Books Quote by P.G. Wodehouse
““I have never written a novel yet...without doing 40,000 words or more and finding they were all wrong and going back and starting again, and this after filling 400 words with notes, mostly delirious, before getting into anything in the nature of a coherent scenario.””
About This Quote
Writing often requires extensive drafting and revision before achieving coherence.
In simple terms: Writing needs many drafts.
Key Takeaway
Embrace revision.
Themes
writing
creativity
process
perseverance
learning
Mood
reflective
determined
pragmatic
Type
advice
inspirational
When to use this quote
- novel writing
- academic papers
- screenplays
- blog posts
Key Concepts
drafting
self‑critique
iteration
Questions to Reflect On
- When is it time to stop revising?
- How do you balance perfectionism with progress?
A Different Perspective
Excessive revision can lead to paralysis or loss of original voice.
![“[A]lways get to the dialogue as soon as possible. I always feel the thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a big slab of prose at the start." (Interview, The Paris Review , Issue 64, Winter 1975)” quote by P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/989/p-g-wodehouse-723_communication_a-lways-get-to-the-dialogue-as-soon-as-p_13316.jpg)
![“...he switched on the [flashlight]. When he did so, he instantly became the center attraction to a rowdy mob of those gnats, moths, and beetles which collect in gangs and stay up late in the rural districts. They appeared to have been waiting for a congenial comrade to come along and give a fillip…” quote by P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb9/p-g-wodehouse-723_humorous_he-switched-on-the-flashlight-when-he-di_44308.jpg)
