--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I saw that I could write ten thousand…" description: "\"“I saw that I could write ten thousand more pages of shimmering prose and still be nothing but a blind minotaur stumbling along broken ground, an unsuc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/michael-chabon-627_dead-dog_i-saw-that-i-could-write-ten-thousand-mo_3226780.jpg" --- # I saw that I could write ten thousand more pages of… ![“I saw that I could write ten thousand more pages of shimmering prose and still be nothing but a blind minotaur stumbling along broken ground, an unsuccessful, overweight ex-wonder boy with a pot habit and a dead dog in the trunk of my car.” quote by Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/michael-chabon-627_dead-dog_i-saw-that-i-could-write-ten-thousand-mo_3226780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/michael-chabon-627_dead-dog_i-saw-that-i-could-write-ten-thousand-mo_3226780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e2/michael-chabon-627_dead-dog_i-saw-that-i-could-write-ten-thousand-mo_3226780.jpg) > ““I saw that I could write ten thousand more pages of shimmering prose and still be nothing but a blind minotaur stumbling along broken ground, an unsuccessful, overweight ex-wonder boy with a pot habit and a dead dog in the trunk of my car.”” [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator feels like a failed, overweight writer trapped in a bleak life, despite his talent for beautiful prose. **In simple terms:** Feeling like a failed writer despite talent. Key Takeaway Accept your limits and seek help. Themes self‑doubt identity failure creativity Mood melancholic reflective Type confessional literary When to use this quote - writing block - mental health - career stagnation - personal growth Key Concepts existential angst authorial crisis self‑image Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to improve your mental health? - How do you balance creative output with personal wellbeing? A Different Perspective Talent alone doesn’t guarantee success or happiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blind Minotaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blind-minotaur-6088229/) [Dead dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-dog/) [Minotaur Stumbling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/minotaur-stumbling-6088227/) [Prose Blind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-blind-6088226/) [Stumbling Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stumbling-broken-6088228/) [Thousand Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thousand-pages-542135/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [That's a big trunk," James said, as we jammed in the leathery old case that looked so much like the black heart of some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-a-big-trunk-james-said-as-we-jammed-in-the-leathery-old-case/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [I love these members, they get up and say, 'Read the bill ... What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-conyers/i-love-these-members-they-get-up-and-say-read-the-bill-what-good-is/) [John Conyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-conyers/) > [I could fill out a thousand pages telling you how I felt and still you would not understand. So now I leave without a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-fill-out-a-thousand-pages-telling-you-how-i-felt-and-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Even after a thousand pages we don’t want to leave the world the writer has made for us, or the make-believe people who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/even-after-a-thousand-pages-we-don-t-want-to-leave-the-world-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [If you take a book of a thousand pages on the Second World War, in which 50 million people died, the concentration camps occupy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marie-le-pen/if-you-take-a-book-of-a-thousand-pages-on-the-second-world-war-in/) [Jean-Marie Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marie-le-pen/) > [“I had read four thousand pages of letters by Lawrence and I wanted thousands of pages more... I wanted them not to end. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-had-read-four-thousand-pages-of-letters-by-lawrence-and-i-wanted/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [It would take thousand of pages to express my feelings for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirina-ayukawa/it-would-take-thousand-of-pages-to-express-my-feelings-for-you/) [Kirina Ayukawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirina-ayukawa/) > [There is, for instance, only one page at the beginning of Runciman's three-volume History of the Crusades describing how the participants decided to begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-demause/there-is-for-instance-only-one-page-at-the-beginning-of-runciman-s/) [Lloyd deMause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-demause/) > [I could fill a thousand pages telling you how I felt but you still wouldnt understand. so now I leave without a sound except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-fill-a-thousand-pages-telling-you-how-i-felt-but-you-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The length of novels, poems and stories, is measured by the number of missing words; a thousand pages become one, one becomes a thousand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/the-length-of-novels-poems-and-stories-is-measured-by-the-number-of/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [I am ashamed every day, and more ashamed the next. But I will spend the rest of my life in this living space writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-am-ashamed-every-day-and-more-ashamed-the-next-but-i-will-spend-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Reading the several thousand pages of Christopher Isherwood's complete journals is an instructive corrective to the prissiness of reading fiction. Isherwood had faults that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/reading-the-several-thousand-pages-of-christopher-isherwood-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [I had four hundred thousand pages of continental philosophy and lit theory in my head. And by God, I was going to use it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-had-four-hundred-thousand-pages-of-continental-philosophy-and-lit/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I could fill a thousand pages telling you how I felt and still you would not understand. So now I leave without a sound,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-could-fill-a-thousand-pages-telling-you-how-i-felt-and-still-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is a book and there are a thousand pages I have not yet read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-book-and-there-are-a-thousand-pages-i-have-not-yet-read/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Michael Chabon > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Anyway, it's a pretty good story," I said. "You have to admit." "Yeah?" He crumpled up the Kleenex, having dispatched the solitary tear. "You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/anyway-it-s-a-pretty-good-story-i-said-you-have-to-admit-yeah-he/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [There were so many Pittsburgh poets in my hallway that if, at that instant, a meteorite had come smashing through my roof, there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/there-were-so-many-pittsburgh-poets-in-my-hallway-that-if-at-that/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Badass.'" My grandfather sampled the flavor of the word. It did not seem to revolt him, but it was nothing he needed ever to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/badass-my-grandfather-sampled-the-flavor-of-the-word-it-did-not-seem/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [See you in the funny papers," he said. Jaunty, he reminded himself; always jaunty. In my panache is their hope for salvation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/see-you-in-the-funny-papers-he-said-jaunty-he-reminded-himself-always/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“I didn't want to be left alone with Timothy, not because I was afraid of him but because I was afraid that somebody would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/i-didn-t-want-to-be-left-alone-with-timothy-not-because-i-was-afraid/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“He had already seized this particular day once, but he was prepared, if need be, to go ahead and seize the motherfucker all over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/he-had-already-seized-this-particular-day-once-but-he-was-prepared-if/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“We figure he must have let him out. The perpetrator, I mean. He's blind and we figure he just wandered off and maybe got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/we-figure-he-must-have-let-him-out-the-perpetrator-i-mean-he-s-blind/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Then I reminded myself that I was always willing to listen to arguments in favor of avoiding an unpleasant chore, and I shook my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/then-i-reminded-myself-that-i-was-always-willing-to-listen-to/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Love great first lines and paragraphs. From The Yiddish Policemen's Union: Nine months Landsman's been flopping at the Hotel Zamenhof without any of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/love-great-first-lines-and-paragraphs-from-the-yiddish-policemen-s/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“Life blew in gusts from the hole in the side of the elephant with a rank smell and a comic flatulence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/life-blew-in-gusts-from-the-hole-in-the-side-of-the-elephant-with-a/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Not only would I never want to belong to any club that would have me for a member--if elected I would wear street shoes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/not-only-would-i-never-want-to-belong-to-any-club-that-would-have-me/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [That's the best thing about writing, when you're in that zone, you're porous, ready to absorb the solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/that-s-the-best-thing-about-writing-when-you-re-in-that-zone-you-re/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Most science fiction seemed to be written for people who already liked science fiction; I wanted to write stories for anyone, anywhere, living at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/most-science-fiction-seemed-to-be-written-for-people-who-already/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [ “For as long as I could remember, I'd been making vague and confident assurances that any day I would finish the thing \[my book\].… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/for-as-long-as-i-could-remember-i-d-been-making-vague-and-confident/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) [Explore all 436 Michael Chabon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) ## More Dead dog quotes > [No one ever kicks a dead dog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/no-one-ever-kicks-a-dead-dog/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [I was raised by a hard-working single mother, so my first role model was a woman. My only caretaker was a woman, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-was-raised-by-a-hard-working-single-mother-so-my-first-role-model/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [God, please watch over the soul of this dead dog and carry him up to heaven... because he sure as hell can't walk... he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/american-dad/god-please-watch-over-the-soul-of-this-dead-dog-and-carry-him-up-to/) [American Dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/american-dad/) > [“But our logic is skewed in this respect. A dog that bites is a dead dog. First day at the shelter and I already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-mcginnis/but-our-logic-is-skewed-in-this-respect-a-dog-that-bites-is-a-dead/) [Mindy McGinnis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-mcginnis/) > [“West Wind #2 You are young. So you know everything. You leap into the boat and begin rowing. But listen to me. Without fanfare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-oliver/west-wind-2-you-are-young-so-you-know-everything-you-leap-into-the/) [Mary Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-oliver/) > [No man is the boss of his own house, but he can make up for it, he thinks, by making a dog play dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/no-man-is-the-boss-of-his-own-house-but-he-can-make-up-for-it-he/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [You're over there in the corner either thinking about the dead dog or whatever, you're bringing up your personal life and you need the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-gay-harden/you-re-over-there-in-the-corner-either-thinking-about-the-dead-dog-or/) [Marcia Gay Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-gay-harden/) > [For us in Russia communism is a dead dog. For many people in the West, it is still a living lion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-us-in-russia-communism-is-a-dead-dog-for-many-people-in-the-west/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“All the doctors and nurses assigned to Blake had that sad look in their eyes, like they were treating a damn dead dog or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/all-the-doctors-and-nurses-assigned-to-blake-had-that-sad-look-in/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“The real problem here is that we’re all dying. All of us. 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