--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to…" description: "\"When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to come by, details that I c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/james-salter-2584_believe_when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to_928691.jpg" --- # When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm… ![“When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to come by, details that I can look at and believe are right on the mark. Things which bring a novel to life. They can take a while to come.” quote by James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/james-salter-2584_believe_when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to_928691.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/james-salter-2584_believe_when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to_928691.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/281/james-salter-2584_believe_when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to_928691.jpg) > “When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to come by, details that I can look at and believe are right on the mark. Things which bring a novel to life. They can take a while to come.” [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer seeks to capture precise, hard‑to‑find details that make a story feel authentic and alive. **In simple terms:** Finding exact, vivid details that make a story feel. Key Takeaway Observe and note specific, striking details. Themes writing observation authenticity Mood contemplative inspired Type literary reflective When to use this quote - research - fiction writing - journalism - academic study Key Concepts detail orientation creative process Questions to Reflect On - What detail could transform your work? - How do you verify a detail’s accuracy? A Different Perspective Details may be elusive and require time and patience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) ## Related quotes > [Usually, I have a lot of acquaintance with the story before I start writing it. 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I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-take-notes-i-don-t-have-any-notebooks-i-keep-on-trying-to-do/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-carter/reading-a-book-is-like-re-writing-it-for-yourself-you-bring-to-a/) [Angela Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-carter/) > [“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/recently-there-came-a-period-when-i-had-little-to-do-this-was-novel/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [“I am also an author. Please check out my novel, A Life Worth Dreaming About.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-dettmann/i-am-also-an-author-please-check-out-my-novel-a-life-worth-dreaming/) Nicholas Dettmann > [I find that in a novel I can get more of life, perhaps not such intense life, but certainly more of life than in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/i-find-that-in-a-novel-i-can-get-more-of-life-perhaps-not-such/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“I've always longed to turn the last page of a romantic novel but it seems my life is destined to remain a book of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-faudet/i-ve-always-longed-to-turn-the-last-page-of-a-romantic-novel-but-it/) [Michael Faudet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-faudet/) > [From the moment I start a new novel, life's just one endless torture. The first few chapters may go fairly well and I may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mile-zola/from-the-moment-i-start-a-new-novel-life-s-just-one-endless-torture/) [Emile Zola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mile-zola/) > [“At every moment I convinced myself that I was gathering material for the novel of my life - all experienced from the philosophical distance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/at-every-moment-i-convinced-myself-that-i-was-gathering-material-for/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I've only had four ideas for a novel in my life, and I've written all of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-heller/i-ve-only-had-four-ideas-for-a-novel-in-my-life-and-i-ve-written-all/) [Joseph Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-heller/) > [Of course we all know that's not how life works. The novel that is our life can end at any time. Sometimes even on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/of-course-we-all-know-that-s-not-how-life-works-the-novel-that-is-our/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [No writer, I believe, should attempt a novel before he is thirty, and not then unless he has been hopelessly and helplessly involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/no-writer-i-believe-should-attempt-a-novel-before-he-is-thirty-and/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [I would love to write a novel about my life, but how can I while I'm still creating havoc. It wouldn't been fair to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don/i-would-love-to-write-a-novel-about-my-life-but-how-can-i-while-i-m/) [Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don/) ## More by James Salter > [It seems to me that literature is giving way a little bit to the immediacy of other diversions, other forms of entertainment. What will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/it-seems-to-me-that-literature-is-giving-way-a-little-bit-to-the/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Women fall in love when they get to know you. Men are just the opposite. When they finally know you they're ready to leave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/women-fall-in-love-when-they-get-to-know-you-men-are-just-the/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Not necessarily narrow so much as impatient, intense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/not-necessarily-narrow-so-much-as-impatient-intense/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I write in longhand. I am accustomed to that proximity, that feel of writing. Then I sit down and type.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/i-write-in-longhand-i-am-accustomed-to-that-proximity-that-feel-of/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [A writer writes a book. People read it. You don't know what they're reading, really. You read a review and think, "That is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/a-writer-writes-a-book-people-read-it-you-don-t-know-what-they-re/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [“Strauss’s, for instance, which begins in the heavens. 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You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/sometimes-i-write-with-a-particular-person-in-mind-i-think-it-s-fair/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [Lots of scripts are written and not made, even scripts that people want to make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/lots-of-scripts-are-written-and-not-made-even-scripts-that-people/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [I'd given up everything to be a writer, and if I didn't then go on to do that - to write - then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/i-d-given-up-everything-to-be-a-writer-and-if-i-didn-t-then-go-on-to/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [“One should not believe too easily in a life which can easily vanish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/one-should-not-believe-too-easily-in-a-life-which-can-easily-vanish/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [“Life is separated by scars, like the rings in the inside of a tree.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/life-is-separated-by-scars-like-the-rings-in-the-inside-of-a-tree/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [“Dean is still asleep. His clothes are strewn about. The shutters are closed. He never dreams. He’s like a dead musician, like a spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/dean-is-still-asleep-his-clothes-are-strewn-about-the-shutters-are/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [The dreams are the skeleton of all reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/the-dreams-are-the-skeleton-of-all-reality/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [There came a time when I felt I was not going to be satisfied with life unless I could write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/there-came-a-time-when-i-felt-i-was-not-going-to-be-satisfied-with/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) [Explore all 156 James Salter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) ## More Believe quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. 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He's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/resist-discouragement-by-speaking-his-word-over-your-future-keep/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [There is no such word as item girl in the dictionary. People have created this word and I don't believe that I am an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shefali-zariwala/there-is-no-such-word-as-item-girl-in-the-dictionary-people-have/) [Shefali Zariwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shefali-zariwala/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I don't really like too much credit. I know nobody's going to believe this, but I'd rather be able to score goals and nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradley-wright-phillips/i-don-t-really-like-too-much-credit-i-know-nobody-s-going-to-believe/) [Bradley Wright-Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradley-wright-phillips/) > [“What I have a problem with is not so much religion or god, but faith. When you say you believe something in your heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/what-i-have-a-problem-with-is-not-so-much-religion-or-god-but-faith/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [That's why I don't generally talk about endorsements because I don't believe we have to tell people who to vote for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-iii/that-s-why-i-don-t-generally-talk-about-endorsements-because-i-don-t/) [Martin Luther King III](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-iii/) > [Mankind have been slow to believe that order reigns in the universe-that the world is a cosmos and a chaos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/mankind-have-been-slow-to-believe-that-order-reigns-in-the-universe/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) Browse all 47,704 Believe quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to come by, details that I can look at and believe are right on the mark. Things which bring a novel to life. 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