--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It never failed—I'd buy a new journal…" description: "\"It never failed—I'd buy a new journal, write like a madwoman for ten pages, then lose total interest in the process. Three months later, I'd start the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/maryjanice-davidson-4231_buying_it-never-failed-i-d-buy-a-new-journal-wr_430711.png" --- # It never failed—I'd buy a new journal, write like a… ![“It never failed—I'd buy a new journal, write like a madwoman for ten pages, then lose total interest in the process. Three months later, I'd start the whole process all over again. I think I just liked buying new notebooks.” quote by MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/maryjanice-davidson-4231_buying_it-never-failed-i-d-buy-a-new-journal-wr_430711.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/maryjanice-davidson-4231_buying_it-never-failed-i-d-buy-a-new-journal-wr_430711.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc7/maryjanice-davidson-4231_buying_it-never-failed-i-d-buy-a-new-journal-wr_430711.png) > “It never failed—I'd buy a new journal, write like a madwoman for ten pages, then lose total interest in the process. Three months later, I'd start the whole process all over again. I think I just liked buying new notebooks.” [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She describes a cyclical pattern of buying new notebooks, writing intensely, losing interest, and then restarting, suggesting novelty drives her writing motivation. **In simple terms:** She repeatedly buys new journals, writes a lot, then stops, only to start again later. Key Takeaway Use fresh tools to rekindle creative momentum. Themes writing creativity habit formation Mood reflective hopeful Type practical motivational When to use this quote - personal journaling - creative writing sessions - habit tracking Key Concepts novelty effect motivation cycles Questions to Reflect On - What deeper habits could sustain writing beyond novelty? - How does novelty affect creative flow? A Different Perspective Reliance on novelty may prevent sustained long‑term productivity without deeper habit building. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I keep threatening to keep a formal journal, but whenever I start one it instantly becomes an exercise in self-consciousness. Instead of a journal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-dean-myers/i-keep-threatening-to-keep-a-formal-journal-but-whenever-i-start-one/) [Walter Dean Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-dean-myers/) > [She needs a new journal. The one she has is problematic. To get to the present, she needs to page through the past, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/she-needs-a-new-journal-the-one-she-has-is-problematic-to-get-to-the/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [Isn't it mysterious to begin a new journal like this? I can run my fingers through the fresh clean pages but I cannot guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/isn-t-it-mysterious-to-begin-a-new-journal-like-this-i-can-run-my/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [I do have a journal, that I write all my thoughts in every day. So that's kind of something. I also have a burn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-cosgrove/i-do-have-a-journal-that-i-write-all-my-thoughts-in-every-day-so-that/) [Miranda Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-cosgrove/) > [I do keep a tiny little journal in which I write passages that I read and want to hold on to. 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I try not to think that I am a writer and I am pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-don-t-carry-notebooks-and-i-don-t-consciously-store-ideas-i-try-not/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [My little notebooks were beginnings - they were the ground into which I dropped the seed... I would work in this way when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/my-little-notebooks-were-beginnings-they-were-the-ground-into-which-i/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Although I have felt compelled to write things down since I was five years old, I doubt that my daughter ever will, for she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/although-i-have-felt-compelled-to-write-things-down-since-i-was-five/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## More by MaryJanice Davidson > [“…and who are you, anyway?" "I'm Tina.” "Thank goodness!” I said so loudly she stepped back. "No silly-ass overdone names for you, m'girl.” "It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/and-who-are-you-anyway-i-m-tina-thank-goodness-i-said-so-loudly-she/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [“I mean, not that I killed her just to get the car, or anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/i-mean-not-that-i-killed-her-just-to-get-the-car-or-anything/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [“Have you lost your teeny tiny mind, you too-tall, too-skinny, too-crazy jerk?” “Oh, look who’s talking, Miss Let’s Blunder Around the Time Stream and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryjanice-davidson/have-you-lost-your-teeny-tiny-mind-you-too-tall-too-skinny-too-crazy/) [MaryJanice Davidson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryjanice-davidson/) > [“I'm the wife of a king, and the mother of kings. And I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. 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