--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad…" description: "\"Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but that's the only way you can do anything really good.\" — William Faulkner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/william-faulkner-306_bad-writing_get-it-down-take-chances-it-may-be-bad-b_843633.png" --- # Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but that's the… ![“Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but that's the only way you can do anything really good.” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/william-faulkner-306_bad-writing_get-it-down-take-chances-it-may-be-bad-b_843633.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/william-faulkner-306_bad-writing_get-it-down-take-chances-it-may-be-bad-b_843633.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/027/william-faulkner-306_bad-writing_get-it-down-take-chances-it-may-be-bad-b_843633.png) > “Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but that's the only way you can do anything really good.” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Encourages taking risks despite possible negative outcomes, asserting that only bold actions yield truly great results. **In simple terms:** Risk leads to greatness. Key Takeaway Embrace calculated risks. Themes risk courage achievement Mood motivational determined Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - career moves - creative projects - entrepreneurship Key Concepts innovation growth fear of failure Questions to Reflect On - What risk could change your life? - How do you assess potential downsides? A Different Perspective Risk can cause loss; not all risks pay off. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-writing/) [Business writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business-writing/) [Can do](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/can-do/) [Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chance/) [Chances](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chances/) [Chances Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chances-bad-669419/) [Creative writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-writers/) [Creative writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creative-writing/) [Creativity and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity-and-writing/) [Famous writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famous-writers/) [Fiction writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writers/) [Fiction writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Good authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-authors/) [Good writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writers/) [Good writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-writing/) [Inspiration and creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration-and-creativity/) [Inspiration to write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiration-to-write/) [Inspire creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspire-creativity/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Really Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-good/) [Take a chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-a-chance/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writers and writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-and-writing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-advice/) [Writing by writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-by-writers/) [Writing from famous authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-from-famous-authors-209656/) [Writing things down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-things-down-209738/) ## Related quotes > [The road to Hell is paved with unbought stuffed dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-road-to-hell-is-paved-with-unbought-stuffed-dogs/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Get it down. Take chances. It may be bad, but it's the only way you can do anything good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/get-it-down-take-chances-it-may-be-bad-but-it-s-the-only-way-you-can/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Read, read read. Read everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/read-read-read-read-everything/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It's a war of attrition. If you have patience and a modicum of faith in yourself your chances are not too bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-bowen/it-s-a-war-of-attrition-if-you-have-patience-and-a-modicum-of-faith/) [Julie Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-bowen/) > [There's good chances and bad chances, and nobody's luck is pulled only by one string.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-s-good-chances-and-bad-chances-and-nobody-s-luck-is-pulled-only/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Things don't happen because they're bad or good, else all eggs would be addled or none at all, and at the most it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/things-don-t-happen-because-they-re-bad-or-good-else-all-eggs-would/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“And mostly you tend to forget bad things and I find that to be dangerous. Because if you forget the bad things, chances are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-huss/and-mostly-you-tend-to-forget-bad-things-and-i-find-that-to-be/) [J.A. Huss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-huss/) > [You have to write the book that wants to be written,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-l-engle/you-have-to-write-the-book-that-wants-to-be-written/) [Madeleine L'Engle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-l-engle/) > [Any writer worth his salt writes to please himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/any-writer-worth-his-salt-writes-to-please-himself/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) > [All the information you need can be given in dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/all-the-information-you-need-can-be-given-in-dialogue/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/science-fiction-writers-i-am-sorry-to-say-really-do-not-know-anything/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Composing was more difficult than writing things down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-clementine/composing-was-more-difficult-than-writing-things-down/) [Benjamin Clementine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-clementine/) > [I love writing things down so pretty much every card I send to friends or family is an over enthusiastic essay. I've written some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-morris/i-love-writing-things-down-so-pretty-much-every-card-i-send-to/) [Rae Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-morris/) > [I lost my voice. I'd never had to cancel a show before and I had to walk around with a pad and a pen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mccartney/i-lost-my-voice-i-d-never-had-to-cancel-a-show-before-and-i-had-to/) [Paul McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mccartney/) > [Begin with an individual, and before you know it you find that you have created a type; begin with a type, and you find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/begin-with-an-individual-and-before-you-know-it-you-find-that-you-3/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. The hat seemed to isolate Luster's skull,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/luster-returned-wearing-a-stiff-new-straw-hat-with-a-colored-band-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It is easy enough to say that man is immortal simply because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-is-easy-enough-to-say-that-man-is-immortal-simply-because-he-will/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What matters is at the end of life, when you're about to pass into oblivion, that you've at least scratched 'Kilroy was here,' on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-matters-is-at-the-end-of-life-when-you-re-about-to-pass-into/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [And sure enough, even waiting will end...if you can just wait long enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/and-sure-enough-even-waiting-will-end-if-you-can-just-wait-long-enough/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## More Bad writing quotes > [“Except in stock locutions, such as "You were paid yesterday," "The Germans were defeated," or "The project was abandoned," the passive voice is virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/except-in-stock-locutions-such-as-you-were-paid-yesterday-the-germans/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“There is one surefire way to produce bad writing: submit to the slavery of a deadline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavia-id/there-is-one-surefire-way-to-produce-bad-writing-submit-to-the/) [Flavia Idà](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flavia-id/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Jokes that are gratuitously offensive are synonymous with bad writing to me. I'm offended as a writer first and as a person second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bloom/jokes-that-are-gratuitously-offensive-are-synonymous-with-bad-writing/) [Rachel Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bloom/) > [“A person who wrote badly did better than a person who does not write at all. A bad writing can be corrected. An empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/a-person-who-wrote-badly-did-better-than-a-person-who-does-not-write/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He isn't a - well...eh." She made a face. "Well, yeah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcadams/he-isn-t-a-well-eh-she-made-a-face-well-yeah/) [Molly McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-mcadams/) > [Good writers hate bad writing but hating bad writing doesn’t make you good. Writing badly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/good-writers-hate-bad-writing-but-hating-bad-writing-doesn-t-make-you/) [Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/) > [A day of bad writing is always better than a day of no writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/a-day-of-bad-writing-is-always-better-than-a-day-of-no-writing/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Is this a case of “Do as I say, not as I do?” The reader has a perfect right to ask the question, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/is-this-a-case-of-do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do-the-reader-has-a-perfect/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [There is no left and right in writing. There is only good and bad writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-is-no-left-and-right-in-writing-there-is-only-good-and-bad/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The way the show was conceived originally and developed, has always had good writing at the heart of it, it's very difficult to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/the-way-the-show-was-conceived-originally-and-developed-has-always/) [Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/) > [Think 'Game of Thrones.' In the old days, this sort of show might be considered bad writing. It doesn't really seem to be moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/think-game-of-thrones-in-the-old-days-this-sort-of-show-might-be/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“I wanted to let go, drop him, anything to get him out of my arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-bodeen/i-wanted-to-let-go-drop-him-anything-to-get-him-out-of-my-arms/) [S.A. Bodeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-bodeen/) > [“You can only write regularly if you're willing to write badly. You can't write regularly and well. One should accept bad writing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/you-can-only-write-regularly-if-you-re-willing-to-write-badly-you-can/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Browse all 94 Bad writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Get it down. Take chances. 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