Best elements & stories Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“In documentary films, you're a storyteller using found objects. You still have to have a story arc and all the elements that make a good story. It really helped me mature as a storyteller.”

Stills Stories Film Found Objects Elements Mature Storyteller Documentaries Good Story Arcs Documentary Films Found Objects

Author:Garth Stein

“I was about seven or eight years old when I first heard West Side Story, and it had a huge impact on me. If you look at the elements of that record, it contains many of the things I enjoy doing today.”

Ifs Years Firsts Looks Stories Today Enjoy Sides Records Heard Huge Elements Impact West Seven Eight West Side West Side Story

Author:Steve Vai

“Ultimately people don't watch shows because of how realistic they are. They watch them because of the same dramatic elements that have always made stories interesting. And fundamentally if those elements don't work, no amount of reality is going to be enough to keep people watching a show.”

People Ifs Made Enough Stories Shows Reality Interesting Watches Amount Elements Dramatic Realistic

Author:Michael Loceff

“Every now and then I'll do little things, a short story or something, that doesn't have any fantastical elements, but mostly I like the power of playing God and I like to imagine things.”

Littles Stories Imagine Elements Little Things Short Story Now And Then Playing God

Author:Neil Gaiman

“A dream inspiring a story is different than placing a description of a dream in a story. When you describe a character's dream, it has to be sharper than reality in some way, and more meaningful. It has to somehow speak to plot, character, and all the rest. If you're writing something fantastical, it can be a really deadly choice because your story already has elements that can seem dreamlike.”

Ifs Way Writing Different Character Stories Dream Reality Seems Choices Speak Elements Meaningful Description Plot

Author:Jeff VanderMeer

“As I look back on my fondness for the outdoors, and specifically the elements in nature that I find visually stimulating, I am surprised at how often the theme of dead trees arise. I guess it's that each one seems to have a story of its own, representing many years of living through everything that nature could throw at them.”

Years Looks Stories Seems Tree Elements Arise Theme Representing Fondness Dead Trees

Author:Cory Trepanier

“I don't worry much about whether or not one of my stories contains elements of the supernatural. If I come up with what I think is a nifty concept, I'll give it a whirl.”

Ifs Thinking Giving Stories Worry Elements Concepts Come Up

Author:Richard Laymon

“We all recall the cruel stepmother in fairy tales. That archetype is often a necessary element in a fairy tale so that the heroine/hero can become a person of character and power. Stories of heroes and heroines often begin with a wound or loss or injustice and end with heroic acts of restoration.”

Source: The Power of Coincidence: How Life Shows Us What We Need to Know

“I often use detective elements in my books. I love detective novels. But I also think science fiction and detective stories are very close and friendly genres, which shows in the books by Isaac Asimov, John Brunner, and Glen Cook. However, whilst even a tiny drop of science fiction may harm a detective story, a little detective element benefits science fiction. Such a strange puzzle.”

Thinking May Littles Book Stories Use Shows Fiction Novel Strange Elements Benefits Science Fiction Harm Tiny Cooks Genre Friendly Puzzles Detectives Isaac Detective Stories

Author:Sergei Lukyanenko

“All the writing elements are the same. You need to tell a good story... You've got good characters... People think there's some dramatic difference between writing 'Little Bear' and the 'Hunger Games,' and as a writer, for me, there isn't.”

People Thinking Needs Writing Littles Character Stories Games Differences Bears Elements Hunger Dramatic Good Story Good Character

Author:Suzanne Collins

“If, when we compare two versions of a story, the second known to be a retelling of the first, and find that the second has more of a miraculous element, we may reasonably conclude we have legendary (or midrashic or whatever) embellishment. The tale has grown in the telling. This sort of comparison is common in extrabiblical research and no one holds that it cannot properly indicate legend formation there.”

Source: Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity

“Action alone doesnt work in Germany - you need an emotional element to the story.”

Needs Stories Action Emotional Elements Germany

Author:Til Schweiger

“I always like to try different things, different genres; stories that have a dramatic element and can generate conflict which I find appealing; where the characters have to overcome obstacles. That kind of thing is challenging.”

Trying Kind Different Character Stories Challenges Conflict Elements Overcoming Obstacles Genre Dramatic Different Things Different Genres

Author:Clint Eastwood

“My vocation is to write and I have known this for a long time. I hope I won't be misunderstood; I know nothing about the value of the things I am able to write. I know that writing is my vocation. When I sit down to write I feel extraordinarily at ease, and I move in an element which, it seems to me, I know extraordinarily well; I use tools that are familiar to me and they fit snugly in my hands. But when I write stories I am like someone who is in her own country, walking along streets that she has known since she was a child, between walls and trees that are hers.”

Knows Feels Writing Wells Children Long Country Stories Use Hands Seems Able Moving Values Known Tree Streets Wall Fit Walking Elements Long Time Tools Familiar Ease Vocation Misunderstood

Author:Natalia Ginzburg

“I enjoy writing for both kids and adults, though I think I'm better at children's stories because I was a teacher for so long, and I know that audience well. The process is no different whether I'm writing for children or adults. Really, the elements of making a good story are the same.”

Thinking Knows Writing Wells Children Long Different Stories Kids Process Enjoy Audience Teacher Elements Adults Good Story

Author:Rick Riordan

“The last element in drama is high stakes. War, of course, is life and death - survival, not only for the story's characters, but often for the society itself. That's why I'm drawn to stories that are built around wars, even if they're not technically "war stories."”

Ifs War Character Stories Lasts Courses Drama Elements Survival Built Life And Death Stakes War Stories

Author:Steven Pressfield

“the life of Jesus recapitulates key elements in the earlier story of Israel. For a moment, as Jesus stands on the mountain giving the famous sermon, he is Moses. For a moment, answering his critics about his actions on the sabbath, he is David. For a moment, as he calls and names the twelve disciples, he is perhaps Jacob, bringing the twelve patriarchs into the world. For a moment, healing the sick and raising the dead, he is Elijah or Elisha. And so on. In the transfiguration he actually meets Moses and Elijah.”

World Giving Moments Stories Action Jesus Names Healing Keys Mountain Elements Sick Critics Israel Twelve Disciple Sermons Moses Sabbath Jacob Elijah Transfiguration Healing The Sick

Author:N. T. Wright

“I enjoy the research element. There are so many stories from the past that interest me, that I want to learn more about, just as an interested person. And if I'm going to learn, if I'm going to research, it's probably going to lead me to writing a novel.”

Ifs Want Writing Persons Stories Past Enjoy Interest Novel Elements Research Leading Me

Author:John Boyne

“Even tiny children looking at a picture book are using their imaginations, gleaning clues from the images to understand what is happening, and perhaps using the throwaway details which the illustrator includes to add their own elements to the story.”

Children Book Stories Imagination Elements Happenings Add Details Tiny Clue Picture Books Illustrators Gleaning

Author:Philip Reeve

“I have always been fascinated by the supernatural elements in stories, whether fairy tales, myths, film or literature.”

Stories Film Literature Elements Myth Tales Fairy Fascinated Fairy Tale Supernatural Elements

Author:Trudi Canavan

“It is amazing that 2001: A Space Odyssey has not aged at all, except for a few minor technical gadgets. The main reason is, of course, the philosophical or spiritual element in this story. We know as little today about the secrets of Creation and evolution as we knew before, and it is not likely that we'll ever know much more. We'll have to be satisfied, as Kubrick was, respectfully admiring the potential for evolution within the mystery of the universe's creation.”

“Once Indians become more visible in pop culture and thus more humanized, then it actually chips away at discrimination. Especially after 9/11, it became important for those stories and that human element, for the Muslim, the Hindu, the Sheikh communities to be heard. That's what I hope I get at with the music.”

Humans Important Stories Culture Community Heard Elements Pops Discrimination Visible Chips Pop Culture

Author:Himanshu Suri

“The unknown is the most frightening and mysterious thing, especially in the modern world where we can practically Google anything and find out the back story. I think to have that element of mystery it almost creates a frustration that is closer to real life.”

Thinking World Real Stories Mystery Modern Elements Real Life Mysterious Frustration Frightening Google Modern World Mysterious Things

Author:Larry Fessenden

“I've made the decision to adhere to three general truths when it comes to my novels: There will be a love-story element to the story, the novel will be set in eastern North Carolina, and the characters will be likeable. Then, I make each novel unique through differences in voice, perspective, age and personalities of the characters, and of course, plot.”

Made Character Stories Age Three Courses Voice Differences Decision Novel Perspective Personality Elements Unique Love Story Plot Eastern Carolina North Carolina Likeable

Author:Nicholas Sparks

“I think all cinematographers, at least most of them, would love to do everything on location because you cannot cheat on location. It's there, it's part of the story usually. You have to deal with the elements. You have the sunshine, you have rain, you have fog - it really makes you work harder to try to match things during the day to make it look like it was shot within five minutes, movie time.”

Thinking Trying Looks Stories Deals Five Minutes Hard Work Elements Shots Rain Harder Sunshine Cheat Location Fog Five Minutes Work Harder Cinematographers

Author:Vilmos Zsigmond

“The elements of a good story are most definitely details, little bitty details. That does it, especially when you're describing, when you're setting the scene and everything. It's like you're painting a picture, so details are very important. Also, the music gotta be right. The music can really set the tone for the story and let you know what the story is gonna be about, but definitely, it's the vibe in the place where you at and the detail.”

Knows Littles Doe Important Stories Painting Like You Scene Elements Details Setting Settings Tone Describing Good Story Painting A Picture

Author:Big Boi

“My stories usually begin with the characters and some elements of how power (personal, political, magical) functions in the world. The rest develops as I write, and research helps a great deal with that. If you're going to write about an agrarian economy, research agrarian economies. If your main character is starving, then you should know what it means for a malnourished body to break down.”

Ifs Knows World Should Writing Mean Character Helping Stories Body Political Deals Break Economy Elements Research Function Breaking Down Starving Main Characters

Author:Leigh Bardugo

“You use elements of noir, but you don't want it to be too noir-ish. You don't want it to be advertised as though you're asking people to go and watch an updated noir. I don't think they'll go do that. They want to see a modern story.”

People Thinking Want Stories Use Watches Modern Elements Asking Noir

Author:Danny Boyle

“When winter fails to provide an adequate snow base, my boys bring their sleds in the house and ride them down the stairs. Just the other day, my wife found them with a rope out their second-story bedroom window, preparing to rappel down the side of the house. The recipe for fun is pretty simple raising boys: Add to any activity an element of danger, stir in a little exploration, add a dash of destruction, and you've got yourself a winner.”

Source: Wild at Heart Revised and Updated: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul

“In a novella, a whole lot of crap can happen, and you can build momentum and suspense and leave room for a surprise or three. Stories are cut down to the most essential elements, and novels (this might be an unfair generalization on my part) are big fat clumsy efforts where the reader can snooze for a couple chapters and miss nothing of consequence. Hence my love for the middle way.”

“I think the beauty of documentary work is that it's a mystery - you never know where it's going to lead you. You start out with some notion of it, but it's very different from a script. A script you write, you shoot against, and you know what the story is going to be. There's always the element of surprise, but the surprise comes from performance, from something that's improvised, it comes from someone who sees it inside an already determined framework. In documentary, it's never determined. It's never the same, and affords enormous possibility.”

Thinking Knows Writing Different Stories Mystery Possibility Elements Performances Surprise Notion Scripts Determined Enormous Documentaries Framework Element Of Surprise

Author:Gail Levin

“We love those beautiful, Latin American stories where there is an element that's more mysterious and wonderful. I think as a child a lot of us love the idea of the star and more of the supernatural elements.”

Thinking Children Ideas Stories Beautiful Stars Wonderful Elements Mysterious Latin Latin America Latin American Supernatural Elements

Author:Catherine Hardwicke

“Making music clips, I have a responsibility to depict the artist in a way that suits them, and feels comfortable with how they want to present their music. From there I usually try to tell a story visually that complements the music, that lets the music be the hero element of the project. I just try to do something that feels sincere and creative and a little bit home-brewed so it doesn't feel too plastic or phony.”

Way Want Feels Trying Littles Stories Home Artist Bits Responsibility Creative Hero Elements Comfortable Projects Little Bit Music Is Suits Sincere Plastic Phony Complement Clip

Author:Adria Petty

“When I was a film critic, the reason I kind of found it disenchanting was because the things that I wanted to talk about were the ideas in the movie, the theme of it, and contextual elements that weren't necessarily central to the story. But the only thing people really wanted was a plot description and how many stars I'd give it. It didn't matter how much effort you put into writing a piece, they looked at it solely as a consumer's guide toward going or not going to films.”

People Giving Writing Kind Ideas Matter Reason Stories Wanted Film Found Stars Effort Pieces Elements Critics Guides Consumers Theme Description Plot Film Critics

Author:Chuck Klosterman

“When I wrote Wakolda at first I wasn't conscious that I was writing about something so close to or that had so many similar elements with XXY. It was just after I was done writing that I noticed it. I think both teenagers in each film have many similarities, and Mengele is the extreme version of the plastic surgeon in XXY. Both stories definitely have several ideas connecting them.”

Thinking Writing Firsts Ideas Done Stories Film Elements Conscious Extremes Versions Teenager Plastic Connecting Surgeons Similarity Plastic Surgeons

Author:Lucia Puenzo

“But the biggest challenge overall was narrowing down the complex narrative elements into a clean and straightforward story while maintaining a sense of the cultural context that makes the film special.”

Stories Film Challenges Special Elements Clean Complexes Narrative Maintaining Straightforward

Author:Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy

“I don't outline at all; I don't find it useful, and I don't like the way it boxes me in. I like the element of surprise and spontaneity, of letting the story find its own way.”

Way Stories Elements Surprise Boxes Spontaneity Outlines Element Of Surprise

Author:Khaled Hosseini

“It was shocking to see a leg! You've never seen a leg in these stories. We made it a little saloon girl. We played up on many elements because everything is just very covered and the tights are very thick and heavy. And then to have it all fell apart, absolutely, we wanted to see the leg!”

Littles Made Stories Wanted Girl Elements Heavy Legs Made It Covered Thick Shocking Tights Saloons

Author:Jerusha Hess

“The task is not primarily to have a story, but to penetrate the story, to discard the elements of it that are merely shell, or husk, that give apparent form to the story, but actually obscure the essence. In other words, the problem is to transcend the givens of a narrative.”

Giving Stories Problem Form Given Elements Tasks Essence Narrative Shells Obscure Penetrate

Author:Deborah Eisenberg

“Falsehood is a critical element in fiction. Part of the thrill of being told a story is the chance of being hoodwinked. . .The telling of lies is a sort of sleight of hand that displays our deepest feelings about life.”

Stories Feelings Hands Lying Chance Fiction Elements Critical Display Falsehood Thrill Sleight Of Hand Deepest Feelings

Author:John Cheever

“That's the thing about acting - it does have the feeling of downhill skiing. When it's really all going right, you know your lines, you know what's important to your character, you pick the strongest reactions possible to elements in the story. But then you let it all go and you're in the moment and stuff happens. It surprises you and it's super strong; it's like you're living life in a slightly heightened way in the time between "action" and "cut."”

“The seminal elements of what makes a story great - challenge, struggle, resolution - are the same whether we're talking about story content for a movie such as 'Rain Man,' or telling a purposeful story to forge new business relationships or conclude a fruitful transaction, such as acquiring an NBA franchise.”

Men Stories Challenges Talking Struggle Elements Rain Resolution Nba Transactions New Business Business Relationship

Author:Peter Guber

“When I made 'Real Steel,' the director actually had the robots in the monitor, so he knew where everything was. So technically, there's been advancements. But at the end of the day, movies are about story and characters, so all the other stuff is great, but unless you have those two elements, then you've got nothing.”

Made Two Real Ends Character Stories Stuff Directors Elements The End Of The Day Steel Robots Advancement Real Steel

Author:Hugh Jackman

“I get a lot of comics, and I can look at a comic and tell immediately whether I'll enjoy it or not. There are elements in the stories that I have no rapport with. I see dirty language, I see sleazy backgrounds; I see it reflected in the movies, the movies are comics to me. And I don't see a sleazy world. I see hope. I see a positive world.”

World Looks I Can Stories Language Enjoy Elements Backgrounds Comic Dirty Rapport Sleazy

Author:Jack Kirby

“Basically the movies I make are my life, so I choose how I want to live my life for the next two years. So that's a decision I have to make. At some point if I feel there are enough elements - it doesn't even have to have great characters or great stories - it's just elements that can get my excitement and curiosity for one or two years, then I'll jump in and I'll find out what that is. Then I have to do [interviews like this] and rationalize why I do this.”

Ifs Want Feels Years Two Enough Character Stories Next Decision Elements Curiosity Excitement Interviews Two Years Living My Life Great Character Rationalize

Author:Ang Lee

“That's the definition of a mini-series. A mini-series is a show that has no continuing story or narrative elements between one group of episodes and another, so no, I wasn't surprised.”

Stories Shows Groups Elements Series Definitions Narrative Episodes Continuing

Author:John Landgraf

“What I like about the Carpenter take on The Thing is the fact that it just has so much suspense. It seemed like a different story, with the horror elements. Those films that really speak to the primal fear that we, as human beings, have about the unknown have always intrigued me. That's the really scary thing, not the slasher, macabre movies.”

Humans Different Facts Stories Film Speak Human Beings Horror Elements Scary Suspense Primal Intrigued Carpenter Scary Things Really Scary Macabre Primal Fear

Author:Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

“One of the things that did intrigue me about when I read the pilot - because I had not read the books before doing the show - was the mystery aspect of it. I didn't feel that it was just a crime-based story. It really does have that mystery element, and it felt like a throwback to other shows in the past that had a bit more of that. There was something iconic about it. The fact that it's set in Boston gave it a feeling that was different to me. So, I am definitely more of a fan of mysteries than I am of a circular crime-based genre.”

Feels Doe Book Different Facts Stories Shows Feelings Past Felt Bits Mystery Fans Crime Elements Aspect Genre Pilots Intrigue Boston Iconic Throwback

Author:Sasha Alexander

“Why should there be only one sort of photography? I want to create images with elements of my choosing, narrative or evocative... I give myself a literary frame, I tell a story.”

Want Giving Should Stories Elements Photography Narrative

Author:Sarah Moon

“Any fiction should be a story. In any story there are three elements: persons, a situation, and the fact that in the end something has changed. If nothing has changed, it isn't a story.”

Ifs Should Persons Ends Facts Stories Three Fiction Situation Changed Elements Things Have Changed

Book:Conversations with Malcolm Cowley

Source: Conversations with Malcolm Cowley

Elements Quotes

Related topics

Elements Quotes