--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It also signals to me, when I pick up a…" description: "\"It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it. You have permissi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lily-king-10967_failure_it-also-signals-to-me-when-i-pick-up-a-p_915201.jpg" --- # It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this… ![“It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it. You have permission to make all the mistakes you want. It signals freedom to me, and it signals mistakes.” quote by Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lily-king-10967_failure_it-also-signals-to-me-when-i-pick-up-a-p_915201.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lily-king-10967_failure_it-also-signals-to-me-when-i-pick-up-a-p_915201.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90b/lily-king-10967_failure_it-also-signals-to-me-when-i-pick-up-a-p_915201.jpg) > “It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it. You have permission to make all the mistakes you want. It signals freedom to me, and it signals mistakes.” [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Drafting is a safe space for experimentation, allowing mistakes and fostering creative freedom without fear of judgment. **In simple terms:** Drafts let you experiment freely. Key Takeaway Embrace mistakes, keep creating. Themes creativity freedom growth Mood inspirational encouraging Type literary creative When to use this quote - authoring a novel - academic research - design brainstorming Key Concepts writing process psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - How do you overcome fear of critique? - What value do mistakes add to creativity? A Different Perspective Perfectionism can inhibit progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Pencil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pencil/) [Pencil Rough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pencil-rough-1197840/) [Pencils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pencils/) [Permission](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/permission/) [Picks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/picks/) [Rough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rough/) [Rough Draft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rough-draft-861479/) [Rough drafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rough-drafts/) [Signals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals/) [Signals Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals-freedom-1371611/) [Signals Mistakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signals-mistakes-1371612/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) ## Related quotes > [When I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/when-i-pick-up-a-pencil-that-this-is-a-rough-draft-this-is-not-going/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [The first rough draft of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bradlee/the-first-rough-draft-of-history/) [Ben Bradlee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bradlee/) > [Journalism is not easy. It's the first rough draft. I don't think you need to wait around until you have the definitive thing. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/journalism-is-not-easy-it-s-the-first-rough-draft-i-don-t-think-you/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [But it isn’t a rough draft either. The one I turned in several months ago was rough. There were some bad plot holes, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/but-it-isn-t-a-rough-draft-either-the-one-i-turned-in-several-months/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [If I had to write a rough draft, all the way through and then go back and start over, I probably would just stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/if-i-had-to-write-a-rough-draft-all-the-way-through-and-then-go-back/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [News is only the first rough draft of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-barth/news-is-only-the-first-rough-draft-of-history/) [Alan Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-barth/) > [Why was man created before woman? Because you always need a rough draft before the final copy.” – Chloe Traeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/why-was-man-created-before-woman-because-you-always-need-a-rough/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [ \[News is\] a first rough draft of history. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-graham/news-is-a-first-rough-draft-of-history/) [Phil Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-graham/) > [The dictionary is, however, only a rough draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monique-wittig/the-dictionary-is-however-only-a-rough-draft/) [Monique Wittig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monique-wittig/) > [Because your goal is a complete rough draft of a novel, and every rough draft, by being complete, is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/because-your-goal-is-a-complete-rough-draft-of-a-novel-and-every/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [Having done television for almost 20 years now, a pilot is kind of like a rough draft. It's like bringing people into your ultrasound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bomer/having-done-television-for-almost-20-years-now-a-pilot-is-kind-of/) [Matt Bomer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bomer/) > [I have friends who are capable of writing a very rough draft and then going back and embroidering - they're sort of the cathedral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/i-have-friends-who-are-capable-of-writing-a-very-rough-draft-and-then/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [Sure God created man before woman, but then again you always make a rough draft before creating the final masterpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bloch/sure-god-created-man-before-woman-but-then-again-you-always-make-a/) [Robert Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bloch/) > [“A novel rough draft is like bread dough; you need to beat the crap out of it for it to rise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-baty/a-novel-rough-draft-is-like-bread-dough-you-need-to-beat-the-crap-out/) [Chris Baty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-baty/) > [Snooki is a bestselling author? Huh? What? I don't know if I should dumb down my book, shoot myself or find a publisher who'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-hill/snooki-is-a-bestselling-author-huh-what-i-don-t-know-if-i-should-dumb/) [Geoffrey Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-hill/) ## More by Lily King > [“And this led to another round of mapping as we separated men from women, finding that while the male ethos usually represented the culture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/and-this-led-to-another-round-of-mapping-as-we-separated-men-from/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [When I finished graduate school, the first George Bush was president, and I really wanted to get out of the country. We'd just gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/when-i-finished-graduate-school-the-first-george-bush-was-president/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [When I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. This is not going anywhere, and no one's going to see it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/when-i-pick-up-a-pencil-that-this-is-a-rough-draft-this-is-not-going/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I didn't major in anthropology in college, but I do feel I had an education in different cultures very early on. My parents divorced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-didn-t-major-in-anthropology-in-college-but-i-do-feel-i-had-an/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I'm very interested in the way people interact emotionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-m-very-interested-in-the-way-people-interact-emotionally/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [“mind Nell was writing: —ornamentation of neck, wrists, fingers —paint on face only”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/mind-nell-was-writing-ornamentation-of-neck-wrists-fingers-paint-on/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I have three stepfamilies as well as my family of origin. I've had to adjust to them and also go back and forth among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-have-three-stepfamilies-as-well-as-my-family-of-origin-i-ve-had-to/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Perhaps all science is merely self-investigation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/perhaps-all-science-is-merely-self-investigation/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Every fictional thing I wrote gave me strength to write another and another. By the end I wasn't remaining true to anything but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/every-fictional-thing-i-wrote-gave-me-strength-to-write-another-and/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [“-Can we have one day when we don't have to talk about the meaning of life? -I don't think we ever talk about anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/can-we-have-one-day-when-we-don-t-have-to-talk-about-the-meaning-of/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [Ever since high school I've been writing in a spiral notebook, in pencil. Everything looks too polished on a computer when you start writing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/ever-since-high-school-i-ve-been-writing-in-a-spiral-notebook-in/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [There are certain tribes in the middle Sepik that eat raw bat. A certain kind of raw bat is a delicacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/there-are-certain-tribes-in-the-middle-sepik-that-eat-raw-bat-a/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [“You have so much to offer, she was often told, as if she had a tray of cigarettes and candy perpetually strapped to her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/you-have-so-much-to-offer-she-was-often-told-as-if-she-had-a-tray-of/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [“Was it possible in any relationship to not disappoint, to do anything more than only briefly rekindle the initial fatal illusion?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/was-it-possible-in-any-relationship-to-not-disappoint-to-do-anything/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) > [I love this idea of trying to create that intellectual eroticism. That was what I was working toward all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-king/i-love-this-idea-of-trying-to-create-that-intellectual-eroticism-that/) [Lily King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) [Explore all 62 Lily King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-king/) ## More Failure quotes > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Rhiannon's Law #28: If you're going to fuck up, be sure to fuck up good and proper. Nothing makes failure acceptable, so you might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rhiannon-s-law-28-if-you-re-going-to-fuck-up-be-sure-to-fuck-up-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Failure is a part of life and you have to learn to deal with it. Failure is something that is part of life's cycle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-powell/failure-is-a-part-of-life-and-you-have-to-learn-to-deal-with-it/) [Colin Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-powell/) > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [First action was a mistake. What about the second? third? fourth and fifth?...Mehn you are bad...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-action-was-a-mistake-what-about-the-second-third-fourth-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [God's love never fail :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/god-s-love-never-fail/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [“Our failure to understand another being's inner reality doesn't make that reality any less real, or any less valuable to that being. (p.255)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-schulz/our-failure-to-understand-another-being-s-inner-reality-doesn-t-make/) [Kathryn Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-schulz/) > [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/) [Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/) > [Don't take too much comfort in the fact that you're successful today because tomorrow could bring failure. There's no surety in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-savage/don-t-take-too-much-comfort-in-the-fact-that-you-re-successful-today/) [Michael Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-savage/) > [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [As we are coming to the end of the year, I want you to forget about the past, the failure, the negative thoughts or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-we-are-coming-to-the-end-of-the-year-i-want-you-to-forget-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 27,498 Failure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It also signals to me, when I pick up a pencil, that this is a rough draft. 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