--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think my prose reads as if English were…" description: "\"I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png" --- # I think my prose reads as if English were my second… ![“I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.” quote by Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png) > “I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.” [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing feels exhausting, like fighting for breath while conveying ideas. **In simple terms:** Writing can feel like a struggle. Key Takeaway Practice steady, clear prose. Themes writing creativity struggle Mood reflective encouraging Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - drafting novels - academic essays - blog posts Key Concepts literature self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to simplify your writing process? - How does pacing affect your clarity? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can stall progress and cause fatigue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dodging bullets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dodging-bullets/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I think my prose - mine and that of others - sometimes slips into a cadence or rhythm that can replicate or come close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pattiann-rogers/i-think-my-prose-mine-and-that-of-others-sometimes-slips-into-a/) [Pattiann Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pattiann-rogers/) > [You have to seduce the reader, manipulate their mind and heart, listen to the music of language. I sometimes think of prose as music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/you-have-to-seduce-the-reader-manipulate-their-mind-and-heart-listen/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [When you have an idea for a story, you want those characters to reach as many people as you can. I think you normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/when-you-have-an-idea-for-a-story-you-want-those-characters-to-reach/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [We're in a world where there's famine and hunger and people are dodging bullets and having their nails pulled out in dungeons so it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/we-re-in-a-world-where-there-s-famine-and-hunger-and-people-are/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sedgwick/they-couldn-t-hit-an-elephant-at-this-dist/) [John Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sedgwick/) > [Live life to the fullest, even if it means dodging bullets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aj-mack/live-life-to-the-fullest-even-if-it-means-dodging-bullets/) AJ Mack > [ We're dodging bullets and this is right after we've just seen \[inaudible\] shot and we're running and the woman who John accused of being… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-louise-parker/we-re-dodging-bullets-and-this-is-right-after-we-ve-just-seen/) [Mary-Louise Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-louise-parker/) > [I have a good friend who says, "We're all just dodging bullets." It seems to me the trick to living a good life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-langella/i-have-a-good-friend-who-says-we-re-all-just-dodging-bullets-it-seems/) [Frank Langella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-langella/) > [“For a once renowned woman who loved telling tales of dodging bullets, wielding grenades and subverting dogs trained to kill, Christine's story is, surprisingly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clare-mulley/for-a-once-renowned-woman-who-loved-telling-tales-of-dodging-bullets/) [Clare Mulley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clare-mulley/) > [What? Men dodging this way for single bullets? What will you do when they open fire along the whole line? I am ashamed of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sedgwick/what-men-dodging-this-way-for-single-bullets-what-will-you-do-when/) [John Sedgwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sedgwick/) > [If you sold a million records, the only way you could be disappointed is if the guy down the street sold seven million. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/if-you-sold-a-million-records-the-only-way-you-could-be-disappointed/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-milk/if-a-bullet-should-enter-my-brain-let-that-bullet-destroy-every/) [Harvey Milk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-milk/) > [If emotions were munitions, life would be like dodging bullets to get hit by bombs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-fowler/if-emotions-were-munitions-life-would-be-like-dodging-bullets-to-get/) [Steve Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-fowler/) > [“War is always more complex. Economics, history, religion all have a role, but not for the ones dodging the bullets. They just get blown…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-carter/war-is-always-more-complex-economics-history-religion-all-have-a-role/) [Bill Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-carter/) > [“That doesn’'t happeneverytime you kiss someone, does it? ”" Maddox said to Chloe, gasping through the pain of his double injuries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-livingston/that-doesn-t-happeneverytime-you-kiss-someone-does-it-maddox-said-to/) [Lesley Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-livingston/) ## More by Lynn Abbey > [Editors of open anthologies actively seek submissions from all comers, established and unknown. They are willing to read whatever the tide washes up at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/editors-of-open-anthologies-actively-seek-submissions-from-all-comers/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [Neophyte writers tend to believe that there is something magical about ideas and that if they can just get a hold of a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/neophyte-writers-tend-to-believe-that-there-is-something-magical/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [I write sets of books, but I've also written a lot of orphans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-write-sets-of-books-but-i-ve-also-written-a-lot-of-orphans/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [Once you've invested hundreds of hours in creating a coherent universe, your story's grown to around a half-million words and can't be written as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/once-you-ve-invested-hundreds-of-hours-in-creating-a-coherent/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [A good short-story writer has an instinct for sketching in just enough background to ground the specific story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/a-good-short-story-writer-has-an-instinct-for-sketching-in-just/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [During the many centuries that magic, here on this planet, was presumed to have worked, there were at least as many theories as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/during-the-many-centuries-that-magic-here-on-this-planet-was-presumed/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [My writing has to support more than my research habit, but I love to curl up with a book about some dusty corner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/my-writing-has-to-support-more-than-my-research-habit-but-i-love-to/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [Ideas aren't magical; the only tricky part is holding on to one long enough to get it written down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/ideas-aren-t-magical-the-only-tricky-part-is-holding-on-to-one-long/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [It took me about 12 years to reach my million-word mark. The challenge now is to continue to challenge myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/it-took-me-about-12-years-to-reach-my-million-word-mark-the-challenge/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [It's been a long time since I've written old-fashioned sword and sorcery; I'm hoping it's like riding a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-ve-written-old-fashioned-sword-and/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [Short-story writing requires an exquisite sense of balance. Novelists, frankly, can get away with more. A novel can have a dull spot or two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/short-story-writing-requires-an-exquisite-sense-of-balance-novelists/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [For me, writing a short story is much, much harder than writing a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/for-me-writing-a-short-story-is-much-much-harder-than-writing-a-novel/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [I'm dense when it comes to discouragement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-m-dense-when-it-comes-to-discouragement/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [That bedrock faith that I could write was what blinded me to attempts to discourage me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/that-bedrock-faith-that-i-could-write-was-what-blinded-me-to-attempts/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) > [If you write, one of the questions you're always trying to answer is, Where do you get your ideas? And, if you write, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/if-you-write-one-of-the-questions-you-re-always-trying-to-answer-is/) [Lynn Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) [Explore all 30 Lynn Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/) ## More Bullets quotes > [There is no silver bullet. There are always options and the options have consequences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-horowitz/there-is-no-silver-bullet-there-are-always-options-and-the-options/) [Ben Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-horowitz/) > [“One javelin through five people is like a murder kabob. Saves bullets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/one-javelin-through-five-people-is-like-a-murder-kabob-saves-bullets/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-bullet-that-will-kill-me-is-not-yet-cast/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [We're not going to cure terrorism and spread peace and goodwill in the Middle East by killing innocent people, or I'm not even saying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-sheehan/we-re-not-going-to-cure-terrorism-and-spread-peace-and-goodwill-in/) [Cindy Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-sheehan/) > [Discoveries from one community cannot be repackaged and provided to another as a silver bullet, That's a "best practice" rollout and it invariably evokes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-pascale/discoveries-from-one-community-cannot-be-repackaged-and-provided-to/) [Richard Pascale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-pascale/) > [Thus is man made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A poor, tender, painful body, he can run into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/thus-is-man-made-equal-to-every-event-he-can-face-danger-for-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [My God! The English language is a form of communication! Conversation isn't just crossfire where you shoot and get shot at! Where you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/my-god-the-english-language-is-a-form-of-communication-conversation/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“If mankind's destined to bite the bullet, let's bite it and be damned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/if-mankind-s-destined-to-bite-the-bullet-let-s-bite-it-and-be-damned/) [Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/) > [“The Deliverator belongs to an elite order, a hallowed subcategory. He’s got esprit up to here. Right now, he is preparing to carry out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/the-deliverator-belongs-to-an-elite-order-a-hallowed-subcategory-he-s/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [Guard yourself and your conscience no one else will and know that a bad decision at the right time can destroy you far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clavell/guard-yourself-and-your-conscience-no-one-else-will-and-know-that-a/) [James Clavell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clavell/) > [“It takes thousands of bullets to kill an army but one to end a war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-martinez/it-takes-thousands-of-bullets-to-kill-an-army-but-one-to-end-a-war/) Michael Martinez > [I hate it, it is tedious... when I write for my act, it is very improvisational, I write bullet points, I cannot sit in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-griffin/i-hate-it-it-is-tedious-when-i-write-for-my-act-it-is-very/) [Kathy Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-griffin/) > [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [This is like playing Russian roulette with a Luger rather than a revolver. One bullet, one chamber - and we're pulling the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/this-is-like-playing-russian-roulette-with-a-luger-rather-than-a/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [I've buried six Guardian Angels who have been shot and killed in the line of duty. I was stalked myself, had a gunman go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sliwa/i-ve-buried-six-guardian-angels-who-have-been-shot-and-killed-in-the/) [Curtis Sliwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sliwa/) Browse all 796 Bullets quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph, I'm dodging bullets and gasping for breath.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynn Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-were-my-second-language-by-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bullets" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-were-my-second-language-by-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/050/lynn-abbey-20675_bullets_i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-wer_1693482.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think my prose reads as if English were my second language. By the time I get to the end of a paragraph…” — Lynn Abbey", "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": "Lynn Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think my prose reads as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-were-my-second-language-by-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-abbey/i-think-my-prose-reads-as-if-english-were-my-second-language-by-the/#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 } } ] } ```