--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The dirty little secret about adventure…" description: "\"The dirty little secret about adventure writing is that something has to go wrong.\" — Tim Cahill" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/tim-cahill-10465_adventure_the-dirty-little-secret-about-adventure_1302021.jpg" --- # The dirty little secret about adventure writing is that… ![“The dirty little secret about adventure writing is that something has to go wrong.” quote by Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/tim-cahill-10465_adventure_the-dirty-little-secret-about-adventure_1302021.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/tim-cahill-10465_adventure_the-dirty-little-secret-about-adventure_1302021.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/264/tim-cahill-10465_adventure_the-dirty-little-secret-about-adventure_1302021.jpg) > “The dirty little secret about adventure writing is that something has to go wrong.” [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adventure stories rely on conflict; something must go wrong to engage readers. **In simple terms:** Adventure needs trouble. Key Takeaway Embrace challenges in storytelling. Themes adventure conflict storytelling Mood inspirational dramatic Type creative instructional When to use this quote - travel writing - fiction - blogging - film scripts Key Concepts narrative tension plot devices Questions to Reflect On - What conflict will you introduce? - How does adversity shape character? A Different Perspective Predictable calm narratives feel flat. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure/) [Adventure Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventure-writing-500476/) [Dirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dirty/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Secret](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret/) [Secret Adventure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secret-adventure-748497/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-wrong-713522/) ## Related quotes > [The secret of adventure, then, is not to carefully seek it out but to travel in such a way that it finds you. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rolf-potts/the-secret-of-adventure-then-is-not-to-carefully-seek-it-out-but-to/) [Rolf Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rolf-potts/) > [As one of the first editors at 'Outside' magazine in 1975, it was my contention that most American writing going back to James Fennimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/as-one-of-the-first-editors-at-outside-magazine-in-1975-it-was-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [I will never stop writing. People often ask when I will retire, but I say it's none of their business. Writing defines who I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-taylor-bradford/i-will-never-stop-writing-people-often-ask-when-i-will-retire-but-i/) [Barbara Taylor Bradford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-taylor-bradford/) > [Whenever I finish a book, I go off and have some kind of adventure. Having had an adventure in my writing chair or on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/whenever-i-finish-a-book-i-go-off-and-have-some-kind-of-adventure/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Write for the love of writing and you can't go wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paul-curtis/write-for-the-love-of-writing-and-you-can-t-go-wrong/) [Christopher Paul Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paul-curtis/) > [“If your hero's backstory is more interesting than their present story, you're writing the wrong book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kieffer/if-your-hero-s-backstory-is-more-interesting-than-their-present-story/) [Kristen Kieffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-kieffer/) > [I am wrong more often than i am writing and even then i am often wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/i-am-wrong-more-often-than-i-am-writing-and-even-then-i-am-often-wrong/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [“And I am wrong more often than I am writing. And even then, I am often wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/and-i-am-wrong-more-often-than-i-am-writing-and-even-then-i-am-often/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [There is something magical about putting a problem in writing. It is almost as though by writing about what is wrong, you start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/there-is-something-magical-about-putting-a-problem-in-writing-it-is/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When you are a sentence-based writer, they have to be good. They have to be really on the spot. Because when you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/when-you-are-a-sentence-based-writer-they-have-to-be-good-they-have/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [Instead of writing it wrong six times and then writing it right, I think it wrong six times and then write it right the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fran-lebowitz/instead-of-writing-it-wrong-six-times-and-then-writing-it-right-i/) [Fran Lebowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fran-lebowitz/) > [It's a dirty little secret that most New Yorkers are pleasant, thoughtful, patient, and polite. The Chamber of Commerce must work overtime to maintain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-kelman/it-s-a-dirty-little-secret-that-most-new-yorkers-are-pleasant/) [Judith Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-kelman/) > [I've been to Washington many times over the years for stories, and it always seems remarkably the same. More the same than the rest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-ve-been-to-washington-many-times-over-the-years-for-stories-and-it/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [One of the dirty little secrets of my job is that I don't do ANY food or cooking shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hank-stuever/one-of-the-dirty-little-secrets-of-my-job-is-that-i-don-t-do-any-food/) [Hank Stuever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hank-stuever/) > [The dirty little secret of the intelligence world is that much of what you really need to know isn't exactly a secret anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bergen/the-dirty-little-secret-of-the-intelligence-world-is-that-much-of/) [Peter Bergen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bergen/) ## More by Tim Cahill > [Many people go into the wilderness to experience it, and if they experience it in comfort, there's very little in a literary sense for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/many-people-go-into-the-wilderness-to-experience-it-and-if-they/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Stanley Kubrick, I had been told, hates interviews. It's hard to know what to expect of the man if you've only seen his films.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/stanley-kubrick-i-had-been-told-hates-interviews-it-s-hard-to-know/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [An adventure is never an adventure when it happens. An adventure is simply physical and emotional discomfort recollected in tranquility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/an-adventure-is-never-an-adventure-when-it-happens-an-adventure-is/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [The traces of our life here will lie cold and still, dreaming, like the brittle eyes of dolls in an abandoned cabin, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/the-traces-of-our-life-here-will-lie-cold-and-still-dreaming-like-the/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [The hard wind we get around here on the eastern slopes of the Rockies is called a Chinook. It's a katabatic wind and comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/the-hard-wind-we-get-around-here-on-the-eastern-slopes-of-the-rockies/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Mystery is a resource, like coal or gold, and its preservation is a fine thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/mystery-is-a-resource-like-coal-or-gold-and-its-preservation-is-a/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [In the sago palms, you'll often find sago beetles which are about the size of your little finger. The Karowai put those on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/in-the-sago-palms-you-ll-often-find-sago-beetles-which-are-about-the/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [As one of the first editors at 'Outside' magazine in 1975, it was my contention that most American writing going back to James Fennimore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/as-one-of-the-first-editors-at-outside-magazine-in-1975-it-was-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [New Orleans jazz is a complex and embracing art form that began about the same time as the blues and encompassed many of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/new-orleans-jazz-is-a-complex-and-embracing-art-form-that-began-about/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [“EARLY MORNING IN THE yard at the Men’s Reformatory at Anamosa, prisoners lounging about, doing lazy time, and here comes John Wayne Gacy, inmate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/early-morning-in-the-yard-at-the-men-s-reformatory-at-anamosa/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [My first book was called 'Buried Dreams,' about a serial-killer, which was probably about ten years ahead of the serial-killer curve. It was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/my-first-book-was-called-buried-dreams-about-a-serial-killer-which/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [Healthier, perhaps, to find beauty in life and feel it expand inside of us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/healthier-perhaps-to-find-beauty-in-life-and-feel-it-expand-inside-of/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [A journey is best measured in friends, not in miles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/a-journey-is-best-measured-in-friends-not-in-miles/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [In 1952, Muddy cut the song 'Rollin' Stone.' It was a nationwide success, and the song echoes down through rock n' roll history. Bob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/in-1952-muddy-cut-the-song-rollin-stone-it-was-a-nationwide-success/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) > [A constant ongoing joke among the people that I travel with is my absolutely hopeless sense of direction. I'm able to get lost a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cahill/a-constant-ongoing-joke-among-the-people-that-i-travel-with-is-my/) [Tim Cahill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) [Explore all 65 Tim Cahill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cahill/) ## More Adventure quotes > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I painted the words "GREAT ADVENTURE" in Beijing, Dallas, San Francisco, Copenhagen, and Japan. What it means to me is completely different to everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-eine/i-painted-the-words-great-adventure-in-beijing-dallas-san-francisco/) [Ben Eine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-eine/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) [Jessica Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-yu/) > [“So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not/) [Alexander Supertramp Chris McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-supertramp-chris-mccandless/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [“Exactly. I think the original tantric Buddhists took notice of was some very wise old people who never studied in their youth, but took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-niemczura/exactly-i-think-the-original-tantric-buddhists-took-notice-of-was/) [Joe Niemczura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-niemczura/) > [As an adventurer...I try to protect against the downside. I make sure I have covered as many eventualities as I can. In the end,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/as-an-adventurer-i-try-to-protect-against-the-downside-i-make-sure-i/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [“Love can give you such happiness, then can break the very heart it filled, leaving a hole that can never be fixed or protected…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-mcleod/love-can-give-you-such-happiness-then-can-break-the-very-heart-it/) [Kevin McLeod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-mcleod/) > [“It always gave Wolf a peculiar thrill thus to tighten his grip upon his stick, thus to wrap himself more closely in his faded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cowper-powys/it-always-gave-wolf-a-peculiar-thrill-thus-to-tighten-his-grip-upon/) [John Cowper Powys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cowper-powys/) > [“It all had to be squeezed and squeezed again, to provide a thrill, to provide enjoyment. What did people mean, with their simply determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence-2/it-all-had-to-be-squeezed-and-squeezed-again-to-provide-a-thrill-to/) [D.H. 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