--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think I would have written five times…" description: "\"I think I would have written five times as much as I've written if I didn't have this terrible sense of perfection.\" — Truman Capote" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/truman-capote-376_five_i-think-i-would-have-written-five-times_213805.jpg" --- # I think I would have written five times as much as I've… ![“I think I would have written five times as much as I've written if I didn't have this terrible sense of perfection.” quote by Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/truman-capote-376_five_i-think-i-would-have-written-five-times_213805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/truman-capote-376_five_i-think-i-would-have-written-five-times_213805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fca/truman-capote-376_five_i-think-i-would-have-written-five-times_213805.jpg) > “I think I would have written five times as much as I've written if I didn't have this terrible sense of perfection.” [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Perfectionism limits productivity, causing the writer to produce far less than their potential. **In simple terms:** Perfectionism holds you back. Key Takeaway Accept imperfection to write more. Themes creativity self\_doubt productivity Mood frustrated reflective Type advice personal When to use this quote - writing projects - academic papers - artistic endeavors - business reports Key Concepts perfectionism self\_criticism creative\_block Questions to Reflect On - How does fear of imperfection affect your output? - What steps can you take to loosen perfectionist grip? A Different Perspective Perfection can also ensure quality, so balance is needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I have a terrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-mcgovern/i-have-a-terrible-sense-of-direction/) [Elizabeth McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-mcgovern/) > [This sense of perfection has a built-in contradiction, one that Ram Dass once captured very succinctly by a statement he had heard from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanislav-grof/this-sense-of-perfection-has-a-built-in-contradiction-one-that-ram/) [Stanislav Grof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanislav-grof/) > [If you think you are a vile slime, that means that you aspire to something higher...It's because you have a sense of perfection, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-think-you-are-a-vile-slime-that-means-that-you-aspire-to/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I have a really terrible sense of direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/i-have-a-really-terrible-sense-of-direction/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [“The assumption that the city, the state, or even the federal government has the plans and the wherewithal to handle this particular crisis is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/the-assumption-that-the-city-the-state-or-even-the-federal-government/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [It all made sense - terrible sense. The panic she had experienced in the warehouse district because of not knowing what had happened had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flora-rheta-schreiber/it-all-made-sense-terrible-sense-the-panic-she-had-experienced-in-the/) [Flora Rheta Schreiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flora-rheta-schreiber/) > ['Where The Wild Things Are,' I think I could have written on my own. When I brought Dave Eggers on, I already had 60…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-jonze/where-the-wild-things-are-i-think-i-could-have-written-on-my-own-when/) [Spike Jonze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-jonze/) > [I don't think anyone has written a great graphic novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-rall/i-don-t-think-anyone-has-written-a-great-graphic-novel/) [Ted Rall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-rall/) > [I don't think I could have written what I did any earlier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/i-don-t-think-i-could-have-written-what-i-did-any-earlier/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [“I think,” said my guardian, thoughtfully regarding her, “I think it must be somewhere written that the virtues of the mothers shall occasionally be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-think-said-my-guardian-thoughtfully-regarding-her-i-think-it-must/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“You could fill a book with all the things you don't know,girl. 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Doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/is-it-i-m-not-certain-possible-to-love-someone-if-your-first-interest/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [One of the most difficult things in writing a novel or anything at all is to choose the point of view from which it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/one-of-the-most-difficult-things-in-writing-a-novel-or-anything-at/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I've never worked for a newspaper. I've had some very bad reviews in newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/i-ve-never-worked-for-a-newspaper-i-ve-had-some-very-bad-reviews-in/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [But, my dear, so few things are fulfilled: what are most lives but a series of incompleted episodes? 'We work in the dark, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/but-my-dear-so-few-things-are-fulfilled-what-are-most-lives-but-a/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“…she, glittery voyager of secure destination, steamed down the harbor with whistles whistling and confetti in the air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/she-glittery-voyager-of-secure-destination-steamed-down-the-harbor/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Because it's indeed difficult to portray, in any meaningful depth, another being, his appearance, speech, mentality, without to some degree, and often for quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/because-it-s-indeed-difficult-to-portray-in-any-meaningful-depth/) [truman capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“It's a bore, but the answer is good things only happen to you if you're good. Good? Honest is more what I mean. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/it-s-a-bore-but-the-answer-is-good-things-only-happen-to-you-if-you/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“In the courtyard there was an angel of black stone, and its angel head rose above giant elephant leaves; the stark glass angel eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/in-the-courtyard-there-was-an-angel-of-black-stone-and-its-angel-head/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) [Explore all 585 Truman Capote quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) ## More Five quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. 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You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [I don't think we need a featuring though , because five of us are enough .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-hyun-joong/i-don-t-think-we-need-a-featuring-though-because-five-of-us-are-enough/) [Kim Hyun-joong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-hyun-joong/) > [People who are complaining about the Fed are people who've been predicting runaway inflation for five and six years, and it hasn't happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/people-who-are-complaining-about-the-fed-are-people-who-ve-been/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [I am naturally a thin person and I am 5'1" and putting on five or 10 pounds, that looks like a lot on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/i-am-naturally-a-thin-person-and-i-am-5-1-and-putting-on-five-or-10/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [The official independence celebration was going to be held over four or five days, and a group of journalists from all over the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-official-independence-celebration-was-going-to-be-held-over-four/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Man, you'd be surprised how much I'm learning - not only about myself, but about the musicians who came before me. 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