--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't have a name and I don't have a…" description: "\"I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.\" — William ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg" --- # I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the… ![“I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.” quote by William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg) > “I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.” [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A writer asserts that tools and self are enough to create a story. **In simple terms:** Tools and self suffice for a novel. Key Takeaway Begin writing with what you have. Themes creativity self‑reliance artistic identity Mood reflective determined Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal journals - self‑published projects Key Concepts existentialism authorial agency Questions to Reflect On - What resources do you already possess to start your story? - How does self‑reliance shape your creative voice? A Different Perspective May lack narrative structure without external input. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-plot-i-have-the-typewriter-and-2/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“On that piece of white paper, Sam wrote, "Write about me sometime." And I typed back to her, standing right there in her bedroom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/on-that-piece-of-white-paper-sam-wrote-write-about-me-sometime-and-i-2/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [Your idea of bliss is to wake up on a Monday morning knowing you haven't a single engagement for the entire week. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edna-ferber/your-idea-of-bliss-is-to-wake-up-on-a-monday-morning-knowing-you/) [Edna Ferber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edna-ferber/) > [You will never work through writer's block if you walk away from your typewriter. That will only make it easier to walk away the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-n-frey/you-will-never-work-through-writer-s-block-if-you-walk-away-from-your/) [James N. Frey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-n-frey/) > [If I had my choice, I would be writing by typewriter. I worked on newspapers for 10 years. I typed with the touch system,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wolfe/if-i-had-my-choice-i-would-be-writing-by-typewriter-i-worked-on/) [Tom Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wolfe/) > [I talk to my typewriter and that is what I've been working on for 40 years-how to write for talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alistair-cooke/i-talk-to-my-typewriter-and-that-is-what-i-ve-been-working-on-for-40/) [Alistair Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alistair-cooke/) > [Whenever I try to do anything on a typewriter, it's like having this machine between me and the words; what comes out is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/whenever-i-try-to-do-anything-on-a-typewriter-it-s-like-having-this/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [If you give me a typewriter and I'm having a good day, I can write a scene that will astonish its readers. That will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-give-me-a-typewriter-and-i-m-having-a-good-day-i-can-write-a/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The great fun in my life has been getting up every morning and rushing to the typewriter because some new idea has hit me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/the-great-fun-in-my-life-has-been-getting-up-every-morning-and/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [Especially once those poetry events began, because, yeah, the stuff was still on the page, but the page was starting to spill into real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-acconci/especially-once-those-poetry-events-began-because-yeah-the-stuff-was/) [Vito Acconci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-acconci/) > [I can write faster on a typewriter than you can on a computer. I do 120 words a minute, and you can't do that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-can-write-faster-on-a-typewriter-than-you-can-on-a-computer-i-do/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [When I write, I use an Underwood #5 made in 1920. Someone gave me an electric typewriter, but there's no use pretending you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/when-i-write-i-use-an-underwood-5-made-in-1920-someone-gave-me-an/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [I publish six books a year now, which is very exciting. But it keeps me into my typewriter at all times! Now that my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-steel/i-publish-six-books-a-year-now-which-is-very-exciting-but-it-keeps-me/) [Danielle Steel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-steel/) > [I began by doing book reviews on the typewriter and then went over to short stories on the machine, meanwhile sticking to pencil for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/i-began-by-doing-book-reviews-on-the-typewriter-and-then-went-over-to/) [Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/) > [My boyfriend got me a computer three years ago. I'll admit it does make things a lot easier. When I was working on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/my-boyfriend-got-me-a-computer-three-years-ago-i-ll-admit-it-does/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More by William Saroyan > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [The basic truth of all things, as nearly as we may ever dream of determining and knowing this truth, is form, that which is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/the-basic-truth-of-all-things-as-nearly-as-we-may-ever-dream-of/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This is a hell of a night. I don't want to leave it just to go to sleep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-is-a-hell-of-a-night-i-don-t-want-to-leave-it-just-to-go-to-sleep/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Americans still believe they are cut out to be successful-in everything: love, love-making, luck, luck-giving, money-making, sense-making, cancer-avoiding, clothes-wearing, car-driving, and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/americans-still-believe-they-are-cut-out-to-be-successful-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I can't decide for you whether or not you have got to write, but if anything in the world, war, or pestilence, or famine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-can-t-decide-for-you-whether-or-not-you-have-got-to-write-but-if/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [He paints for the blind, and we are the blind, and he lets us see for sure what we saw long ago but weren't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/he-paints-for-the-blind-and-we-are-the-blind-and-he-lets-us-see-for/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [I am interested in madness. I believe it is the biggest thing in the human race, and the most constant. How do you take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-am-interested-in-madness-i-believe-it-is-the-biggest-thing-in-the/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Two years ago your father died, Ulysses. But as long as we are alive, as long as we are together, as long as two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/two-years-ago-your-father-died-ulysses-but-as-long-as-we-are-alive-as/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Cowards are nice, they're interesting, they're gentle, they wouldn't think of shooting down people in a parade from a tower. They want to live,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/cowards-are-nice-they-re-interesting-they-re-gentle-they-wouldn-t/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [In the time of your life, live - so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/in-the-time-of-your-life-live-so-that-in-that-good-time-there-shall/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [San Francisco is a world to explore. It is a place where the heart can go on a delightful adventure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/san-francisco-is-a-world-to-explore-it-is-a-place-where-the-heart-can/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [Even after you've won fame and fortune, every time you write you've got to write, there's no shortcut, you have to start your career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/even-after-you-ve-won-fame-and-fortune-every-time-you-write-you-ve/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race, this small tribe of unimportant people, whose history is ended, whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-should-like-to-see-any-power-of-the-world-destroy-this-race-this/) [WILLIAM SAROYAN](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [There could be no extreme vanity in my recognition of myself, if in fact there could be any at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/there-could-be-no-extreme-vanity-in-my-recognition-of-myself-if-in/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [“This sense of being out of time has driven thousands of people from their homes into moving-picture theaters where new universes appear before them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/this-sense-of-being-out-of-time-has-driven-thousands-of-people-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) [Explore all 207 William Saroyan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/) [Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/) Browse all 2,710 Add quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and that should add up to a novel.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Saroyan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-plot-i-have-the-typewriter-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Add" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-plot-i-have-the-typewriter-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a1f/william-saroyan-1743_add_i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-p_910250.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't have a name and I don't have a plot. I have the typewriter and I have white paper and I have me, and…” — William Saroyan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "William Saroyan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't have a name and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-plot-i-have-the-typewriter-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/i-don-t-have-a-name-and-i-don-t-have-a-plot-i-have-the-typewriter-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```