--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can only write one novel at a time. The…" description: "\"I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, often worked on four novels simultaneously, and produ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/james-thayer-43378_books_i-can-only-write-one-novel-at-a-time-the_1426026.png" --- # I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the… ![“I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, often worked on four novels simultaneously, and produced a million words a year. I'm envious.” quote by James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/james-thayer-43378_books_i-can-only-write-one-novel-at-a-time-the_1426026.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/james-thayer-43378_books_i-can-only-write-one-novel-at-a-time-the_1426026.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02d/james-thayer-43378_books_i-can-only-write-one-novel-at-a-time-the_1426026.png) > “I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, often worked on four novels simultaneously, and produced a million words a year. I'm envious.” [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author can focus on one novel at a time, unlike Erle Stanley Gardner who juggled many and was highly productive. **In simple terms:** One novel at a time vs. many simultaneously. Key Takeaway Choose a workflow that matches your stamina. Themes productivity focus writing Mood pragmatic inspirational Type advice reflective When to use this quote - novel writing - career planning - skill development Key Concepts time management creativity literary history Questions to Reflect On - Do you thrive on single‑task focus? - Can you balance quantity with quality? A Different Perspective Multitasking may reduce depth of each work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Masons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/masons/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The study of Freemasonry is the study of man as a candidate for a blessed eternity. It furnishes examples of holy living, and displays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/the-study-of-freemasonry-is-the-study-of-man-as-a-candidate-for-a/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [“If God's masons built real walls, I doubt we'd be able to destroy them. But instead of walls all I see is backdrops, sets.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/if-god-s-masons-built-real-walls-i-doubt-we-d-be-able-to-destroy-them/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [My mothers dad dropped out of the eighth grade to work. He had to. By the time he was 30, he was a master…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-rowe/my-mothers-dad-dropped-out-of-the-eighth-grade-to-work-he-had-to-by/) [Mike Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-rowe/) > [The answer came to me before I'd even finished asking myself the question. I couldn't be Mason's girlfriend because when I imagined someone holding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/the-answer-came-to-me-before-i-d-even-finished-asking-myself-the/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Mace, you never read Smoky the Cowhorse,did you? No. Well,ol' Smoky, he had somebad things happen to him,had the heart knocked clean out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/mace-you-never-read-smoky-the-cowhorse-did-you-no-well-ol-smoky-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I remember one day I was kissing Mason and he spit up in my mouth and I loved it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kourtney-kardashian/i-remember-one-day-i-was-kissing-mason-and-he-spit-up-in-my-mouth-and/) [Kourtney Kardashian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kourtney-kardashian/) > [Because of this ever increasing discernment of the true Mason he/she will find more efficient ways to apply brotherly love, relief and truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/because-of-this-ever-increasing-discernment-of-the-true-mason-he-she/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [My father was a stone mason, and a talented amateur pianist and vocalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-walker/my-father-was-a-stone-mason-and-a-talented-amateur-pianist-and/) [John E. Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-walker/) > [I'd much rather see Richard Pryor or Jackie Mason in a theater than in a club.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elayne-boosler/i-d-much-rather-see-richard-pryor-or-jackie-mason-in-a-theater-than/) [Elayne Boosler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elayne-boosler/) > [The greatest honor that has come to me, and that can ever come to me in my life, is to be Grand Master of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/the-greatest-honor-that-has-come-to-me-and-that-can-ever-come-to-me/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [When I was in high school in St. Louis my best friend was Marsha Mason. Marsha was a year ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-frann/when-i-was-in-high-school-in-st-louis-my-best-friend-was-marsha-mason/) [Mary Frann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-frann/) > [The true Mason is the Tiler of the Temple of the Heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-howard-taft/the-true-mason-is-the-tiler-of-the-temple-of-the-heart/) [William Howard Taft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-howard-taft/) > [Although I hold the highest civil honour in the world, I have always regarded my rank and title as a Past Grand Master of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/although-i-hold-the-highest-civil-honour-in-the-world-i-have-always/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/if-we-are-to-have-another-contest-in-the-near-future-of-our-national/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [Bobbie Ann Mason's genius only grows stronger and wiser and funnier with every new book, and Zigzagging Down a Wild Trail is my absolute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-humphreys/bobbie-ann-mason-s-genius-only-grows-stronger-and-wiser-and-funnier/) [Josephine Humphreys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-humphreys/) ## More by James Thayer > [My experience is that an original and compelling idea for a novel is a rare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/my-experience-is-that-an-original-and-compelling-idea-for-a-novel-is/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [I've never discovered the idea for my next novel while I was still working on the current novel. Other writers don't suffer this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/i-ve-never-discovered-the-idea-for-my-next-novel-while-i-was-still/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [I researched fiction writing for months before I taught my first class, much of it looking for strong techniques from bestselling authors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/i-researched-fiction-writing-for-months-before-i-taught-my-first/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [On opening sentences: "If in the first chapter a hurricane is going to blow down an oak tree which falls through the kitchen roof,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/on-opening-sentences-if-in-the-first-chapter-a-hurricane-is-going-to/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [None of great sages of China preached the precept of love as a guideline for human behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/none-of-great-sages-of-china-preached-the-precept-of-love-as-a/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [My students - all adults - bring a lot of writing skill to the first class, and they and I get better as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/my-students-all-adults-bring-a-lot-of-writing-skill-to-the-first/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [When I was hired by the University of Washington extension school to teach the one-year fiction writing course - 96 classroom hours - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/when-i-was-hired-by-the-university-of-washington-extension-school-to/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [I need time to develop the idea into a plot before I talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/i-need-time-to-develop-the-idea-into-a-plot-before-i-talk-about-it/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) [Explore all 9 James Thayer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can only write one novel at a time. The author of the Perry Mason novels, Erle Stanley Gardner, often worked on four novels simultaneously, and produced a million words a year. 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