--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to be surprised. The best writing…" description: "\"I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.\" — Wally Lamb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/wally-lamb-1817_different_i-like-to-be-surprised-the-best-writing_3054847.png" --- # I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies… ![“I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.” quote by Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/wally-lamb-1817_different_i-like-to-be-surprised-the-best-writing_3054847.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/wally-lamb-1817_different_i-like-to-be-surprised-the-best-writing_3054847.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e67/wally-lamb-1817_different_i-like-to-be-surprised-the-best-writing_3054847.png) > “I like to be surprised. The best writing is when it defies me, when it starts going a different way than I had planned.” [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Surprise in writing occurs when the story takes an unexpected direction, enriching the work. **In simple terms:** Surprise makes writing better. Key Takeaway Embrace unpredictability in storytelling. Themes creativity surprise process Mood inspired curious Type creative advice When to use this quote - novel drafting - creative workshops - personal journaling Key Concepts narrative twists authorial intuition Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle plot twists? - When is surprise effective? A Different Perspective Unexpected turns may confuse readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprised/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I work fitfully, in hope rather than in expectation, invent methods which last a week, and fill notebooks with tiny, illegible writing which often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-work-fitfully-in-hope-rather-than-in-expectation-invent-methods/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I would never want to do something just for the sake of being independent or for the sake of doing big films. I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/i-would-never-want-to-do-something-just-for-the-sake-of-being/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [I like to be surprised! But it's always hard to surprise me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-like-to-be-surprised-but-it-s-always-hard-to-surprise-me/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [That of all people, it should be him; that took her aback. That the heart should settle on somebody like him; that surprised her.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/that-of-all-people-it-should-be-him-that-took-her-aback-that-the/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [I do like being surprised by directors and producers and being offered parts I would never have considered, including parts that aren't necessarily obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/i-do-like-being-surprised-by-directors-and-producers-and-being/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [I guess no matter what your family is like, you're not surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-niffenegger/i-guess-no-matter-what-your-family-is-like-you-re-not-surprised/) [Audrey Niffenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-niffenegger/) > [“It’s actually entertaining.” “You say that like you’re surprised.” He looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/it-s-actually-entertaining-you-say-that-like-you-re-surprised-he/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) > [The unknown is very appealing to me. 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So it doesn't cause me any anxiety to explore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-bradley/i-always-like-being-surprised-and-sort-of-caught-off-guard-by-other/) [Joe Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-bradley/) > [I do like to be surprised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-rae-perkins/i-do-like-to-be-surprised/) [Lynne Rae Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-rae-perkins/) > [One of the reasons I write is I like being surprised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/one-of-the-reasons-i-write-is-i-like-being-surprised/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I like to be surprised by life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdermitt/i-like-to-be-surprised-by-life/) [Josh McDermitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdermitt/) > [Not like Tobias, who is almost shy when he smiles, like he is surprised you bothered to look at him in the first place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/not-like-tobias-who-is-almost-shy-when-he-smiles-like-he-is-surprised/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I like to be surprised by life; it's a good thing to search for the puzzle pieces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-mcdermitt/i-like-to-be-surprised-by-life-it-s-a-good-thing-to-search-for-the/) [Josh McDermitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-mcdermitt/) ## More by Wally Lamb > [“Sometimes we want something to be true so badly that we convince ourselves that it is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/sometimes-we-want-something-to-be-true-so-badly-that-we-convince/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I like to write first-person because I like to become the character I'm writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-like-to-write-first-person-because-i-like-to-become-the-character-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [But I think this: that whatever prices I've paid, whatever sorrows I shoulder, well, I have blessings, too. Not just my family now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/but-i-think-this-that-whatever-prices-i-ve-paid-whatever-sorrows-i/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“why would white dudes want to change things when they held all the cards?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/why-would-white-dudes-want-to-change-things-when-they-held-all-the/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“And in taking on the subject of themselves-making themselves vulnerable to the unseen reader-they have exchanged powerlessness for for the power that comes with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/and-in-taking-on-the-subject-of-themselves-making-themselves/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“People had always amazed him, he began. But they amazed him more since the sickness. For as long as the two of them had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/people-had-always-amazed-him-he-began-but-they-amazed-him-more-since/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“So I got my stuff and the girl at the register puts these other things in my bag, too. Little free samples: gum and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/so-i-got-my-stuff-and-the-girl-at-the-register-puts-these-other/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [What if I don’t like adventure? Then cultivate a taste for it. Take a chance. That’s how you grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-if-i-don-t-like-adventure-then-cultivate-a-taste-for-it-take-a/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“Guess what?' I said. 'I have a psychic.' His head tilted questioningly, birdlike. A sidekick?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/guess-what-i-said-i-have-a-psychic-his-head-tilted-questioningly/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [The evidence of God exists in the roundness of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/the-evidence-of-god-exists-in-the-roundness-of-things/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [Life is a whoopee cushion, a chair pulled away just as you were taking a seat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/life-is-a-whoopee-cushion-a-chair-pulled-away-just-as-you-were-taking/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“What I remembered about those seesaw rides was the way Thomas would get mad at me, midride, and evacuate. Send me crashing back down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/what-i-remembered-about-those-seesaw-rides-was-the-way-thomas-would/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“I didn't respond to him. Couldn't speak at all. Couldn't look at his self-mutilation--not even the clean, bandaged version of it. Instead, I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-didn-t-respond-to-him-couldn-t-speak-at-all-couldn-t-look-at-his/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [I write to find out what the story means to me, that is what I try to do especially with the first draft.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/i-write-to-find-out-what-the-story-means-to-me-that-is-what-i-try-to/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) > [“As anxious and limited as that love might have been, it had been love nonetheless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wally-lamb/as-anxious-and-limited-as-that-love-might-have-been-it-had-been-love/) [Wally Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) [Explore all 204 Wally Lamb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wally-lamb/) ## More Different quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. 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But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Suffering did different things to different people...Some souls became tempered, unshakable in their faith, while others became twisted and mis-shapen, throwing off all connection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-ragen/suffering-did-different-things-to-different-people-some-souls-became/) [Naomi Ragen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-ragen/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. 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Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) Browse all 28,697 Different quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like to be surprised. 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