--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I really enjoy writing novels. Its like…" description: "\"I really enjoy writing novels. Its like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.\" — Denis Johnson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/denis-johnson-2135_boat_i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-its-like-t_3182365.png" --- # I really enjoy writing novels. Its like the ocean. You can… ![“I really enjoy writing novels. Its like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.” quote by Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/denis-johnson-2135_boat_i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-its-like-t_3182365.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/denis-johnson-2135_boat_i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-its-like-t_3182365.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9b/denis-johnson-2135_boat_i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-its-like-t_3182365.png) > “I really enjoy writing novels. Its like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.” [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is likened to navigating an ocean, offering freedom to create and explore new horizons. **In simple terms:** Writing is an open sea. Key Takeaway Embrace creative freedom. Themes creativity exploration freedom expression Mood reflective hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - author workshops - personal journaling - creative retreats - storytelling sessions Key Concepts metaphor artistic process imagination Questions to Reflect On - What does the ocean represent for you in writing? - How do you balance freedom with structure? A Different Perspective The ocean metaphor may overlook discipline needed for craft. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [If you want to build a boat, do not instruct the men to saw wood, stitch the sails, prepare the tools and organize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-boat-do-not-instruct-the-men-to-saw-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [“We could build a boat, you and I, and sail to the moon and back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mette-jakobsen/we-could-build-a-boat-you-and-i-and-sail-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Mette Jakobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mette-jakobsen/) > [I'm gonna build me a boat with these two hands, it'll be a fair curve from a noble plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-clark/i-m-gonna-build-me-a-boat-with-these-two-hands-it-ll-be-a-fair-curve/) [Guy Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-clark/) > [Freedom to tell any story I want, with all the imaginary tools of my trade, is why I love writing novels. I love taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/freedom-to-tell-any-story-i-want-with-all-the-imaginary-tools-of-my/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [I won't read novels while writing novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-won-t-read-novels-while-writing-novels/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [When I am writing novels I don't read a lot of novels so I try to catch up in-between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/when-i-am-writing-novels-i-don-t-read-a-lot-of-novels-so-i-try-to/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I strongly believe that the art of the novel works best when the writer identifies with whoever he or she is writing about. Novels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-strongly-believe-that-the-art-of-the-novel-works-best-when-the/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I believe there are two ways of writing novels. One is mine, making a sort of musical comedy without music and ignoring real life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/i-believe-there-are-two-ways-of-writing-novels-one-is-mine-making-a/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [“The whole world's writing novels, but nobody's reading them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-galbraith/the-whole-world-s-writing-novels-but-nobody-s-reading-them/) [Robert Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-galbraith/) > [I've got a particular way of writing novels, and that carries over into the way I write comics and games, too. I'm a news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-ve-got-a-particular-way-of-writing-novels-and-that-carries-over/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [I looked at the world of books and just went, Oh my gosh, if I'm writing novels, I'm on the same shelves as Jane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-looked-at-the-world-of-books-and-just-went-oh-my-gosh-if-i-m/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'd probably still be a financial journalist now if it weren't for writing novels. Mmm. Fun! I'm much happier writing novels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/i-d-probably-still-be-a-financial-journalist-now-if-it-weren-t-for/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [My first attraction to writing novels was the plot, that almost extinct animal. Those novels I read which made me want to be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/my-first-attraction-to-writing-novels-was-the-plot-that-almost/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Someone asked me, if I were stranded on a desert island what book would I bring... 'How to Build a Boat.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/someone-asked-me-if-i-were-stranded-on-a-desert-island-what-book/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) ## More by Denis Johnson > [“You’ve never felt good. Your suffering protects you. Pain is the ransom you have gladly paid not to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/you-ve-never-felt-good-your-suffering-protects-you-pain-is-the-ransom/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He had laid his head back until his scalp had contacted his spine, that far back, and opened his throat, and a sound rose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-had-laid-his-head-back-until-his-scalp-had-contacted-his-spine/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Everything is arranged," John Robertson told me. Thank God." I forgot to mention that we appear to have one small problem," he said. Okay..."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/everything-is-arranged-john-robertson-told-me-thank-god-i-forgot-to/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [Before this moment I'd lived as a mind. Body, heart, soul, intellect, so we care ourselves into parts. But the whole of us, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/before-this-moment-i-d-lived-as-a-mind-body-heart-soul-intellect-so/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [He got right down in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasn't going to come. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-got-right-down-in-the-dark-between-heartbeats-and-rested-there-and/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I’d been staying at the Holiday Inn with my girlfriend, honestly the most beautiful woman I’d even known, for three days under a phony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-d-been-staying-at-the-holiday-inn-with-my-girlfriend-honestly-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“All of this while I left lifted by a strange new medium, a strange element--I now tell you that I was newly buoyant in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/all-of-this-while-i-left-lifted-by-a-strange-new-medium-a-strange/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“He didn’t know what country he was in, but he was at home in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/he-didn-t-know-what-country-he-was-in-but-he-was-at-home-in-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“There's a dizzying thrill in a philosophy that can only be tested by suicide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/there-s-a-dizzying-thrill-in-a-philosophy-that-can-only-be-tested-by/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“Who said it? – probably Confucius – “I can’t beat a sculpture from a stone with a sledgehammer; I can’t free the soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/who-said-it-probably-confucius-i-can-t-beat-a-sculpture-from-a-stone/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“A bus came. I climbed aboard and sat on the plastic seat while the things of our city turned in the windows like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/a-bus-came-i-climbed-aboard-and-sat-on-the-plastic-seat-while-the/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [I knew every raindrop by its name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-knew-every-raindrop-by-its-name/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“To find the people who've became truly sane, seek among those who've managed to do without sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/to-find-the-people-who-ve-became-truly-sane-seek-among-those-who-ve/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) > [“eventually these encounters forced him to acknowledge the reality of fate, and the truth inherent in things of the imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/eventually-these-encounters-forced-him-to-acknowledge-the-reality-of/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) [Explore all 183 Denis Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## More Boat quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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Mirrored ceilings, marble, Jacuzzis and leopard-skin everything, it made the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-anderson/it-was-just-the-sort-of-yatch-you-d-expect-a-rock-promoter-to-have/) [Pamela Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-anderson/) > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [Something I like to do a lot is just sit by water when there’s a current and just stare into the water. 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