--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I began to see, again and again, stories…" description: "\"I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the big scene came before th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/alice-mattison-11066_again-and-again_i-began-to-see-again-and-again-stories-t_2183934.jpg" --- # I began to see, again and again, stories that were first… ![“I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the big scene came before the explanation of what was going on. There was a reverse chronological order as well as a concealment of what exactly was going on. I think often…” quote by Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/alice-mattison-11066_again-and-again_i-began-to-see-again-and-again-stories-t_2183934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/alice-mattison-11066_again-and-again_i-began-to-see-again-and-again-stories-t_2183934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2be/alice-mattison-11066_again-and-again_i-began-to-see-again-and-again-stories-t_2183934.jpg) > “I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the big scene came before the explanation of what was going on. There was a reverse chronological order as well as a concealment of what exactly was going on. I think often that comes out of the fear of being boring, and sometimes I think it's just an attempt to seem clever.” [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrative confusion often stems from over‑engineered storytelling, where cleverness outweighs clarity, leading to disengagement. **In simple terms:** Storytelling can become too clever. Key Takeaway Prioritize clear storytelling. Themes storytelling clarity creativity Mood analytical critical Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing processes - media criticism Key Concepts narrative structure audience engagement Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance originality with clarity? - When does complexity enhance a story? A Different Perspective Clever tricks may alienate audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Again and again](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again-and-again/) [Began Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began-stories-1442607/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boring/) [Clever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clever/) [Concealment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concealment/) [Confusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusing/) [Confusing Second](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusing-second-4728765/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Explanation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/explanation/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Impact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impact/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Reverse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverse/) [Reverse Chronological](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reverse-chronological-4728766/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Seems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seems/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Confusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-confusing-4728764/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) ## Related quotes > [YouTube viewers essentially curate their own content, so you could form your playlist to watch 'H+' through the eyes of one character, in chronological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cabrera/youtube-viewers-essentially-curate-their-own-content-so-you-could/) [John Cabrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cabrera/) > [“Once Upon A Time” I began. We made it through three stories before she was in a deep sleep. In the end, she probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-fortunato/once-upon-a-time-i-began-we-made-it-through-three-stories-before-she/) [Jessica Fortunato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-fortunato/) > [“We began our stories. Her face changed as most women’s do when they listen to their men: from amusement to horror to incomprehensibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-tobolowsky/we-began-our-stories-her-face-changed-as-most-women-s-do-when-they/) [Stephen Tobolowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-tobolowsky/) > [My fall began, as many stories do, with a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/my-fall-began-as-many-stories-do-with-a-girl/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [“women are so suspicious of any interest that has not some obvious motive behind it, so terribly accustomed to concealment and suppression, that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/women-are-so-suspicious-of-any-interest-that-has-not-some-obvious/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The member of a culture ... purposely avoids the relationship of intimacy; he wants the object somehow depicted and fictionalized. ... He is embarrassed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-weaver/the-member-of-a-culture-purposely-avoids-the-relationship-of-intimacy/) [Richard M. Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-weaver/) > [“Every philosophy is a foreground philosophy — that is a hermit's judgment: "There is something arbitrary in his stopping here to look back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-philosophy-is-a-foreground-philosophy-that-is-a-hermit-s/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The cautious wolf fears the pit, the hawk regards with suspicion the snare laid for her, and the fish the hook in its concealment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/the-cautious-wolf-fears-the-pit-the-hawk-regards-with-suspicion-the/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [To succeed in the other trades, capacity must be shown; in the law, concealment of it will do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/to-succeed-in-the-other-trades-capacity-must-be-shown-in-the-law/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Factory farming, like comparable evils throughout history, depends for its existence upon concealment. It depends on people either not noticing or willfully averting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-scully/factory-farming-like-comparable-evils-throughout-history-depends-for/) [Matthew Scully](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-scully/) > [The purpose of polite behavior is never virtuous. Deceit, surrender, and concealment these are not virtues. The goal of the mannerly is comfort, per…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-jordan/the-purpose-of-polite-behavior-is-never-virtuous-deceit-surrender-and/) [June Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-jordan/) > [The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-very-word-secrecy-is-repugnant-in-a-free-and-open-society-and-we/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“It is axiomatic that the attempt to become a Sufi through a desire for personal power as normally understood will not succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/it-is-axiomatic-that-the-attempt-to-become-a-sufi-through-a-desire/) [Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/) > [Insofar as it represents a genuine reconciliation of differences, a consensus is a fine thing; insofar as it represents a concealment of differences, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/insofar-as-it-represents-a-genuine-reconciliation-of-differences-a/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [Camouflage is about much more than concealment and going unnoticed. There's a whole game involved between revealing and hiding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raf-simons/camouflage-is-about-much-more-than-concealment-and-going-unnoticed/) [Raf Simons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raf-simons/) ## More by Alice Mattison > [Sometimes indirect style and varying chronology is great, but quite often I've seen it be just something that gets in the way. It turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/sometimes-indirect-style-and-varying-chronology-is-great-but-quite/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [Every once in a while someone says, 'You can't really learn anything, if you're really a writer then you wouldn't need to do it.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/every-once-in-a-while-someone-says-you-can-t-really-learn-anything-if/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [Whoever would write books? It's suffering as well as greatly satisfying. And certainly there's suffering in the sense that you don't know for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/whoever-would-write-books-it-s-suffering-as-well-as-greatly/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I get to a certain point, and I think in a novel it's about the third draft, when I want other eyes on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-get-to-a-certain-point-and-i-think-in-a-novel-it-s-about-the-third/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [It's hard to say which of us is luckier, the ones who go through long periods when they can't write or the ones who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/it-s-hard-to-say-which-of-us-is-luckier-the-ones-who-go-through-long/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [“When a man I like touches my arm or my hair, I want to know if he'll touch the center of me, and whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/when-a-man-i-like-touches-my-arm-or-my-hair-i-want-to-know-if-he-ll/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I heard a white writer say, 'Oh, I'd never put black people in my writing, I'm afraid I would offend someone by doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-heard-a-white-writer-say-oh-i-d-never-put-black-people-in-my/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [When I've taught writing to five, six, and seven year olds, it's not very different than talking to an adult writer. They're writers then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/when-i-ve-taught-writing-to-five-six-and-seven-year-olds-it-s-not/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I find that I get very excited about what my students are up to and that I get to be the hurdle they need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-find-that-i-get-very-excited-about-what-my-students-are-up-to-and/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I love to read nonfiction and memoir, but I'm mostly interested in the piece of writing more than the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-love-to-read-nonfiction-and-memoir-but-i-m-mostly-interested-in-the/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I think that inevitably, the trouble our characters go through is a kind of metaphor for what's happening in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-think-that-inevitably-the-trouble-our-characters-go-through-is-a/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [When an editor first explained to me the difference between direct and indirect writing, I just thought it was a stylistic choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/when-an-editor-first-explained-to-me-the-difference-between-direct/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [Writers sometimes are paid a great deal of money, but much more frequently they're not paid or are paid only a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/writers-sometimes-are-paid-a-great-deal-of-money-but-much-more/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [We're always inventing, even if we're making someone who's fairly close to ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/we-re-always-inventing-even-if-we-re-making-someone-who-s-fairly/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [I just like doing it, I like writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/i-just-like-doing-it-i-like-writing/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) [Explore all 62 Alice Mattison quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) ## More Again and again quotes > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [Because when you work with a different team, the expectations are different and then you deliver in a very different way. You look back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/because-when-you-work-with-a-different-team-the-expectations-are/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [Again and again I tell God I need help, and God says, 'Well, isn't that fabulous? Because I need help too. So you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/again-and-again-i-tell-god-i-need-help-and-god-says-well-isn-t-that/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [After this happens again and again, we reach a point were there is nothing but satori, which is what nirvikalpa samadhi is like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/after-this-happens-again-and-again-we-reach-a-point-were-there-is/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [The regular division of the plane into congruent figures evoking an association in the observer with a familiar natural object is one of these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-c-escher/the-regular-division-of-the-plane-into-congruent-figures-evoking-an/) [M. C. Escher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-c-escher/) > [Don´t be unnecessarily burdened by the past. Go on closing the chapters that you have read; there is no need to go back again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/don-t-be-unnecessarily-burdened-by-the-past-go-on-closing-the/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [The difference between a winner and a loser - they both failed, but the winner gets back up and does it again and again…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-plitt/the-difference-between-a-winner-and-a-loser-they-both-failed-but-the/) [Greg Plitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-plitt/) > [Owning the intellectual property is like owning land: You need to keep investing in it again and again to get a payoff; you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/owning-the-intellectual-property-is-like-owning-land-you-need-to-keep/) [Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/) > [The key to longevity is to keep doing what you do better than anyone else. We work real hard at that. It's about getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-lauren/the-key-to-longevity-is-to-keep-doing-what-you-do-better-than-anyone/) [Ralph Lauren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-lauren/) > [You are great young people. I have said again and again, we have the finest generation of young people ever in the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/you-are-great-young-people-i-have-said-again-and-again-we-have-the/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [If you find that the reader of popular romances--however uneducated a reader, however bad the romances--goes back to his old favourites again and again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/if-you-find-that-the-reader-of-popular-romances-however-uneducated-a/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [And while I am talking to you mothers and fathers, I give you one more assurance. I have said this before, but I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/and-while-i-am-talking-to-you-mothers-and-fathers-i-give-you-one-more/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [It comes down to risk, again and again. If you risk coming out, if you risk making pictures that aren’t good, you might discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-meyerowitz/it-comes-down-to-risk-again-and-again-if-you-risk-coming-out-if-you/) [Joel Meyerowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-meyerowitz/) [Browse all 445 Again and again quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/again-and-again/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I began to see, again and again, stories that were first confusing and second where the emotional impact was muted because the big scene came before the explanation of what was going on. 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