--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think there are any secrets to…" description: "\"I don't think there are any secrets to writing in the - everybody has their own techniques. You must be widely read, that's one thing, because you have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/arthur-c-clarke-640_competition_i-don-t-think-there-are-any-secrets-to-w_644878.jpg" --- # I don't think there are any secrets to writing in the… ![“I don't think there are any secrets to writing in the - everybody has their own techniques. You must be widely read, that's one thing, because you have to resolve a tremendous amount of background information. Also, you should know what the competition is writing, just so you're not wasting your…” quote by Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/arthur-c-clarke-640_competition_i-don-t-think-there-are-any-secrets-to-w_644878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/arthur-c-clarke-640_competition_i-don-t-think-there-are-any-secrets-to-w_644878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c5e/arthur-c-clarke-640_competition_i-don-t-think-there-are-any-secrets-to-w_644878.jpg) > “I don't think there are any secrets to writing in the - everybody has their own techniques. You must be widely read, that's one thing, because you have to resolve a tremendous amount of background information. Also, you should know what the competition is writing, just so you're not wasting your time doing the same thing. Unless you do it better, of course.” [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires broad reading, awareness of peers, and originality to avoid duplication. **In simple terms:** Read widely, know competitors, be original. Key Takeaway Read, research, innovate. Themes writing originality research competition technique Mood reflective analytical Type advice instructional When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - academic papers - blog posts - marketing copy Key Concepts Literary theory creative process information overload Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance inspiration with originality? - What methods help you track what others are writing? A Different Perspective Reading alone doesn't guarantee skill; practice and feedback are essential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Competition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) [Resolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resolve/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“One of the sad little secrets of the writing life is that it’s become like the movie business, where a movie has to “open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/one-of-the-sad-little-secrets-of-the-writing-life-is-that-it-s-become/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“There are three secrets to writing a novel. Unfortunately nobody knows what they are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-are-three-secrets-to-writing-a-novel-unfortunately-nobody-knows/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I'm writing, and just doing the same thing I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-van-halen/i-m-writing-and-just-doing-the-same-thing-i-always-do/) [Eddie Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-van-halen/) > [“She was writing for everybody, for nobody, for our age, for her own...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-was-writing-for-everybody-for-nobody-for-our-age-for-her-own/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [In my mind, I'm writing for everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/in-my-mind-i-m-writing-for-everybody/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [I think you should learn about writing from everybody who has ever written that has anything to teach you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-think-you-should-learn-about-writing-from-everybody-who-has-ever/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Everybody has a talent, whether it's scrapbooking, or kite-flying, or brain surgery, or writing, everybody has a talent. And if they discover it, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/everybody-has-a-talent-whether-it-s-scrapbooking-or-kite-flying-or/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [A lot of writing is everybody being revealed, but the reader should feel like only they are being revealed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/a-lot-of-writing-is-everybody-being-revealed-but-the-reader-should/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [“Pretty soon...do you realize there'll be so many additional childhoods and pasts with everybody writing about them everybody'll give up reading in despair-There'll be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/pretty-soon-do-you-realize-there-ll-be-so-many-additional-childhoods/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [All I'm writing is just what I feel, that's all. I just keep it almost naked. And probably the words are so bland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/all-i-m-writing-is-just-what-i-feel-that-s-all-i-just-keep-it-almost/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [Writing is not just a job. It helps me to pray. It's a way of being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-nouwen/writing-is-not-just-a-job-it-helps-me-to-pray-it-s-a-way-of-being/) [Henri Nouwen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-nouwen/) > [When I'm writing, I am just doing what feels right for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-mercurio/when-i-m-writing-i-am-just-doing-what-feels-right-for-me/) [Jed Mercurio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-mercurio/) > [Writing is just having a sheet of paper, a pen and not a shadow of an idea of what you are going to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/writing-is-just-having-a-sheet-of-paper-a-pen-and-not-a-shadow-of-an/) [Francoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [I've found it really hard to finish writing songs when you're writing on not just your schedule but somebody else's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-carmack/i-ve-found-it-really-hard-to-finish-writing-songs-when-you-re-writing/) [Chris Carmack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-carmack/) > [It's so easy, as a writer, to get stuck in your own head, to live in the little worlds you create. To forget that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/it-s-so-easy-as-a-writer-to-get-stuck-in-your-own-head-to-live-in-the/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) ## More by Arthur C. Clarke > [Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets. No one ever demonstrated, so far as I am aware,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-can-destroy-religion-by-ignoring-it-as-well-as-by-disproving/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I am unable to distinguish clearly between your religious ceremonies and apparently identical behavior at the sporting and cultural functions you have transmitted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-am-unable-to-distinguish-clearly-between-your-religious-ceremonies/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [I don't believe in astrology; I'm a Sagittarius and we're skeptical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-don-t-believe-in-astrology-i-m-a-sagittarius-and-we-re-skeptical/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [You can't have it both ways. You can't have both free will and a benevolent higher power who protects you from yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/you-can-t-have-it-both-ways-you-can-t-have-both-free-will-and-a/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Astronomy, as nothing else can do, teaches men humility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/astronomy-as-nothing-else-can-do-teaches-men-humility/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Nowhere in space will we rest our eyes upon the familiar shapes of trees and plants, or any of the animals that share our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/nowhere-in-space-will-we-rest-our-eyes-upon-the-familiar-shapes-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“The universe is full of energy, but much of it is at equilibrium. At equilibrium no energy can flow, and therefore it cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/the-universe-is-full-of-energy-but-much-of-it-is-at-equilibrium-at/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Here the trees surrounded them with an invisible, anechoic blanket, so that every word seemed sucked into silence the moment it was uttered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/here-the-trees-surrounded-them-with-an-invisible-anechoic-blanket-so/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“I’m a scientific expert; that means I know nothing about absolutely everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/i-m-a-scientific-expert-that-means-i-know-nothing-about-absolutely/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [There were some things that only time could cure. Evil men could be destroyed, but nothing could be done with good men who were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/there-were-some-things-that-only-time-could-cure-evil-men-could-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“Pure coincidence, of course, but a sensible man makes coincidences work for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/pure-coincidence-of-course-but-a-sensible-man-makes-coincidences-work/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [They will have time enough, in those endless aeons, to attempt all things, and to gather all knowledge no Gods imagined by our minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/they-will-have-time-enough-in-those-endless-aeons-to-attempt-all/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [“One thing seems certain. Our galaxy is now in the brief springtime of its life—a springtime made glorious by such brilliant blue-white stars as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/one-thing-seems-certain-our-galaxy-is-now-in-the-brief-springtime-of/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [Now I understand,” said the last man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/now-i-understand-said-the-last-man/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) [Explore all 415 Arthur C. Clarke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) ## More Competition quotes > [The Copa del Rey is a different competition. It is football in its purest form and is different from the continuity of the league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-laudrup/the-copa-del-rey-is-a-different-competition-it-is-football-in-its/) [Michael Laudrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-laudrup/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I don't believe in competitions between artists. This is insane. Who has the authority to say someone is better?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/i-don-t-believe-in-competitions-between-artists-this-is-insane-who/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [People think that the Club World Cup is an easy competition, but it's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keylor-navas/people-think-that-the-club-world-cup-is-an-easy-competition-but-it-s/) [Keylor Navas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keylor-navas/) > [If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-kwan/if-you-ask-another-competitor-they-may-tell-you-they-felt-very/) [Michelle Kwan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-kwan/) > [“At times, competition can be a good thing. But a person's value isn't something that can be ranked, is it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hotaru-odagiri/at-times-competition-can-be-a-good-thing-but-a-person-s-value-isn-t/) [Hotaru Odagiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hotaru-odagiri/) > [Our competition has always been anything that is wasting your time when you're bored at work. In a broad sense. We want people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/our-competition-has-always-been-anything-that-is-wasting-your-time/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [I've always considered making it legal for Americans to import their prescription drugs a free-trade issue. Imports create competition and keep domestic industry more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-grassley/i-ve-always-considered-making-it-legal-for-americans-to-import-their/) [Chuck Grassley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-grassley/) > [Honestly, we’ll compete with everybody. I love competition. As long as people invent their own stuff, I love competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/honestly-we-ll-compete-with-everybody-i-love-competition-as-long-as/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [The "health, education, and welfare" section of government is another boondoggle. First we manufacture indigent and superfluous people by legal monopolies in land, money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurance-labadie/the-health-education-and-welfare-section-of-government-is-another/) [Laurance Labadie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurance-labadie/) > [I try to keep up with everything - all wrestling across the board. I want to know what the competition is doing, what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-hardy/i-try-to-keep-up-with-everything-all-wrestling-across-the-board-i/) [Matt Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-hardy/) > [Sometimes in England, people look down at the Europa League, but being from the continent, I've always realised what an important competition it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-mignolet/sometimes-in-england-people-look-down-at-the-europa-league-but-being/) [Simon Mignolet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-mignolet/) > [“There is a scene in one of the Rocky movies where after the match Apollo Creed and Rocky are waiting for the scoring of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-passaro/there-is-a-scene-in-one-of-the-rocky-movies-where-after-the-match/) [John A. Passaro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-passaro/) > [I've always written. When I was in school, the only teacher who ever liked me was my creative writing teacher. I used to enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-townes-earle/i-ve-always-written-when-i-was-in-school-the-only-teacher-who-ever/) [Justin Townes Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-townes-earle/) > [Competition between men is a fuel that's useful to us. We have to be careful that it doesn't tell the same story over too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-irwin/competition-between-men-is-a-fuel-that-s-useful-to-us-we-have-to-be/) [Bill Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-irwin/) [Browse all 3,894 Competition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/competition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think there are any secrets to writing in the - everybody has their own techniques. You must be widely read, that's one thing, because you have to resolve a tremendous amount of background information. 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