--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When writing a novel, that's pretty much…" description: "\"When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/neil-gaiman-29_books_when-writing-a-novel-that-s-pretty-much_883561.jpg" --- # When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what… ![“When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/neil-gaiman-29_books_when-writing-a-novel-that-s-pretty-much_883561.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/neil-gaiman-29_books_when-writing-a-novel-that-s-pretty-much_883561.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a74/neil-gaiman-29_books_when-writing-a-novel-that-s-pretty-much_883561.jpg) > “When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s chaos can be reframed as a series of absurd, manageable events. **In simple terms:** Chaos can be seen as funny, small tasks. Key Takeaway Find humor in daily setbacks. Themes creativity resilience absurdity Mood lighthearted insightful Type creative motivational When to use this quote - writing - personal setbacks - daily life Key Concepts narrative framing stress coping Questions to Reflect On - How does humor affect your perception of problems? - Can absurdity be a coping tool? A Different Perspective Humor may downplay serious issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Burned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burned/) [Car](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/car/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cat Exploded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat-exploded-1076579/) [Easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy/) [Easy Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easy-words-1076578/) [Good day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-day/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Pretty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-pretty-1076577/) [Pretty good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretty-good/) [Stolen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stolen/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-novel/) ## Related quotes > [Many readers know my work first through 'Housekeeping,' simply because it was my only novel for a pretty long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/many-readers-know-my-work-first-through-housekeeping-simply-because/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [We should constantly use the most common, little, easy words which our language affords.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/we-should-constantly-use-the-most-common-little-easy-words-which-our/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [“It’s easy to tell someone something you know they want to hear. What’s not so easy is following up on those easy words and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melyssa-winchester/it-s-easy-to-tell-someone-something-you-know-they-want-to-hear-what-s/) [Melyssa Winchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melyssa-winchester/) > [Mathematics is the science which uses easy words for hard ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kasner/mathematics-is-the-science-which-uses-easy-words-for-hard-ideas/) [Edward Kasner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kasner/) > [It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like "What about lunch?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-milne/it-is-more-fun-to-talk-with-someone-who-doesn-t-use-long-difficult-2/) [A. A. Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-milne/) > [I consider myself to be quite shy, funnily enough. I don't find it easy to get the words out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-stein/i-consider-myself-to-be-quite-shy-funnily-enough-i-don-t-find-it-easy/) [Rick Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-stein/) > [“:Paintings are easy to see," he said after a moment. "Open, presented flat to the eye. Words are not easy. Words have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-fisher/paintings-are-easy-to-see-he-said-after-a-moment-open-presented-flat/) [Catherine Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-fisher/) > [It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn't use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-the-pooh/it-is-more-fun-to-talk-with-someone-who-doesn-t-use-long-difficult/) [Winnie The Pooh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-the-pooh/) > [Writing, and especially writing a novel, where you get to sit in a room by yourself with either a pen and a paper or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/writing-and-especially-writing-a-novel-where-you-get-to-sit-in-a-room/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If I'm writing a novel, I'll probably get up in the morning, do email, perhaps blog, deal with emergencies, and then be off novel-writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-i-m-writing-a-novel-i-ll-probably-get-up-in-the-morning-do-email/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If writing a novel is a year's exile to a foreign country, writing a short story is a weekend spent somewhere exotic. They're much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/if-writing-a-novel-is-a-year-s-exile-to-a-foreign-country-writing-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I've been inspired by dreams - I've even stolen scenes or images or characters from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-ve-been-inspired-by-dreams-i-ve-even-stolen-scenes-or-images-or/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If you're writing a novel, you're in a room for three or four years. There's not much coming in from the outside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/if-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-re-in-a-room-for-three-or-four-years/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [When you're writing a novel, you spend four years sitting in your basement and a year waiting for the book to come out and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/when-you-re-writing-a-novel-you-spend-four-years-sitting-in-your/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. —W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-wax/there-are-three-rules-for-writing-a-novel-unfortunately-no-one-knows/) [Wendy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-wax/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. 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