Language Quote by Knut Hamsun
““During those days, both the bed and my little rickety table were swimming in notes and scribbled-over manuscripts that I took turns working on, adding new ideas that occurred to me in the course of the day, crossing out material or freshening up the dead passages with a lively word here or there, and pushing on from sentence to sentence with great labor.””
About This Quote
Source Novel: “Hunger” by Knut Hamsun, 1890
Creative work involves messy, iterative drafting, with ideas constantly added, removed, and refined.
In simple terms: Writing is a messy, ongoing process.
Key Takeaway
Embrace revision and iteration.
Themes
creativity
process
writing
Mood
introspective
determined
Type
literary
motivational
When to use this quote
- authoring
- academic research
- journalism
Key Concepts
iterative drafting
mental flow
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you manage fatigue during intensive writing?
- When should you pause to gain fresh perspective?
A Different Perspective
Constant revision can be exhausting and stall progress.
![“What I miss most since computers is the existence of rough drafts. […]. I miss the mistakes, the words scribbled in the margin, the chaos, the arrows pointing all over the place – all those signs of movement, of life, of unresolved searching.” quote by Jean-Claude Carrière](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/56d/jean-claude-carri-re-29812_computers_what-i-miss-most-since-computers-is-the_1061545.jpg)
![“I imagined I had discovered a new word. I rise up in bed and say, "It is not in the language; I have discovered it. 'Kuboa.' It has letters as a word has. By the benign God, Man you have discovered a word!... 'Kuboa' ... a word of profound import. [...] Some minutes pass over, and I wax nervous…” quote by Knut Hamsun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bd0/knut-hamsun-1203_language_i-imagined-i-had-discovered-a-new-word-i_170312.jpg)
