--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never know, when I start writing a…" description: "\"I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going to happen, or how it will all get sorted out.\" — Jacqueline Woodson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png" --- # I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going… ![“I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going to happen, or how it will all get sorted out.” quote by Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png) > “I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going to happen, or how it will all get sorted out.” [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is unpredictable; authors cannot foresee plot twists or resolutions before they write. **In simple terms:** Storytelling is uncertain. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty in writing. Themes creativity uncertainty storytelling Mood reflective inquisitive Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel drafting - screenwriting - blogging - improvisational performance Key Concepts Narrative development creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance spontaneity with structure? - What strategies help you navigate plot uncertainty? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize chaos, ignoring disciplined planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sorted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sorted/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“But if that was going to happen, it was going to happen whether or not he worried about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/but-if-that-was-going-to-happen-it-was-going-to-happen-whether-or-not/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [“You absolutely don't know what's going to happen next - that's surrender.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/you-absolutely-don-t-know-what-s-going-to-happen-next-that-s-surrender/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [With football, you can never predict what's going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-silva/with-football-you-can-never-predict-what-s-going-to-happen/) [David Silva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-silva/) > [I think every artist, producer, believe's that it's going to happen at some point and time. You never want to just hear that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jadakiss/i-think-every-artist-producer-believe-s-that-it-s-going-to-happen-at/) [Jadakiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jadakiss/) > [I can never predict what's going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-ferry/i-can-never-predict-what-s-going-to-happen/) [Bryan Ferry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-ferry/) > [We never know what is going to happen tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hulk/we-never-know-what-is-going-to-happen-tomorrow/) [Hulk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hulk/) > [I keep om dreaming, but I know its never going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-keep-om-dreaming-but-i-know-its-never-going-to-happen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My dictum has always been: 'This show is happening just here, just tonight, with these people who are in this hall, and nobody knows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hammill/my-dictum-has-always-been-this-show-is-happening-just-here-just/) [Peter Hammill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hammill/) > [That's the kind of TV I like to watch, where you just don't know what's going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-parisse/that-s-the-kind-of-tv-i-like-to-watch-where-you-just-don-t-know-what/) [Annie Parisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-parisse/) > [Like, to do a pilot, you don't know what's going to happen with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-elfman/like-to-do-a-pilot-you-don-t-know-what-s-going-to-happen-with-it/) [Jenna Elfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-elfman/) > [You don't wait for somebody to give you something. Then it's not going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-hill/you-don-t-wait-for-somebody-to-give-you-something-then-it-s-not-going/) [Katie Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-hill/) > [Whatever is going to happen is already happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-berrigan/whatever-is-going-to-happen-is-already-happening/) Ted Berrigan > [The next 10 years are either going to happen to us, or because of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-solis/the-next-10-years-are-either-going-to-happen-to-us-or-because-of-us/) [Brian Solis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-solis/) > [With me, you never know what is going to happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-ivanisevic/with-me-you-never-know-what-is-going-to-happen/) [Goran Ivanisevic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-ivanisevic/) > [You can't be too anxious to predict when something big is going to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cordarrelle-patterson/you-can-t-be-too-anxious-to-predict-when-something-big-is-going-to/) [Cordarrelle Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cordarrelle-patterson/) ## More by Jacqueline Woodson > [A lot of times, when people send me books to read - new writers mostly - I find that the book is still in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/a-lot-of-times-when-people-send-me-books-to-read-new-writers-mostly-i/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I think, even though homophobia still exists, there is much more of a dialogue and a taboo around being homophobic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-think-even-though-homophobia-still-exists-there-is-much-more-of-a/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I still love Carson McCullers and Raymond Carver and Toni Morrison and James Baldwin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-still-love-carson-mccullers-and-raymond-carver-and-toni-morrison/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I'm usually working on several things at once. 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People all the time wanting to change that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/that-s-all-anybody-is-themselves-people-all-the-time-wanting-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I don't know how women stop being friends with other women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-don-t-know-how-women-stop-being-friends-with-other-women/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [Who are you without your girls? I truly believe that. Who are you without the people who help you make sense of the misogyny,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/who-are-you-without-your-girls-i-truly-believe-that-who-are-you/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“And freedom? Oh, freedom. Well that's just some people talking. 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Forever and always, all right? —D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-re-a-part-of-me-you-re-in-my-heart-forever-and-always-all-right-d/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [I wouldn't mind the early autumn if you came home today I'd tell you how much I miss you and know I'd be okay.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-wouldn-t-mind-the-early-autumn-if-you-came-home-today-i-d-tell-you/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > ['Another Brooklyn' came to me in this kind of dreamlike series of vignettes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/another-brooklyn-came-to-me-in-this-kind-of-dreamlike-series-of/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [“They're all inside of us,...past people and present people. And probably even the people we'll become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/they-re-all-inside-of-us-past-people-and-present-people-and-probably/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [When I was a kid, I got in trouble for lying a lot, and I had a teacher say, 'Instead of lying, write it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/when-i-was-a-kid-i-got-in-trouble-for-lying-a-lot-and-i-had-a-teacher/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) [Explore all 237 Jacqueline Woodson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) ## More Get quotes > [We have to get control of our borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-coffman/we-have-to-get-control-of-our-borders/) [Mike Coffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-coffman/) > [Unmarried couples should get married - that's an excellent tax avoidance measure, if a bit drastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-whiting/unmarried-couples-should-get-married-that-s-an-excellent-tax/) John Whiting > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. 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Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-d-burns/) Browse all 15,894 Get quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going to happen, or how it will all get sorted out.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jacqueline Woodson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-story-what-s-going-to-happen-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Get" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-story-what-s-going-to-happen-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/jacqueline-woodson-1482_get_i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-stor_946166.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never know, when I start writing a story, what's going to happen, or how it will all get sorted out.” — Jacqueline Woodson", "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": "Jacqueline Woodson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never know, when I start...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-story-what-s-going-to-happen-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/i-never-know-when-i-start-writing-a-story-what-s-going-to-happen-or/#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 } } ] } ```