--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's nothing worse than sitting down…" description: "\"There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, \"Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth.\" It's funny.\" — Dou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png" --- # There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel… ![“There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, "Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth." It's funny.” quote by Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png) > “There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, "Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth." It's funny.” [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aiming for high artistic value can become a self‑defeating pressure that hinders the creative act. **In simple terms:** High art goals can be paralyzing. Key Takeaway Write without over‑valuing artistic worth. Themes creativity self‑criticism artistic pressure Mood wry insightful Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - setting realistic goals - embracing imperfection - creative play Key Concepts perfectionism creative anxiety novel writing Questions to Reflect On - How does pressure affect your writing? - Can you balance ambition with freedom? A Different Perspective Some readers value high artistic standards, making the tension relevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, 'Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down-to-write-a-novel-and-saying-2/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ “Q: Do you feel concerned that after all this work, people won't treat \[Starship Titanic\] with the gravity of, say, a movie or a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/q-do-you-feel-concerned-that-after-all-this-work-people-won-t-treat/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/it-s-not-the-writing-part-that-s-hard-what-s-hard-is-sitting-down-to-2/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There's only one person who needs a glass of water oftener than a small child tucked in for the night, and that's a writer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/there-s-only-one-person-who-needs-a-glass-of-water-oftener-than-a/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [Prowling about the rooms, sitting down, getting up, stirring the fire, looking out the window, teasing my hair, sitting down to write, writing nothing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/prowling-about-the-rooms-sitting-down-getting-up-stirring-the-fire/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [There's a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don't, and the secret is this: It's not the writing part that's hard. What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pressfield/there-s-a-secret-that-real-writers-know-that-wannabe-writers-don-t-2/) [Steven Pressfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pressfield/) > [There is absolutely no point in sitting down to write a book unless you feel that you must write that book, or else go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/there-is-absolutely-no-point-in-sitting-down-to-write-a-book-unless/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [Everything I know about life I learned from the daily practice of sitting down to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-shapiro/everything-i-know-about-life-i-learned-from-the-daily-practice-of/) [Dani Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-shapiro/) > [It is by sitting down to write every morning that he becomes a writer. Those who do not do this remain amateurs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/it-is-by-sitting-down-to-write-every-morning-that-he-becomes-a-writer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) > [Even if you don't feel like sitting down to write or working on that big proposal, or whatever it is, just show up anyhow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayana-mathis/even-if-you-don-t-feel-like-sitting-down-to-write-or-working-on-that/) [Ayana Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayana-mathis/) > [“The novel, he was saying, was a flabby old whore. A flabby old whore! the older man said looking delighted. She was serviceable, roomy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/the-novel-he-was-saying-was-a-flabby-old-whore-a-flabby-old-whore-the/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [For me, the enemy is procrastination, and losing attention, you know? It's not the writing that's difficult, it's sitting down to write - if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moshe-kasher/for-me-the-enemy-is-procrastination-and-losing-attention-you-know-it/) [Moshe Kasher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moshe-kasher/) > [Ninety percent of my material is made on stage, but I feel like you're missing something by abandoning sitting down to write entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segura/ninety-percent-of-my-material-is-made-on-stage-but-i-feel-like-you-re/) [Tom Segura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segura/) > [“Writers often have the cleanest windows, floors, fridges and toilets, the most up-to-date filing system or the best record for returning calls or e-mails…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-david-gerson/writers-often-have-the-cleanest-windows-floors-fridges-and-toilets/) Mark David Gerson > [“It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-brenan/it-is-by-sitting-down-to-write-every-morning-that-one-becomes-a-writer/) [Gerald Brenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-brenan/) ## More by Douglas Adams > [2,000 years ago one man got nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be if everyone was nice to each other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/2-000-years-ago-one-man-got-nailed-to-a-tree-for-saying-how-great-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [What a wonderfully exciting cough,' said the little man, quite startled by it, 'do you mind if I join you?' And with that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/what-a-wonderfully-exciting-cough-said-the-little-man-quite-startled/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The technology involved in making anything invisible is so infinitely complex that nine hundred and ninety-nine billion, nine hundred and ninety-nine million, nine hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-technology-involved-in-making-anything-invisible-is-so-infinitely/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [One is never alone with a rubber duck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/one-is-never-alone-with-a-rubber-duck/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [This must be Thursday. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/this-must-be-thursday-i-never-could-get-the-hang-of-thursdays/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [There are some oddities in the perspective with which we see the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-are-some-oddities-in-the-perspective-with-which-we-see-the-world/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“Eight hours West sat a man alone on a beach mourning an inexplicable loss. He could only think of his loss in little packets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/eight-hours-west-sat-a-man-alone-on-a-beach-mourning-an-inexplicable/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The Universe, the whole infinite Universe. The infinite suns, the infinite distances between them, and yourself an invisible dot on an invisible dot, infinitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-universe-the-whole-infinite-universe-the-infinite-suns-the/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [People always make this totally artificial distinction between what is commercial and what is good. They quote that maxim "Nobody ever lost money underestimating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/people-always-make-this-totally-artificial-distinction-between-what/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/any-man-who-can-hitch-the-length-and-breadth-of-the-galaxy-rough-it/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [ Does God know he \[exists\]?" "Of course he does. Otherwise, you could not have asked the question, and I could not have answered. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/does-god-know-he-exists-of-course-he-does-otherwise-you-could-not/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“When we told our guide that we didn't want to go to all the tourist places he took us instead to the places where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/when-we-told-our-guide-that-we-didn-t-want-to-go-to-all-the-tourist/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“But Douglas was a genius, because he saw the world differently, and more importantly, he could communicate the world he saw.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/but-douglas-was-a-genius-because-he-saw-the-world-differently-and/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [“The bits which did mean anything were often so wonderfully buried that no one could ever spot them slipping past in the avalanche of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/the-bits-which-did-mean-anything-were-often-so-wonderfully-buried/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [You come to me for advice, but you can't cope with anything you don't recognize. Hmmm. So we'll have to tell you something you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-come-to-me-for-advice-but-you-can-t-cope-with-anything-you-don-t/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) [Explore all 1,168 Douglas Adams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) ## More Art quotes > [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/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [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/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“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 > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, \"Well, okay, I'm going to do something of high artistic worth.\" It's funny.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Douglas Adams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down-to-write-a-novel-and-saying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down-to-write-a-novel-and-saying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/10e/douglas-adams-122_art_there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down_1351136.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's nothing worse than sitting down to write a novel and saying, \"Well, okay, I'm going to do something…” — Douglas Adams", "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": "Douglas Adams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's nothing worse than sitting down...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down-to-write-a-novel-and-saying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/there-s-nothing-worse-than-sitting-down-to-write-a-novel-and-saying/#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 } } ] } ```