--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99…" description: "\"Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.\" — Louise Brooks" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg" --- # Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent… ![“Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.” quote by Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg) > “Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.” [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires stripping away excess, focusing on essential ideas, making the process more about editing than raw inspiration. **In simple terms:** Writing is mostly editing. Key Takeaway Prioritize removal over addition. Themes creativity editing productivity Mood determined inquisitive Type practical motivational When to use this quote - drafting - academic papers - novel writing - blog posts Key Concepts minimalism focus process Questions to Reflect On - What can you cut to improve clarity? - How do you balance inspiration with editing? A Different Perspective Elimination alone may stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [99 Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/99-percent/) [Brevity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) [Elimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elimination/) [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Inspiration 99](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration-99-610734/) [Percent Elimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-elimination-5270685/) [Percent Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/percent-inspiration-610826/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Percent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-percent-827795/) ## Related quotes > [Genius is 1 percent inspiration, 99 percent perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/genius-is-1-percent-inspiration-99-percent-perspiration/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [“Photography’s 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent moving furniture.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-heisler/photography-s-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-moving-furniture/) [Gregory Heisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-heisler/) > [Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-alva-edison/genius-is-one-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-perspiration/) [Thomas Alva Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-alva-edison/) > [People often say that writing is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration. This is nonsense, of course. It's pretty much one hundred percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caprice-crane/people-often-say-that-writing-is-ten-percent-inspiration-and-ninety/) [Caprice Crane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caprice-crane/) > [“For too long, the creative world has focused on idea generation at the expense of idea execution. As the legendary inventor Thomas Edison famously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/for-too-long-the-creative-world-has-focused-on-idea-generation-at-the/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) > [“ There's a poster with Thomas Edison's quote: GENIUS IS 1 PERCENT INSPIRATION AND 99 PERCENT PERSPIRATION.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/there-s-a-poster-with-thomas-edison-s-quote-genius-is-1-percent/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [“Genius is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent perspiration.” To make great ideas a reality, we must act, experiment, fail, adapt, and learn on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-k-glei/genius-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-perspiration-to-make/) [Jocelyn K. Glei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-k-glei/) > [Genius is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-edison/genius-is-99-percent-perspiration-and-1-percent-inspiration/) [Thomas Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-edison/) > [Eighty percent of a picture is writing, the other twenty percent is the execution, such as having the camera on the right spot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/eighty-percent-of-a-picture-is-writing-the-other-twenty-percent-is/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration - said the genius who was 1% showman and 99% fraud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/genius-is-1-inspiration-and-99-perspiration-said-the-genius-who-was-1/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Science is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/science-is-1-inspiration-and-99-perspiration/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-a-edison/invention-is-1-inspiration-and-99-perspiration/) [Thomas A. Edison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-a-edison/) > [Writing is 1% inspiration, 99% not getting distracted by the internet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writing-is-1-inspiration-99-not-getting-distracted-by-the-internet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For me genius is '1% inspiration and 99% procrastination.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-herring/for-me-genius-is-1-inspiration-and-99-procrastination/) [Richard Herring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-herring/) > [Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/genius-is-1-inspiration-and-99-perspiration/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Louise Brooks > [For two extraordinary years I have been working on it - learning to write - but mostly learning how to tell the truth. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/for-two-extraordinary-years-i-have-been-working-on-it-learning-to/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [“Over the years I suffered poverty and rejection and came to believe that my mother had formed me for a freedom that was unattainable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/over-the-years-i-suffered-poverty-and-rejection-and-came-to-believe/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I have a gift for enraging people, but if I ever bore you it will be with a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-have-a-gift-for-enraging-people-but-if-i-ever-bore-you-it-will-be/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept it without wishing I had given it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishing-i-had-kept-it-nor-kept-it/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [Most beautiful dumb girls think they are smart and get away with it, because other people, on the whole, aren't much smarter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/most-beautiful-dumb-girls-think-they-are-smart-and-get-away-with-it/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I do not excuse myself with the usual escape of 'not trying.' I tried with all my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-do-not-excuse-myself-with-the-usual-escape-of-not-trying-i-tried/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [The great art of films does not consist of descriptive movement of face and body but in the movements of thought and soul transmitted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/the-great-art-of-films-does-not-consist-of-descriptive-movement-of/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [After a person dies, his biographers feel free to give him a glittering list of intimate friends. Anecdotes are so much tastier spiced with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/after-a-person-dies-his-biographers-feel-free-to-give-him-a/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [Love is a publicity stunt, and making love, after the first curious raptures, is only another petulant way to pass the time waiting for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/love-is-a-publicity-stunt-and-making-love-after-the-first-curious/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [If I ever bore you, it'll be with a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/if-i-ever-bore-you-it-ll-be-with-a-knife/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [“I have been taking stock of my 50 years since I left Wichita in 1922 at the age of 15 to become a dancer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-have-been-taking-stock-of-my-50-years-since-i-left-wichita-in-1922/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I never gave away anything without wishing I had kept it; nor kept anything without wishing I had given it away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-never-gave-away-anything-without-wishing-i-had-kept-it-nor-kept/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [The tragedy of film history is that it is fabricated, falsified, by the very people who make film history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/the-tragedy-of-film-history-is-that-it-is-fabricated-falsified-by-the/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [In my dreams I am not crippled. In my dreams, I dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/in-my-dreams-i-am-not-crippled-in-my-dreams-i-dance/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) > [I learned to act by watching Martha Graham dance, and I learned to dance by watching Charlie Chaplin act.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/i-learned-to-act-by-watching-martha-graham-dance-and-i-learned-to/) [Louise Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) [Explore all 21 Louise Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/) ## More Brevity quotes > [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/) [Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/) > [“It's not my accent, but my brevity makes me stylish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/it-s-not-my-accent-but-my-brevity-makes-me-stylish/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Life is too short to waste being a productive member of society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-luckman/life-is-too-short-to-waste-being-a-productive-member-of-society/) [Sol Luckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-luckman/) > [This is going to take a while. I'm a fantasy author. We have trouble with the concept of brevity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/this-is-going-to-take-a-while-i-m-a-fantasy-author-we-have-trouble/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if an hour, I am ready now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woodrow-wilson/if-i-am-to-speak-ten-minutes-i-need-a-week-for-preparation-if-an-hour/) [Woodrow Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woodrow-wilson/) > [If, in the very intense electric field in the neighbourhood of the cathode, the molecules of the gas are dissociated and are split up,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-john-thomson/if-in-the-very-intense-electric-field-in-the-neighbourhood-of-the/) [Joseph John Thomson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-john-thomson/) > [Our senses will not admit anything extreme. Too much noise confuses us, too much light dazzles us, too great distance or nearness prevents vision,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/our-senses-will-not-admit-anything-extreme-too-much-noise-confuses-us/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [Conversation! Supple sentences, with first and second meanings and overtones beyond, outrageous challenges with cleverly planned slip-points, rebuttals of elegant brevity; deceptions and guiles,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/conversation-supple-sentences-with-first-and-second-meanings-and/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [It is excellent discipline for an author to feel that he must say all that he has to say in the fewest possible words,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/it-is-excellent-discipline-for-an-author-to-feel-that-he-must-say-all/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [A drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-strunk-jr/a-drawing-should-have-no-unnecessary-lines-and-a-machine-no/) [William Strunk, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-strunk-jr/) > [Not to discriminate every moment some passionate attitude in those about us, and in the very brilliancy of their gifts some tragic dividing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-pater/not-to-discriminate-every-moment-some-passionate-attitude-in-those/) [Walter Pater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-pater/) > [He will see himself and life and the world as truly as our human limitations will permit; realizing the brevity and minuteness of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/he-will-see-himself-and-life-and-the-world-as-truly-as-our-human/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [There came to him an image of man’s whole life upon the earth. It seemed to him that all man’s life was like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wolfe/there-came-to-him-an-image-of-man-s-whole-life-upon-the-earth-it/) [Thomas Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wolfe/) > [As a writer, I'm too busy and worried to experience the delight while composing my own work, although, of course, I hope a reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mcdermott/as-a-writer-i-m-too-busy-and-worried-to-experience-the-delight-while/) [Alice McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mcdermott/) > [Aiming at brevity, I become obscure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/aiming-at-brevity-i-become-obscure/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) [Browse all 192 Brevity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brevity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louise Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-elimination/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brevity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-elimination/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/302/louise-brooks-27149_brevity_writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99_661495.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and 99 percent elimination.” — Louise Brooks", "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": "Louise Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Writing is 1 percent inspiration, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-elimination/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-brooks/writing-is-1-percent-inspiration-and-99-percent-elimination/#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 } } ] } ```