Writing Uncertainty Quotes

To make it interesting and worth doing, writing a novel has to be a leap into the unknown. I have to be unsure if I can write it; otherwise, I won't want to.

One of the humbling things about having written more than one novel is the sense that every time you begin, that new empty page does not know who you are.

Obviously, a writer can't know everything about what she writes. It's impossible.

You can't know what a book is about until the very end. This is true of a book we're reading or writing.

When you're a writer, you never know which of your pieces are going to gain a toehold and which will not, and it's best not to care too much.

There is no satisfactory explanation of style, no infallible guide to good writing, no assurance that a person who thinks clearly will be able to write clearly, no key that unlocks the door, no inflexible rules by which the young writer may steer his course. He will often find himself steering by stars that are disturbingly in motion.

Of course one never knows in draft if it's going to turn out, even with my age and experience.

When I'm writing, I won't know whodunnit until maybe two thirds of the way through. Until then, I know as little as my detective. I just make it up as I go along. It's nerve-wracking, actually. You'll be half through and not know your conclusion. You worry one of these days the ending won't come. I'll be left with only two-thirds of a novel.

I sometimes don't know what I'm writing when I start writing it, on some level.

I had no idea what to expect when I first started writing.

I was once told by someone wise that writing is perilous as you cannot always guarantee your words will be read in the spirit in which they were written.

One of the odd things about being a writer is that you never reach a point of certainty, a point of mastery where you can say, 'Right. Now I understand how this is done.'

"The Diagnosis" is by far my most ambitious book. I such great hopes for it... there was so much I wanted to do with the book. I was extremely insecure about it for several years. Just didn't know whether I would finish the book much less for it to come close to what I intended. I think that for any novel you never know exactly how the book is going to turn out...

There's always this sense of incredulity that writers feel, because they're usually living flat and ordinary lives, because they have to.

I discover what I mean as I write. That can be both terrifically exciting and very dangerous, because when you look at your words later, you wonder, 'Did I really mean that, or am I just making verbal patterns?'

Sometimes you're not even sure which of your stories were failures. There are things I've written that I thought were complete catastrophes when I finished with them that have gone on to generate some of my most positive feedback.

One of the most difficult things for a writer in this business to accept is the uncertain fate of one's work.

I've written a lot of really good books. Now we'll see if I can write any more good books. I mean there's a chance I won't, but I'm going to try.

Cursive writing does not mean what I think it does.

I never really tell anyone what I'm writing beforehand because I usually don't know what it will be.

What's kind of weird is that when I'm writing I don't know where I'm going to go.

What I tell myself is that there is never going to be another 'Gone Girl' for me. I mean, I really believe that. I think I'll write other good books; I have faith in that.

I just have to trust that the story is going to shake out in such a way that's going to be palatable to readers.

My last book was speculative. I just don't quite know what I am doing. But I'll get there. I have a list of things I would love to write.