We're our own dragons as well as our own heroes, and we have to rescue ourselves from ourselves.
Tom RobbinsRead
Writing a novel is not so much a project as a journey, a voyage, an adventure.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing a novel is a creative process that involves exploration and discovery rather than just completing a task.
Tom Robbins compares writing a novel to embarking on a journey rather than merely treating it as a project with a specific endpoint. This metaphor emphasizes the unpredictable and exciting nature of creativity, suggesting that the experiences and insights gained along the way are just as important as the final outcome.
Themes
WritingNovelJourneyAdventureCreativity
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, when discussing the creative process, one might say, 'As Tom Robbins said, writing a novel is a journey, highlighting the experiences gained along the way.'
More from Tom Robbins
All quotes →There are many things worth living for, a few things worth dying for, and nothing worth killing for.
Tom RobbinsRead
The unhappy person resents it when you try to cheer him up, because that means he has to stop dwelling on himself and start paying attention to the universe. Unhappiness is the ultimate form of self-indulgence. When you're unhappy, you get to pay a lot of attention to yourself. You get to take yourself oh so very seriously.
Tom RobbinsRead
I'm an outlaw, not a philosopher, but I know this much: there's meaning in everything, all things are connected, and a good champagne is a drink.' Bernard began to sing again. Timidly, Leigh-Cheri joined in. Between verses, they opened another bottle. The popping of its cork echoed throughout the great stone chamber. Of the three billion people on earth, only Bernard and Leigh-Cheri heard the popping of the cork and its echoes. Only Bernard and Leigh-Cheri passed out under the tablecloth.
Tom RobbinsRead
The Divine was beyond description, beyond knowing, beyond comprehension. To say that the Divine was Creation divided by Destruction was as close as one could come to definition. But the puny of soul, the dull of wit, weren't content with that. They wanted to hang a face on the Divine. They went so far as to attribute petty human emotions - anger, jealousy, etc - to it, not stopping to realize that if God were a being, even a supreme being, our prayers would have bored him to death long ago.
Tom RobbinsRead
On their sofas of spice and feathers, the concubines also slept fretfully. In those days the Earth was still flat, and people dreamed often of falling over edges.
Tom RobbinsRead
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The yellow glistens. It glistens with various yellows, Citrons, oranges and greens Flowering over the skin.
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Good architecture should be a projection of life itself, and that implies an intimate knowledge of biological, social, technical, and artistic problems.
Walter GropiusRead