--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing is a process of discovery of what…" description: "\"Writing is a process of discovery of what you really do know. You can't limit yourself in advance to what you know, because you don't know everything y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/walter-murch-20784_discovery_writing-is-a-process-of-discovery-of-wha_282668.jpg" --- # Writing is a process of discovery of what you really do… ![“Writing is a process of discovery of what you really do know. You can't limit yourself in advance to what you know, because you don't know everything you know.” quote by Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/walter-murch-20784_discovery_writing-is-a-process-of-discovery-of-wha_282668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/walter-murch-20784_discovery_writing-is-a-process-of-discovery-of-wha_282668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5a0/walter-murch-20784_discovery_writing-is-a-process-of-discovery-of-wha_282668.jpg) > “Writing is a process of discovery of what you really do know. You can't limit yourself in advance to what you know, because you don't know everything you know.” [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing uncovers knowledge by allowing ideas to surface, so pre‑defining limits hinders discovery. **In simple terms:** Writing reveals unknown knowledge. Key Takeaway Write without preset limits. Themes creativity knowledge discovery process self‑exploration open‑ended inquiry Mood inspired curious reflective Type educational creative When to use this quote - author workshops - creative writing classes - personal journaling - research projects Key Concepts cognitive flexibility narrative development intuitive thinking Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance freedom and focus? - What methods help capture emerging insights? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on structure can stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discovery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) [Limits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limits/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-process/) ## Related quotes > [The one thing we do not know is the limit of the knowable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-one-thing-we-do-not-know-is-the-limit-of-the-knowable/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don't know about. Limit your 'always' and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-poehler/try-to-keep-your-mind-open-to-possibilities-and-your-mouth-closed-on/) [Amy Poehler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-poehler/) > [Enter the writing process with a childlike sense of wonder and discovery. Let it surprise you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ghigna/enter-the-writing-process-with-a-childlike-sense-of-wonder-and/) [Charles Ghigna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ghigna/) > [I don't know what is my limit. I don't want to think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-alcaraz/i-don-t-know-what-is-my-limit-i-don-t-want-to-think-about-it/) [Carlos Alcaraz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-alcaraz/) > [Cant be too nice and then stepped all over. Know your limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/cant-be-too-nice-and-then-stepped-all-over-know-your-limit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [What we know is everything, it is our limit, of what we can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-assange/what-we-know-is-everything-it-is-our-limit-of-what-we-can-be/) [Julian Assange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-assange/) > [I know my limit. I just keep passing out before I reach it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-skelton/i-know-my-limit-i-just-keep-passing-out-before-i-reach-it/) [Red Skelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-skelton/) > [You never know the limit of a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-juantorena/you-never-know-the-limit-of-a-human-being/) [Alberto Juantorena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-juantorena/) > [“How far removed in time must an event be for us to remember it? How far for memory's longing to be no longer able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/how-far-removed-in-time-must-an-event-be-for-us-to-remember-it-how/) [Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/) > [What's so exciting and terrifying about the writing process is that it really is an act of exploration and discovery. With all of us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-dubus/what-s-so-exciting-and-terrifying-about-the-writing-process-is-that/) [Andre Dubus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-dubus/) > [ My lesson from that \[songwriting process\] was that I should go back to where I was and try to make that first pure even… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/my-lesson-from-that-songwriting-process-was-that-i-should-go-back-to/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [If we were truly in the studio making a record, it would have been more time consuming, and certainly I would have been more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-dayne/if-we-were-truly-in-the-studio-making-a-record-it-would-have-been/) [Taylor Dayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-dayne/) > [My writing process is very feedback-based. When I do stand-up, I listen to the audience. I try to understand what's connecting, what's not connecting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/my-writing-process-is-very-feedback-based-when-i-do-stand-up-i-listen/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [“Sometimes we don't know where we are going until we get there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-simon-gunn/sometimes-we-don-t-know-where-we-are-going-until-we-get-there/) [Jacqueline Simon Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-simon-gunn/) ## More by Walter Murch > [My job as an editor is to gently prod the attention of the audience to look at various parts of the frame. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/my-job-as-an-editor-is-to-gently-prod-the-attention-of-the-audience/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [One of the rules of the road is that if you want to create the sense of silence, it frequently has more pungency if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/one-of-the-rules-of-the-road-is-that-if-you-want-to-create-the-sense/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Take any writer you want in the 19th century: they wrote with quill pens, dipping a piece of goose feather in ink and writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/take-any-writer-you-want-in-the-19th-century-they-wrote-with-quill/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [As I've gone through life, I've found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/as-i-ve-gone-through-life-i-ve-found-that-your-chances-for-happiness/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Film is really the one art form that can effectively use silence. Music and theater can play with silence, but they can't sustain silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/film-is-really-the-one-art-form-that-can-effectively-use-silence/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [When I'm actually assembling a scene, I assemble it as a silent movie. Even if it's a dialog scene, I lip read what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/when-i-m-actually-assembling-a-scene-i-assemble-it-as-a-silent-movie/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Film editing is now something almost everyone can do at a simple level and enjoy it, but to take it to a higher level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/film-editing-is-now-something-almost-everyone-can-do-at-a-simple/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [The word processor is a better tool than a quill pen because you can do so much more with it, but on the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/the-word-processor-is-a-better-tool-than-a-quill-pen-because-you-can/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [As I've gone through life, I've found that your chances for happiness are increased if you wind up doing something that is a reflection…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/as-i-ve-gone-through-life-i-ve-found-that-your-chances-for-happiness-2/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Blinking is some way of tabulating - a kind of carriage return, click, or save to disk - that helps the process of 'Okay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/blinking-is-some-way-of-tabulating-a-kind-of-carriage-return-click-or/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [You can always make a film somehow. You can beg, borrow, steal the equipment, use credit cards, use your friends' goodwill, wheedle your way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/you-can-always-make-a-film-somehow-you-can-beg-borrow-steal-the/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Looking at a first assembly is kind of like looking at an overgrown garden. You can't just wade in with a weed whacker; you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/looking-at-a-first-assembly-is-kind-of-like-looking-at-an-overgrown/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [If you want to freak your cat out, stare at your cat. If you want to reassure your cat, stare at your cat, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/if-you-want-to-freak-your-cat-out-stare-at-your-cat-if-you-want-to/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [I believe that one of the secret engines that allows cinema to work, and have the marvelous power over us that it does, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/i-believe-that-one-of-the-secret-engines-that-allows-cinema-to-work/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Every film is a puzzle really, from an editorial point of view.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/every-film-is-a-puzzle-really-from-an-editorial-point-of-view/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) [Explore all 30 Walter Murch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) ## More Discovery quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Throughout my work, I have assumed that the standard model is correct, and hence, the Higgs boson should be found. Although this is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashoke-sen/throughout-my-work-i-have-assumed-that-the-standard-model-is-correct/) [Ashoke Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashoke-sen/) > [There is usually no dreamer so unworldly as the anthologist. He wanders in a vast garden, lost in wonder, unable to decide often between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-webb/there-is-usually-no-dreamer-so-unworldly-as-the-anthologist-he/) [Mary Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-webb/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [ “\[W\]e must learn to accommodate ourselves to the discovery that some of those cunningly-fashioned instruments called human souls have only a very limited range… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/w-e-must-learn-to-accommodate-ourselves-to-the-discovery-that-some-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [We cannot predict the new forces, powers, and discoveries that will be disclosed to us when we reach the other planets and set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/we-cannot-predict-the-new-forces-powers-and-discoveries-that-will-be/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [ That has been another interesting discovery: that basically a city \[Lagos\] could recover from a really deep, deep, deep pit. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem-koolhaas/that-has-been-another-interesting-discovery-that-basically-a-city/) [Rem Koolhaas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem-koolhaas/) > [Every fact of science was once Damned. Every invention was considered impossible. Every discovery was a nervous shock to some orthodoxy. Every artistic innovation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/every-fact-of-science-was-once-damned-every-invention-was-considered/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [When we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/when-we-look-at-the-love-of-christ-we-make-a-wonderful-discovery-love/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“In December of 2007 human bones including skulls, which have been radiocarbon dated back to between 1304 and 1424, were found in a museum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-hank-bracker-seawater-one/in-december-of-2007-human-bones-including-skulls-which-have-been/) Captain Hank Bracker, "Seawater One > [The European talks of progress because by the aid of a few scientific discoveries he has established a society which has mistaken comfort for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-disraeli/the-european-talks-of-progress-because-by-the-aid-of-a-few-scientific/) [Benjamin Disraeli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-disraeli/) > [Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/education-is-a-progressive-discovery-of-our-own-ignorance/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) [Browse all 3,125 Discovery quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discovery/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Writing is a process of discovery of what you really do know. 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