--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a matter of writing philosophy, if…" description: "\"As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from the character's point of view and see where ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg" --- # As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try… ![“As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from the character's point of view and see where it goes.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg) > “As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from the character's point of view and see where it goes.” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing should emerge organically from characters rather than being forced by a pre‑planned plot. **In simple terms:** Let characters drive the story instead of a rigid outline. Key Takeaway Trust character instincts to shape narrative. Themes creativity character storytelling spontaneity process Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenplay development - role‑playing games - creative workshops Key Concepts improvisation character agency narrative flow Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance character freedom with narrative coherence? - What safeguards prevent story drift? A Different Perspective It may lead to aimless wandering without a clear direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Point of view](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/point-of-view/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Working on the plot/story idea for my next novel ... It always takes time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/working-on-the-plot-story-idea-for-my-next-novel-it-always-takes-time/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Baseball is part of America's plot, part of America's mysterious, underlying design-the plot in which we all conspire and collude, the plot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-allen-bartlett/baseball-is-part-of-america-s-plot-part-of-america-s-mysterious/) [Albert Allen Bartlett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-allen-bartlett/) > [The arrogance that says analysing the relationship between reasons and causes is more important than writing a philosophy of shyness or sadness or friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-arrogance-that-says-analysing-the-relationship-between-reasons/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Teaching and writing about philosophy is about the only thing I've ever been really good at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/teaching-and-writing-about-philosophy-is-about-the-only-thing-i-ve/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [My writing philosophy is throwing spaghetti against the wall. That's how I take pictures, too. If I take 100, surely one will be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-peet/my-writing-philosophy-is-throwing-spaghetti-against-the-wall-that-s/) [Amanda Peet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-peet/) > [I try to build on our management philosophy. I try to understand what the threats and opportunities are for us. Uh, I try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-koch/i-try-to-build-on-our-management-philosophy-i-try-to-understand-what/) [Charles Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-koch/) > [That's always been my philosophy: I try to just be as straightforward as possible, and then I don't really have to question what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-adams/that-s-always-been-my-philosophy-i-try-to-just-be-as-straightforward/) [Amy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-adams/) > [My philosophy was always try to look like Whitney Houston at all times. That did not work out so well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shonda-rhimes/my-philosophy-was-always-try-to-look-like-whitney-houston-at-all/) [Shonda Rhimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shonda-rhimes/) > [My philosophy has always been to try to put myself into roles and films that are different. That intensified after 'Lord of the Rings'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elijah-wood/my-philosophy-has-always-been-to-try-to-put-myself-into-roles-and/) [Elijah Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elijah-wood/) > [My big philosophy is: Try and work with good people, because the process is your life. That's going to be really, really hard. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-fox/my-big-philosophy-is-try-and-work-with-good-people-because-the/) [Dana Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-fox/) > [My philosophy has always been to try to solve problems with a smile on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-carlos/my-philosophy-has-always-been-to-try-to-solve-problems-with-a-smile/) [Roberto Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-carlos/) > [This book has too much plot and not enough story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-goldwyn/this-book-has-too-much-plot-and-not-enough-story/) [Samuel Goldwyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-goldwyn/) > [Each of us needs an adequate biography: How do I put together into a coherent image the pieces of my life? How do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/each-of-us-needs-an-adequate-biography-how-do-i-put-together-into-a/) [James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/) > [“With different changes but the same plot, sometimes our story has already unfolded. It's just trapped in the pages of ink and paper. God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-samuel-timm/with-different-changes-but-the-same-plot-sometimes-our-story-has/) [Eric Samuel Timm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-samuel-timm/) > [The romance is the primary plot in a story that has two plots. The second plot is not a subplot, but one that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeline-hunter/the-romance-is-the-primary-plot-in-a-story-that-has-two-plots-the/) [Madeline Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeline-hunter/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from the character's point of view and see where it goes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anonymous" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-there-is-one-i-try-not-to-ever/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-there-is-one-i-try-not-to-ever/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/43a/anonymous-1_character_as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-the_178181.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As a matter of writing philosophy, if there is one, I try not to ever plot a story. I try to write it from…” — Anonymous", "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": "Anonymous", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As a matter of writing philosophy,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-there-is-one-i-try-not-to-ever/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-a-matter-of-writing-philosophy-if-there-is-one-i-try-not-to-ever/#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 } } ] } ```