--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you are a sentence-based writer…" description: "\"When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be good. They have to be really on the spot. Because when you don't have a plot, really, what shall ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/per-petterson-8468_afraid_when-you-are-a-sentence-based-writer-the_993056.png" --- # When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be… ![“When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be good. They have to be really on the spot. Because when you don't have a plot, really, what shall you rely on? Just language. And sometimes I am so afraid of writing the wrong thing, I just sit and wait for the right thing to come.” quote by Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/per-petterson-8468_afraid_when-you-are-a-sentence-based-writer-the_993056.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/per-petterson-8468_afraid_when-you-are-a-sentence-based-writer-the_993056.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49e/per-petterson-8468_afraid_when-you-are-a-sentence-based-writer-the_993056.png) > “When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be good. They have to be really on the spot. Because when you don't have a plot, really, what shall you rely on? Just language. And sometimes I am so afraid of writing the wrong thing, I just sit and wait for the right thing to come.” [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explains writer’s anxiety without plot, relying on language and waiting for inspiration. **In simple terms:** Writer fears lack of plot, waits for inspiration. Key Takeaway Embrace structure or trust spontaneous ideas. Themes writing anxiety plotlessness creativity language Mood thoughtful encouraging Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative retreats - drafting process Key Concepts narrative structure creative block inspiration techniques Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance planning and spontaneity? - What techniques spark ideas? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on inspiration can stall progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Afraid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid/) [Afraid Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afraid-writing-777159/) [Am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/am/) [Based Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/based-writer-2045973/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [I am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-am/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) [Sentence Based](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentence-based-2045974/) [Shall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shall/) [Sit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sit/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Spot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spot/) [The right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-right-thing/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Wait](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-good-428324/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-wrong-713522/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [Wrong thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-thing/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [My identity is based around being a writer. I can't not write. 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It is almost as though by writing about what is wrong, you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/there-is-something-magical-about-putting-a-problem-in-writing-it-is/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [The dirty little secret about adventure writing is that something has to go wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/the-dirty-little-secret-about-adventure-writing-is-that-something-has/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Instead of writing it wrong six times and then writing it right, I think it wrong six times and then write it right the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/instead-of-writing-it-wrong-six-times-and-then-writing-it-right-i/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [I found that many gifted people are so afraid of writing a poor story that they cannot summon the nerve to write a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brenda-ueland/i-found-that-many-gifted-people-are-so-afraid-of-writing-a-poor-story/) [Brenda Ueland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brenda-ueland/) > [I'm not afraid of writing about sensitive subjects, but I want to be careful how I do so and I know not all readers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/i-m-not-afraid-of-writing-about-sensitive-subjects-but-i-want-to-be/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [“I used to be afraid about what people might say or think after reading what I had written. I am not afraid anymore, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/i-used-to-be-afraid-about-what-people-might-say-or-think-after/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [Writing practice brings us back to the uniqueness of our own minds and an acceptance of it. We all have wild dreams, fantasies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/writing-practice-brings-us-back-to-the-uniqueness-of-our-own-minds/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Many writers are afraid of writing something bad, so they dont try or give up when their efforts dont lead to a masterpiece right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-tarshis/many-writers-are-afraid-of-writing-something-bad-so-they-dont-try-or/) [Lauren Tarshis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-tarshis/) > [I think we're so often, as writers, afraid of writing something that is less than perfect, and that fear paralyzes us. I'm a big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-think-we-re-so-often-as-writers-afraid-of-writing-something-that-is/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) ## More by Per Petterson > [“Light in every lamp, light in every mind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/light-in-every-lamp-light-in-every-mind/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I come from a working-class family. They're the people I know and the people I love, I guess. I do not write about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-come-from-a-working-class-family-they-re-the-people-i-know-and-the/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [When my mother talked about her brother, there was this light in her eyes. I thought, 'This is the basis of a novel.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/when-my-mother-talked-about-her-brother-there-was-this-light-in-her/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“But life had shifted its weight from one point to another, from one leg to the other, like a silent giant in the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/but-life-had-shifted-its-weight-from-one-point-to-another-from-one/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“All my life I have longed to be alone in a place like this. 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It is easily done, boring as it is to cook for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-is-important-not-to-be-careless-about-supper-when-you-are-alone-it/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“We ran back, he first and I following him, between the beds and downstairs, and we picked up an armful of wood from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/we-ran-back-he-first-and-i-following-him-between-the-beds-and/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I rely heavily on rhythm when I write. You should tap your foot when you read it, all the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-rely-heavily-on-rhythm-when-i-write-you-should-tap-your-foot-when/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“What I liked was the train ride. It took an hour and that was enough for me to be able to lean backwards against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/what-i-liked-was-the-train-ride-it-took-an-hour-and-that-was-enough/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“...everything felt fine at that moment; the suit was fine, and the twon was fine to walk in, along the cobblestone street, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/everything-felt-fine-at-that-moment-the-suit-was-fine-and-the-twon/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“It may be all very well in Dickens, but when you read Dickens you're reading a long ballad from a vanished world, where everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/it-may-be-all-very-well-in-dickens-but-when-you-read-dickens-you-re/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I write about families. That is who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-write-about-families-that-is-who-we-are/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [“...the young swans as big as their parents now, but still grey and it looks peculiar, like two different species swimming in a line,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/the-young-swans-as-big-as-their-parents-now-but-still-grey-and-it/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) [Explore all 79 Per Petterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) ## More Afraid quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“Carrie Fisher. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-union/carrie-fisher-stay-afraid-but-do-it-anyway/) [Gabrielle Union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-union/) > [I used to be afraid of my temper, but it turns out I don't really have one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoe-bell/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-my-temper-but-it-turns-out-i-don-t-really-have/) [Zoe Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoe-bell/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I'm a pretty fearless person. I'm afraid of, like, creepy men in white vans and sidewalks with no streetlights. But I'm not afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-totah/i-m-a-pretty-fearless-person-i-m-afraid-of-like-creepy-men-in-white/) [Josie Totah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-totah/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) [Darlene Senger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darlene-senger/) > [Why am I so afraid to loose you,when you're not even mine?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-am-i-so-afraid-to-loose-you-when-you-re-not-even-mine/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I want to tell you, but I cant, becuase I'm afraid if I do you'll never treat me same the again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-orante/i-want-to-tell-you-but-i-cant-becuase-i-m-afraid-if-i-do-you-ll-never/) [Cristina Orante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-orante/) > [Mistakes I've made in the past make me afraid to try new things in the future. I want to be perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/mistakes-i-ve-made-in-the-past-make-me-afraid-to-try-new-things-in/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [“Humans are naturally scared and confused beings. They not only fear the unknown, as they live fearing themselves... ☥”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luis-marques/humans-are-naturally-scared-and-confused-beings-they-not-only-fear/) [Luis Marques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luis-marques/) > [If you are too afraid of failure, you cant possibly do what needs to be done to succeed in living a fulfilling life. 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