--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You have to wait for your mind to catch…" description: "\"You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.\" — James M. Cain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/james-m-cain-14109_books_you-have-to-wait-for-your-mind-to-catch_1462250.jpg" --- # You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever… ![“You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.” quote by James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/james-m-cain-14109_books_you-have-to-wait-for-your-mind-to-catch_1462250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/james-m-cain-14109_books_you-have-to-wait-for-your-mind-to-catch_1462250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a0c/james-m-cain-14109_books_you-have-to-wait-for-your-mind-to-catch_1462250.jpg) > “You have to wait for your mind to catch up with whatever it is it’s working on; then you can write a novel.” [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work requires mental alignment; waiting for ideas to settle leads to coherent storytelling. **In simple terms:** Wait for ideas before writing. Key Takeaway Give your mind time to organize thoughts. Themes creativity patience writing Mood thoughtful inspirational Type advisory creative When to use this quote - novel writing - brainstorming - project planning Key Concepts cognitive alignment flow state Questions to Reflect On - What signals indicate your mind is ready? - How do you capture fleeting ideas? A Different Perspective Rushing can produce disjointed work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Can someone tell me the time? No, wait, never mind, I see it. 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It's only when there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/i-ve-never-been-that-person-who-thought-that-because-i-ve-written-one/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [“To write a novel, you begin with what you can see and then you add what came before and what came after.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/to-write-a-novel-you-begin-with-what-you-can-see-and-then-you-add/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [I don't assume, because I can write screenplays, that I know how to write a novel. It's a very different world. There's a craft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-rosenberg/i-don-t-assume-because-i-can-write-screenplays-that-i-know-how-to/) [Melissa Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-rosenberg/) > [If you get trapped in your head and out of your body during the writing process, it's very easy to make wrong turns. 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A screenplay is 100 pages and takes five years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-takes-me-two-to-three-years-to-write-a-novel-a-screenplay-is-100/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [I've heard Stephen King say that when you write a novel you end up revealing everything about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-ve-heard-stephen-king-say-that-when-you-write-a-novel-you-end-up/) [Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/) > [When people write a novel, they want to have that reach and that impact. To get it with a first novel, you can either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-people-write-a-novel-they-want-to-have-that-reach-and-that/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [I'm pretty hardcore. I stick exactly to what I'm doing. So I write a novel in one period, and then I'll write stories in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/i-m-pretty-hardcore-i-stick-exactly-to-what-i-m-doing-so-i-write-a/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) ## More by James M. Cain > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“By nine, Mildred was powdered, puffed, perfumed, and patted to that state of semi-transparency that a woman seems to achieve when she is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/by-nine-mildred-was-powdered-puffed-perfumed-and-patted-to-that-state/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“I ripped all her clothes off. 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Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“Up close, she could see the sharp, cold, look that she constantly shot at Mr. Treviso, particularly when there was a break, and she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/up-close-she-could-see-the-sharp-cold-look-that-she-constantly-shot/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called. I merely try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/i-make-no-conscious-effort-to-be-tough-or-hard-boiled-or-grim-or-any/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“let's get stinko.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/let-s-get-stinko/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [I loved her like a rabbit loves a rattlesnake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/i-loved-her-like-a-rabbit-loves-a-rattlesnake/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [She was a little given to rehearsing things in her mind, and having imaginary triumphs over people who had upset her in one way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/she-was-a-little-given-to-rehearsing-things-in-her-mind-and-having/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [“She looked like the great grandmother of every whore in the world. The devil got his money's worth that night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/she-looked-like-the-great-grandmother-of-every-whore-in-the-world-the/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [They threw me off the haytruck about noon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/they-threw-me-off-the-haytruck-about-noon/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [I make no conscious effort to be tough, or hard-boiled, or grim, or any of the things I am usually called.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/i-make-no-conscious-effort-to-be-tough-or-hard-boiled-or-grim-or-any-2/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [When it’s too good, you do it over again. Too good is too easy. If it’s too easy you have to worry. If you’re…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/when-it-s-too-good-you-do-it-over-again-too-good-is-too-easy-if-it-s/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [A guitar has moonlight in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-guitar-has-moonlight-in-it/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) [Explore all 47 James M. 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People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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