--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Outlines can help, but not if you begin…" description: "\"“Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you begin, instead, by writing down everything, by spewing out your ideas as fast as you can typ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg" --- # Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you… ![“Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you begin, instead, by writing down everything, by spewing out your ideas as fast as you can type, you will discover the answer to the first question: the fragments you have to work with are the various things you have just written.” quote by Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg) > ““Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you begin, instead, by writing down everything, by spewing out your ideas as fast as you can type, you will discover the answer to the first question: the fragments you have to work with are the various things you have just written.”” [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starting with a blank page and letting ideas flow freely can reveal the core question, whereas pre‑planned outlines may limit discovery. **In simple terms:** Free writing uncovers the real problem. Key Takeaway Write everything first, then organize. Themes creativity process problem solving writing Mood reflective analytical Type advice methodology When to use this quote - research projects - creative writing - product design - academic papers Key Concepts brainstorming idea generation Questions to Reflect On - What insights emerge when you write without constraints? - How do you refine raw ideas into structure? A Different Perspective Unstructured writing can become chaotic without later synthesis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments/) [Fragments Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments-work-2150596/) [Outlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlines/) [Outlines Help](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlines-help-2150594/) [Question Fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/question-fragments-2150595/) ## Related quotes > [I work sometimes from outlines, which are immediately abandoned. Sometimes, when I'm trying to find the characters, I'll sketch things out a bit. Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudnick/i-work-sometimes-from-outlines-which-are-immediately-abandoned/) [Paul Rudnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudnick/) > [“write whatever comes into your head, as fast as you can type, without reference to outlines, notes, data, books or any other aids. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/write-whatever-comes-into-your-head-as-fast-as-you-can-type-without/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [But the mark of American merit in painting, in sculpture, in poetry, in fiction, in eloquence, seems to be a certain grace withoutgrandeur, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/but-the-mark-of-american-merit-in-painting-in-sculpture-in-poetry-in/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The outlines of the needed psychology of becoming can be discovered by looking within ourselves; for it is knowledge of our own uniqueness that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-outlines-of-the-needed-psychology-of-becoming-can-be-discovered/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Color in certain places has the great value of making the outlines and structural planes seem more energetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/color-in-certain-places-has-the-great-value-of-making-the-outlines/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I just don't really get into all that sort of personal negative stuff. My job is to outline some positive plans for the country's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/i-just-don-t-really-get-into-all-that-sort-of-personal-negative-stuff/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [If one really thinks about the body as such, there is no possible outline of the body as such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayatri-chakravorty-spivak/if-one-really-thinks-about-the-body-as-such-there-is-no-possible/) [Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayatri-chakravorty-spivak/) > [The effort of the economist is to "see," to picture the interplay of economic elements. The more clearly cut these elements appear in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-fisher/the-effort-of-the-economist-is-to-see-to-picture-the-interplay-of/) [Irving Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-fisher/) > [I don't have very complete scripts for my films. I have a general outline and a character in my mind, and I make no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abbas-kiarostami/i-don-t-have-very-complete-scripts-for-my-films-i-have-a-general/) [Abbas Kiarostami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abbas-kiarostami/) > [With respect to the outlines of what's in the Army Field Manual, there's no doubt in my mind about the limitations it places not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mattis/with-respect-to-the-outlines-of-what-s-in-the-army-field-manual-there/) [James Mattis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mattis/) > [ I always begin \[a novel\] with outlines, but they change and so do my endings and beginnings. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/i-always-begin-a-novel-with-outlines-but-they-change-and-so-do-my/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/) [Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/) > [Right now I'm doing four shows at a time, trying to read four outlines every week, four scripts every week, and watching four rough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-spelling/right-now-i-m-doing-four-shows-at-a-time-trying-to-read-four-outlines/) [Aaron Spelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-spelling/) ## More by Howard S. Becker > [“write whatever comes into your head, as fast as you can type, without reference to outlines, notes, data, books or any other aids. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/write-whatever-comes-into-your-head-as-fast-as-you-can-type-without/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [Every part of the photographic image carries some information that contributes to its total statement; the viewer's responsibility is to see, in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/every-part-of-the-photographic-image-carries-some-information-that/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [Every part of the photographic image carries some information that contributes to its total statement; the viewer's responsibility is to see, in the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/every-part-of-the-photographic-image-carries-some-information-that-2/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [Laymen learn to read photographs the way they do headlines, skipping over them quickly to get the gist of what is being said. Photographers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/laymen-learn-to-read-photographs-the-way-they-do-headlines-skipping/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [Photographers learn to interpret photographs in that technical way because they want to understand and use that 'language' themselves just as musicians learn a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/photographers-learn-to-interpret-photographs-in-that-technical-way/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) > [“All social groups groups make rules and attempt, at some times and under some circumstances, to enforce them. Social rules define situations and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/all-social-groups-groups-make-rules-and-attempt-at-some-times-and/) [Howard S. Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) [Explore all 7 Howard S. Becker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/) ## More Fragments quotes > [“I could think of any moment and see him weaved throughout it. It was as though his soul was interwoven with mine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-field/i-could-think-of-any-moment-and-see-him-weaved-throughout-it-it-was/) [M.R. Field](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-field/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [The idea of photography as evidence is pure bullshit. A photo is no more proof of any reality than what you may hear being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-riboud/the-idea-of-photography-as-evidence-is-pure-bullshit-a-photo-is-no/) [Marc Riboud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-riboud/) > [Genius differs from talent not by the amount of original thoughts, but by making the latter fertile and by positioning them properly, in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/genius-differs-from-talent-not-by-the-amount-of-original-thoughts-but/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [...Forgiving is not having to understand. Understanding may come later, in fragments, an insight here and a glimpse there, after forgiving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/forgiving-is-not-having-to-understand-understanding-may-come-later-in/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Today, something is happening to the whole structure of human consciousness. A fresh kind of life is starting. Driven by the forces of love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/today-something-is-happening-to-the-whole-structure-of-human/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [Only a literary work that reveals an unknown fragment of human existence has a reason for being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/only-a-literary-work-that-reveals-an-unknown-fragment-of-human/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Instead of a perpetual and perfect measure of the divine will, the fragments of the Koran were produced at the discretion of Mahomet; each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/instead-of-a-perpetual-and-perfect-measure-of-the-divine-will-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [He was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/he-was-like-a-song-i-d-heard-once-in-fragments-but-had-been-singing/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [All I want is to become someone new. In this case, Tobias Johnson, son of Evelyn Johnson. Tobias Johnson may have lived a dull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/all-i-want-is-to-become-someone-new-in-this-case-tobias-johnson-son/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“I knew that in the last few minutes everything had changed. I'd tried to hold myself apart, showing only what I wanted, doling out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-knew-that-in-the-last-few-minutes-everything-had-changed-i-d-tried/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the ice was not only broken; it was shivered into a million fragments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-ice-was-not-only-broken-it-was-shivered-into-a-million-fragments/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The weathercocks on spires and housetops were mysterious with hints of stormy wind, and pointed, like so many ghostly fingers, out to dangerous seas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/the-weathercocks-on-spires-and-housetops-were-mysterious-with-hints/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [No single thing abides; but all things flow. Fragment to fragment clings - the things thus grow Until we know them and name them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/no-single-thing-abides-but-all-things-flow-fragment-to-fragment/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/break-a-vase-and-the-love-that-reassembles-the-fragments-is-stronger/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) [Browse all 546 Fragments quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragments/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you begin, instead, by writing down everything, by spewing out your ideas as fast as you can type, you will discover the answer to the first question: the fragments you have to work with are the various things you have just written.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Howard S. Becker" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-with-them-if-you-begin-instead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fragments" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-with-them-if-you-begin-instead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe5/howard-s-becker-53008_fragments_outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-w_1005567.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Outlines can help, but not if you begin with them. If you begin, instead, by writing down everything, by…” — Howard S. Becker", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Howard S. Becker", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-s-becker/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Outlines can help, but not if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-with-them-if-you-begin-instead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-s-becker/outlines-can-help-but-not-if-you-begin-with-them-if-you-begin-instead/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```