--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's basically an act of faith, hoping…" description: "\"“It's basically an act of faith, hoping that a small idea will unspool into a bigger whole. Sometimes, in fact often, it doesn't and it just runs out o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/khaled-hosseini-251_books_it-s-basically-an-act-of-faith-hoping-th_614169.jpg" --- # It's basically an act of faith, hoping that a small idea… ![“It's basically an act of faith, hoping that a small idea will unspool into a bigger whole. Sometimes, in fact often, it doesn't and it just runs out of steam. The hope for me is that it will snowball. the best way to put it is that I have no particular method or technique per se, other than this…” quote by Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/khaled-hosseini-251_books_it-s-basically-an-act-of-faith-hoping-th_614169.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/khaled-hosseini-251_books_it-s-basically-an-act-of-faith-hoping-th_614169.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eea/khaled-hosseini-251_books_it-s-basically-an-act-of-faith-hoping-th_614169.jpg) > ““It's basically an act of faith, hoping that a small idea will unspool into a bigger whole. Sometimes, in fact often, it doesn't and it just runs out of steam. The hope for me is that it will snowball. the best way to put it is that I have no particular method or technique per se, other than this: I plan nothing, I outline nothing, I start with an idea or an image or a line of dialogue and see where it leads me. Because I never know what the next page will contain, let alone the end of the book, I am perpetually surprised by the course that my characters take. The writing process is as full of surprises and twists for me as the reading experience is for my readers. I love the spontaneity of writing this way, the possibilities left open, the feeling that I am not constrained or committed to any given path. Every day, I am surprised by something. It may not be the most efficient way of writing, but it has served me well thus far.”” [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative work can emerge from unplanned, spontaneous beginnings, embracing uncertainty and surprise. **In simple terms:** Spontaneous creation leads to unexpected outcomes. Key Takeaway Allow ideas to develop without rigid plans. Themes creativity writing spontaneity process uncertainty Mood inspired reflective curious Type creative process philosophical When to use this quote - use brainstorming - draft without outline - follow intuitive impulses - accept revisions - balance spontaneity with structure Key Concepts emergent storytelling organic development creative risk flexibility Questions to Reflect On - How does spontaneity affect your productivity? - When might planning be more beneficial? A Different Perspective Lack of structure may cause inefficiency or lost focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-advice/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [The reader has information about the characters that the characters themselves don't have. We all have our secret sides. Even I come to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaume-cabre/the-reader-has-information-about-the-characters-that-the-characters/) [Jaume Cabre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaume-cabre/) > [“...and above all, you should not think of writing as a way of earning your living. 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Then before nightfall, I run along the pleasant paths of the Jardin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-payne/coffee-my-delight-of-the-morning-yoga-my-delight-of-the-noon-then/) [Roman Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-payne/) > [“Something is wrong with a sentence when you can delete words and not sense the loss.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvan-barnet/something-is-wrong-with-a-sentence-when-you-can-delete-words-and-not/) [Sylvan Barnet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvan-barnet/) > [“There is nothing that requires more precision, and purity of expression, than to write in a familiar style,' as the great English essayist William…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-weiland/there-is-nothing-that-requires-more-precision-and-purity-of/) Matt Weiland > [“It's all mine, it's all sacred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-weise/it-s-all-mine-it-s-all-sacred/) [Jamie Weise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-weise/) > [“...language always occurs in a context - you can speak Elizabethan words, but to speak the language you have to put on the mindset...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/language-always-occurs-in-a-context-you-can-speak-elizabethan-words/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [“Q: Do you have any advice for upcoming writers who want to pen weird stories? A: READ, damn it. Fill your brain to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-e-grau/q-do-you-have-any-advice-for-upcoming-writers-who-want-to-pen-weird/) T.E. Grau > [“I know it's difficult in the beginning. But, listen. If you have the impulse to write, do yourself a favor, do the world a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/i-know-it-s-difficult-in-the-beginning-but-listen-if-you-have-the/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-always-edit-a-bad-page-you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [“The sooner you finish procrastinating, the sooner you can get back to your art.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-lennox/the-sooner-you-finish-procrastinating-the-sooner-you-can-get-back-to/) [Stephanie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-lennox/) ## More by Khaled Hosseini > [“Winter was every kid’s favorite season in Kabul, at least those whose fathers could afford to buy a good iron stove. The reason was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/winter-was-every-kid-s-favorite-season-in-kabul-at-least-those-whose/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Their fights didn’t so much end as dissipate, like a drop of ink in a bowl of water, with a residual taint that lingered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/their-fights-didn-t-so-much-end-as-dissipate-like-a-drop-of-ink-in-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-think-that-everything-he-did-feeding-the-poor-giving-money-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“it always falls on the sober to pay for the sins of the drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/it-always-falls-on-the-sober-to-pay-for-the-sins-of-the-drunk/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Mariam knew that life for the most part had been unkind to her. But as she walked the final twenty paces, she could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/mariam-knew-that-life-for-the-most-part-had-been-unkind-to-her-but-as/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I pray. I pray that my sins have not caught up with me the way I'd always feared they would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-pray-i-pray-that-my-sins-have-not-caught-up-with-me-the-way-i-d/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“shoes: that putting them on a bed invited death into the family, that a quarrel would follow if one put on the left shoe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/shoes-that-putting-them-on-a-bed-invited-death-into-the-family-that-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I have a theory about marriage, Monsieur Boustouler. And it's that nearly always you will know within two weeks if it's going to work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-theory-about-marriage-monsieur-boustouler-and-it-s-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-short-of-it-is-as-an-aspiring-writer-there-is-nothing-as-damaging/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [At that moment, she cannot think of a more reckless, irrational thing than choosing to become a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/at-that-moment-she-cannot-think-of-a-more-reckless-irrational-thing/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“He says this is war. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It's basically an act of faith, hoping that a small idea will unspool into a bigger whole. Sometimes, in fact often, it doesn't and it just runs out of steam. The hope for me is that it will snowball. the best way to put it is that I have no particular method or technique per se, other than this: I plan nothing, I outline nothing, I start with an idea or an image or a line of dialogue and see where it leads me. Because I never know what the next page will contain, let alone the end of the book, I am perpetually surprised by the course that my characters take. The writing process is as full of surprises and twists for me as the reading experience is for my readers. I love the spontaneity of writing this way, the possibilities left open, the feeling that I am not constrained or committed to any given path. Every day, I am surprised by something. 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