--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Before I start writing, before I have an…" description: "\"Before I start writing, before I have an idea of where and when the story happens, I research it thoroughly.\" — Isabel Allende" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/isabel-allende-266_happens_before-i-start-writing-before-i-have-an_380079.jpg" --- # Before I start writing, before I have an idea of where and… ![“Before I start writing, before I have an idea of where and when the story happens, I research it thoroughly.” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/isabel-allende-266_happens_before-i-start-writing-before-i-have-an_380079.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/isabel-allende-266_happens_before-i-start-writing-before-i-have-an_380079.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/isabel-allende-266_happens_before-i-start-writing-before-i-have-an_380079.jpg) > “Before I start writing, before I have an idea of where and when the story happens, I research it thoroughly.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Thorough research precedes creative planning to ensure authentic storytelling. **In simple terms:** Research first, then write. Key Takeaway Research before drafting. Themes writing research authenticity Mood thoughtful instructive Type creative practical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - journalism Key Concepts Historical context worldbuilding creative process Questions to Reflect On - How much research is enough? - When does research hinder imagination? A Different Perspective Over‑research can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Do not rely on outside analysis. Do your own research and do it thoroughly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/do-not-rely-on-outside-analysis-do-your-own-research-and-do-it/) Senoraroy > [I research every part thoroughly. I talk it out with my actor friends, but then I throw it all away when I get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-adams/i-research-every-part-thoroughly-i-talk-it-out-with-my-actor-friends/) [Amy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-adams/) > [Writing about an idea frees me of it. Thinking about it is a circle of repetitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/writing-about-an-idea-frees-me-of-it-thinking-about-it-is-a-circle-of/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [When I'm writing, I'm writing for a particular actor. When a lot of writers are writing, they're writing an idea. So they're not really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-phillips/when-i-m-writing-i-m-writing-for-a-particular-actor-when-a-lot-of/) [Todd Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-phillips/) > [If I am writing down something and it is my idea, my imagination, it won't be fact.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/disha-patani/if-i-am-writing-down-something-and-it-is-my-idea-my-imagination-it/) [Disha Patani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/disha-patani/) > [When I began to be published, people got the idea that I should 'teach writing,' which I have no idea how to do and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/when-i-began-to-be-published-people-got-the-idea-that-i-should-teach/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“I tell everyone who asks me about writing...almost everyone has an idea for a book, and some even have a great ending, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooklyn-hudson/i-tell-everyone-who-asks-me-about-writing-almost-everyone-has-an-idea/) [Brooklyn Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooklyn-hudson/) > [I had reached a point in my career in which I was ready to try something new in my writing, and the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/i-had-reached-a-point-in-my-career-in-which-i-was-ready-to-try/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I don't have a readership, I have a thinkership. I guess this is why what I do is called "conceptual writing." The idea is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-goldsmith/i-don-t-have-a-readership-i-have-a-thinkership-i-guess-this-is-why/) [Kenneth Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-goldsmith/) > [When you make movies, you have to be preoccupied with the social problems, otherwise there is no point in making a movie. To have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/when-you-make-movies-you-have-to-be-preoccupied-with-the-social/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [At the breakfast table we are footnoting everything that we read. We don't recognise it as such but we encounter an article in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/at-the-breakfast-table-we-are-footnoting-everything-that-we-read-we/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [Once I'm given an idea for a story I have a million ideas on how it should be illustrated, but I don't have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-selznick/once-i-m-given-an-idea-for-a-story-i-have-a-million-ideas-on-how-it/) [Brian Selznick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-selznick/) > [What I ended up doing was kind of crafting an idea for a story, presenting it to a writer - a dear friend of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiefer-sutherland/what-i-ended-up-doing-was-kind-of-crafting-an-idea-for-a-story/) [Kiefer Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiefer-sutherland/) > [When you have an idea for a story, you want those characters to reach as many people as you can. I think you normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-morgan/when-you-have-an-idea-for-a-story-you-want-those-characters-to-reach/) [Robert Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-morgan/) > [I love story-writing because I can (more or less, on occasion) actually DO it. That's really the truth. I like the idea that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-love-story-writing-because-i-can-more-or-less-on-occasion-actually/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. 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Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More Happens quotes > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. 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I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-krzyzewski/i-don-t-look-at-myself-as-a-basketball-coach-i-look-at-myself-as-a/) [Mike Krzyzewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-krzyzewski/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Talented people can predict with great accuracy what's about to happen just a tiny bit ahead of their competitors. It might be two seconds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-maney/talented-people-can-predict-with-great-accuracy-what-s-about-to/) [Kevin Maney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-maney/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [I always knew I wanted to have a good career, so I made it happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chord-overstreet/i-always-knew-i-wanted-to-have-a-good-career-so-i-made-it-happen/) [Chord Overstreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chord-overstreet/) > [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [I think the most miraculous thing is learning. I get out of the way and let the students learn. Then you get to watch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/i-think-the-most-miraculous-thing-is-learning-i-get-out-of-the-way/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [You want to remain hungry and stay in a good place as a competitor; at the same time, you want to be confident but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-odom/you-want-to-remain-hungry-and-stay-in-a-good-place-as-a-competitor-at/) [Lamar Odom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-odom/) > [This mind is a prison. It cannot find any freedom anywhere. It must die before freedom comes to you. 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