--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You write a scene, and it works or it…" description: "\"You write a scene, and it works or it doesn't. It's immediate.\" — Nick Cave" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/464/nick-cave-1153_immediate_you-write-a-scene-and-it-works-or-it-doe_3025489.jpg" --- # You write a scene, and it works or it doesn't. It's… ![“You write a scene, and it works or it doesn't. It's immediate.” quote by Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/464/nick-cave-1153_immediate_you-write-a-scene-and-it-works-or-it-doe_3025489.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/464/nick-cave-1153_immediate_you-write-a-scene-and-it-works-or-it-doe_3025489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/464/nick-cave-1153_immediate_you-write-a-scene-and-it-works-or-it-doe_3025489.jpg) > “You write a scene, and it works or it doesn't. It's immediate.” [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Highlights the immediacy and uncertainty of creative writing, where a scene either succeeds or fails on the spot. **In simple terms:** Writing scenes is instant and uncertain. Key Takeaway Embrace the risk of immediate creation. Themes creativity risk immediacy Mood energetic reflective determined Type creative practical inspirational When to use this quote - author workshops - creative practice - story development Key Concepts artistic process writing discipline feedback loops Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle a scene that fails? - What strategies improve immediate creative decisions? A Different Perspective Focusing only on instant outcomes may neglect long‑term revision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If two actors can communicate well during a scene, it works and makes for good chemistry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-sharma/if-two-actors-can-communicate-well-during-a-scene-it-works-and-makes/) [Ashish Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-sharma/) > [When I'm working on a short story, I could duck into a bathroom at a crowded party and write a scene, which is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/when-i-m-working-on-a-short-story-i-could-duck-into-a-bathroom-at-a/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I start with an image, then I go from the image toward exploring the situation. Then I write a scene, and from the scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-start-with-an-image-then-i-go-from-the-image-toward-exploring-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [When I first started writing, there was no way I'd write a sex scene. That just seemed impossible. That's why in "Fight Club" all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/when-i-first-started-writing-there-was-no-way-i-d-write-a-sex-scene/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I love it when characters surprise you, just like real people. When I write a scene I just try to make the characters behave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-falchuk/i-love-it-when-characters-surprise-you-just-like-real-people-when-i/) [Brad Falchuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-falchuk/) > [Never sit staring at a blank page or screen. If you find yourself stuck, write. Write about the scene you're trying to write. Writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/never-sit-staring-at-a-blank-page-or-screen-if-you-find-yourself/) [Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/) > [A lot of times you can write a scene with a specific song in mind, and then you lay it over the image, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harmony-korine/a-lot-of-times-you-can-write-a-scene-with-a-specific-song-in-mind-and/) [Harmony Korine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harmony-korine/) > [Now, what sort of person would write a scene where a young man stumbles upon a castle full only of beautiful young women? Answer:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-palin/now-what-sort-of-person-would-write-a-scene-where-a-young-man/) [Michael Palin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-palin/) > [There's a special gut-check moment the first time you write a scene in which somebody casts a spell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/there-s-a-special-gut-check-moment-the-first-time-you-write-a-scene/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [Sometimes I write about my own life. And sometimes I write about situations I see my friends going through. Sometimes I write about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/sometimes-i-write-about-my-own-life-and-sometimes-i-write-about/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I know exactly what it's like to stand on top of a tall building or in a high place and look down and go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-know-exactly-what-it-s-like-to-stand-on-top-of-a-tall-building-or/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [You don’t have the slightest idea of what it means to write a scene and a character in the English language, with images and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/you-don-t-have-the-slightest-idea-of-what-it-means-to-write-a-scene/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [If you give me a typewriter and I'm having a good day, I can write a scene that will astonish its readers. That will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-give-me-a-typewriter-and-i-m-having-a-good-day-i-can-write-a/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The Florida in my novels is not as seedy as the real Florida. It's hard to stay ahead of the curve. Every time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/the-florida-in-my-novels-is-not-as-seedy-as-the-real-florida-it-s/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [I can't write a scene unless I've visualized it. Unless I can actually see it, and that's why a lot of reviewers have said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-van-lustbader/i-can-t-write-a-scene-unless-i-ve-visualized-it-unless-i-can-actually/) [Eric Van Lustbader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-van-lustbader/) ## More by Nick Cave > [Texting is apocalyptic on some level. It's a reduction of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/texting-is-apocalyptic-on-some-level-it-s-a-reduction-of-things/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“And I know why our friendship must be kept a secret. Or they will kill You like they killed You in the Bible. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/and-i-know-why-our-friendship-must-be-kept-a-secret-or-they-will-kill/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I want to write songs that are so sad, the kind of sad where you take someone's little finger and break it in three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-want-to-write-songs-that-are-so-sad-the-kind-of-sad-where-you-take/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“Through these days Bunny made increasingly frequent and protracted visits to the bathroom, beating off with a single-minded savagery intense even by Bunny's standards.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/through-these-days-bunny-made-increasingly-frequent-and-protracted/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [Personally I find the story of Christ incredibly moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/personally-i-find-the-story-of-christ-incredibly-moving/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [ That's what we \[outsiders\] feel America is really about - the kind of crazed ravings of the Christian right - when it's probably something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/that-s-what-we-outsiders-feel-america-is-really-about-the-kind-of/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [“My relationship with my muse is a delicate one at the best of times and I feel that it is my duty to protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/my-relationship-with-my-muse-is-a-delicate-one-at-the-best-of-times/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I'm kind of old-school and love nothing more than sitting, opening a book, and reading it. But I also love listening to audio books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-m-kind-of-old-school-and-love-nothing-more-than-sitting-opening-a/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [Early on I realized when you write a song about someone, it flatters them on some level, and gives you a lot of room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/early-on-i-realized-when-you-write-a-song-about-someone-it-flatters/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [My father was a teacher and my mother also worked in the school, so the family has a background in education.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/my-father-was-a-teacher-and-my-mother-also-worked-in-the-school-so/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I think it's an essential fact for any performer or artist to fail as poignantly as they can succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/i-think-it-s-an-essential-fact-for-any-performer-or-artist-to-fail-as/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [To my undying shame, I do read reviews. I don't read them all, but I like to get some kind of idea how things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/to-my-undying-shame-i-do-read-reviews-i-don-t-read-them-all-but-i/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [Brother, be a brother, fill this tiny cup of mine. And please, sir, make it whiskey: I have no head for wine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/brother-be-a-brother-fill-this-tiny-cup-of-mine-and-please-sir-make/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [When you've been initiated, you can stand in the world differently. And I think it is up to all of us, we can have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/when-you-ve-been-initiated-you-can-stand-in-the-world-differently-and/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [Polly Jean, I love you. I love the texture of your skin, the taste of your saliva, the softness of your ears. I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/polly-jean-i-love-you-i-love-the-texture-of-your-skin-the-taste-of/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) [Explore all 280 Nick Cave quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) ## More Immediate quotes > [One of the things that I miss about Canada is that even the strangers, you have an immediate rapport, there's just an understanding that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/one-of-the-things-that-i-miss-about-canada-is-that-even-the-strangers/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [“Whether you are at play in the fields of the Lord or standing next to home plate squinting at the popping pitcher, that sudden,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-nadel/whether-you-are-at-play-in-the-fields-of-the-lord-or-standing-next-to/) [Laurie Nadel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-nadel/) > [Usually, the leaders appear in the moment of the highest stress, when it is time, speaking symbolically, to go to the barricades. Then people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-bukovsky/usually-the-leaders-appear-in-the-moment-of-the-highest-stress-when/) [Vladimir Bukovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-bukovsky/) > [I love graffiti because it enables kids from every social extraction to do something that brings them closer to art, when they normally wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcgee/i-love-graffiti-because-it-enables-kids-from-every-social-extraction/) [Barry McGee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcgee/) > [But one immediate thing can be done right now, and that is: lower the temperature. Any way you can, and everybody. Just lower it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-noonan/but-one-immediate-thing-can-be-done-right-now-and-that-is-lower-the/) [Peggy Noonan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-noonan/) > [“We’re making our decisions … or so we think. Yet in truth, ignorance, greed, and the scourge of immediate gratification are often the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/we-re-making-our-decisions-or-so-we-think-yet-in-truth-ignorance/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [Our ever-present mobile devices provide the immediate and convenient information necessary to make sharing things truly irresistible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gansky/our-ever-present-mobile-devices-provide-the-immediate-and-convenient/) [Lisa Gansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gansky/) > [Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/meditation-is-the-discovery-that-the-point-of-life-is-always-arrived/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Acting is very immediate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-kilmer/acting-is-very-immediate/) [Val Kilmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-kilmer/) > [I don't know if I've ever derived such an immediate sense of calm and well-being from any book as I did from 'Right Ho,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-ever-derived-such-an-immediate-sense-of-calm-and/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [There's such an immediate intimacy with film that you just don't get in theater.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-wilson/there-s-such-an-immediate-intimacy-with-film-that-you-just-don-t-get/) [Patrick Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-wilson/) > [Say 'Toronto' or 'Ontario,' and the immediate thought associations are with a somewhat blander version of North America: a United States with a welfare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/say-toronto-or-ontario-and-the-immediate-thought-associations-are/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A film has a sort of life over time, whereas a TV show comes up in your living room, and it's immediate, and people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hutton/a-film-has-a-sort-of-life-over-time-whereas-a-tv-show-comes-up-in/) [Timothy Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hutton/) > [“in the immediate involving getting the kitchen garden sorted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-oster/in-the-immediate-involving-getting-the-kitchen-garden-sorted/) [Camille Oster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-oster/) > [I'm from Salford, and I don't have any immediate Irish connection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-glynn-carney/i-m-from-salford-and-i-don-t-have-any-immediate-irish-connection/) [Tom Glynn-Carney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-glynn-carney/) Browse all 188 Immediate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You write a scene, and it works or it doesn't. 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