--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel there has to be a certain amount…" description: "\"I feel there has to be a certain amount of improvisation as I'm writing, which means any idea or any commitment to a project is risky. It involves time..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/joanna-scott-21641_amount_i-feel-there-has-to-be-a-certain-amount_2398913.jpg" --- # I feel there has to be a certain amount of improvisation… ![“I feel there has to be a certain amount of improvisation as I'm writing, which means any idea or any commitment to a project is risky. It involves time; it involves gathering of material, and sometimes it just doesn't work. Sometimes it does. As I'm starting out on a project, I can't tell if it…” quote by Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/joanna-scott-21641_amount_i-feel-there-has-to-be-a-certain-amount_2398913.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/joanna-scott-21641_amount_i-feel-there-has-to-be-a-certain-amount_2398913.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f56/joanna-scott-21641_amount_i-feel-there-has-to-be-a-certain-amount_2398913.jpg) > “I feel there has to be a certain amount of improvisation as I'm writing, which means any idea or any commitment to a project is risky. It involves time; it involves gathering of material, and sometimes it just doesn't work. Sometimes it does. As I'm starting out on a project, I can't tell if it will click or not.” [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She discusses the inherent risk and improvisation in creative projects, acknowledging uncertainty and the need for experimentation. **In simple terms:** Creative work involves risk and improvisation. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty in projects. Themes risk improvisation creativity Mood reflective analytical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - Startups - artistic endeavors - research projects - writing workshops Key Concepts Project management creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide when to commit to an idea? - What strategies help manage creative risk? A Different Perspective Unpredictable outcomes can waste time and resources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commitment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commitment/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Improvisation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvisation/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I use improvisation as a writing tool to help produce material that goes into a script, but a well-crafted script shouldn't sound scripted, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-coogan/i-use-improvisation-as-a-writing-tool-to-help-produce-material-that/) [Steve Coogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-coogan/) > [“Every conscious thought you have, every moment you spend on an idea, is a commitment to be stuck with that idea and with aspects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-michel/every-conscious-thought-you-have-every-moment-you-spend-on-an-idea-is/) [Kevin Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-michel/) > [Usually you just use these words: "I give you my, I make this commitment to you, I honor this idea between us." For me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-somerhalder/usually-you-just-use-these-words-i-give-you-my-i-make-this-commitment/) [Ian Somerhalder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-somerhalder/) > [In order to test the strength of an idea and the commitment of those who support an idea, we must be tested by opposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-order-to-test-the-strength-of-an-idea-and-the-commitment-of-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Every decision you make in life has benefits and consequences. Sometimes you just have to go on faith, and even that comes at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-wingate/every-decision-you-make-in-life-has-benefits-and-consequences/) [Lisa Wingate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-wingate/) > [“Great things take time. Your business idea is one of those things. 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What it means is, 'Here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/religion-has-certain-ideas-at-the-heart-of-it-which-we-call-sacred-or/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [Go directly to work' means... when an idea strikes, you drop everything and when your work bell tolls, you answer it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-maisel/go-directly-to-work-means-when-an-idea-strikes-you-drop-everything/) [Eric Maisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-maisel/) > [“Now, the invention of the scientific method and science is, I'm sure we'll all agree, the most powerful intellectual idea, the most powerful framework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/now-the-invention-of-the-scientific-method-and-science-is-i-m-sure-we/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [The mind is pretty powerful. 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There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [I don't think Donald Barthelme would have minded being called a confusing writer. Confusion was a favorite subject for him in his essays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/i-don-t-think-donald-barthelme-would-have-minded-being-called-a/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Vladimir Nabokov on 'Bleak House' or Henry James on 'The House of the Seven Gables' prove that reading can be an exciting subject in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/vladimir-nabokov-on-bleak-house-or-henry-james-on-the-house-of-the/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [With prurient absorption and only minimal risk, we can pretend to be the subject of the lead article on the front page of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/with-prurient-absorption-and-only-minimal-risk-we-can-pretend-to-be/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The novelist in me is probably hiding behind all the stories I write, looking for ways to connect them and continue the conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-novelist-in-me-is-probably-hiding-behind-all-the-stories-i-write/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Whether art is defined as a representation of or response to reality, it demands an intense engagement with things we haven't managed to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/whether-art-is-defined-as-a-representation-of-or-response-to-reality/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The best liars lie with their eyes rather than with their words. This might put writers at a disadvantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-best-liars-lie-with-their-eyes-rather-than-with-their-words-this/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Jim Longenbach, poet, critic, and my husband, is always passing along life-changing books for me to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/jim-longenbach-poet-critic-and-my-husband-is-always-passing-along/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [In the early 1980s, I spent a year working as an assistant at the Elaine Markson Literary Agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/in-the-early-1980s-i-spent-a-year-working-as-an-assistant-at-the/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Reviewers try to square the antics of a writer's life with the antics in the fiction. Even satirical verbal play is too often read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/reviewers-try-to-square-the-antics-of-a-writer-s-life-with-the-antics/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere confessions but in the deliberate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-truth-in-stories-we-can-find/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [There are plenty of writers, past and present, from Shakespeare to Henry James to Lydia Davis, who test the limits of coherence and put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/there-are-plenty-of-writers-past-and-present-from-shakespeare-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The past is full of examples of renegade writers who were overlooked in their time not only because their work didn't fit neatly into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-past-is-full-of-examples-of-renegade-writers-who-were-overlooked/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [My first two books, I was very close to my main character, stuck inside their head. And then with 'Arrogance,' I broke into many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/my-first-two-books-i-was-very-close-to-my-main-character-stuck-inside/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) [Explore all 29 Joanna Scott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## More Amount quotes > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/) [Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) > [It's a challenge to work a character's arc into a format in which you only have a very limited amount of time to grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginnifer-goodwin/it-s-a-challenge-to-work-a-character-s-arc-into-a-format-in-which-you/) [Ginnifer Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginnifer-goodwin/) > [The amount of things you can do with a kettlebell is unsurpassed by any other training equipment - dumbbells, resistance machines, free weights.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laird-hamilton/the-amount-of-things-you-can-do-with-a-kettlebell-is-unsurpassed-by/) [Laird Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laird-hamilton/) > [The amount you give isn't important. What matters is what that amount represents in terms of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/the-amount-you-give-isn-t-important-what-matters-is-what-that-amount/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [There's a place in Botswana where there are 100,000 elephants living in a single population. Think of the amount of space they need. Remember,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-bergin/there-s-a-place-in-botswana-where-there-are-100-000-elephants-living/) [Patrick Bergin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-bergin/) > [How could you justify giving Holland twice the amount of money that you gave Belgium? Well, finally, I put it up to them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-averell-harriman/how-could-you-justify-giving-holland-twice-the-amount-of-money-that/) [W. Averell Harriman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-averell-harriman/) > [I am not a great believer in dialectical struggle. I am much more of a fusion person. 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