--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think almost always that what gets me…" description: "\"I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png" --- # I think almost always that what gets me going with a story… ![“I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.” quote by Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png) > “I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.” [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She prioritizes atmosphere and visual imagery before characters when crafting a story. **In simple terms:** Set scene first, then add characters. Key Takeaway Build vivid settings early. Themes storytelling visuals atmosphere Mood creative analytical Type literary instructional When to use this quote - Writing workshops - novel planning - screenwriting Key Concepts Narrative structure creative process Questions to Reflect On - How does setting influence character? - When should character development begin? A Different Perspective May neglect character depth initially. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-way-2117533/) [Going Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-story-339771/) [Imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagery/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Atmosphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-atmosphere-1894198/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Visual imagery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visual-imagery/) [Visuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visuals/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I like visual imagery in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-like-visual-imagery-in-my-head/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [To know how scientists engage in visual imagery is to understand how they think creatively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/to-know-how-scientists-engage-in-visual-imagery-is-to-understand-how/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“Two ingredients most valuable in the concocting of a ghost story are the atmosphere and the nicely managed crescendo …Let us, then, be introduced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-james/two-ingredients-most-valuable-in-the-concocting-of-a-ghost-story-are/) [M. R. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-james/) > [The ability to have somebody read something and see it, or for somebody to paint an entire landscape of visual imagery with just sheets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/the-ability-to-have-somebody-read-something-and-see-it-or-for/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [The type of adverts to be found on television and in glossy magazines are visually designed to have a power over the mind before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mat-collishaw/the-type-of-adverts-to-be-found-on-television-and-in-glossy-magazines/) [Mat Collishaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mat-collishaw/) > [Many memory techniques involve creating unforgettable imagery, in your minds eye. Thats an act of imagination. Creating really weird imagery really quickly was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/many-memory-techniques-involve-creating-unforgettable-imagery-in-your-2/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [It's thought that about 96% of us have visual imagery, and there's a very tiny minority in the population, some of whom are normal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/it-s-thought-that-about-96-of-us-have-visual-imagery-and-there-s-a/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [What I take from writers I like is their economy - the ability to use language to very effective ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mos-def/what-i-take-from-writers-i-like-is-their-economy-the-ability-to-use/) [Mos Def](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mos-def/) > [When I watch a movie I don't really care too much about the plot - not that it isn't important, but what I remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hyneman/when-i-watch-a-movie-i-don-t-really-care-too-much-about-the-plot-not/) [Jamie Hyneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hyneman/) > [I think there's a connection with 'Nightcrawler' and 'Blowup' and other films where visual imagery is integral to the story. It allows you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gilroy/i-think-there-s-a-connection-with-nightcrawler-and-blowup-and-other/) [Dan Gilroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gilroy/) > [I've always tried to stray towards characters who are way more faceted than your standard leading man role, and I've been fortunate to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-palladio/i-ve-always-tried-to-stray-towards-characters-who-are-way-more/) [Sam Palladio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-palladio/) > [With our movies, you start off getting to know the characters in the way that you meet someone in real life, and then slowly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-boden/with-our-movies-you-start-off-getting-to-know-the-characters-in-the/) [Anna Boden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-boden/) > [Tell the story as if it were only of interest to the small circle of your characters, of which you may be one. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horacio-quiroga/tell-the-story-as-if-it-were-only-of-interest-to-the-small-circle-of/) [Horacio Quiroga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horacio-quiroga/) > [I try to trace the connection between the characters and that way a story or plot emerges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-desai/i-try-to-trace-the-connection-between-the-characters-and-that-way-a/) [Anita Desai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-desai/) > [In real life, people are constantly saying one thing and doing another, but if you write your characters that way, the story becomes too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-cutler/in-real-life-people-are-constantly-saying-one-thing-and-doing-another/) [Jessica Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-cutler/) ## More by Ann Beattie > [Clouds are poems, and the most moving poems linger on the blackboard so long, written in cursive so lovely, they also exist inside our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/clouds-are-poems-and-the-most-moving-poems-linger-on-the-blackboard/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [If you could have a book called My Favorite Six Stories, I don't think I'd have trouble doing that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/if-you-could-have-a-book-called-my-favorite-six-stories-i-don-t-think/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Nobody can assume that, to a writer, everything is off-limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/nobody-can-assume-that-to-a-writer-everything-is-off-limits/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: Somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/this-is-a-story-told-the-way-you-say-stories-should-be-told-somebody/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: Somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/this-is-a-story-told-the-way-you-say-stories-should-be-told-somebody-2/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [There is some reason, obviously, that you are drawn to your material, but the way in which you explore it might come to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/there-is-some-reason-obviously-that-you-are-drawn-to-your-material/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I don't even correct people when they mispronounce my name now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-don-t-even-correct-people-when-they-mispronounce-my-name-now/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Also minimalism is a term that all of us who share so little in common and who are lumped together as minimalists are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/also-minimalism-is-a-term-that-all-of-us-who-share-so-little-in/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Italics provide a wonderful advantage: you see, right away, that the words are in a rush. When something exists at a slant, you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/italics-provide-a-wonderful-advantage-you-see-right-away-that-the/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I think I write about things that are mysterious to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-i-write-about-things-that-are-mysterious-to-me/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [Whatever one intends, the work takes on a life of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/whatever-one-intends-the-work-takes-on-a-life-of-its-own/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I like a lot of Margaret Atwood, I like much of Alice Munro. Again, if you were to ask me about male writers, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-like-a-lot-of-margaret-atwood-i-like-much-of-alice-munro-again-if/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [It's not about having things figured out, or about communicating with other people, trying to make them understand what you understand. It's about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/it-s-not-about-having-things-figured-out-or-about-communicating-with/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [What will happen can't be stopped. Aim for Grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/what-will-happen-can-t-be-stopped-aim-for-grace/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [I don't write about things that I have the answers to or things that are very close to home. It just wouldn't be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-don-t-write-about-things-that-i-have-the-answers-to-or-things-that/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) [Explore all 45 Ann Beattie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) ## More Atmosphere quotes > [“The global population of Earth are involved in the following corporate government experiments: The long term effects of - 1. Nuclear bomb fallout radiation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-global-population-of-earth-are-involved-in-the-following/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [If I had my brothers I think with just a little bit of the correct marketing, I'd like to be almost exclusively in small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/if-i-had-my-brothers-i-think-with-just-a-little-bit-of-the-correct/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Man will not always stay on Earth; the pursuit of light and space will lead him to penetrate the bounds of the atmosphere, timidly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/man-will-not-always-stay-on-earth-the-pursuit-of-light-and-space-will/) [Konstantin Tsiolkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konstantin-tsiolkovsky/) > [Pause before you get home and prepare your heart. A peaceful heart leads to a peaceful atmosphere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-burns/pause-before-you-get-home-and-prepare-your-heart-a-peaceful-heart/) [Jim Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-burns/) > [Sometimes a minute is really the difference between success and failure. There are times when you finish with ten seconds left, and one extra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-symon/sometimes-a-minute-is-really-the-difference-between-success-and/) [Michael Symon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-symon/) > [Christianity does not oppose debauchery and uncontrollable passions and the like as much as it opposes... flat mediocrity, this nauseating atmosphere, this homey, civil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/christianity-does-not-oppose-debauchery-and-uncontrollable-passions/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Atmosphere" is a massive song. A lot of people say it's their favorite Joy Division song, but it's not mine; it reminds me too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/atmosphere-is-a-massive-song-a-lot-of-people-say-it-s-their-favorite/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [Establish an atmosphere that energizes you. Some creative people flourish in confusion; others need to be free from interruption. Many prepare themselves for work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-leland/establish-an-atmosphere-that-energizes-you-some-creative-people/) [Nita Leland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-leland/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [It was clear to me that the White House's solemn atmosphere would not civilize Trump. But the merciless nepotism with which he conducts politics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-was-clear-to-me-that-the-white-house-s-solemn-atmosphere-would-not/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Bjerknes had come up with equations capable of describing the behavior of the atmosphere. The state of the atmosphere at any point could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/bjerknes-had-come-up-with-equations-capable-of-describing-the/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [What one thing does the world need most today-apart, that is, from the all-inclusive thing we call righteousness? Aren't you inclined to agree that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-c-forbes/what-one-thing-does-the-world-need-most-today-apart-that-is-from-the/) [B. C. Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-c-forbes/) > [ Jowett, in his day, did probably more than any other single man to let some fresh air into the exhausted atmosphere of the \[Oxford\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-jowett/jowett-in-his-day-did-probably-more-than-any-other-single-man-to-let/) [Benjamin Jowett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-jowett/) [Browse all 1,572 Atmosphere quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/atmosphere/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I people it with characters, not the other way around.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ann Beattie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me-going-with-a-story-is-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Atmosphere" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me-going-with-a-story-is-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db3/ann-beattie-14884_atmosphere_i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me_1811237.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think almost always that what gets me going with a story is the atmosphere, the visual imagery, and then I…” — Ann Beattie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ann Beattie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think almost always that what...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me-going-with-a-story-is-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/i-think-almost-always-that-what-gets-me-going-with-a-story-is-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```