--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing takes place in an open playing…" description: "\"“Writing takes place in an open playing field with limitless possibilities, most of them terrible.”\" — Scott Gates" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg" --- # Writing takes place in an open playing field with… ![“Writing takes place in an open playing field with limitless possibilities, most of them terrible.” quote by Scott Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg) > ““Writing takes place in an open playing field with limitless possibilities, most of them terrible.”” Scott Gates ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing offers limitless possibilities but also many terrible options; the craft is an open field of risk and creativity. **In simple terms:** Writing is both limitless and fraught with bad ideas. Key Takeaway Embrace risk while honing judgment. Themes writing creativity possibility risk Mood analytical inspirational Type limitless possibilities:1 playing field:0 writer:0 writing:1 writing takes:0 possibilities terrible:0 When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - blogging Key Concepts creative process critical editing Questions to Reflect On - How do you filter ideas? - What strategies prevent creative stagnation? A Different Perspective Endless options can lead to paralysis by analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Limitless possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitless-possibilities/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [it is the possibilities which are the most terrible things in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/it-is-the-possibilities-which-are-the-most-terrible-things-in-life/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [A lot of writing takes place in the subconscious, and it's bound to have an effect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/a-lot-of-writing-takes-place-in-the-subconscious-and-it-s-bound-to/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [A piece of writing takes exactly as long as it needs to be done right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norma-fox-mazer/a-piece-of-writing-takes-exactly-as-long-as-it-needs-to-be-done-right/) [Norma Fox Mazer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norma-fox-mazer/) > [You know, I can't imagine 9 to 5 writing. That takes some stamina.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/you-know-i-can-t-imagine-9-to-5-writing-that-takes-some-stamina/) [Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/) > [I'm trying to take more nothing time - and that means sacrificing doing. It's partly to do with age, partly to do with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-m-trying-to-take-more-nothing-time-and-that-means-sacrificing-doing/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Writing takes too much patience and it takes too much out of you for me to want to attempt it too often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikramaditya-motwane/writing-takes-too-much-patience-and-it-takes-too-much-out-of-you-for/) [Vikramaditya Motwane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikramaditya-motwane/) > [“The best writing takes you places you don't want to go. It drags you by the hair against your will and leaves you drained,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penfist/the-best-writing-takes-you-places-you-don-t-want-to-go-it-drags-you/) Penfist > [“Writing takes a pen, a sheet of paper and, to start with, just the shadow of an idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francoise-sagan/writing-takes-a-pen-a-sheet-of-paper-and-to-start-with-just-the/) [Françoise Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francoise-sagan/) > [Whether it's fiction or nonfiction, writing takes me to another world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-mlodinow/whether-it-s-fiction-or-nonfiction-writing-takes-me-to-another-world/) [Leonard Mlodinow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-mlodinow/) > [Eventually the writing takes time. What I want to do is get the story down and I want to know what happens as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/eventually-the-writing-takes-time-what-i-want-to-do-is-get-the-story/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [Writing takes gall. I like to think that's true even for writers with several books under their belt, writers who have been doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumaan-alam/writing-takes-gall-i-like-to-think-that-s-true-even-for-writers-with/) [Rumaan Alam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumaan-alam/) > [“Like reading, writing takes me to places I would otherwise never be able to go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bea-cannon/like-reading-writing-takes-me-to-places-i-would-otherwise-never-be/) [Bea Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bea-cannon/) > [The web has changed the way we organise information in a very clear way: from the boundaried, solid format of books and newspapers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/the-web-has-changed-the-way-we-organise-information-in-a-very-clear/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/nothing-is-more-paralyzing-than-the-idea-of-limitless-possibilities/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) ## More Limitless possibilities quotes > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/nothing-is-more-paralyzing-than-the-idea-of-limitless-possibilities/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [The web has changed the way we organise information in a very clear way: from the boundaried, solid format of books and newspapers to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-viner/the-web-has-changed-the-way-we-organise-information-in-a-very-clear/) [Katharine Viner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-viner/) > [What can be impossible in a world of limitless possibilities?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-can-be-impossible-in-a-world-of-limitless-possibilities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I was on a march at the moment I would be saying to everyone: Be honest with each other. Admit there are limitless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/if-i-was-on-a-march-at-the-moment-i-would-be-saying-to-everyone-be/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [From the windows of my office in Boston ... I can see the Golden Stairs from Boston Harbor where all eight of my great-grandparents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/from-the-windows-of-my-office-in-boston-i-can-see-the-golden-stairs/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [To experience commitment as the loss of options, a type of death, the death of childhood's limitless possibility, of the flattery of choice without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-experience-commitment-as-the-loss-of-options-a-type-of-death-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I think our nation is at a pivotal point. Too many people fear that we are losing the sense of limitless possibility that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-fiorina/i-think-our-nation-is-at-a-pivotal-point-too-many-people-fear-that-we/) [Carly Fiorina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-fiorina/) > [“I am eternal life that exists alone on its own. I am space full of energy vibrating with limitless possibilities that turn into physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/i-am-eternal-life-that-exists-alone-on-its-own-i-am-space-full-of/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [“Being gay has taught me tolerance, compassion and humility. It has shown me limitless possibilities of living. It has given me people whose passion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armistead-maupin/being-gay-has-taught-me-tolerance-compassion-and-humility-it-has/) [Armistead Maupin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armistead-maupin/) > [Life is a journey with almost limitless possibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-poirot/life-is-a-journey-with-almost-limitless-possibilities/) [Ken Poirot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-poirot/) > [Just when the mountain looks too high, the obstacles too great between you and your goals you suddenly see The beautiful blue sky, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-when-the-mountain-looks-too-high-the-obstacles-too-great-between/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“For great changes in the human mind are terrible. As we realize them we realize the limitless possibilities of sinister deeds that lie hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-great-changes-in-the-human-mind-are-terrible-as-we-realize-them/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [One must have the adventurous daring to accept oneself as a bundle of possibilities and undertake the most interesting game in the world --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-emerson-fosdick/one-must-have-the-adventurous-daring-to-accept-oneself-as-a-bundle-of/) [Harry Emerson Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-emerson-fosdick/) > [“Get out of our heads and learn to experience the world directly, experientially, without the relentless commentary of our thoughts. We might just open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-mark-g-williams/get-out-of-our-heads-and-learn-to-experience-the-world-directly/) [J. Mark G. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-mark-g-williams/) [Browse all 37 Limitless possibilities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limitless-possibilities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing takes place in an open playing field with limitless possibilities, most of them terrible.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Scott Gates" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gates/writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-field-with-limitless/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Limitless possibilities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gates/writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-field-with-limitless/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/305/scott-gates-276708_limitless-possibilit_writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-f_3170098.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing takes place in an open playing field with limitless possibilities, most of them terrible.” — Scott Gates", "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": "Scott Gates", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-gates/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Writing takes place in an open...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gates/writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-field-with-limitless/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-gates/writing-takes-place-in-an-open-playing-field-with-limitless/#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 } } ] } ```