--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: a novelist's chief desire is to be as…" description: "\"a novelist's chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible. He has to induce in himself a state of perpetual lethargy. He wants life to proceed with..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/virginia-woolf-49_book_a-novelist-s-chief-desire-is-to-be-as-un_1464025.jpg" --- # a novelist's chief desire is to be as unconscious as… ![“a novelist's chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible. He has to induce in himself a state of perpetual lethargy. He wants life to proceed with the utmost quiet and regularity. He wants to see the same faces, to read the same books, to do the same things day after day, month after month…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/virginia-woolf-49_book_a-novelist-s-chief-desire-is-to-be-as-un_1464025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/virginia-woolf-49_book_a-novelist-s-chief-desire-is-to-be-as-un_1464025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/881/virginia-woolf-49_book_a-novelist-s-chief-desire-is-to-be-as-un_1464025.jpg) > “a novelist's chief desire is to be as unconscious as possible. He has to induce in himself a state of perpetual lethargy. He wants life to proceed with the utmost quiet and regularity. He wants to see the same faces, to read the same books, to do the same things day after day, month after month, while he is writing, so that nothing may break the illusion in which he is living - so that nothing may disturb or disquiet the mysterious nosings about, feelings around, darts, dashes, and sudden discoveries of that very shy and illusive spirit, the imagination.” [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer seeks a tranquil, repetitive routine to protect the fragile imagination from disruption. **In simple terms:** A writer wants quiet, regular life to keep imagination safe. Key Takeaway Cultivate steady habits to nurture creativity. Themes creativity routine imagination Mood contemplative reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - daily writing - habit formation - reading routine - mindful living Key Concepts literary focus psychological artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How does routine protect imagination? - When might routine become limiting? A Different Perspective Too much sameness may stifle growth and new ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Lethargy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lethargy/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Same face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same-face/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry being the sign of that which all men desire, even though the desire be unconscious, intensity of life or completeness of experience, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-drinkwater/poetry-being-the-sign-of-that-which-all-men-desire-even-though-the/) [John Drinkwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-drinkwater/) > [“Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/once-conform-once-do-what-other-people-do-because-they-do-it-and-a-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Once conform, once do what other people do because they do it, and a lethargy steals over all the finer nerves and faculties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/once-conform-once-do-what-other-people-do-because-they-do-it-and-a/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [At the Berghof, it was almost like a family atmosphere there. 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