--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I spent the morning putting in a comma…" description: "\"I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it.\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg" --- # I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon… ![“I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg) > “I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it.” [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. Writing involves constant revision, adding and removing details to refine meaning. **In simple terms:** Writing is editing. Key Takeaway Embrace editing. Themes writing revision craft Mood reflective determined Type advice process When to use this quote - drafting - academic papers - novel writing - self‑editing Key Concepts editing iteration precision Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when a draft is ready? - What detail can you cut without loss? A Different Perspective Over‑editing can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) ## Related quotes > [I have spent most of the day putting in a comma and the rest of the day taking it out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-have-spent-most-of-the-day-putting-in-a-comma-and-the-rest-of-the/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/i-was-working-on-the-proof-of-one-of-my-poems-all-the-morning-and/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I loved newspapers. I loved the dusky marks on my fingers that proved I had spent the morning educating myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-katharine-ham/i-loved-newspapers-i-loved-the-dusky-marks-on-my-fingers-that-proved/) [Mary Katharine Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-katharine-ham/) > [“...I spent the whole morning coiled up in front of the fire, with my hands over it, eating nothing, motionless, just listening to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/i-spent-the-whole-morning-coiled-up-in-front-of-the-fire-with-my/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [It is a delicious thing to write, to be no longer yourself but to move in an entire universe of your own creating. Today,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/it-is-a-delicious-thing-to-write-to-be-no-longer-yourself-but-to-move/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Give me the comma of imperfect striving, thus to find zest in the immediate living. Ever the reaching but never the gaining, ever the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-graham/give-me-the-comma-of-imperfect-striving-thus-to-find-zest-in-the/) [Winston Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-graham/) > [“Consider failure as just a comma in the middle of a sentence that tells the story of your life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-o-leary/consider-failure-as-just-a-comma-in-the-middle-of-a-sentence-that/) [Jeff O'Leary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-o-leary/) > [The goofiness of radicals thinking they have to dress in Guatemalan peasant clothes. The poor don't want you to look like them. They want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-kidder/the-goofiness-of-radicals-thinking-they-have-to-dress-in-guatemalan/) [Tracy Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-kidder/) > [My cholesterol count has a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pinette/my-cholesterol-count-has-a-comma/) [John Pinette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pinette/) > [A comma . . . catches the gentle drift of the mind in thought, turning in on itself and back on itself, reversing, redoubling,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/a-comma-catches-the-gentle-drift-of-the-mind-in-thought-turning-in-on/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [“It is no accident, Ma, that the comma resembles a fetus— that curve of continuation. We were all once inside our mothers, saying with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ocean-vuong/it-is-no-accident-ma-that-the-comma-resembles-a-fetus-that-curve-of/) [Ocean Vuong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ocean-vuong/) > [I mean we cant even rock them shoes if it dont got a comma on the price tag ya know. I mean.. I mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/i-mean-we-cant-even-rock-them-shoes-if-it-dont-got-a-comma-on-the/) [Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/) > [“Never place a period in your life where God only meant to place a comma.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-allen/never-place-a-period-in-your-life-where-god-only-meant-to-place-a/) [Gracie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-allen/) > [There is truth and falsehood in a comma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/there-is-truth-and-falsehood-in-a-comma/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Sometime yuh got to shut up, swallow yr pride and accept that yuh are wrong. It's not called giving up, it's called growing up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teary-persaud/sometime-yuh-got-to-shut-up-swallow-yr-pride-and-accept-that-yuh-are/) [Teary Persaud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teary-persaud/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. 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. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. 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 Afternoon quotes > [I didn't grow up thinking of movies as film, or art, but as movies, something to do on a Saturday afternoon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-pollack/i-didn-t-grow-up-thinking-of-movies-as-film-or-art-but-as-movies/) [Sydney Pollack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-pollack/) > [My dental hygienist is cute. Every time I visit, I eat a whole package of Oreo cookies while waiting in the lobby. Sometimes she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-wright/my-dental-hygienist-is-cute-every-time-i-visit-i-eat-a-whole-package/) [Steven Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-wright/) > [Honestly, I'm living my fantasy. It's being with my family, preferably on a snowy afternoon with a fire going, cuddled up in blankets, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meredith-vieira/honestly-i-m-living-my-fantasy-it-s-being-with-my-family-preferably/) [Meredith Vieira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meredith-vieira/) > [It was a very intense and stressful situation. There was playing in the Johnny-pump (an opened fire hydrant) and the ice-cream man coming around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/it-was-a-very-intense-and-stressful-situation-there-was-playing-in/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) > [Sunday afternoon is for papers and writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-haslam/sunday-afternoon-is-for-papers-and-writing/) [Nicholas Haslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-haslam/) > [I think that if most guys in America could somehow get their fave-rave poster girl in bed and have total license to do whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-think-that-if-most-guys-in-america-could-somehow-get-their-fave/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [“If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-come-at-four-in-the-afternoon-i-ll-begin-to-be-happy-by-three/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [At five in the afternoon. It was exactly five in the afternoon. A boy brought the white sheet at five in the afternoon. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/at-five-in-the-afternoon-it-was-exactly-five-in-the-afternoon-a-boy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The shadows in the early morning don't tell much. The shadows rest at that time. So it's useless to gaze very early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/the-shadows-in-the-early-morning-don-t-tell-much-the-shadows-rest-at/) [Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/) > [“I discovered windows one afternoon and after that, nothing was ever the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spollen/i-discovered-windows-one-afternoon-and-after-that-nothing-was-ever/) [Anne Spollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spollen/) > [Look, science is hard, it has a reputation of being hard, and the facts are, it is hard, and that's the result of 400…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/look-science-is-hard-it-has-a-reputation-of-being-hard-and-the-facts/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [What'll we do with ourselves this afternoon? And the day after that, and the next thirty years?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/what-ll-we-do-with-ourselves-this-afternoon-and-the-day-after-that/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [Imagine you are walking down a leafy path…The sun is receding, and you are walking alone, caressed by the breezy light of the late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/imagine-you-are-walking-down-a-leafy-path-the-sun-is-receding-and-you/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [A good umpire is the umpire you don't even notice. He's there all afternoon but when the game is over, you don't even remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-johnson/a-good-umpire-is-the-umpire-you-don-t-even-notice-he-s-there-all/) Ban Johnson > [Sometimes in the afternoon sky the moon would pass white as a cloud, furtive, lusterless, like an actress who does not have to perform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/sometimes-in-the-afternoon-sky-the-moon-would-pass-white-as-a-cloud/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) Browse all 1,085 Afternoon quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-and-the-afternoon-removing-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Afternoon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-and-the-afternoon-removing-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/597/gustave-flaubert-354_afternoon_i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-a_925071.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I spent the morning putting in a comma and the afternoon removing it.” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I spent the morning putting in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-and-the-afternoon-removing-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/i-spent-the-morning-putting-in-a-comma-and-the-afternoon-removing-it/#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 } } ] } ```