--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a wordy writer, and often churn out…" description: "\"“I am a wordy writer, and often churn out pages on end without advancing the plot a jot. Hence I try to take my cue from a childhood impatience with an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/lionel-shriver-744_children_i-am-a-wordy-writer-and-often-churn-out_2614315.jpg" --- # I am a wordy writer, and often churn out pages on end… ![“I am a wordy writer, and often churn out pages on end without advancing the plot a jot. Hence I try to take my cue from a childhood impatience with any device that doesn't get somewhere. Even in his sprightly youth, Clippity had a problem with running in place—just like my first drafts—when the…” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/lionel-shriver-744_children_i-am-a-wordy-writer-and-often-churn-out_2614315.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/lionel-shriver-744_children_i-am-a-wordy-writer-and-often-churn-out_2614315.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f92/lionel-shriver-744_children_i-am-a-wordy-writer-and-often-churn-out_2614315.jpg) > ““I am a wordy writer, and often churn out pages on end without advancing the plot a jot. Hence I try to take my cue from a childhood impatience with any device that doesn't get somewhere. Even in his sprightly youth, Clippity had a problem with running in place—just like my first drafts—when the surface was too slick. As a kid, I was ingenious enough to smear green Plasticine on his rear hooves. Thus I discovered the importance of traction, as handy a concept in literature as for wind-up toys.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## 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 compares her early drafts to a toy lacking traction, emphasizing the need for forward momentum in storytelling. **In simple terms:** Writing needs traction to move forward. Key Takeaway Focus on plot progression. Themes creativity writing process discipline metaphor Mood reflective practical Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing workshop - editorial feedback - self‑editing Key Concepts narrative flow literary technique motivation Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain momentum in long projects? - What tools help you avoid “running in place”? A Different Perspective Metaphor may not apply to all writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Wordy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wordy/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I seem to be the most wordy when it comes to monsters because I'm a bit of a monster freak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-colloca/i-seem-to-be-the-most-wordy-when-it-comes-to-monsters-because-i-m-a/) [Silvia Colloca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvia-colloca/) > [I've always been very wordy; I've got a great vocabulary. In England, they teach you words. Over here, they don't seem to do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/motorhead/i-ve-always-been-very-wordy-i-ve-got-a-great-vocabulary-in-england/) [Motorhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/motorhead/) > [I'd never done a straight play before, never, and it was very hard work - really, really hard work. It was dense, really wordy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bette-midler/i-d-never-done-a-straight-play-before-never-and-it-was-very-hard-work/) [Bette Midler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bette-midler/) > [I think it's OK that everyone's not real heavy and wordy and heady.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/india-arie-2/i-think-it-s-ok-that-everyone-s-not-real-heavy-and-wordy-and-heady/) [India.Arie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/india-arie-2/) > [I'm probably a bit too wordy for some people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mr-muthafuckin-exquire/i-m-probably-a-bit-too-wordy-for-some-people/) Mr. Muthafuckin' eXquire > [I've written a lot of wordy, erudite, pretentious songs, but believe it or not, I'm usually doing my damnedest to resist the temptation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-blegvad/i-ve-written-a-lot-of-wordy-erudite-pretentious-songs-but-believe-it/) [Peter Blegvad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-blegvad/) > [Sometimes people write novels and they just be so wordy and so self-absorbed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/sometimes-people-write-novels-and-they-just-be-so-wordy-and-so-self-2/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [I'm going to start work on developing a series for HBO, because I'm naturally given to episodic stories of considerable length. And I won't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-m-going-to-start-work-on-developing-a-series-for-hbo-because-i-m/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [A lot of underground hip-hop will inspire me as far as rhyme patterns - really wordy, intelligent lyrics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travie-mccoy/a-lot-of-underground-hip-hop-will-inspire-me-as-far-as-rhyme-patterns/) [Travie McCoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travie-mccoy/) > [“The sub-conscious mind is so powerful in such a way that even if you empty your mind of all its components, there will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-sub-conscious-mind-is-so-powerful-in-such-a-way-that-even-if-you/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [I've always been very wordy; I've got a great vocabulary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-ve-always-been-very-wordy-i-ve-got-a-great-vocabulary/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I was conscious of being wordy as a child. I was a terrible talker. I memorised the Latin names of flowers at five; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/i-was-conscious-of-being-wordy-as-a-child-i-was-a-terrible-talker-i/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [The wordy tale, once told, were hard to tell again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-wordy-tale-once-told-were-hard-to-tell-again/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“If you can't write, read. If you can't read, walk. Or walk and read, then write.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-rachelle/if-you-can-t-write-read-if-you-can-t-read-walk-or-walk-and-read-then/) [Joyce Rachelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-rachelle/) > [“The pen is an extension of my anatomy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/the-pen-is-an-extension-of-my-anatomy/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. 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I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Children quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [Behind every successful child is an adult who believed in him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/behind-every-successful-child-is-an-adult-who-believed-in-him/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [I believe in freedom to do what you want if you aren't hurting others, but pictures of obese protesters giving their children big gulps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-defranco/i-believe-in-freedom-to-do-what-you-want-if-you-aren-t-hurting-others/) [Philip DeFranco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-defranco/) > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It doesnt seem to me strange that children should like the macabre, the sensational, and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hecht/it-doesnt-seem-to-me-strange-that-children-should-like-the-macabre/) [Anthony Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hecht/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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/) > [My school was one of the most beautiful places a child can grow up in. You are surrounded by nature - cats, dogs, birds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amala-akkineni/my-school-was-one-of-the-most-beautiful-places-a-child-can-grow-up-in/) [Amala Akkineni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amala-akkineni/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. 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