--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20…" description: "\"'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write.\" — Luis Alberto Urrea" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg" --- # 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write. ![“'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write.” quote by Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg) > “'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write.” [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## 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 reveals the long, patient effort required to complete a complex literary work, emphasizing perseverance and dedication. **In simple terms:** Writing a book can take many years of steady work. Key Takeaway Commit to long‑term projects despite delays. Themes perseverance creativity literature patience Mood determined thoughtful Type reflective motivational When to use this quote - writing a novel - research projects - learning a skill - building a business Key Concepts authorial discipline historical narrative cultural heritage Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to keep a long project alive? - How do you balance patience with progress? A Different Perspective Long timelines can cause burnout or loss of momentum. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Daughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) [Hummingbird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hummingbird/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [When 'The Hummingbird's Daughter' came out, there was a certain backlash - 'Well, this isn't 'The Devil's Highway.'' That's just the way it goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/when-the-hummingbird-s-daughter-came-out-there-was-a-certain-backlash/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [The tone of 'Into the Beautiful North' is really the way I write. 'Hummingbird's Daughter' was the anomaly. It was a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-tone-of-into-the-beautiful-north-is-really-the-way-i-write/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [It became really important to me if I was going to write 'Hummingbird's Daughter' to try to do honor to women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/it-became-really-important-to-me-if-i-was-going-to-write-hummingbird/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I've always said it took me 20 years to find out how to write a song in 20 minutes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-howard/i-ve-always-said-it-took-me-20-years-to-find-out-how-to-write-a-song/) Bart Howard > [When I visited my family in Virginia, I tracked down my seventh-grade best friend and sat in TGI Fridays near a mall for hours,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-wortham/when-i-visited-my-family-in-virginia-i-tracked-down-my-seventh-grade/) [Jenna Wortham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-wortham/) > [My daughter took Latin for three years; she still cant speak it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/my-daughter-took-latin-for-three-years-she-still-cant-speak-it/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [On the morning the last Lisbon daughter took her turn at suicide- it was Mary this time, and sleeping pills, like Therese- the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/on-the-morning-the-last-lisbon-daughter-took-her-turn-at-suicide-it/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [My daughter took Latin for three years; she still can't speak it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trey-gowdy/my-daughter-took-latin-for-three-years-she-still-can-t-speak-it/) [Trey Gowdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trey-gowdy/) > [“I wanted to be a hummingbird. It made sense to long for rapid wings and the ability to hover always— to be Huitzilopochtli taming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/i-wanted-to-be-a-hummingbird-it-made-sense-to-long-for-rapid-wings/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [“If love were an animal, what species would it be and could you train it? Love would be two animals: a hummingbird and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/if-love-were-an-animal-what-species-would-it-be-and-could-you-train/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [Across the downs a hummingbird Came dipping through the bowers, He pivoted on emptiness To scrutinize the flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathalia-crane/across-the-downs-a-hummingbird-came-dipping-through-the-bowers-he/) [Nathalia Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathalia-crane/) > [“You’re flightier than a hummingbird on crack.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-harper/you-re-flightier-than-a-hummingbird-on-crack/) [Lou Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-harper/) > [“The daily hummingbird assaults existence with improbability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-daily-hummingbird-assaults-existence-with-improbability/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“from the poem Hum, Hum The resurrection of the morning. The mystery of the night. The hummingbird's wings. The excitement of thunder. The rainbow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/from-the-poem-hum-hum-the-resurrection-of-the-morning-the-mystery-of/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [I'd like to be like a hummingbird. You see them every now and then. You don't see them everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shailene-woodley/i-d-like-to-be-like-a-hummingbird-you-see-them-every-now-and-then-you/) [Shailene Woodley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shailene-woodley/) ## More by Luis Alberto Urrea > [I'm interested in the eternal soul. That's what I write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-m-interested-in-the-eternal-soul-that-s-what-i-write-about/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“Aztlán (“The Place of the Reeds”) was the traditional home of the Aztecs, a possibly mythical motherland from which the tribe ventured forth on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/aztl-n-the-place-of-the-reeds-was-the-traditional-home-of-the-aztecs/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [With a name like Luis Alberto Urrea, it's political no matter what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/with-a-name-like-luis-alberto-urrea-it-s-political-no-matter-what-i-do/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [During grade school, we moved to a white, working-class suburb in San Diego, and there were no Mexicans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/during-grade-school-we-moved-to-a-white-working-class-suburb-in-san/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I've been told not to tour down in Mexico. I am too well-known now. The kidnappers may think that my publisher will pay a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-ve-been-told-not-to-tour-down-in-mexico-i-am-too-well-known-now-the/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“Braulio rises and extends his hands, making peace. " No hay pedo ," he says, the absurd lower-class slang for "There's no trouble here,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/braulio-rises-and-extends-his-hands-making-peace-no-hay-pedo-he-says/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“This is how Heaven works. They're practical. We are always looking for rays of light. For lightning bolts or burning bushes. But God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/this-is-how-heaven-works-they-re-practical-we-are-always-looking-for/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [We want to ascribe a kind of tragic grimness to people, but people are funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/we-want-to-ascribe-a-kind-of-tragic-grimness-to-people-but-people-are/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I came to believe the green fuse that drives spring and summer through the world is essentially a literary energy. That the world was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-came-to-believe-the-green-fuse-that-drives-spring-and-summer/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [Writers write without support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/writers-write-without-support/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [“He couldn't believe she was real. She was like some dream, some story old men told youngsters. She made a fool out of him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/he-couldn-t-believe-she-was-real-she-was-like-some-dream-some-story/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [The world was more than a place. Life was more than an event. It was all one thing, and that thing was: story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-world-was-more-than-a-place-life-was-more-than-an-event-it-was/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [The concept of a literature of witness - of bearing witness - has embedded in it the need for action. One must not simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-concept-of-a-literature-of-witness-of-bearing-witness-has/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [I have often said I come from a family of unreliable narrators. I tend to believe their struggles with racism, identity, nationality do dovetail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/i-have-often-said-i-come-from-a-family-of-unreliable-narrators-i-tend/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) > [In the end, I'm really interested in people and what we do with our short time here on earth. I'm interested in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/in-the-end-i-m-really-interested-in-people-and-what-we-do-with-our/) [Luis Alberto Urrea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) [Explore all 86 Luis Alberto Urrea quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/) ## More Daughter quotes > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [I do have opinions. Fortunately, I neither Twitter nor Facebook. My daughter forbids me to go on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-do-have-opinions-fortunately-i-neither-twitter-nor-facebook-my/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [I'm not going to pretend that bad things don't happen. I just hope my daughter has enough understanding that when they do, just give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-krasinski/i-m-not-going-to-pretend-that-bad-things-don-t-happen-i-just-hope-my/) [John Krasinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-krasinski/) > [I'm the daughter of a Kenyan Catholic father and a Mauritian Hindu mother, and I have a Jewish husband who was born in South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suella-braverman/i-m-the-daughter-of-a-kenyan-catholic-father-and-a-mauritian-hindu/) [Suella Braverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suella-braverman/) > [My idea for 'BoneMan's Daughters' came from the loss of my own daughter when she left home to live with a monster at age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-dekker/my-idea-for-boneman-s-daughters-came-from-the-loss-of-my-own-daughter/) [Ted Dekker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-dekker/) > [As a new mother, you're so vulnerable and make mistakes all the time. I guess there's more pressure when you're in the public eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-marais/as-a-new-mother-you-re-so-vulnerable-and-make-mistakes-all-the-time-i/) [Jessica Marais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-marais/) > [I'm the daughter of a sister whose the mother of a brother who's the brother of another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-m-the-daughter-of-a-sister-whose-the-mother-of-a-brother-who-s-the/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [My oldest daughter got married, she had a wedding in Hawaii and a reception in Nashville, and in between I had a Cup date…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-trotz/my-oldest-daughter-got-married-she-had-a-wedding-in-hawaii-and-a/) [Barry Trotz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-trotz/) > [Do you think that was kind? Do you think it was godlike? What would you think of a physician, if a woman came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-h-gardener/do-you-think-that-was-kind-do-you-think-it-was-godlike-what-would-you/) [Helen H. Gardener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-h-gardener/) > [There was an Old Man of Messina, Whose daughter was named Opsibeena; She wore a small wig, and rode out on a pig, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lear/there-was-an-old-man-of-messina-whose-daughter-was-named-opsibeena/) [Edward Lear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lear/) > [I think most of us are raised with preconceived notions of the choices we're supposed to make. We waste so much time making decisions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-bullock/i-think-most-of-us-are-raised-with-preconceived-notions-of-the/) [Sandra Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-bullock/) > [There was no mistake in us making abortion legal and available on demand. That was what we call progress. Just like it was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ruffalo/there-was-no-mistake-in-us-making-abortion-legal-and-available-on/) [Mark Ruffalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ruffalo/) > [I think about my daughter when I'm doing stuff, and I want to see it through her eyes, and I want her to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rzeznik/i-think-about-my-daughter-when-i-m-doing-stuff-and-i-want-to-see-it/) [John Rzeznik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rzeznik/) > [My wife and daughters work. My campaign manager in 2005 was a working mother. I appointed 5 women to my senior staff as Attorney General.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mcdonnell/my-wife-and-daughters-work-my-campaign-manager-in-2005-was-a-working/) [Bob McDonnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mcdonnell/) > [“The atheist joined his hands. It wasn't against the Gods. He smiled, with his hands folded, saw his daughter's in-laws approaching near.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhavik-sarkhedi/the-atheist-joined-his-hands-it-wasn-t-against-the-gods-he-smiled/) [Bhavik Sarkhedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhavik-sarkhedi/) [Browse all 4,806 Daughter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daughter/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Luis Alberto Urrea" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years-to-write/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Daughter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years-to-write/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bae/luis-alberto-urrea-7854_daughter_the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years_2972102.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years to write.” — Luis Alberto Urrea", "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": "Luis Alberto Urrea", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-alberto-urrea/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'The Hummingbird's Daughter' took 20 years...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years-to-write/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-alberto-urrea/the-hummingbird-s-daughter-took-20-years-to-write/#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 } } ] } ```