“Ideas are like rabbits. You get…” — John Steinbeck

Creativity and problem-solving

What it means

Ideas multiply once you start handling them. Creativity grows by working with ideas, not by waiting for a single perfect one.

John Steinbeck — American writer and novelist (1902–1968).

Source: Interview with Robert van Gelder (April 1947), as quoted in John Steinbeck: A Biography (1994) by Jay Parini
Reference: John Steinbeck on Wikiquote
Checked: Wording and source taken from the sourced section of the author’s Wikiquote page, which cites the work given here (accessed 2026-10-11).
Copyright: Short quotation from a work that is still in copyright, reproduced briefly for commentary with full attribution. Rights remain with the author or their estate.

The explanation above is ToDoMatriX’s own reading of the quote, not the author’s words.