--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My inspiration comes from everywhere…" description: "\"My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a notebook with me at all ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg" --- # My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down… ![“My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a notebook with me at all times and the only criteria for anything making it into that notebook is if it stops me in my tracks for even an instant, if it catches my eye or…” quote by Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg) > “My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a notebook with me at all times and the only criteria for anything making it into that notebook is if it stops me in my tracks for even an instant, if it catches my eye or my ear and I just write it down.” [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative inspiration is unpredictable; keeping a notebook captures fleeting moments that arrest attention, turning chance encounters into material. **In simple terms:** Write down anything that stops you in your tracks. Key Takeaway Capture spontaneous sparks before they fade. Themes creativity inspiration mindfulness writing observation Mood curious inspired Type creative process personal habit When to use this quote - walking in a park - commuting on a train - waiting in line - visiting a museum Key Concepts attention capture habit formation Practical Applications - Carry a small notebook or phone app - Review entries weekly for patterns Questions to Reflect On - What kinds of moments tend to arrest your attention? - How can you turn captured snippets into larger works? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inspiration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration/) [Notebook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notebook/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Inspiration comes whenever it wants, even at the most unlikely times and in the most inappropriate situations. Often it arrives bit by bit. Therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piero-ferrucci/inspiration-comes-whenever-it-wants-even-at-the-most-unlikely-times/) [Piero Ferrucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piero-ferrucci/) > [Read widely (in and outside of your own genre), keep a notebook with you at all times. Do something that scares you every now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/read-widely-in-and-outside-of-your-own-genre-keep-a-notebook-with-you/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [My best times are midnight to six actually. I'll leaf through my notebooks and if something catches my eye and I feel like I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-best-times-are-midnight-to-six-actually-i-ll-leaf-through-my/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-carry-a-notebook-with-me-everywhere-but-that-s-only-the-first-step/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Science sometimes falls short when trying to fathom the depths of our essence - and our inspiration comes from that essence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-secretan/science-sometimes-falls-short-when-trying-to-fathom-the-depths-of-our/) [Lance Secretan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-secretan/) > [When inspiration comes life is lived in the moment and peace descends. When inspiration leaves thoughts turn to violently killing time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/when-inspiration-comes-life-is-lived-in-the-moment-and-peace-descends/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [Inspiration comes from displacement. Get out of your comfort zone, the rewards are legion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-lefsetz/inspiration-comes-from-displacement-get-out-of-your-comfort-zone-the/) [Bob Lefsetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-lefsetz/) > [Inspiration comes and goes, creativity is the result of practice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/inspiration-comes-and-goes-creativity-is-the-result-of-practice/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [“All good inspiration comes from God. He is the Great Inspirer and the Almighty Enabler.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-trimm/all-good-inspiration-comes-from-god-he-is-the-great-inspirer-and-the/) [Cindy Trimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-trimm/) > [“The path to success involves two parts. Part One is all about imagination and dreaming up a big idea. Part Two is all about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-clark/the-path-to-success-involves-two-parts-part-one-is-all-about/) [Clay Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-clark/) > [Inspiration comes from the heart. The letter ‘I’ is the heart of F”I”RST… (F Inspiration R S T).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/inspiration-comes-from-the-heart-the-letter-i-is-the-heart-of-f-i-rst/) [Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/) > [Don't Ignore The Homeless, Kids Or Even Those Posters On The Wall In School, Remember-- Inspiration Comes From Anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquez-brown/don-t-ignore-the-homeless-kids-or-even-those-posters-on-the-wall-in/) [Marquez Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquez-brown/) > [Inspiration more often comes during the work than before it, because the largest part of the job of an artist is to listen to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/inspiration-more-often-comes-during-the-work-than-before-it-because/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [When I sit at my table to write, I never know what it's going to be until I'm under way. I trust in inspiration,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/when-i-sit-at-my-table-to-write-i-never-know-what-it-s-going-to-be/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) ## More by Rita Dove > [I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-think-children-have-talent-and-insight-but-it-gets-beaten-out-of/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/courage-has-nothing-to-do-with-our-determination-to-be-great-it-has/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Libraries are where it all begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/libraries-are-where-it-all-begins/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To write for PC reasons, because you think you ought to be dealing with this subject, is never going to yield anything that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-write-for-pc-reasons-because-you-think-you-ought-to-be-dealing/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/all-of-us-have-moments-in-our-childhood-where-we-come-alive-for-the/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/the-first-book-go-ahead-it-won-t-bite-well-maybe-a-little-more-a-nip/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/sometimes-a-word-is-found-so-right-it-trembles-at-the-slightest/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/listen-how-they-say-your-name-if-they-can-t-say-that-right-there-s-no/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/people-write-me-from-all-over-the-country-asking-me-and-sometimes/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [Creative writing and literacy go hand and hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/creative-writing-and-literacy-go-hand-and-hand/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/there-are-distinct-duties-of-a-poet-laureate-i-plan-a-reading-series/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-first-advice-would-be-to-read-read-read-which-sounds-interesting/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [To me, a poem is almost like someone whispering to another person, or you hear the whispering in your head. I hope with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/to-me-a-poem-is-almost-like-someone-whispering-to-another-person-or/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I was not interested in doing the plot of OEDIPUS in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-was-not-interested-in-doing-the-plot-of-oedipus-in-blackface-i-did/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/i-prefer-to-explore-the-most-intimate-moments-the-smaller/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) [Explore all 106 Rita Dove quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) ## More All time quotes > [To be positive at all times is to ignore all that is important, sacred or valuable. To be negative at all times is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/to-be-positive-at-all-times-is-to-ignore-all-that-is-important-sacred/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/one-of-our-great-allies-at-present-is-the-church-itself-do-not/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Let us at all times remember that all American citizens are brothers of a common country, and should dwell together in bonds of fraternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/let-us-at-all-times-remember-that-all-american-citizens-are-brothers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [I don't know whether we think in moving images or whether we think in still images. I have a suspicion that on our hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-snow/i-don-t-know-whether-we-think-in-moving-images-or-whether-we-think-in/) [Jon Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-snow/) > [I'm big on tomato mozzarella salad. That's my favorite all-time food.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-fields/i-m-big-on-tomato-mozzarella-salad-that-s-my-favorite-all-time-food/) [Jan Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-fields/) > [If you are my friend,you are down for me at all times,not just when it's convenient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-v/if-you-are-my-friend-you-are-down-for-me-at-all-times-not-just-when/) [Jasmine V](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-v/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Perhaps if only once you did enjoy The thousandth part of all the happiness A heart beloved enjoys, returning love, Repentant, you would surely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torquato-tasso/perhaps-if-only-once-you-did-enjoy-the-thousandth-part-of-all-the/) [Torquato Tasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torquato-tasso/) > [I think, as a filmmaker, it's important to be honest with yourself at all times in terms of what's working and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-wingard/i-think-as-a-filmmaker-it-s-important-to-be-honest-with-yourself-at/) [Adam Wingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-wingard/) > [For all the concern about bodies and weight, 'Baywatch' has three huge catering trucks on the set at all times. One for entrees, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eggert/for-all-the-concern-about-bodies-and-weight-baywatch-has-three-huge/) [Nicole Eggert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eggert/) > ['Lost Boys' is one of my all-time faves. I just thought it would be great to be a vampire. I remember this movie called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-headey/lost-boys-is-one-of-my-all-time-faves-i-just-thought-it-would-be/) [Lena Headey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-headey/) > [I have a constant kind of soundtrack going on at all times. I almost always have a song in my head. I'm very musically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-davie/i-have-a-constant-kind-of-soundtrack-going-on-at-all-times-i-almost/) [Erin Davie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-davie/) > [Lord, make me less like Jonah and more like Jesus. Save me from being the kind of person who cares more about my comfort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-s-smith/lord-make-me-less-like-jonah-and-more-like-jesus-save-me-from-being/) [Colin S. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-s-smith/) > [The key is to be in a state of permanent connectedness with your inner body - to feel it at all times. This will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-key-is-to-be-in-a-state-of-permanent-connectedness-with-your/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,525 All time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a notebook with me at all times and the only criteria for anything making it into that notebook is if it stops me in my tracks for even an instant, if it catches my eye or my ear and I just write it down.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rita Dove" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "All time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cc/rita-dove-4855_all-time_my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-jus_71313.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come…” — Rita Dove", "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": "Rita Dove", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My inspiration comes from everywhere, just...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/#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 } } ] } ```