--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're writing a novel, you spend…" description: "\"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 then you get the feedback. W..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg" --- # When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting… ![“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 then you get the feedback. When you do work online, the moment you're finished making it, people start responding to it which is really fun and allows for a kind of community…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg) > “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 then you get the feedback. When you do work online, the moment you're finished making it, people start responding to it which is really fun and allows for a kind of community development you just can't have in novels.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote contrasts the solitary, delayed feedback cycle of novel writing with the immediate, interactive response loop of online content creation, highlighting how digital platforms foster community engagement. **In simple terms:** Online work offers instant audience interaction, unlike novel writing. Key Takeaway Digital media accelerates feedback and community building. Themes Creativity Feedback Loops Community Digital vs. Traditional Media Collaboration Mood Excited Reflective Optimistic Type Observation Comparison Insight When to use this quote - Publishing a novel - Launching a blog post - Releasing a video - Sharing a podcast episode Key Concepts Writing Process Audience Engagement Publishing Timeline Practical Applications - Real-time audience testing - Building a creator community Questions to Reflect On - How does immediate feedback shape creative decisions? - What are the trade-offs between solitary creation and collaborative iteration? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Community development](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community-development/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Songs are just novels that get to the point quicker. Though I don't imagine that Ke$ha's book would be clean YA...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inda-herwood/songs-are-just-novels-that-get-to-the-point-quicker-though-i-don-t/) Inda Herwood > [“When employees are performing some aspect of their job incorrectly, there is a fine line between correcting them in a way that is supportive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-employees-are-performing-some-aspect-of-their-job-incorrectly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“…control has to be by feedback from the work done. The work itself has to provide the information. If it has to be checked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-f-drucker/control-has-to-be-by-feedback-from-the-work-done-the-work-itself-has/) [Peter F. Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-f-drucker/) > [Third, for people who aren't doing it already, take classes - they're worthwhile. Workshops or classes - a workshop is where you do actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/third-for-people-who-aren-t-doing-it-already-take-classes-they-re/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [It's helpful to get feedback on your work, and I think you learn a lot from reading other people's work and giving them feedback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/it-s-helpful-to-get-feedback-on-your-work-and-i-think-you-learn-a-lot/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I am not afraid to ask for feedback on my work or appearance, and try to never take that advice personally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-welker/i-am-not-afraid-to-ask-for-feedback-on-my-work-or-appearance-and-try/) [Kristen Welker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-welker/) > [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/) > [In 2003, I introduced and passed The Tornado Shelters Act, which allows local governments to use Community Development Block Grant funds to construct storm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spencer-bachus/in-2003-i-introduced-and-passed-the-tornado-shelters-act-which-allows/) [Spencer Bachus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spencer-bachus/) > [As the former Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, I understand that transportation infrastructure is vital to economic growth, particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hagerty/as-the-former-commissioner-of-the-tennessee-department-of-economic/) [Bill Hagerty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hagerty/) > [“When individuals and communities do not govern self, they risk being ruled by external forces that care less about the well-being of the village.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-f-hodge/when-individuals-and-communities-do-not-govern-self-they-risk-being/) [T.F. Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-f-hodge/) > [The Office of Community Development & Rural Prosperity marks a crucial step in driving economic progress across our entire state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/the-office-of-community-development-rural-prosperity-marks-a-crucial/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whatever-affects-one-directly-affects-all-indirectly/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I'm Harvard-educated; I'm an economist by training. I'm an author, a journalist, as well as being active in community development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/i-m-harvard-educated-i-m-an-economist-by-training-i-m-an-author-a/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [Community development has a long history of innovation and learning from experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/community-development-has-a-long-history-of-innovation-and-learning/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [“The Market Square was the center of The City's community, and for most of the people, the highlight of their lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-whitfield/the-market-square-was-the-center-of-the-city-s-community-and-for-most/) Stephen Whitfield ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## 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/) > [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 > [“Near my feet is a glowing archway. The light is white and shimmery, like iridescent glitter, and it’s so tall the top nearly brushes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-cameron/near-my-feet-is-a-glowing-archway-the-light-is-white-and-shimmery/) [Erica Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-cameron/) Browse all 141 Basement quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 then you get the feedback. When you do work online, the moment you're finished making it, people start responding to it which is really fun and allows for a kind of community development you just can't have in novels.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Green" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Basement" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44e/john-green-12_basement_when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-fo_46075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting in your basement and a year waiting for the book…” — John Green", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "John Green", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When you're writing a novel, you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```