--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For novelists or musicians, if they…" description: "\"For novelists or musicians, if they really want to create something, they need to go downstairs and find a passage to get into the second basement. Wha..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/haruki-murakami-21_basements_for-novelists-or-musicians-if-they-reall_1239454.jpg" --- # For novelists or musicians, if they really want to create… ![“For novelists or musicians, if they really want to create something, they need to go downstairs and find a passage to get into the second basement. What I want to do is go down there, but still stay sane.” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/haruki-murakami-21_basements_for-novelists-or-musicians-if-they-reall_1239454.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/haruki-murakami-21_basements_for-novelists-or-musicians-if-they-reall_1239454.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b5/haruki-murakami-21_basements_for-novelists-or-musicians-if-they-reall_1239454.jpg) > “For novelists or musicians, if they really want to create something, they need to go downstairs and find a passage to get into the second basement. What I want to do is go down there, but still stay sane.” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative breakthroughs often require diving deep into subconscious or hidden layers while maintaining mental balance. **In simple terms:** Deep work needs balance. Key Takeaway Explore inner depths, stay grounded. Themes creativity mental health discipline Mood introspective determined Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing - music composition - problem solving - personal growth Key Concepts subconscious exploration psychological resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you protect your sanity while probing deep? - What rituals keep you grounded? A Different Perspective Depth can lead to isolation or burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) ## Related quotes > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [I have a lot of hobbies and I can be very remiss in reminding myself to go down to the basement to work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geddy-lee/i-have-a-lot-of-hobbies-and-i-can-be-very-remiss-in-reminding-myself/) [Geddy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geddy-lee/) > [It's actually safe to create a universe in your basement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-guth/it-s-actually-safe-to-create-a-universe-in-your-basement/) [Alan Guth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-guth/) > [I don't decide where I live. My wife decides. She's a curator of contemporary art, and she works at an art museum, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-don-t-decide-where-i-live-my-wife-decides-she-s-a-curator-of/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [My dad was a bass player in a Latino band when I was growing up. So we always had musical instruments in our basement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindi-ortega/my-dad-was-a-bass-player-in-a-latino-band-when-i-was-growing-up-so-we/) [Lindi Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindi-ortega/) > [Being Canadian and from Winnipeg, I have the spirit of a dreamer because of the cold, and being in the basement thinking of possibilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-carter/being-canadian-and-from-winnipeg-i-have-the-spirit-of-a-dreamer/) [Sarah Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-carter/) > [Just like every kid who comes into show business on some level, I used to put shows on in my basement. I even started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-scardino/just-like-every-kid-who-comes-into-show-business-on-some-level-i-used/) Don Scardino > [My first time performing was in the black box theater of my high school's basement as a member of 'Clownaz,' the school's improv team.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mande/my-first-time-performing-was-in-the-black-box-theater-of-my-high/) [Joe Mande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mande/) > [I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check. We adore chaos because we love to produce order. I don't use drugs;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/i-might-be-in-the-basement-i-ll-go-upstairs-and-check-we-adore-chaos/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [All the green-screen stuff - all the special effects stuff - I shot right there in my house, in the basement in my theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vickie-winans/all-the-green-screen-stuff-all-the-special-effects-stuff-i-shot-right/) Vickie Winans > [I love getting into the basement of a courthouse, and all the dusty records - all that stuff makes me really happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/i-love-getting-into-the-basement-of-a-courthouse-and-all-the-dusty/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/i-might-be-in-the-basement-i-ll-go-upstairs-and-check/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [White Zombie was a bunch of kids with the worst equipment playing in a basement. But that is what is so great about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/white-zombie-was-a-bunch-of-kids-with-the-worst-equipment-playing-in/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [Every time I get in an elevator, the operator says the same thing to me: 'Basement?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/every-time-i-get-in-an-elevator-the-operator-says-the-same-thing-to/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Here is another marvy glimpse into the gothic basement that I call my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-rennison/here-is-another-marvy-glimpse-into-the-gothic-basement-that-i-call-my/) [Louise Rennison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-rennison/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Basement quotes > [When I go to my health club, and it's in the basement, you have to take the elevator down. And this drives me crazy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/when-i-go-to-my-health-club-and-it-s-in-the-basement-you-have-to-take/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [Every time I get in an elevator, the operator says the same thing to me: 'Basement?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/every-time-i-get-in-an-elevator-the-operator-says-the-same-thing-to/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [White Zombie was a bunch of kids with the worst equipment playing in a basement. But that is what is so great about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-zombie/white-zombie-was-a-bunch-of-kids-with-the-worst-equipment-playing-in/) [Rob Zombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-zombie/) > [When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting in your basement and a year waiting for the book to come out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/i-might-be-in-the-basement-i-ll-go-upstairs-and-check/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [I love getting into the basement of a courthouse, and all the dusty records - all that stuff makes me really happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/i-love-getting-into-the-basement-of-a-courthouse-and-all-the-dusty/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [I like the Hotel Costes, on rue Saint Honore, a boutique hotel near the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and the Tuileries. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-temperley/i-like-the-hotel-costes-on-rue-saint-honore-a-boutique-hotel-near-the/) [Alice Temperley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-temperley/) > [All the green-screen stuff - all the special effects stuff - I shot right there in my house, in the basement in my theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vickie-winans/all-the-green-screen-stuff-all-the-special-effects-stuff-i-shot-right/) Vickie Winans > [My most vivid memory of my father centers on the day he left. It was warm, and my mother was especially short with Rhonda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deval-patrick/my-most-vivid-memory-of-my-father-centers-on-the-day-he-left-it-was/) [Deval Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deval-patrick/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [After I left the Pumpkins, I went home and just sat around. I have a studio in my basement, and I found myself writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-chamberlin/after-i-left-the-pumpkins-i-went-home-and-just-sat-around-i-have-a/) [Jimmy Chamberlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-chamberlin/) > [I might be in the basement. I'll go upstairs and check. We adore chaos because we love to produce order. I don't use drugs;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/i-might-be-in-the-basement-i-ll-go-upstairs-and-check-we-adore-chaos/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [“He had no idea what was wrong, but he knew something was wrong. It turned out that the heart of the fire had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/he-had-no-idea-what-was-wrong-but-he-knew-something-was-wrong-it/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [“lacking is a panic room in the basement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-sutter/lacking-is-a-panic-room-in-the-basement/) C.M. Sutter Browse all 141 Basement quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For novelists or musicians, if they really want to create something, they need to go downstairs and find a passage to get into the second basement. 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