--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually…" description: "\"I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a work of fiction.\" — Joyce Carol Oates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png" --- # I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a… ![“I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a work of fiction.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png) > “I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a work of fiction.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Finishing a fiction piece feels like losing a living part of oneself. **In simple terms:** Ending a story feels like loss. Key Takeaway Embrace closure. Themes creativity loss completion Mood reflective somber Type literary emotional When to use this quote - writing - therapy - project completion Key Concepts attachment mortality artistic process Questions to Reflect On - What does ending a project feel like? - How do you honor what you created? A Different Perspective Closure can be painful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-terrible-364530/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss/) [Loss Eventually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loss-eventually-4418368/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible Loss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-loss-357700/) ## Related quotes > [Although our love never dies, the pain of our loss can eventually dissolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-tatelbaum/although-our-love-never-dies-the-pain-of-our-loss-can-eventually/) [Judy Tatelbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-tatelbaum/) > [People always are encouraging about a terrible loss, so that sometimes the loser would like to strangle them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/people-always-are-encouraging-about-a-terrible-loss-so-that-sometimes/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [I didn't have any money. I had a sense of terrible loss. But what I also had was a fire in my belly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmylou-harris/i-didn-t-have-any-money-i-had-a-sense-of-terrible-loss-but-what-i/) [Emmylou Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmylou-harris/) > [I earnestly feel terrible for any mistakes at the bank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-mnuchin/i-earnestly-feel-terrible-for-any-mistakes-at-the-bank/) [Steve Mnuchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-mnuchin/) > [“Possibility of enjoying life makes death feel terrible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/possibility-of-enjoying-life-makes-death-feel-terrible/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [I feel terrible for women that have had Phil Collins tattoos. Their poor husbands have to deal with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/i-feel-terrible-for-women-that-have-had-phil-collins-tattoos-their/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [I grew up thinking 'The Hills' was real life and it made me feel terrible about my own. Like, why wasn't I perfect and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trisha-paytas/i-grew-up-thinking-the-hills-was-real-life-and-it-made-me-feel/) [Trisha Paytas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trisha-paytas/) > [For a time, it would work well. then it worked less and my pain was more. I would go through wild bouts of depression,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-tatum/for-a-time-it-would-work-well-then-it-worked-less-and-my-pain-was/) [Channing Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-tatum/) > [When I turn down work, I feel guilty, I feel terrible; I don't know where the next job is going to come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/when-i-turn-down-work-i-feel-guilty-i-feel-terrible-i-don-t-know/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I feel terrible getting my cat fixed and relegating it to the same sexless existence as me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-feel-terrible-getting-my-cat-fixed-and-relegating-it-to-the-same/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I feel terrible about corporate greed. Growing up in a household that was a little more humble and didn't put so much emphasis on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-sevigny/i-feel-terrible-about-corporate-greed-growing-up-in-a-household-that/) [Chloe Sevigny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-sevigny/) > [Putting is such a weird thing. Sometimes when you feel good you feel like you're never going to miss, and then sometimes when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-scheffler/putting-is-such-a-weird-thing-sometimes-when-you-feel-good-you-feel/) [Scottie Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-scheffler/) > [“I feel...a terrible need to piss in a Christening font.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-ellis/i-feel-a-terrible-need-to-piss-in-a-christening-font/) [Warren Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-ellis/) > [When someone asks me about my diet I feel terrible saying that I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/when-someone-asks-me-about-my-diet-i-feel-terrible-saying-that-i-don/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [“In the tough times, don’t be surprised if you feel that spirit of heaviness trying to overtake you. Don’t be surprised if you hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/in-the-tough-times-don-t-be-surprised-if-you-feel-that-spirit-of/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) [J. Anthony Torino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-anthony-torino/) > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) [Alan W. Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-powers/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a work of fiction.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joyce Carol Oates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually-must-complete-a-work-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually-must-complete-a-work-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/825/joyce-carol-oates-344_death_i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually_1511071.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I feel a terrible loss when I (eventually must) complete a work of fiction.” — Joyce Carol Oates", "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": "Joyce Carol Oates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I feel a terrible loss when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually-must-complete-a-work-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-feel-a-terrible-loss-when-i-eventually-must-complete-a-work-of/#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 } } ] } ```