Accidents Quote by Neil Gaiman
“As for thinking time versus writing time, well, that's up to you. But - and I wish it were otherwise - books don't get written by thinking about them, they get written by writing them. And that's when you make discoveries about what you're writing. That's when you get the happy accidents.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Neil Gaiman on Writing, 2013
Writing is the act that turns ideas into reality; thinking alone never produces a finished work.
In simple terms: Ideas need action to become real.
Key Takeaway
Write to discover.
Themes
creativity
process
discipline
Mood
reflective
inspired
Type
advice
process
When to use this quote
- authoring a novel
- drafting a blog post
- brainstorming sessions
- academic papers
Key Concepts
emergent insight
happy accidents
Questions to Reflect On
- How does writing change your original idea?
- What discoveries have you made through drafting?
A Different Perspective
Thinking without writing yields no concrete results.
![“It [writing] has enormous meta-cognitive implications. The power is this: That you cannot only think in ways that you could not possibly think if you did not have the written word, but you can now think about the thinking that you do with the written word. There is danger in this, and the danger…” quote by John R. Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7b6/john-r-searle-82459_academic-life_it-writing-has-enormous-meta-cognitive-i_147758.jpg)
![“Indeed, the ratio of time spent reading versus writing is well over 10 to 1. We are constantly reading old code as part of the effort to write new code. ...[Therefore,] making it easy to read makes it easier to write.” quote by Robert C. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f53/robert-c-martin-18499_agile_indeed-the-ratio-of-time-spent-reading-v_2894634.jpg)
![“[T]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/19e/neil-gaiman-29_amused_t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every_4551.jpg)
