Logo - Feel The Words

Never Quotes

Quotes on what never happens.

This page gathers quotes centered on absence and limits - books that stayed unpublished, and a pointed line arguing that secrecy is fundamentally undesirable, merely tolerated when unavoidable. Related reading includes Life Quotes.

I write every day... I never get ideas unless I'm actually writing. Ideas I get in the shower don't do me any good.

Quotes by Janet Fitch

I never know how a novel is going to end, because you don't really know what's going to be at the bottom of a novel until you excavate it.

Quotes by Janet Fitch

I write all the time, whether I feel like it or not. I never get inspired unless I'm already writing.

Quotes by Janet Fitch

She was built for crowds. She has never come any closer to life than the dinner table.

Quotes by Janet Flanner

There are actors who have never gotten an Oscar and have done amazing work.

Quotes by Janet Hubert

Biographies never feel as real as the best fiction. There is such a discontinuity between the narrative and the material it comes from, which is always such a mixed bag of letters, recollections, and other data.

Quotes by Janet Malcolm

I've never been resigned to ready-made ideas as I was to ready-made clothes, perhaps because although I couldn't sew, I could think.

Quotes by Jane Rule

There can never be such a thing as a free market, because it is human nature to cheat, monopolize, and buy off others so as to corner the market.

Quotes by Jane Smiley

'Lean on Pete' is the story of a boy and his horse, but it is never heart-warming - it ranges in tone from desperate to merely painful - and, while fascinating, it is never entertaining or redemptive. But if you...

Quotes by Jane Smiley

An urban novelist never minds a little decay.

Quotes by Jane Smiley

Though man a thinking being is defined, Few use the grand prerogative of mind. How few think justly of the thinking few! How many never think, who think they do!

Quotes by Jane Taylor

One feels as if it could never, never be less. And yet all griefs, when there is no bitterness in them, are soothed down by time.

Quotes by Jane Welsh Carlyle

The habits of study in which I have been brought up have done much to support me. I never allow myself to be one moment unoccupied.

Quotes by Jane Welsh Carlyle

A fashionable wife! Oh! Never will I be anything so heartless! I have pictured for myself a far higher destiny than this. - Will it ever be more than a picture?

Quotes by Jane Welsh Carlyle

When I was 15, I never thought I'd live to see 21. And then I became 21, and I'm like, 'I'll never live to see 30.'

Quotes by Jane Wiedlin

Sometimes I would write something that was so private, people would say, 'Make it more universal.' I never liked that idea. I always thought the more personal a song was, the more people would want to hear it.

Quotes by Jane Wiedlin

I actually was class clown, but I don't know how that happened because I've never been considered an outwardly funny person-as the people in this room will attest.

Quotes by Janeane Garofalo

I actually was class clown, but I don't know how that happened because I've never been considered an outwardly funny person.

Quotes by Janeane Garofalo

I've never seen 'Evil Dead 2.' Sorry about that. I'm sorry to the world.

Quotes by Jane Levy

The whole thing about doing TV is that you never know what's going to happen. You just have to go with it and go with the flow.

Quotes by Jane Levy

Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of quotes are gathered under "Never"?
These quotes explore things that haven't happened, aren't wanted, or weren't anticipated — unpublished books that never found a marketing angle, the idea that secrets are "never desirable" even when needed, and a reflection on how it "never occurred" to anyone that private conversation might need protecting.
Are these quotes mostly about regret?
Not exactly regret, more observation — noticing gaps, oversights, or things that didn't come to pass, like unpublished books or an unanticipated need for privacy protections.
Is there a quote about problem-solving here?
Yes — one notes that "people constantly face problems they've never seen before" and have to improvise solutions, which is a nice contrast to the other, more resigned quotes on this page.
How is "Never" different from <a href="/always-quotes">Always</a> quotes?
They're natural opposites — "Always" quotes are about consistency and long-held habits, while "Never" quotes are about absence, gaps, and things that haven't happened.
What should I read if I want something more upbeat?
Good quotes or Like quotes lean lighter, while "Never" quotes tend to be more contemplative. For a broader reflective read, Life quotes is also worth checking.

Other quotes touch on constitutional rights never explicitly written down, and the constant stream of new problems people have never faced before. See also Always Quotes and Good Quotes.