--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote Her First American and I always…" description: "\"I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me eighteen years. It took me that long was because after about five years I stopped and wrote Luci..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg" --- # I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me… ![“I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me eighteen years. It took me that long was because after about five years I stopped and wrote Lucinella. I got stuck; it was too hard to write. Lucinella felt like a lark. I wanted to write about the literary circle because it amused me, and I…” quote by Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg) > “I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me eighteen years. It took me that long was because after about five years I stopped and wrote Lucinella. I got stuck; it was too hard to write. Lucinella felt like a lark. I wanted to write about the literary circle because it amused me, and I allowed myself to do what I wanted to do. It's just one of the things I'm allowed to do if I feel like it.” [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) ## 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 reflects on a long, nonlinear creative process, noting periods of difficulty and freedom to pursue varied subjects. **In simple terms:** Writing can be a winding, self‑directed journey. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility in creative work. Themes creativity process freedom Mood reflective determined Type literary personal When to use this quote - novel writing - overcoming writer's block - exploring new ideas - personal artistic choices Key Concepts nonlinear storytelling authorial autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance structure with spontaneity? - What topics ignite your curiosity? A Different Perspective Creative freedom may lead to fragmented focus or unfinished projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Previously, I've worked with Bill Monahan on The Departed, he recently wrote American Desperado for us, and I just acted in a movie he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-wahlberg/previously-i-ve-worked-with-bill-monahan-on-the-departed-he-recently/) [Mark Wahlberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-wahlberg/) > [“As a friend of mine told me about Real Happiness: you wrote this one in American.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-salzberg/as-a-friend-of-mine-told-me-about-real-happiness-you-wrote-this-one/) [Sharon Salzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-salzberg/) > [“This is the native home of hope,” Wallace Stegner wrote of the American West.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porter-fox/this-is-the-native-home-of-hope-wallace-stegner-wrote-of-the-american/) [Porter Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porter-fox/) > [We were pretty cash-strapped for all those years when I took over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-rinehart/we-were-pretty-cash-strapped-for-all-those-years-when-i-took-over/) [Gina Rinehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-rinehart/) > [Odd, the years it took to learn one simple fact: that the prize just ahead, the next job, publication, love affair, marriage always seemed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/odd-the-years-it-took-to-learn-one-simple-fact-that-the-prize-just/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's a good thing I stayed in Cincinnati for four years -- It took me that long to learn how to spell it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rocky-bridges/it-s-a-good-thing-i-stayed-in-cincinnati-for-four-years-it-took-me/) [Rocky Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rocky-bridges/) > [Man has been here 32,000 years. That it took a hundred million years to prepare the world for him is proof that that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/man-has-been-here-32-000-years-that-it-took-a-hundred-million-years/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Finding the form was really a very dynamic process. I went through a lot of shifting, trying to get it right. Because the writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-dutton/finding-the-form-was-really-a-very-dynamic-process-i-went-through-a/) [Danielle Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-dutton/) > [It was this epic adventure and I had this mad idea that it would be interesting to follow the Greek hero Odysseus on his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bettany-hughes/it-was-this-epic-adventure-and-i-had-this-mad-idea-that-it-would-be/) [Bettany Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bettany-hughes/) > [I had the chance to be governor for eight years and I took a year to transition out and a year to transition in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-had-the-chance-to-be-governor-for-eight-years-and-i-took-a-year-to/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [During the couple of years it took to write 'At The Bottom of Everything', I decided, on the sort of hopeful whim that occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-dolnick/during-the-couple-of-years-it-took-to-write-at-the-bottom-of/) [Ben Dolnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-dolnick/) > [Mike Judge, who I've become friends with over the years never took himself seriously as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-griffith/mike-judge-who-i-ve-become-friends-with-over-the-years-never-took/) [Bill Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-griffith/) > [It was a slow process. You gotta remember I hadn't recorded a song sober in seven years. So it took me awhile to even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eminem/it-was-a-slow-process-you-gotta-remember-i-hadn-t-recorded-a-song/) [Eminem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eminem/) > [I had been off TV for seven-eight years, and I took up 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' on an impulse. I wanted to do something adventurous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ranvir-shorey/i-had-been-off-tv-for-seven-eight-years-and-i-took-up-khatron-ke/) [Ranvir Shorey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ranvir-shorey/) > [ “By the age of twenty-five, \[Louis T. Wigfall\] had managed to squander his considerable inheritance, settle three affairs of honor on the dueling ground,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goodheart/by-the-age-of-twenty-five-louis-t-wigfall-had-managed-to-squander-his/) Adam Goodheart ## More by Lore Segal > [“Story has a mind of its own and tells things sometimes it might have preferred us not to know. Stories operate like dreams; both…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/story-has-a-mind-of-its-own-and-tells-things-sometimes-it-might-have/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [Gustave Flaubert said, "Emma Bovary, c'est moi." It is not possible to write something you are not, but to have a new form, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/gustave-flaubert-said-emma-bovary-c-est-moi-it-is-not-possible-to/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [“I once wrote a suicide story: A woman watches a truck bearing down toward the place on the sidewalk where she stands waiting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-once-wrote-a-suicide-story-a-woman-watches-a-truck-bearing-down/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I read on a Kindle. I must be of the opinion that the new way to read is a pretty good way to read.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-read-on-a-kindle-i-must-be-of-the-opinion-that-the-new-way-to-read/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I'm very moved and very excited. And it just seems to me here are houses and trees and streets that feel so different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-m-very-moved-and-very-excited-and-it-just-seems-to-me-here-are/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [My idea in Half the Kingdom was simply, or not so simply perhaps, that medical science has given us twenty extra years of life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/my-idea-in-half-the-kingdom-was-simply-or-not-so-simply-perhaps-that/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I'm not going to say it's laziness, but I'm not a grand creator of new characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-m-not-going-to-say-it-s-laziness-but-i-m-not-a-grand-creator-of-new/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I don't go to the movies because they scare me. I don't like anything that is suspenseful, even pleasantly so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-don-t-go-to-the-movies-because-they-scare-me-i-don-t-like-anything/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [Did the nineteenth-century novelists create more generously than we do now? In a general reading of contemporary work, do you see a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/did-the-nineteenth-century-novelists-create-more-generously-than-we/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I'm bad at thinking about society. I love to make fun of very small aspects. For instance the privacy rules we have in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-m-bad-at-thinking-about-society-i-love-to-make-fun-of-very-small/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I'm always amused by the way questions are asked. "What did you intend?" That's not even a recognizable verb. You don't intend when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-m-always-amused-by-the-way-questions-are-asked-what-did-you-intend/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [There's that wonderful line in Measure for Measure. I forget which of the characters has committed adultery and is going to die. He looks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/there-s-that-wonderful-line-in-measure-for-measure-i-forget-which-of/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [I dare say you believe I'm going to die. I bet you don't believe you're going to die. You know it, but you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-dare-say-you-believe-i-m-going-to-die-i-bet-you-don-t-believe-you/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [First book was handwritten, then the printing press, now we've got our Kindles. To be able to push a button and a dictionary comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/first-book-was-handwritten-then-the-printing-press-now-we-ve-got-our/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) > [There seems to me now to be the notion that you send something to a journal or an agent and months go by. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/there-seems-to-me-now-to-be-the-notion-that-you-send-something-to-a/) [Lore Segal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) [Explore all 23 Lore Segal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/) ## More Eighteen quotes > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [“Caleb frowns at him. "How old are you, anyway?" "Eighteen." "And you don't think you're too old to be with my little sister?" Tobias…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/caleb-frowns-at-him-how-old-are-you-anyway-eighteen-and-you-don-t/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She escaped from the schools when she turned eighteen. And she went on to be a Doctor, because the only way to fight what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-bobet/she-escaped-from-the-schools-when-she-turned-eighteen-and-she-went-on/) [Leah Bobet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-bobet/) > [“On my birthday, every year since I turned eighteen, she called me at twelve twenty in the morning to wish me happy birthday and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-webb/on-my-birthday-every-year-since-i-turned-eighteen-she-called-me-at/) [T.A. Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-webb/) > [“So, what do you know about life when you’re eighteen? The rest of your life is nothing but a bunch of big beautiful tomorrows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-abrams/so-what-do-you-know-about-life-when-you-re-eighteen-the-rest-of-your/) Lauren Abrams > [My first real acting job was 'Skins' at eighteen years old, and I just kind of grew into myself in those two years; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-pasqualino/my-first-real-acting-job-was-skins-at-eighteen-years-old-and-i-just/) [Luke Pasqualino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-pasqualino/) > [Eighteen months before I was born, my mother was in Auschwitz. She weighed 49 pounds. She always told me that God saved her so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/eighteen-months-before-i-was-born-my-mother-was-in-auschwitz-she/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [“Forever feels a long time when you're eighteen. When you're away from home for the first time in your life, when you forge instant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-green/forever-feels-a-long-time-when-you-re-eighteen-when-you-re-away-from/) [Jane Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-green/) > [I remember the first time I went to Italy when I was eighteen, I was in Florence and there were all these eighteen, nineteen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/i-remember-the-first-time-i-went-to-italy-when-i-was-eighteen-i-was/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [Seventeen's not so young. A hundred years ago people got married when they were practically our age." "Yeah, that was before electricity and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/seventeen-s-not-so-young-a-hundred-years-ago-people-got-married-when/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [ Elle Fanning was fifteen when we started \[The Neon Demon\]. She turned seventeen during the shoot. Four weeks before Cannes, she turned eighteen. She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-winding-refn/elle-fanning-was-fifteen-when-we-started-the-neon-demon-she-turned/) [Nicolas Winding Refn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-winding-refn/) > [Anyone that has come to America past the age of eighteen will be able to understand when I say that you can never shake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-yan/anyone-that-has-come-to-america-past-the-age-of-eighteen-will-be-able/) [Martin Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-yan/) Browse all 465 Eighteen quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me eighteen years. It took me that long was because after about five years I stopped and wrote Lucinella. I got stuck; it was too hard to write. Lucinella felt like a lark. I wanted to write about the literary circle because it amused me, and I allowed myself to do what I wanted to do. It's just one of the things I'm allowed to do if I feel like it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lore Segal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always-say-it-took-me-eighteen-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eighteen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always-say-it-took-me-eighteen-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ab/lore-segal-25570_eighteen_i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always_1102455.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wrote Her First American and I always say it took me eighteen years. It took me that long was because…” — Lore Segal", "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": "Lore Segal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lore-segal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wrote Her First American and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always-say-it-took-me-eighteen-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lore-segal/i-wrote-her-first-american-and-i-always-say-it-took-me-eighteen-years/#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 } } ] } ```