All writing is discipline, but screenwriting is a drill sergeant.
Robert MckeeRead
We rarely know where we are going; writing is a discovery.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Writing helps us uncover our thoughts and direction in life.
This quote suggests that much of our journey in life is uncertain, and through the act of writing, we can explore and discover our true selves and our paths. Writing serves as a tool for introspection and revelation, allowing us to articulate and understand the complexities of our thoughts and feelings as we navigate the unknown.
Themes
WritingDiscoveryJourneySelf-ExplorationUncertainty
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, to encourage participants, one might say, 'Remember, we rarely know where we are going; writing is a discovery.'
More from Robert Mckee
All quotes →Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact.
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Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today.
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Good story' means something worth telling that the world wants to hear. Finding this is your lonely task...But the love of a good story, of terrific characters and a world driven by your passion, courage, and creative gifts is still not enough. Your goal must be a good story well told.
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Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master the form.
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Whereas life separates meaning from emotion, art unites them. Story is an instrument by which you create such epiphanies at will, the phenomenon known as aesthetic emotion...Life on its own, without art to shape it, leaves you in confusion and chaos, but aesthetic emotion harmonizes what you know with what you feel to give you a heightened awareness and a sureness of your place in reality.
Robert MckeeRead
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