---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All writers of fiction will at some point…"
description: "\"All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say.\" — Martin..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg"
---

#  All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves…

![“All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg)

> “All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say.”

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writers often set aside or discard drafts, a natural part of the creative process.

**In simple terms:** Writers abandon drafts often.

Key Takeaway

Accept and learn from unfinished work.

Themes

creativity process perseverance

Mood

reflective determined

Type

advice process

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- screenwriting
- personal journaling

Key Concepts

drafting editing self‑critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you decide when to return to a discarded piece?
- What criteria signal a draft is worth salvaging?

A Different Perspective

Abandoning work can stall progress if not revisited.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [Every day I smile, and act like nothing's wrong. It's called putting everything aside, and simply being strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-day-i-smile-and-act-like-nothing-s-wrong-it-s-called-putting/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Being single is another way of God putting us aside and saying, 'I will save the BEST for last.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-single-is-another-way-of-god-putting-us-aside-and-saying-i-will/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Every time we smile and act like nothings wrong it's called putting everything aside and simply being strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khat-leen/every-time-we-smile-and-act-like-nothings-wrong-it-s-called-putting/)

[Khat Leen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khat-leen/)

> [Too many writers of fiction don't give the reader enough credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-evison/too-many-writers-of-fiction-don-t-give-the-reader-enough-credit/)

[Jonathan Evison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-evison/)

> [Writers of fiction should stick to writing, not pop up on panel shows or as a talking head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-harris/writers-of-fiction-should-stick-to-writing-not-pop-up-on-panel-shows/)

[Robert Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-harris/)

> [“One must not ask for sincere autobiographies from writers. Fiction was invented precisely to give men the possibility of expressing themselves freely.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-shestov/one-must-not-ask-for-sincere-autobiographies-from-writers-fiction-was/)

[Lev Shestov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-shestov/)

> [“Do writers of fiction tell lies or just tall stories?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-owen-barry/do-writers-of-fiction-tell-lies-or-just-tall-stories/)

[Clive Owen Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-owen-barry/)

> [I have always felt like an artist when I work on a book. I see no reason why the word should always be confined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/i-have-always-felt-like-an-artist-when-i-work-on-a-book-i-see-no/)

[Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/)

> [Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/writers-of-fiction-when-they-begin-are-more-likely-to-try-the-short/)

[Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/)

> [Writers, at least writers of fiction, are always full of anxiety and worry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/writers-at-least-writers-of-fiction-are-always-full-of-anxiety-and/)

[Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/)

> [Fact is often stranger than fiction because most writers of fiction try to make their stories plausible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-posner/fact-is-often-stranger-than-fiction-because-most-writers-of-fiction/)

[Richard Posner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-posner/)

> [“Writers of fiction embellish reality almost without knowing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aljean-harmetz/writers-of-fiction-embellish-reality-almost-without-knowing-it/)

Aljean Harmetz

> [A friend of mine who writes history books said to me that he thought that the two creatures most to be pitied were the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-paterson/a-friend-of-mine-who-writes-history-books-said-to-me-that-he-thought/)

[Katherine Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-paterson/)

> [The most underrated of all contemporary American writers of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-march/the-most-underrated-of-all-contemporary-american-writers-of-fiction/)

[William March](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-march/)

> [“Also, don’t be timid about your conclusions. Sometimes abandoning what you’re working on is the right move, even if you’ve already put in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-fried/also-don-t-be-timid-about-your-conclusions-sometimes-abandoning-what/)

[Jason Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-fried/)

## More by Martin Amis

> [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

[Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

## More Abandoning quotes

> [“Also, don’t be timid about your conclusions. Sometimes abandoning what you’re working on is the right move, even if you’ve already put in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-fried/also-don-t-be-timid-about-your-conclusions-sometimes-abandoning-what/)

[Jason Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-fried/)

> [“Someone who cannot abandon everything cannot achieve anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armin-arlet-shingeki-no-kyojin/someone-who-cannot-abandon-everything-cannot-achieve-anything/)

Armin Arlet Shingeki no Kyojin

> [I stay away from the studio too long, I feel like I'm abandoning myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/offset/i-stay-away-from-the-studio-too-long-i-feel-like-i-m-abandoning-myself/)

Offset

> [Being a father is like you are in heaven,abandoning y0ur kids is forever hell..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-grace/being-a-father-is-like-you-are-in-heaven-abandoning-y0ur-kids-is/)

Tanya Grace

> [Happiness does not come from the things that we have but the abandoning of things that we cling to, by letting go of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-griffin/happiness-does-not-come-from-the-things-that-we-have-but-the/)

[Kevin Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-griffin/)

> [Only the idea of death makes a warrior sufficiently detached so that he is capable of abandoning himself to anything. He knows his death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-castaneda/only-the-idea-of-death-makes-a-warrior-sufficiently-detached-so-that/)

[Carlos Castaneda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-castaneda/)

> [“Through the realization that what is seen is of one's own mind, Clinging to duality is abandoned. Abandoning means fully understanding And not destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-brunnholzl/through-the-realization-that-what-is-seen-is-of-one-s-own-mind/)

[Karl Brunnholzl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-brunnholzl/)

> [Anything worth putting off is worth abandoning altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/anything-worth-putting-off-is-worth-abandoning-altogether/)

[Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/)

> [The addictive pleasure of abandoning yourself to a book, of losing consciousness of your worries, your body, and your surroundings, to become a ghost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-addictive-pleasure-of-abandoning-yourself-to-a-book-of-losing/)

[Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/)

> [What if she was meant to be, or could have been, someone important in my life? I think that's what scares me: the randomness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cameron/what-if-she-was-meant-to-be-or-could-have-been-someone-important-in/)

[Peter Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cameron/)

> [There is nothing compassionate about abandoning the mentally ill to the streets and making the rest of us live in their bedlam.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/there-is-nothing-compassionate-about-abandoning-the-mentally-ill-to/)

[Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/)

> [I'm staying," Henry said, annoyed. "Why?" "Because, if I leave, it would be like abandoning two mentally challenged people in a nuclear waste dump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lutz/i-m-staying-henry-said-annoyed-why-because-if-i-leave-it-would-be/)

[Lisa Lutz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lutz/)

> [“It's way too long and I gave up on it. Abandoning forever an innocent child to a hostile and unforgiving land. Sometimes I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/it-s-way-too-long-and-i-gave-up-on-it-abandoning-forever-an-innocent/)

[Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/)

> [“The problem here is pain. Filling out the appropriate paperwork to drop out of med school is a straightforward and obvious action; breaking your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-manson/the-problem-here-is-pain-filling-out-the-appropriate-paperwork-to/)

[Mark Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-manson/)

> [The most important factor in abandoning our thoughts is to look in the Bible and see what God says about a matter. Then we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-p-yohannan/the-most-important-factor-in-abandoning-our-thoughts-is-to-look-in/)

[K.P. Yohannan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-p-yohannan/)

Browse all 52 Abandoning quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves putting it aside, as we gently say.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Martin Amis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-point-find-themselves-abandoning/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Abandoning"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-point-find-themselves-abandoning/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c64/martin-amis-704_fiction_all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-poin_1081978.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“All writers of fiction will at some point find themselves abandoning a piece of work - or find themselves…” — Martin Amis",
                "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": "Martin Amis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "All writers of fiction will at...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-point-find-themselves-abandoning/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/all-writers-of-fiction-will-at-some-point-find-themselves-abandoning/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
