--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't take notes. I don't have any…" description: "\"I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/zadie-smith-584_any_i-don-t-take-notes-i-don-t-have-any-note_635000.png" --- # I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on… ![“I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work that way. I tend to get the idea for a novel in a big splash.” quote by Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/zadie-smith-584_any_i-don-t-take-notes-i-don-t-have-any-note_635000.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/zadie-smith-584_any_i-don-t-take-notes-i-don-t-have-any-note_635000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e19/zadie-smith-584_any_i-don-t-take-notes-i-don-t-have-any-note_635000.png) > “I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work that way. I tend to get the idea for a novel in a big splash.” [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She rejects traditional note‑taking, preferring spontaneous idea bursts, indicating that creative processes differ from conventional writing habits. **In simple terms:** She writes ideas in sudden bursts, not notes. Key Takeaway Embrace your natural creative flow. Themes creativity writing process personal habits non‑conformity Mood introspective inspirational Type advice personal When to use this quote - brainstorming sessions - drafting novels - creative workshops - personal productivity Key Concepts idea generation spontaneity creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - What environments spark your best ideas? - Can you blend spontaneity with organization? A Different Perspective Structured note‑taking may still help organize complex projects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I have filled 3 Mead notebooks trying to figure out whether it was Them or Just Me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-have-filled-3-mead-notebooks-trying-to-figure-out-whether-it-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [It's a slow process rewriting your own life in your head. I think that's a writerly thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-healey/it-s-a-slow-process-rewriting-your-own-life-in-your-head-i-think-that/) [Emma Healey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-healey/) > [When I'm filling notebooks I'm trying to pin down what I'm really interested in and to find those details that are so hard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-salter/when-i-m-filling-notebooks-i-m-trying-to-pin-down-what-i-m-really/) [James Salter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-salter/) > [But once an idea for a novel seizes a writer...well, it’s like an inner fire that at first warms you and makes you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/but-once-an-idea-for-a-novel-seizes-a-writer-well-it-s-like-an-inner/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [I have a really good idea for a novel and would like to just kind of try my hand at fiction. I'm starting to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-have-a-really-good-idea-for-a-novel-and-would-like-to-just-kind-of/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [The idea for a novel is like a little tiny fire in a dark night. And, one by one, the characters come and stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-for-a-novel-is-like-a-little-tiny-fire-in-a-dark-night-and/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Historically, the idea that you take something novel and you break it has been seen as the ultimate rejection of Enlightenment values, of progress,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-jasanoff/historically-the-idea-that-you-take-something-novel-and-you-break-it/) [Sheila Jasanoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-jasanoff/) > [I had reached a point in my career in which I was ready to try something new in my writing, and the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-had-reached-a-point-in-my-career-in-which-i-was-ready-to-try/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I got the idea for my novel 'Lord of Light' when I cut myself shaving just before I was to go on a panel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-zelazny/i-got-the-idea-for-my-novel-lord-of-light-when-i-cut-myself-shaving/) [Roger Zelazny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-zelazny/) > [A short story is one idea; a novel is a whole soup of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-sawyer/a-short-story-is-one-idea-a-novel-is-a-whole-soup-of-them/) [Robert J. Sawyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-sawyer/) > [If only a group of people were more important to me than the idea of a Novel, I might begin a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/if-only-a-group-of-people-were-more-important-to-me-than-the-idea-of/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [I've never discovered the idea for my next novel while I was still working on the current novel. Other writers don't suffer this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/i-ve-never-discovered-the-idea-for-my-next-novel-while-i-was-still/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) > [Working on the plot/story idea for my next novel ... It always takes time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/working-on-the-plot-story-idea-for-my-next-novel-it-always-takes-time/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [“You spend hours wrestling with yourself, trying to keep your vision intact, your intensity undiminished. Sometimes I have to stick my head under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/you-spend-hours-wrestling-with-yourself-trying-to-keep-your-vision/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [My experience is that an original and compelling idea for a novel is a rare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thayer/my-experience-is-that-an-original-and-compelling-idea-for-a-novel-is/) [James Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thayer/) ## More by Zadie Smith > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Pretty girls lie at the centre of straight culture, dyke culture, fag culture. They sell everything, they buy everything, they ruin great men and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/pretty-girls-lie-at-the-centre-of-straight-culture-dyke-culture-fag/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“I have known many true connoisseurs, with excellent tastes that range across the humanities and the culinary arts--and they never fail to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-have-known-many-true-connoisseurs-with-excellent-tastes-that-range/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-cannot-believe-homosexuality-is-that-much-fun-heterosexuality/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Either everything is sacred or nothing is. And if he starts burning other people’s things, then he loses something sacred also. 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I don't like them around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-don-t-keep-any-copies-of-my-books-in-the-house-they-go-to-my-mum-s/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [But it makes an immigrant laugh to hear the fears of the nationalist, scared of infection, penetration, miscegenation, when this is small fry, peanuts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/but-it-makes-an-immigrant-laugh-to-hear-the-fears-of-the-nationalist/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Oh, I know that. You know me, baby, I cannot be broken. Takes a giant to snap me in half.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/oh-i-know-that-you-know-me-baby-i-cannot-be-broken-takes-a-giant-to/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“In short, it was precisely the kind of friendship and Englishman makes on holiday, that he can make only on holiday. A friendship that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/in-short-it-was-precisely-the-kind-of-friendship-and-englishman-makes/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [I suppose I often think of my writing as quite impersonal. But it turned out, when my father died, writing was exactly what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-suppose-i-often-think-of-my-writing-as-quite-impersonal-but-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“Some of us are happy with our African hair, thank you very much. I don't want some poor Indian girl's hair. And I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/some-of-us-are-happy-with-our-african-hair-thank-you-very-much-i-don/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-can-t-state-difference-and-also-state-equality-we-have-to-state/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A lot of women, when they're young, feel they have very good friends, and find later on that friendship is complicated. It's easy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/a-lot-of-women-when-they-re-young-feel-they-have-very-good-friends/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) [Explore all 457 Zadie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More Any quotes > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. 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I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [We earned any fans with the way we play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-white/we-earned-any-fans-with-the-way-we-play/) [Jimmy White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-white/) > [Hard work and a good education will take you further than any government program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-schock/hard-work-and-a-good-education-will-take-you-further-than-any/) [Aaron Schock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-schock/) > [Anyone who's read my 'Terror in the Skies' series knows that I have not been writing with an eye toward approval from any government…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-jacobsen/anyone-who-s-read-my-terror-in-the-skies-series-knows-that-i-have-not/) [Annie Jacobsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-jacobsen/) > [The system in Germany is different, as you sign up with a company for two or three years, and you work exclusively with them;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-wlaschiha/the-system-in-germany-is-different-as-you-sign-up-with-a-company-for/) [Tom Wlaschiha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-wlaschiha/) > [I'm writing about real things. 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