Books Quote by Anton Chekhov
“My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. It is there that we authors do most of our lying . . . one must ruthlessly suppress everything that is not concerned with the subject. If, in the first chapter, you say there is a gun hanging on the wall, you should make quite sure that it is going to be used further on in the story.”
About This Quote
Source Novel: The Seagull (play) by Anton Chekhov, 1896
Authors should eliminate unnecessary details, keeping only elements that serve the story's purpose.
In simple terms: Cut irrelevant parts to focus on the main subject.
Key Takeaway
Edit ruthlessly for relevance.
Themes
writing
editing
focus
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
advice
instructional
When to use this quote
- novel writing
- screenwriting
- academic essays
- journalism
Key Concepts
narrative economy
story structure
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you decide what is essential?
- What risks arise from over‑editing?
A Different Perspective
Removing detail can strip emotional depth if not balanced.
![“This story was written many moons ago under an apple tree in an orchard in Kent, which is one of England's prettiest counties . . . I had read at least twenty of the [fairy tales] when I noticed something that had never struck me before--I suppose because I had always taken it for granted. All the…” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/4c4/m-m-kaye-2-174703_fairy-tale_this-story-was-written-many-moons-ago-un_337310.jpg)
