--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People think that they will sit down and…" description: "\"People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a very patient and meticulo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/isabel-allende-266_and-love_people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and_23847.jpg" --- # People think that they will sit down and produce the great… ![“People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a very patient and meticulous work, and you have to do it with joy and love for the process, not for the outcome.” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/isabel-allende-266_and-love_people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and_23847.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/isabel-allende-266_and-love_people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and_23847.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dcd/isabel-allende-266_and-love_people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and_23847.jpg) > “People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a very patient and meticulous work, and you have to do it with joy and love for the process, not for the outcome.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a novel requires sustained patience and meticulous effort, driven by love for the craft rather than a single burst of inspiration. **In simple terms:** Creative work is a marathon, not a sprint. Key Takeaway Embrace process over product. Themes creativity discipline patience craftsmanship joy process Mood determined hopeful reflective Type advice philosophical motivational When to use this quote - author drafting a manuscript - artist developing a series - researcher conducting long-term study - entrepreneur building a product - student writing a thesis Key Concepts writing novel artistic process mindset Practical Applications - long‑form writing - project planning Questions to Reflect On - How does focusing on the process change your motivation? - What habits support sustained creative work? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-novel/) [And love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Great american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-american/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Meticulous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meticulous/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-sitting-405578/) [Outcomes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outcomes/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-think/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Think Sit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-sit-405579/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I don't say anything and he casually leans against my desk, picking up the novel that's sitting there. "It's bullshit," he tells me, flicking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/i-don-t-say-anything-and-he-casually-leans-against-my-desk-picking-up/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [My father was a frustrated writer. I think he wanted to write the great American novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-waldman/my-father-was-a-frustrated-writer-i-think-he-wanted-to-write-the/) [Anne Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-waldman/) > [This is, if not a lifetime process, it's awfully close to it. The writer broadens, becomes deeper, becomes more observant, becomes more tempered, becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-serling/this-is-if-not-a-lifetime-process-it-s-awfully-close-to-it-the-writer/) [Rod Serling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-serling/) > [I have no doubt that 'On the Road' is a Great American Novel. But I'm also certain my students will do fine without it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-d-souza/i-have-no-doubt-that-on-the-road-is-a-great-american-novel-but-i-m/) [Tony D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-d-souza/) > [Of course I planned to write the Great American Novel; that lasted about a week, at which point I decided I had nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-cresswell/of-course-i-planned-to-write-the-great-american-novel-that-lasted/) [Jasmine Cresswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-cresswell/) > [I don't think everyone wants to create the great American novel, but we all have a dream of telling our stories-of realizing what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/i-don-t-think-everyone-wants-to-create-the-great-american-novel-but/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [It’s Fitzgerald’s thin-but-durable urge to affirm that finally makes Gatsby worthy of being our Great American Novel. Its soaring conclusion tells us that, even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-corrigan/it-s-fitzgerald-s-thin-but-durable-urge-to-affirm-that-finally-makes/) [Maureen Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-corrigan/) > [“I have often been mildly amused when I think that the great American novel was not written about New England or Chicago. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/i-have-often-been-mildly-amused-when-i-think-that-the-great-american/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [In the great city of San Francisco, where I used to live, at 2 in the morning every other Victorian house has somebody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-peters/in-the-great-city-of-san-francisco-where-i-used-to-live-at-2-in-the/) [Tom Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-peters/) > [You don't sit up in a cave and write the Great American Novel and know it is utterly superb, and then throw it page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/you-don-t-sit-up-in-a-cave-and-write-the-great-american-novel-and/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [ Dreiser wanted to write the next great American novel, and his desperation pervades \[ Sister Carrie \] like an unsavory pit stain. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-dreiser/dreiser-wanted-to-write-the-next-great-american-novel-and-his/) [Theodore Dreiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-dreiser/) > [I know a lot of writers who would much rather be writing the Great American Novel, but they've got bills to pay and alimony,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/i-know-a-lot-of-writers-who-would-much-rather-be-writing-the-great/) [Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/) > [I was saving the name of 'Geisel' for the Great American Novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/i-was-saving-the-name-of-geisel-for-the-great-american-novel/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [“Great American Novel” = ”doorstop of a book, usually pretentious, written by a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/great-american-novel-doorstop-of-a-book-usually-pretentious-written/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The great American novel has not only already been written, it has already been rejected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/the-great-american-novel-has-not-only-already-been-written-it-has/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-have-lived-with-passion-and-in-a-hurry-trying-to-accomplish-too/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm surrounded by the scene of aging. I myself am in my 70s and not getting any younger. Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“But that's how nostalgia is: a slow dance in a large circle. Memories don't organize themselves chronologically, they're like smoke, changing, ephemeral, and if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/but-that-s-how-nostalgia-is-a-slow-dance-in-a-large-circle-memories/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More And love quotes > [Broken by hardships, disappointments and tragedy, people can become discouraged and cynical. But lives can also be mended. Put back together well, they won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-goodier/broken-by-hardships-disappointments-and-tragedy-people-can-become/) [Steve Goodier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-goodier/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [There are few husbands whom the wife cannot win in the long run, by patience and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/there-are-few-husbands-whom-the-wife-cannot-win-in-the-long-run-by/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) > [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/) [Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/) > [We'll walk together holding hands, and kiss in broad daylight, and love each other as much as we want to, and no one will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/we-ll-walk-together-holding-hands-and-kiss-in-broad-daylight-and-love/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Anyone who knows me knows that I am really into hair. I'm a real girly girl and love doing my hair and experimenting with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zooey-deschanel/anyone-who-knows-me-knows-that-i-am-really-into-hair-i-m-a-real-girly/) [Zooey Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zooey-deschanel/) > [“When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kornfield/when-we-let-go-of-our-battles-and-open-our-heart-to-things-as-they/) [Jack Kornfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kornfield/) > [Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/only-when-man-succeeds-in-developing-his-reason-and-love-further-than/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [I shall pray God to send charity into this hideous world, and sympathy for the weak, and love for the unhappy and unfortunate. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wyndham/i-shall-pray-god-to-send-charity-into-this-hideous-world-and-sympathy/) [John Wyndham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wyndham/) > [And I read the moral--A brave endeavour To do thy duty, whate'er its worth, Is better than life with love forever, And love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-jeffrey-roche/and-i-read-the-moral-a-brave-endeavour-to-do-thy-duty-whate-er-its/) [James Jeffrey Roche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-jeffrey-roche/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [You should never hate anyone, even your worst enemies. Everyone has something good about them. You have to find the redeeming quality and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeannette-walls/you-should-never-hate-anyone-even-your-worst-enemies-everyone-has/) [Jeannette Walls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeannette-walls/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [If you abide in the love of Christ, rooted in the faith, you will encounter, even amid setbacks and suffering, the source of true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/if-you-abide-in-the-love-of-christ-rooted-in-the-faith-you-will/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) [Browse all 2,635 And love quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/and-love/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. 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