Best simple & stories Quotes | Short & Famous Sayings

“The novels take longer to write than the picture book texts, and they do take a different sort of concentration. However, a very short, simple story that works well is just as exciting to me as any longer and more complex book.”

Writing Wells Book Different Stories Simple Novel Exciting Complexes Concentration Picture Books

Author:Margaret Mahy

“I was watching TV at age 9 or 10, and my mom said that I came from the front room and I told her that I want to act. And she said if you want to do this at 18, then you can. It was a very simple story, yet, I do not even remember the conversation that I had with my mother. Until she reminded me of the story many years later.”

Ifs Want Years Said Stories Age Remember Mother Simple Rooms Fronts Tvs Mom Conversation My Mom Watching Tv

Author:Derek Luke

“Sports biography at its best. Rich in period detail, anecdote, and fresh perspective, Strong Boy paints both the good and the bad sides of success, as America's growing celebrity culture turned a simple Irish American gladiator into a national, in fact international hero. A very human story with profound parallels for our sports-obsessed culture today!”

“After you've written a story, the thing to do is sell it. Sounds simple, and it is, if one will follow certain basic principles of salesmanship.”

Ifs Stories Certain Sound Simple Principles Written Sells Things To Do Basic Principles Salesmanship

Author:Erle Stanley Gardner

“I've always loved the old epics that tell a simple emotional story, whether it's the tumultuous relationship between Rhett and Scarlett or Lawrence of Arabia's passion to get lost in a faraway place.”

Stories Passion Lost Simple Emotional Epic Arabia Faraway Places Lawrence Of Arabia

Author:Baz Luhrmann

“[The Christmas story] is as simple as was the Man himself and His teaching. SA simple as the Sermon on the Mount which still remains as the ultimate basis ... of the belief of free men of good will everywhere.”

Men Stills Stories Belief Simple Teaching He Man Ultimate Bases Remains Christmas Sermons Good Will Free Man Sermon On The Mount

Author:Hal Borland

“As a teenager I wrote to R.A. Lafferty. And he responded, too, with letters that were like R.A. Lafferty short stories, filled with elliptical answers to straight questions and simple answers to complicated ones.”

Stories Simple Answers Letters Filled Complicated Teenager Short Story

Author:Neil Gaiman

“I believe a good writer can write a good book with any sort of character, in any sort of setting, but I prefer to write about the outsider. It might just be because I've been one (or perceived myself to be one) for so much of my life. But the simple fact of being marginalized immediately brings conflict to a story before the narrative even begins, and that's gold for a writer because it means that your character already has depth before events begin to unfold.”

Writing Believe Mean Book Character Facts Stories Might I Believe Simple Events Conflict Gold Depth Setting Settings Narrative Outsiders Good Book Good Writers Marginalized

Author:Charles de Lint

“The moral of human life is never simple, and the moral of a story which aims only at being true to human life cannot be expected to be any more so.”

Humans Stories Life Is Simple Moral Aim Expected Being True Human Life

Book:The Nemesis of Faith

Source: The Nemesis of Faith

“In the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes we can.”

People Trying Stories America Spirit Simple Impossible Generations Ready Creeds Odds Unlikely Not Ready Yes We Can Impossible Odds

Book:Change We Can Believe In

Source: Change We Can Believe In

“The story of Joseph in Egypt and of the seven fat and the seven lean years has passed into the homely wisdom of the ages; but our economic thinking seems to have lost contact with so simple and basic approach to prudent management of a nations welfare.”

Thinking Years Stories Seems Age Lost Nations Simple Economic Approach Management Seven Fats Contact Welfare Egypt Prudent Homely

Author:Benjamin Graham

“Elizabeth Turnage is a woman of grit and grace who lives into the stories of those who join her in this odd journey of seeking God. She honors the complexity of life without ever losing sight of the simple glory of the cross. Her grasp of the mundane and miraculous and their interplay gives a depth and honesty to her story that tugs at the heart and gives us hope our story can matter. Her book will be a clarion call to bring our broken, holy, troubled, and glorious life to the author of all stories: Jesus.”

“Creators, makers of the new, can never become obsolete, for in the arts there is no correct answer. The story of discoverers could be told in simple chronological order, since the latest science replaces what went before. But the arts are another story- a story of infinite addition. We must find order in the random flexings of the imagination.”

Art Stories Order Imagination Simple Answers Creativity Infinite Creator Makers Obsolete Flexing

Book:The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination

Source: The Creators: A History of Heroes of the Imagination

“Telling the complete story of VeggieTales would require much more time than we have before us tonight. Since this is Yale, I decided to craft a shorter version of the story, using very large words. Remembering though that I was kicked out of Bible College before I'd had a chance to learn many very large words, I concluded that my only remaining option was to tell the story simply, using simple words, and chance the consequences.”

Stories Remember Chance Simple College Consequence Decided Versions Crafts Tonight More Time Yale Simple Words

Author:Phil Vischer

“When I was there at Marvel, everybody thought if you could draw well and you could do sensational panels, that you were going to be a success. The truth is that no matter how good or bad you are as a draftsman, if you can't tell a story, you don't last in comics. ...About halfway through my stay at Marvel, I realized I was being paid to tell a story, not do a drawing. That's why my stuff is always rather simple and uncomplicated compared to a lot of guys.”

Ifs Wells Book Matter Stories Lasts Guy Stuff Simple Truth Is Draws Paid Drawing I Realized Comic Comic Book Halfway Sensational Uncomplicated Draftsman

Author:John Romita, Sr.

“If a large number of people who are convinced alien abductions are real are hypnotising even larger numbers of others who suspect they might be, then it is likely there will be many alien abduction narratives flying around, as, indeed, there are. Of course, this is not proof they are not true, but it does provide a persuasive context for a simple psychosocial explanation. Hypnotism is a technique that triggers a mass storytelling project in which all the stories are linked.”

“Abstraction didn't have to be limited to a kind of rectilinear geometry or even a simple curve geometry. It could have a geometry that had a narrative impact. In other words, you could tell a story with the shapes. It wouldn't be a literal story, but the shapes and the interaction of the shapes and colors would give you a narrative sense. You could have a sense of an abstract piece flowing along and being part of an action or activity. That sort of turned me on.”

Giving Kind Stories Action Simple Pieces Color Activity Shapes Impact Narrative Abstract Interaction Abstraction Curves Geometry Literal

Author:Frank Stella

“I really don't want to produce artwork that does not have meaning beyond simple decorative values. I want to use public space to create a public voice, and a public consciousness about the presence of people who are, in fact, the majority of the population but who are not represented in any visual way. By telling their stories we are giving voice to the voiceless and visualizing the whole of the American story.”

People Way Want Giving Doe Whole Facts Stories Use Values Voice Simple Space Consciousness Produce Majority Population Visuals Artwork Voiceless Visualizing Giving Voice

Author:Judy Baca

“Among all the complaints you hear these days about the crimes of the media, it seems to me the critics miss the big one. It is that especially TV, but also we of the print press, tend to reduce mess and complexity and ambiguity to a simple story line that doesn't reflect reality so much as it distorts it. ... What bothers me about the journalistic tendency to reduce unmanageable reality to self-contained, movielike little dramas is not just that we falsify when we do this. It is also that we really miss the good story.”

“A critic may reject some miracle stories as legendary, and not others, with no inconsistency at all for the simple reason that even if one holds miracles to be possible, one need not hold legends to be impossible! There are other factors, literary and historiographical ones, that might lead a critic to conclude that even though miracles can happen, it does not appear that in this or that case they did.”

Source: Beyond Born Again: Toward Evangelical Maturity

“Learn how to draw. It's the basis of what we [animation directors] do. Keep a sketchbook. Try making a very simple little film. Try and tell a story clearly and entertainingly. Study the way people move and animate move. Observe all you can, and try and capture that simply in a few lines on paper.”

People Way Trying Littles Stories Film Moving Lines Simple Study Directors Paper Draws Bases Capture Animation Sketchbooks

Author:John Musker

“My view is that musicals are love stories with great final scenes. It's just that simple. Musicals are also conflicts between two worlds. And by those criteria, 'The Color Purple' is actually exactly the kind of story that makes for a great musical. Yes, it's got hard stuff in it, but so does 'Les Miserables' and 'Phantom of the Opera.'”

World Kind Doe Two Hard Stories Stuff Simple Views Color Scene Conflict Finals Musical Love Story Opera Purple Criteria Phantoms Great Music Two Worlds

Author:Marsha Norman

“A lost coin is found by means of a candle; the deepest truth is found by means of a simple story.”

Mean Stories Found Lost Simple Truth Is Candle Coins

Author:Anthony de Mello

“Remember: A best-selling book usually follows a simple rule, It's a wonderful story, wonderfully told; not, It's a wonderfully told story.”

Book Stories Remember Simple Wonderful Selling Selling Books

Author:Nicholas Sparks

“Lyrics have got to be simple and catchy. A hook is more important than an overall concept or story.”

Important Stories Simple Concepts Hook Catchy

Author:Galcher Lustwerk

“I did a film when I was about 30; it's a coming of age story called 'Gas Food Lodging,' and I'm so proud of that little independent film. I play this young English geologist, and he's such a simple, loving kind of guy. Doesn't talk too much. He's just a quiet guy, and he gets the girl.”

Kind Littles Play Stories Age Film Young Guy Girl Simple Too Much Proud Quiet Independent Gas Coming Of Age Independent Film Geologist

Author:Robert Knepper

“Try to reach for a simple, visual phrase that tells you what the picture is all about and evokes the essence of the story”

Trying Stories Simple Essence Phrases Visuals Evoke

Author:Saul Bass

“Keep it simple. Trust your imagination. Discover what is unique about your imagination. Don't simply read a story and copy it. I go into myself. Then I transcribe what visions I have. If those ideas are original, and you are devoted, you will go far.”

Ifs Ideas Stories Imagination Simple Vision Unique Originals Copies Devoted Keep It Simple

Author:Clive Barker

“I know that with consecration on the part of believers, separation from the world, disentanglement from enslaving sins, and a mighty baptism of the Holy Spirit, the church would become a conquering power in the world, not by its constructed theology, not by its Sabbath services, not by its arguments to convince the intellect, but by its simple story of Jesus' love, by the Cross, the Cross--God's hammer, God's fire.”

“I love intricate plotting and exciting twists, but I realize more that people enjoy a good story in a simple, focused way.”

People Way Stories Enjoy Realizing Simple Exciting Focused Twists Good Story Intricate

Author:Evan Daugherty

“When you have your chance to make a film, don't focus on pleasing everyone. I think the goal is to live in that sweet spot where you focus on making a good film and you have fun with your collaborators, but you don't waste your energy chasing approval every which way. When you have a vision and a good story and you've managed to raise funding, it is your approval as a director that everyone should be seeking. It's very simple.”

“To be simple, I would say a story has to have a bit of narrative, if only "she says," and then enough of a creation of a different time and place to transport the reader.”

Ifs Different Enough Stories Bits Simple Creation Reader Narrative Transport Different Times

Author:Lydia Davis

“At the end of the day, storytelling is actually very simple in its origin as long as there are people who want to tell stories and there are people who want to hear them.”

People Want Long Ends Stories Simple Storytelling The End Of The Day

Author:Kevin Spacey

“All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He told stories very easily and very generously, so I loved him for that. He was a simple man, a Victorian; he was born in 1890-something. He saw no reason and had never seen any reason to question his Christian faith. His faith was strong and simple and that's it. And I, like his other grandchildren and the children in his parish, sheltered underneath it.”

Knows Men Firsts Children Reason Stories Christian Strong Born Simple Saws Lips No Reason Grandfather Grandchildren My Grandfather Christian Faith Victorian Parish Simple Man

Author:Philip Pullman

“The stories I respect most aren't those with the rich, dense prose, but those which achieve a rich, deep effect with simple little nothing-sentences, lines I won't possibly remember, because they simply functioned, didn't draw attention to themselves, were properly humble.”

Littles Stories Remember Lines Simple Attention Rich Achieve Effects Draws Humble Sentences Prose Dense

Author:Stephen Graham Jones

“The news business is simple but it's not easy to do well. You know the story, you have to cover it, you need pictures, you need good writers, you have to get it to the screen but it's obviously not easy to do well.”

Knows Needs Wells Stories Easy Simple News Screens Good Writers

Author:Jai Courtney

“My inspiration is really very simple: I'm struck by things that I want to know more about. I really do react just as a curious person: who is this person? What's the story behind this situation? Why do people like this or dislike this thing?”

People Knows Want Persons Stories Inspiration Simple Behinds Situation Curious Dislike

Author:Susan Orlean

“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

“Horror is always the same. It changes with the culture and changes with technology. The stories are always the same. There are just two basic stories in horror, two simple ones -- evil is outside and evil is in here [points to his heart].”

Heart Two Stories Culture Evil Simple Technology Horror

Author:John Carpenter

“My film is very simple: An Eastern European story full of black humor about things everyone can feel and understand.”

Feels Stories Film Black Simple Eastern Black Humor

Author:Malgorzata Szumowska

“Love stories that are too simple don't deserve to have films made about them.”

Made Stories Film Simple Deserve Love Story

Author:Patrice Leconte

“One of the reasons I think the population question is important, if we want to be as green as possible, any of our energy that is truly renewable is limited. Solar and wind are intermittent and they're so diffuse, it's difficult to harness them in a significant way. But one thing we could be doing is making it a law (like it is in Israel and Cyprus) to take every building eight stories or under and heat all of the water in those buildings with solar energy. It's absolutely simple and cheap technology.”

“Part of my learning curve as a novice screenwriter was peeling back the layers and getting to the core of the story. I was really blessed to have two amazing writing mentors who helped me along the way. They always encouraged me to be okay with a simple story.”

Way Writing Two Stories Simple Okay Blessed Core Layers Mentor Curves Screenwriters Novices Peeling Learning Curve

Author:Aurora Guerrero

“Consciousness begins when brains acquire the power, the simple power I must add, of telling a story.”

Stories Simple Brain Consciousness Add Acquire

Author:Antonio Damasio

“One of the things I've realised is that I am very simple. My wife asked me once if I loved her. I said: 'Look love, I'm a simple man. I love you. End of story.' But I guess you gotta keep saying it with women. I guess she needed reassurance.”

Ifs Men Looks Said Ends Stories Simple Wife Love You Needed My Wife I Love You Realised Reassurance Simple Man

Author:Bob Hoskins

“The basic rule [of writing] given us was simple and heartbreaking. A story to be effective had to convey something from the writer to the reader, and the power of its offering was the measure of its excellence. Outside of that, there were no rules.”

Writing Stories Given Simple Reader Excellence Offering Heartbreaking

Author:John Steinbeck

“For all its peculiarities and unevenness, the Bible has a simple story. God made man. Man rejected God. God won't give up until he wins him back. God will whisper. He will shout. He will touch and tug. He will take away our burdens; he'll even take away our blessings. If there are a thousand steps between us and him, he will take all but one. But he will leave the final one for us. The choice is ours. Please understand. His goal is not to make you happy. His goal is to make you His. His goal is not to get you what you want; it is to get you what you need.”

Source: God's Inspirational Promises

“The language of the culture also reflects the stories of the culture. One word or simple phrasal labels often describe the story adequately enough in what we have termed culturally common stories. To some extent, the stories of a culture are observable by inspecting the vocabulary of that culture. Often entire stories are embodied in one very culture-specific word. The story words unique to a culture reveal cultural differences.”

Enough Stories Culture Language Differences Simple Common Unique Labels Vocabulary One Word Cultural Differences

Author:Roger Schank

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