--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I did not think much what I was writing…" description: "\"I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrativ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg" --- # I did not think much what I was writing them for, except… ![“I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrative.” quote by Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg) > “I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrative.” [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author writes without a clear purpose, aiming for experimental form over conventional narrative. **In simple terms:** Writing can be experimental, not just narrative. Key Takeaway Embrace unconventional structures. Themes writing experimentation form Mood curious introspective Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - workshop - personal journaling - academic study Key Concepts Literary theory creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - Why choose form over story? - How does structure affect meaning? A Different Perspective May alienate readers seeking clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Many writers struggle with exposition in their novels. Often they heap it on in large chunks of straight narrative. Back story – what happens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-scott-bell/many-writers-struggle-with-exposition-in-their-novels-often-they-heap/) [James Scott Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-scott-bell/) > [I got interested in writing at a early age, and wanted to be an outdoor writer. And was trained to, encouraged to write what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rinella/i-got-interested-in-writing-at-a-early-age-and-wanted-to-be-an/) [Steven Rinella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rinella/) > [I wanted to get better at writing, so I knew I needed to move to Nashville.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-swindell/i-wanted-to-get-better-at-writing-so-i-knew-i-needed-to-move-to/) [Cole Swindell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-swindell/) > [I love writing. I've always been drawn to that and felt a particular joy in it - like the phrase in Chariots of Fire:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-wallace/i-love-writing-i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-that-and-felt-a-particular/) [Randall Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-wallace/) > [Once I discovered the endless fascination of doing the research and of doing the writing, I knew I had found what I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/once-i-discovered-the-endless-fascination-of-doing-the-research-and/) [David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/) > [I think my mistakes were kind of common - leaning on cliches and adjectives in the place of clear, vivid writing. But at least…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-schaap/i-think-my-mistakes-were-kind-of-common-leaning-on-cliches-and/) [Dick Schaap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-schaap/) > [Good science is all about following the data as it shows up and letting yourself be proven wrong, and letting everything change while you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-skloot/good-science-is-all-about-following-the-data-as-it-shows-up-and/) [Rebecca Skloot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-skloot/) > [I think writing is a process that starts long before the writers are actually writers and probably goes on long afterward. It's rather like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-think-writing-is-a-process-that-starts-long-before-the-writers-are/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I think all writing is a disease. You can't stop it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/i-think-all-writing-is-a-disease-you-can-t-stop-it/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [“I once had a substitute teacher in my 4th grade class that was wonderful. He said learning was like throwing mud on a wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michele-gwynn/i-once-had-a-substitute-teacher-in-my-4th-grade-class-that-was/) Michele Gwynn > [I think in any writing you're paying attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/i-think-in-any-writing-you-re-paying-attention-to-detail/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [I think writing kind of burns out the flaming question. Sometimes it might feel like when you're living with certain paradoxes and they're unarticulated,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-nelson/i-think-writing-kind-of-burns-out-the-flaming-question-sometimes-it/) [Maggie Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-nelson/) > [Seriously, I don't consider myself a writer. I don't think I have writing talent. But I will continue to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/seriously-i-don-t-consider-myself-a-writer-i-don-t-think-i-have/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [I think each of us can, through our writing, discover our super power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-think-each-of-us-can-through-our-writing-discover-our-super-power/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) ## More by Nicholas Mosley > [“It is very difficult to love people who are good to us: it is easier to imagine we are loving people we can condescend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/it-is-very-difficult-to-love-people-who-are-good-to-us-it-is-easier/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“Love is in prospect or retrospect, the present is ecstasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/love-is-in-prospect-or-retrospect-the-present-is-ecstasy/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [There is curiously little art concerning the efficacy of reason - perhaps simply because reason is not noticeably efficacious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/there-is-curiously-little-art-concerning-the-efficacy-of-reason/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“The ritual was kissing her at various parts as if I were adorning her.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/the-ritual-was-kissing-her-at-various-parts-as-if-i-were-adorning-her/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [I don't think I've ever read an old book through from start to finish. Not after more than six months after writing it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-read-an-old-book-through-from-start-to-finish/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [Not only the style, but the way in which you don't exactly know what on earth has happened or is happening till about page…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/not-only-the-style-but-the-way-in-which-you-don-t-exactly-know-what/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [It connects with the theologians' point that you can say what God is not, but not (easily) what He is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/it-connects-with-the-theologians-point-that-you-can-say-what-god-is/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“The conceit of literary intellectuals is to imagine that other people don't have ideas so that they can assume a superior status by having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/the-conceit-of-literary-intellectuals-is-to-imagine-that-other-people/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“What if the need to have a hard time is built into human nature?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/what-if-the-need-to-have-a-hard-time-is-built-into-human-nature/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [After these three novels I gave up writing novels for a time; I was dissatisfied with romantic doom, yet didn't see much way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/after-these-three-novels-i-gave-up-writing-novels-for-a-time-i-was/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [To say a poem is absolute is saying nothing, because an ink blot can be absolute. Yet you put into it what you like.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/to-say-a-poem-is-absolute-is-saying-nothing-because-an-ink-blot-can/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [“But had I not cut the cord? and now was I seeing what happens when there is no gravity. There is indeed nothing, nothing;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/but-had-i-not-cut-the-cord-and-now-was-i-seeing-what-happens-when/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [If they tell the police, the police will find out she was driving, and her career will be put into hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/if-they-tell-the-police-the-police-will-find-out-she-was-driving-and/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [The mark of a living thing is to be involved in opposites (impossibilities): the living cell that has to be continually adapting itself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/the-mark-of-a-living-thing-is-to-be-involved-in-opposites/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) > [It always strikes me how almost unbelievably bad are the early versions of my novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/it-always-strikes-me-how-almost-unbelievably-bad-are-the-early/) [Nicholas Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) [Explore all 16 Nicholas Mosley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/) ## 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 > [“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 > [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": "I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrative.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicholas Mosley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing-them-for-except-that-i-knew-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing-them-for-except-that-i-knew-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/197/nicholas-mosley-31638_books_i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing_1807584.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some…” — Nicholas Mosley", "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": "Nicholas Mosley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-mosley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I did not think much what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing-them-for-except-that-i-knew-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-mosley/i-did-not-think-much-what-i-was-writing-them-for-except-that-i-knew-i/#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 } } ] } ```