--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never know what's going to happen in a…" description: "\"I never know what's going to happen in a novel. I don't have a plan or an outline.\" — Donna Leon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/donna-leon-7276_books_i-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-in-a_2400675.jpg" --- # I never know what's going to happen in a novel. I don't… ![“I never know what's going to happen in a novel. I don't have a plan or an outline.” quote by Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/donna-leon-7276_books_i-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-in-a_2400675.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/donna-leon-7276_books_i-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-in-a_2400675.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/704/donna-leon-7276_books_i-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-in-a_2400675.jpg) > “I never know what's going to happen in a novel. I don't have a plan or an outline.” [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) ## 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 embraces spontaneity, allowing the story to unfold without a preset plan, trusting intuition. **In simple terms:** Writes without a plan, follows intuition. Key Takeaway Trust the process. Themes writing intuition spontaneity Mood curious inspired Type literary creative When to use this quote - novel drafting - creative brainstorming - improvised performance Key Concepts creative flow improvisation storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance spontaneity with coherence? - When is planning beneficial? A Different Perspective Lack of structure may lead to incoherence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Alain Robbe-Grillet once wrote that the worst thing to happen to the novel was the arrival of psychology. You can assume he meant that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/alain-robbe-grillet-once-wrote-that-the-worst-thing-to-happen-to-the/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [If your plan isn't working, adjust your plan. Never give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-martin/if-your-plan-isn-t-working-adjust-your-plan-never-give-up/) Matt Martin > [I hope to begin a new plan... not sitting down to local matter but walking and watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-palmer/i-hope-to-begin-a-new-plan-not-sitting-down-to-local-matter-but/) [Samuel Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-palmer/) > [Under my plan, the state will be there to carry out the will of the people, not to dictate to them or to force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/under-my-plan-the-state-will-be-there-to-carry-out-the-will-of-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [It is important for investors to understand what they do and don't know. Learn to recognize that you cannot possibly know what is going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/it-is-important-for-investors-to-understand-what-they-do-and-don-t/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [You can't plan to write a great song. It just happens to you. It drops in your lap. It's the same thing with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/you-can-t-plan-to-write-a-great-song-it-just-happens-to-you-it-drops/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [...the plan will happen in spite of us, not because of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-beattie/the-plan-will-happen-in-spite-of-us-not-because-of-us/) [Melody Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-beattie/) > [Any plan where you lose your hat is a bad plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-foglio/any-plan-where-you-lose-your-hat-is-a-bad-plan/) [Phil Foglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-foglio/) > [A mighty maze! But not without a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/a-mighty-maze-but-not-without-a-plan/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Plan B. You've always got to have a Plan B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/plan-b-you-ve-always-got-to-have-a-plan-b/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I do not plan my fiction any more than I normally plan woodland walks; I follow the path that seems most promising at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/i-do-not-plan-my-fiction-any-more-than-i-normally-plan-woodland-walks/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [God has a plan for all of us, but He expects us to do our share of the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minnie-pearl/god-has-a-plan-for-all-of-us-but-he-expects-us-to-do-our-share-of-the/) [Minnie Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minnie-pearl/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [it's never been a plan to have this or that. It's just where I am in my life, at that time, and where my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cam-gigandet/it-s-never-been-a-plan-to-have-this-or-that-it-s-just-where-i-am-in/) [Cam Gigandet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cam-gigandet/) ## More by Donna Leon > [“Vianello had the knack of getting people to talk. Especially if they were Venetians, the people he interviewed invariably warmed to this large, sweet-tempered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/vianello-had-the-knack-of-getting-people-to-talk-especially-if-they/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [This is a fallen world. People lie, the truth gets distorted, and that's the way it is. What's for dinner ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/this-is-a-fallen-world-people-lie-the-truth-gets-distorted-and-that-s/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“even the worst men wanted to be perceived as better than they were. How else could hypocrisy have risen to such delirious levels?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/even-the-worst-men-wanted-to-be-perceived-as-better-than-they-were/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“And will knowing what she reads make you know who she is?” “Can you think of a better way to tell?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/and-will-knowing-what-she-reads-make-you-know-who-she-is-can-you/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [I never wanted to be rich or successful or famous. I just wanted to be happy and have fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/i-never-wanted-to-be-rich-or-successful-or-famous-i-just-wanted-to-be/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“Her mask gave no sign of how this affected her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/her-mask-gave-no-sign-of-how-this-affected-her/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“Helmut thought himself above common morality. Or perhaps he thought he’d managed to create his own, different from ours, better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/helmut-thought-himself-above-common-morality-or-perhaps-he-thought-he/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“That’s probably because they said a lot of other things, as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/that-s-probably-because-they-said-a-lot-of-other-things-as-well/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [I listen to Handel's vocal music, almost exclusively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/i-listen-to-handel-s-vocal-music-almost-exclusively/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“Once, walking with him, Paola had stopped and asked him what he was thinking about, and the fact that she was the only person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/once-walking-with-him-paola-had-stopped-and-asked-him-what-he-was/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“..if you put people on a diet, they start thinking about food. Or if you make someone stop smoking, all they think about is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/if-you-put-people-on-a-diet-they-start-thinking-about-food-or-if-you/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [And off in the far distance, the gold on the wings of the angel atop the bell tower of San Marco flashed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/and-off-in-the-far-distance-the-gold-on-the-wings-of-the-angel-atop/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [I came to Venice for the first time in 1968 and was lucky enough to make the acquaintanceship, and then the friendship, of two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/i-came-to-venice-for-the-first-time-in-1968-and-was-lucky-enough-to/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [“Pucetti’s was the generation that was all in favour of sentiment, sharing other people’s pain, voicing compassion for the downtrodden, yet Brunetti often found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/pucetti-s-was-the-generation-that-was-all-in-favour-of-sentiment/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) > [I have always had a particular antagonism for the military.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-leon/i-have-always-had-a-particular-antagonism-for-the-military/) [Donna Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) [Explore all 90 Donna Leon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-leon/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never know what's going to happen in a novel. 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