By all means continue destroying my possessions. I daresay I have too many.
J. K. RowlingRead
I always have a basic plot outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Leaving room for creativity allows for unexpected inspiration during the writing process.
J.K. Rowling expresses the idea that while having a structured outline is important for storytelling, allowing flexibility in the writing process can lead to spontaneous creativity and new ideas. This approach can enrich the narrative and make the writing journey more dynamic and engaging.
Themes
CreativityWritingInspirationFlexibilityStorytelling
In practice
Example use cases
During a writer's workshop discussion about the creative process.
More from J. K. Rowling
All quotes →Where are you heading, if you’ve got the choice?” James lifted an invisible sword. “‘Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!’ Like my dad.” Snape made a small, disparaging noise. James turned on him. “Got a problem with that?” “No,” said Snape, though his slight sneer said otherwise. “If you’d rather be brawny than brainy —” “Where’re you hoping to go, seeing as you’re neither?” interjected Sirius.
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Depression isn't just being a bit sad. It's feeling nothing. It's not wanting to be alive anymore.
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I tell you, that dragon's the most horrible animal I've ever met, but the way Hagrid goes on about it, you'd think it was a fluffy little bunny rabbit.
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Imagine losing fingernails, Harry! That really puts our sufferings into perspective, doesn't it?
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The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.
J. K. RowlingRead
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Dogmatism of all kinds--scientific, economic, moral, as well as political--are threatened by the creative freedom of the artist. This is necessarily and inevitably so. We cannot escape our anxiety over the fact that the artists together with creative persons of all sorts, are the possible destroyer of our nicely ordered systems. (p. 76)
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So long as you write what you wish to write, that is all that matters; and whether it matters for ages or only for hours, nobody can say.
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