--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I start getting close to the end of…" description: "\"When I start getting close to the end of a novel, something registers in the back of my mind for the next novel, so that I usually don't write, or take..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/richard-russo-1691_books_when-i-start-getting-close-to-the-end-of_2461149.png" --- # When I start getting close to the end of a novel… ![“When I start getting close to the end of a novel, something registers in the back of my mind for the next novel, so that I usually don't write, or take notes. And I certainly don't begin. I just allow things to percolate for a while.” quote by Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/richard-russo-1691_books_when-i-start-getting-close-to-the-end-of_2461149.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/richard-russo-1691_books_when-i-start-getting-close-to-the-end-of_2461149.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/richard-russo-1691_books_when-i-start-getting-close-to-the-end-of_2461149.png) > “When I start getting close to the end of a novel, something registers in the back of my mind for the next novel, so that I usually don't write, or take notes. And I certainly don't begin. I just allow things to percolate for a while.” [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## 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 lets ideas settle before starting a new novel, avoiding premature planning and allowing subconscious processing. **In simple terms:** Let ideas mature before writing. Key Takeaway Give thoughts time to develop before acting. Themes creativity patience process Mood contemplative inspirational Type literary reflective When to use this quote - novel planning - creative blocks - idea generation Key Concepts incubation subconscious writing Questions to Reflect On - How long is too long to wait for inspiration? - What methods help you capture fleeting ideas? A Different Perspective Waiting can lead to missed opportunities if overused. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [End Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-novel-657540/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Mind Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind-novel-657541/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notes/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Usually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-usually-246748/) [Of my mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/of-my-mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Register](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/register/) [Write Notes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-notes-657542/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I wanted to play piano, and that slid quickly into writing - it wasn't enough to play other people's notes: I had to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-ferrari/i-wanted-to-play-piano-and-that-slid-quickly-into-writing-it-wasn-t/) [Luc Ferrari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-ferrari/) > [There's no such thing as the contemporary novel. 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Novels aren't necessarily about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/movies-have-to-handle-time-very-efficiently-they-re-about-stringing/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [When authors who write literary fiction begin to write screenplays, everybody assumes that's the end. Here's another who's never going to write well again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/when-authors-who-write-literary-fiction-begin-to-write-screenplays/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [“There was something about spending money they didn't really have that made him optimistic about more coming in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/there-was-something-about-spending-money-they-didn-t-really-have-that/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [Some authors have a very hard time understanding that in order to be faithful to the spirit of the book, it's almost always impossible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/some-authors-have-a-very-hard-time-understanding-that-in-order-to-be/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) > [HBO is really famous for hiring good people and staying out of their way until they ask for help, or need it. 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Few men, Miles reflected, lived so comfortably within the confines of a two.word personal philosophy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-russo/so-what-few-men-miles-reflected-lived-so-comfortably-within-the/) [Richard Russo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) [Explore all 214 Richard Russo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-russo/) ## 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! 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