--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My own experience is that once a story…" description: "\"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 lyi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/anton-chekhov-298_books_my-own-experience-is-that-once-a-story-h_368685.jpg" --- # My own experience is that once a story has been written… ![“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…” quote by Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/anton-chekhov-298_books_my-own-experience-is-that-once-a-story-h_368685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/anton-chekhov-298_books_my-own-experience-is-that-once-a-story-h_368685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/128/anton-chekhov-298_books_my-own-experience-is-that-once-a-story-h_368685.jpg) > “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.” [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. 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. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Authors Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authors-lying-3367964/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Chapters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chapters/) [Concerned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concerned/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [End Authors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-authors-3367963/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/) [Gun Hanging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-hanging-3367962/) [Hanging on](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanging-on/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-written-302675/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-story-3225412/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [My own experience is that once a story has been written, one has to cross out the beginning and the end. 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In our story, we can always find the stories written by others!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/nobody-s-story-is-written-only-by-himself-in-our-story-we-can-always/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [As long as there's breath in our lungs our story is still being written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bart-millard/as-long-as-there-s-breath-in-our-lungs-our-story-is-still-being/) [Bart Millard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bart-millard/) > [“This story was written many moons ago under an apple tree in an orchard in Kent, which is one of England's prettiest counties .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-story-was-written-many-moons-ago-under-an-apple-tree-in-an/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“One day, as My uncle Antonio was heading out to a cantina, I slipped a story I had written into his shirt pocket. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-n-harris/one-day-as-my-uncle-antonio-was-heading-out-to-a-cantina-i-slipped-a/) [José N. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-n-harris/) > [If I like the story and it's well written, and it's a character I want to play and they'll pay me, then I decide…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-macy/if-i-like-the-story-and-it-s-well-written-and-it-s-a-character-i-want/) [William H. Macy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-macy/) > [“My own life is a fairy tale story—one that has already been written by the hands of God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tessa-emily-hall/my-own-life-is-a-fairy-tale-story-one-that-has-already-been-written/) [Tessa Emily Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tessa-emily-hall/) > [Fate is a story that's been written for you by somebody else. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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. 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