--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am finding it very hard to get my novel…" description: "\"I am finding it very hard to get my novel started. I suffer from stylistic abscesses; and sentences keep itching without coming to a head.\" — Gustave F..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/gustave-flaubert-354_books_i-am-finding-it-very-hard-to-get-my-nove_1730650.jpg" --- # I am finding it very hard to get my novel started. I… ![“I am finding it very hard to get my novel started. I suffer from stylistic abscesses; and sentences keep itching without coming to a head.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/gustave-flaubert-354_books_i-am-finding-it-very-hard-to-get-my-nove_1730650.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/gustave-flaubert-354_books_i-am-finding-it-very-hard-to-get-my-nove_1730650.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/316/gustave-flaubert-354_books_i-am-finding-it-very-hard-to-get-my-nove_1730650.jpg) > “I am finding it very hard to get my novel started. I suffer from stylistic abscesses; and sentences keep itching without coming to a head.” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## 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 struggles to begin his novel, hindered by excessive stylistic concerns and indecisive sentences. **In simple terms:** Writer blocked by over‑analysis and unfinished ideas. Key Takeaway Start writing without perfection. Themes writing creativity blocks Mood frustrated determined Type advice creative When to use this quote - novel drafting - editing - creative workshops Key Concepts perfectionism writer’s block Questions to Reflect On - How can you silence the inner critic? - What simple step can jump‑start your draft? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-novel-1426603/) [Itching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/itching/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Sentences Itching](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences-itching-1426600/) [Started Suffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-suffer-1426604/) [Stylistic Abscesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stylistic-abscesses-1426602/) [Suffer Stylistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffer-stylistic-1426601/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“If any woman opens her legs for you, don't feel so lucky to be fed with nonsense, she has been a bitch for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/if-any-woman-opens-her-legs-for-you-don-t-feel-so-lucky-to-be-fed/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“My insides started itching and my feet started hopping, one then the other,because they were 10 min. Past being ready to go. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-hannigan/my-insides-started-itching-and-my-feet-started-hopping-one-then-the/) [Katherine Hannigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-hannigan/) > [One mark of a deteriorating society is when people cannot discern between truth and lies. Another is that they don't care and will believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/one-mark-of-a-deteriorating-society-is-when-people-cannot-discern/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [...if it isn't literally true that my wanting is causally responsible for my reaching, and my itching is causally responsible for my scratching, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-fodor/if-it-isn-t-literally-true-that-my-wanting-is-causally-responsible/) [Jerry Fodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-fodor/) > [I am clearly broken and no one knows what to do. Pieces of the puzzle don't fit, so I pound them into you. Itching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/korn/i-am-clearly-broken-and-no-one-knows-what-to-do-pieces-of-the-puzzle/) [Korn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/korn/) > [Let me tell you, Cassius, you yourself are much condemned to have an itching palm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/let-me-tell-you-cassius-you-yourself-are-much-condemned-to-have-an/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Scratching and itching I'll keep biting my lip, from this pain that I'm feeling, picking wounds of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn/scratching-and-itching-i-ll-keep-biting-my-lip-from-this-pain-that-i/) [Lynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn/) > [My very first job was something called Nobodys Watching, that Bill Lawrence who created Scrubs, it was his pilot. It was my very first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mircea-monroe/my-very-first-job-was-something-called-nobodys-watching-that-bill/) [Mircea Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mircea-monroe/) > [Christians should not be hostile, they should not hate, they should not judge, and they should not condemn. But they also must not shy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-erickson/christians-should-not-be-hostile-they-should-not-hate-they-should-not/) [Erick Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-erickson/) > [Every actor is itching to act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-kumar/every-actor-is-itching-to-act/) [Manoj Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-kumar/) > [When I'm trying to get bread to prove, I am itching; I am so impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadiya-hussain/when-i-m-trying-to-get-bread-to-prove-i-am-itching-i-am-so-impatient/) [Nadiya Hussain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadiya-hussain/) > [If people have some sort of yearning, dissatisfaction or some itching irritability, then it might because they aren't looking in the right direction for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/if-people-have-some-sort-of-yearning-dissatisfaction-or-some-itching/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [There is not much sense in suffering, since drugs can be given for pain, itching, and other discomforts. 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She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. 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You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## 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! 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