-visceral-i/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) > [They're not parallel at all. They're my concerns, but how they're expressed particularly on the page is completely divorced from who I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chang-rae-lee/they-re-not-parallel-at-all-they-re-my-concerns-but-how-they-re/) [Chang-Rae Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) [Explore all 133 Chang-Rae Lee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chang-rae-lee/) ## More Artist quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [“People in coats and ties were milling around the Talley gallery, and on the wall were the minimally rendered still lifes by Giorgio Morandi,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/people-in-coats-and-ties-were-milling-around-the-talley-gallery-and/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. 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I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) [Browse all 32,600 Artist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Some writers are writing one great, big book and just taking all these different avenues towards it. They might seem on the outside to be different, but they're really not. And that's a different kind of mindset. 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