--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me - showing a half-finished…" description: "\"For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky. Just as a bird will get spooked and abandon her eggs if some outside party comes around and make..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/donna-tartt-391_abandon_for-me-showing-a-half-finished-manuscrip_1050297.jpg" --- # For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky… ![“For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky. Just as a bird will get spooked and abandon her eggs if some outside party comes around and makes too much noise or pokes around the nest too intrusively - well, that's what it's like for me if I show work too early and I get a lot of…” quote by Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/donna-tartt-391_abandon_for-me-showing-a-half-finished-manuscrip_1050297.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/donna-tartt-391_abandon_for-me-showing-a-half-finished-manuscrip_1050297.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/841/donna-tartt-391_abandon_for-me-showing-a-half-finished-manuscrip_1050297.jpg) > “For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky. Just as a bird will get spooked and abandon her eggs if some outside party comes around and makes too much noise or pokes around the nest too intrusively - well, that's what it's like for me if I show work too early and I get a lot of editorial suggestions at the wrong time.” [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sharing unfinished work invites premature criticism, disrupting creative flow. **In simple terms:** Early drafts attract unwanted feedback. Key Takeaway Protect your work until ready. Themes creativity vulnerability feedback Mood cautious thoughtful Type creative professional When to use this quote - writing workshops - editor meetings - peer reviews Key Concepts artistic process creative control Questions to Reflect On - When is the right time to share drafts? - How can you filter constructive criticism? A Different Perspective Too much secrecy can limit useful input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Suggestions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suggestions/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Our life is a book to which we add daily, until suddenly we are finished, and then the manuscript is burned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/our-life-is-a-book-to-which-we-add-daily-until-suddenly-we-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I was dissatisfied with my 1967 manuscript and decided to rewrite the book. It was the first of September, and I said to myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sacks/i-was-dissatisfied-with-my-1967-manuscript-and-decided-to-rewrite-the/) [Oliver Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sacks/) > [Who's started has half finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/who-s-started-has-half-finished/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Half finished work generally proves to be labor lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/half-finished-work-generally-proves-to-be-labor-lost/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [A half finished shawl left on the coffee table isn't a mess; it's an object of art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/a-half-finished-shawl-left-on-the-coffee-table-isn-t-a-mess-it-s-an/) [Stephanie Pearl-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-pearl-mcphee/) > [Nobody wants to see a half-finished Vine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-williams/nobody-wants-to-see-a-half-finished-vine/) [Maisie Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-williams/) > [My solo albums were each like a half-finished puzzle; they represented only the beginning of a full picture. Simply put, they were inadequate and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-slick/my-solo-albums-were-each-like-a-half-finished-puzzle-they-represented/) [Grace Slick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-slick/) > [I continually blacken pages and scribble away, so I always have a number of songs that are half-finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/i-continually-blacken-pages-and-scribble-away-so-i-always-have-a/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [I've written a couple screenplays and half-finished plays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-meloni/i-ve-written-a-couple-screenplays-and-half-finished-plays/) [Christopher Meloni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-meloni/) > [“Wings of a half finished book across his chest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/wings-of-a-half-finished-book-across-his-chest/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [First snow-falling-on the half-finished bridge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matsuo-basho/first-snow-falling-on-the-half-finished-bridge/) [Matsuo Basho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matsuo-basho/) > [There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/there-is-nothing-so-fatal-to-character-as-half-finished-tasks/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [“ToScottie March 11, 1939 p. 387- 388 And please do not leave good books half- finished, you spoil them for yourself...Don't be so lavish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/toscottie-march-11-1939-p-387-388-and-please-do-not-leave-good-books/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [A painting that is well composed is half finished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bonnard/a-painting-that-is-well-composed-is-half-finished/) [Pierre Bonnard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bonnard/) > [A half-read book is a half-finished love affair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/a-half-read-book-is-a-half-finished-love-affair/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) ## More by Donna Tartt > [I hope we're all ready to leave the phenomenal world, and enter into the sublime?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/i-hope-we-re-all-ready-to-leave-the-phenomenal-world-and-enter-into/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And I add my own love to the history of people who have loved beautiful things, and looked out for them, and pulled them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-i-add-my-own-love-to-the-history-of-people-who-have-loved/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The world won't come to me...so I must go to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-world-won-t-come-to-me-so-i-must-go-to-it/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [There's an expectation these days that novels - like any other consumer product - should be made on a production line, with one dropping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/there-s-an-expectation-these-days-that-novels-like-any-other-consumer/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“A month or two before, I would have been appalled at the idea of any murder at all. But that Sunday afternoon, as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-month-or-two-before-i-would-have-been-appalled-at-the-idea-of-any/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Well, I think storytellers have always found murder a fascinating device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/well-i-think-storytellers-have-always-found-murder-a-fascinating/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [Always remember, the person we’re really working for is the person who’s restoring the piece a hundred years from now. He’s the one we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/always-remember-the-person-we-re-really-working-for-is-the-person-who/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“The silence between us was happy and strange, connected by the cord and the icy voices thinly echoing. “You don’t have to talk,” she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-silence-between-us-was-happy-and-strange-connected-by-the-cord/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from all the world, that no one and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-learn-as-a-child-that-one-is-a-being/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“You didn’t meet many people who moved freely through the world with such a vigorous contempt for it and at the same time such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/you-didn-t-meet-many-people-who-moved-freely-through-the-world-with/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“maybe that’s what’s waiting for us at the end of the journey, a majesty unimaginable until the very moment we find ourselves walking through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/maybe-that-s-what-s-waiting-for-us-at-the-end-of-the-journey-a/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“lights and moods and seasons was to see it a thousand different ways and to keep it shut in the dark—a thing made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/lights-and-moods-and-seasons-was-to-see-it-a-thousand-different-ways/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/a-great-sorrow-and-one-that-i-am-only-beginning-to-understand-we-don/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [“Upon meeting Julian Morrow, one has the impression that he is a man of extraordinary sympathy and warmth. But what you call his 'Asiatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/upon-meeting-julian-morrow-one-has-the-impression-that-he-is-a-man-of/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) [Explore all 590 Donna Tartt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For me - showing a half-finished manuscript is tricky. 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