--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the ways in which writers most…" description: "\"One of the ways in which writers most show their inventiveness is in the things they tell us about how they write. Generally speaking, I don't like to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png" --- # One of the ways in which writers most show their… ![“One of the ways in which writers most show their inventiveness is in the things they tell us about how they write. Generally speaking, I don't like to make a plan before I've written a story. I find it kills the story - deadens it, makes it uninteresting. Unless I'm surprised by something in a…” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png) > “One of the ways in which writers most show their inventiveness is in the things they tell us about how they write. Generally speaking, I don't like to make a plan before I've written a story. I find it kills the story - deadens it, makes it uninteresting. Unless I'm surprised by something in a story, the reader's not going to be surprised either.” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers reveal creativity by describing their process, but over-planning can stifle spontaneity. **In simple terms:** Planning too much can kill a story’s excitement. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility and let surprise guide storytelling. Themes creativity writing process spontaneity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel drafting - screenwriting - improvisational workshops - creative brainstorming Key Concepts narrative freedom authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer planning or improvisation? - How can surprise enhance your writing? A Different Perspective Too much structure may lead to predictable outcomes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inventiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventiveness/) [Plans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plans/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Shows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shows/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Tell Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-write-368174/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers Inventiveness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-inventiveness-2579400/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-story-718658/) ## Related quotes > [My Life in CIA is the first time that I've ever written a story in my own name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-mathews/my-life-in-cia-is-the-first-time-that-i-ve-ever-written-a-story-in-my/) [Harry Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-mathews/) > [If as a child I had written a story, the best story that I could imagine, I would have written as indeed is happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-maldini/if-as-a-child-i-had-written-a-story-the-best-story-that-i-could/) [Paolo Maldini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-maldini/) > [More than any of us, she had written her own story; yet she could not wash it out with all her tears, return to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-worth/more-than-any-of-us-she-had-written-her-own-story-yet-she-could-not/) [Sandra Worth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-worth/) > [We live in a society that is in transition from oral to written. There are oral stories that are still there, not exactly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/we-live-in-a-society-that-is-in-transition-from-oral-to-written-there/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [But it was too early to know: there were always more pages to go, more words to be written, before the story was over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-it-was-too-early-to-know-there-were-always-more-pages-to-go-more/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I seriously doubt I would ever have written the first story had I not been a lawyer. I never dreamed of being a writer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-seriously-doubt-i-would-ever-have-written-the-first-story-had-i-not/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [It makes it harder to write if I watch a lot of television, because television is not like a written story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avi/it-makes-it-harder-to-write-if-i-watch-a-lot-of-television-because/) [Avi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avi/) > [A love affair is like a short story--it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning was easy, the middle might drag,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/a-love-affair-is-like-a-short-story-it-has-a-beginning-a-middle-and/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [So many of my songs are based on things that either happened to me or to someone I know, but there are also ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-mendes/so-many-of-my-songs-are-based-on-things-that-either-happened-to-me-or/) [Shawn Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-mendes/) > [A reader is not supposed to be aware that someone's written the story. He's supposed to be completely immersed, submerged in the environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-vance/a-reader-is-not-supposed-to-be-aware-that-someone-s-written-the-story/) [Jack Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-vance/) > [“Writing had always helped her, before. It always clarified her feelings and her thoughts, and she never felt like she could understand something fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/writing-had-always-helped-her-before-it-always-clarified-her-feelings/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [Although I'm not actually embarrassed by this, I tend not to read books that have awesome movies made from them, regardless of how well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/although-i-m-not-actually-embarrassed-by-this-i-tend-not-to-read/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [“Nobody’s story is written only by himself. In our story, we can always find the stories written by others!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/nobody-s-story-is-written-only-by-himself-in-our-story-we-can-always/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I'm out there to clean the plate. Once they've read what I've written on a subject, I want them to think, 'That's it!' I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-ben-cramer/i-m-out-there-to-clean-the-plate-once-they-ve-read-what-i-ve-written/) [Richard Ben Cramer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-ben-cramer/) > [It can take years. With the first draft, I just write everything. With the second draft, it becomes so depressing for me, because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/it-can-take-years-with-the-first-draft-i-just-write-everything-with/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Inventiveness quotes > [This is one of the glories of man, the inventiveness of the human mind and the human spirit: whenever life doesn't seem to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorraine-hansberry/this-is-one-of-the-glories-of-man-the-inventiveness-of-the-human-mind/) [Lorraine Hansberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorraine-hansberry/) > [We have six-and-a-half-billion people on the planet, going rapidly towards seven. We're going to need a lot of inventiveness about how we use water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-fedoroff/we-have-six-and-a-half-billion-people-on-the-planet-going-rapidly/) [Nina Fedoroff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-fedoroff/) > [The attack on youth is a national pathology, unwarranted by fact, smokescreen for the failure of adulthood and its leadership to confront larger predicaments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-a-males/the-attack-on-youth-is-a-national-pathology-unwarranted-by-fact/) [Mike A. Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-a-males/) > [Criticism occupies the lowest place in the literary hierarchy: as regards form, almost always; and as regards moral value, incontestably. It comes after rhyming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/criticism-occupies-the-lowest-place-in-the-literary-hierarchy-as/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Creativity is more than mere imagination. It is imagination inseparably coupled with both intent and effort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-faickney-osborn/creativity-is-more-than-mere-imagination-it-is-imagination/) [Alex Faickney Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-faickney-osborn/) > [I loathed school. I don't have an academic mind, and besides I was so bored by my teachers! How teachers can take a child's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hurt/i-loathed-school-i-don-t-have-an-academic-mind-and-besides-i-was-so/) [John Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hurt/) > [Those who applaud social production and networked amateurism, the colorful cacophony that is the Internet, and the creative capacities of everyday people to produce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/astra-taylor/those-who-applaud-social-production-and-networked-amateurism-the/) [Astra Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/astra-taylor/) > [It’s the Muslims who are dragging the rest of the world with them, in their genocidal dreams of annihilating goodness, creativity, production, inventiveness, benevolence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-geller/it-s-the-muslims-who-are-dragging-the-rest-of-the-world-with-them-in/) [Pamela Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-geller/) > [Anywhere the struggle is great, the level of ingenuity and inventiveness is high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleni-zaude-gabre-madhin/anywhere-the-struggle-is-great-the-level-of-ingenuity-and/) [Eleni Zaude Gabre-Madhin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleni-zaude-gabre-madhin/) > [Now comes what I perhaps inflatedly call my philosophy of knitting. Like many philosophies, it is hard to express in a few words. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/now-comes-what-i-perhaps-inflatedly-call-my-philosophy-of-knitting/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [The discipline of suffering, of great suffering- do you not know that only this discipline has created all enhancements of man so far? That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-discipline-of-suffering-of-great-suffering-do-you-not-know-that-2/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [We owe our big brains less to inventiveness than to conflicts of interest among social minds engaged in an arms race to be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-pagel/we-owe-our-big-brains-less-to-inventiveness-than-to-conflicts-of/) [Mark Pagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-pagel/) > [It takes about a year to write an opera for me, but not a really a year of writing. I'm touring at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-glass/it-takes-about-a-year-to-write-an-opera-for-me-but-not-a-really-a/) [Philip Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-glass/) > [There is something reassuring about British-made products and their inventiveness and ingenuity, their creative spirit and eccentricity and their British wit and charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-linley/there-is-something-reassuring-about-british-made-products-and-their/) [David Linley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-linley/) > [“This is also, I hope, a book about innovation. At a time when the United States is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/this-is-also-i-hope-a-book-about-innovation-at-a-time-when-the-united/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) [Browse all 72 Inventiveness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventiveness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the ways in which writers most show their inventiveness is in the things they tell us about how they write. Generally speaking, I don't like to make a plan before I've written a story. I find it kills the story - deadens it, makes it uninteresting. Unless I'm surprised by something in a story, the reader's not going to be surprised either.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Pullman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-show-their-inventiveness-is-in/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Inventiveness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-show-their-inventiveness-is-in/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c51/philip-pullman-525_inventiveness_one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-sh_1059638.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the ways in which writers most show their inventiveness is in the things they tell us about how they…” — Philip Pullman", "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": "Philip Pullman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the ways in which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-show-their-inventiveness-is-in/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/one-of-the-ways-in-which-writers-most-show-their-inventiveness-is-in/#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 } } ] } ```