---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writers are good at plucking out what…"
description: "\"Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there.\" — Beverly Cleary"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg"
---

#  Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and…

![“Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there.” quote by Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg)

> “Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there.”

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writers selectively extract essential details, shaping narrative by focusing on what matters.

**In simple terms:** Writers pick only what they need.

Key Takeaway

Practice editing to keep only vital elements.

Themes

writing editing focus

Mood

thoughtful analytical

Type

educational advice

When to use this quote

- drafting essays
- creating marketing copy
- storytelling workshops

Key Concepts

literary craft communication conciseness

Questions to Reflect On

- What do you consider essential in your work?
- When might you keep extra detail?

A Different Perspective

Over‑editing can strip nuance; sometimes excess adds texture.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bedtime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedtime/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [“No matter how good you are at plucking, there would always be that one rose you are afraid to go nearby, that one flower…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jyoti-patel/no-matter-how-good-you-are-at-plucking-there-would-always-be-that-one/)

[Jyoti Patel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jyoti-patel/)

> [Writers never get a very good deal in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-o-brien/writers-never-get-a-very-good-deal-in-hollywood/)

[Richard O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-o-brien/)

> [There are many more want-to-be writers out there than good editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/there-are-many-more-want-to-be-writers-out-there-than-good-editors/)

[Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/)

> [“Most good writers are good psychologists.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-ballon/most-good-writers-are-good-psychologists/)

Rachel Ballon

> [If writers were good businessmen, they'd have too much sense to be writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-s-cobb/if-writers-were-good-businessmen-they-d-have-too-much-sense-to-be/)

[Irvin S. Cobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-s-cobb/)

> [The most despised sector of Hollywood are the writers. A good writer is quickly promoted to a 'concept man' - and then a producer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/the-most-despised-sector-of-hollywood-are-the-writers-a-good-writer/)

[John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/)

> [The fact is I am not having sex. But I feel absolutely ripe for the, what would you say? plucking?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelina-jolie/the-fact-is-i-am-not-having-sex-but-i-feel-absolutely-ripe-for-the/)

[Angelina Jolie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelina-jolie/)

> [The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least possible amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-colbert/the-art-of-taxation-consists-in-so-plucking-the-goose-as-to-obtain-2/)

Jean-Baptiste Colbert

> [The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest possible amount of feathers with the smallest possible amount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-art-of-taxation-consists-in-so-plucking-the-goose-as-to-obtain/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Well, actually, plucking my eyebrows is more of a hobby than a grooming tip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courteney-cox/well-actually-plucking-my-eyebrows-is-more-of-a-hobby-than-a-grooming/)

[Courteney Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courteney-cox/)

> [As long as I can remember, growing up we had a guitar around our house, and I was always plucking on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-jones/as-long-as-i-can-remember-growing-up-we-had-a-guitar-around-our-house/)

[Adam Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-jones/)

> [If we decide to take this level of business creating ability nationwide, we'll all be plucking chickens for a living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-perot/if-we-decide-to-take-this-level-of-business-creating-ability/)

[Ross Perot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-perot/)

> [The art of plucking the goose without making it cry out has been developed to a high state of perfection at the hands of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-c-howe/the-art-of-plucking-the-goose-without-making-it-cry-out-has-been/)

[Frederic C. Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-c-howe/)

> [By plucking her petals, you do not gather the beauty of the flower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/by-plucking-her-petals-you-do-not-gather-the-beauty-of-the-flower/)

[Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/)

> [That's one thing I like about Hollywood. The writer is there revealed in his ultimate corruption. He asks no praise, because his praise comes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/that-s-one-thing-i-like-about-hollywood-the-writer-is-there-revealed/)

[Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/)

## More by Beverly Cleary

> [I particularly enjoy cello music because our daughter plays the cello. I have listened to her practice for so many hours that I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-particularly-enjoy-cello-music-because-our-daughter-plays-the-cello/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-don-t-necessarily-start-with-the-beginning-of-the-book-i-just-start/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I think adults sometimes don't think about how children are feeling about the adult problems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-adults-sometimes-don-t-think-about-how-children-are-feeling/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [What interests me is what children go through while growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/what-interests-me-is-what-children-go-through-while-growing-up/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I know that when I was a children's librarian, that was about 1940, boys particularly asked where were the books about kids like us,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-know-that-when-i-was-a-children-s-librarian-that-was-about-1940/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I haven't been very enthusiastic about the commercialization of children's literature. Kids should borrow books from the library and not necessarily be buying them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-haven-t-been-very-enthusiastic-about-the-commercialization-of/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [“She was surprised to feel his hand on her arm and still more surprised-almost unbelieving-to see his fingers unclasp his identification bracelet and remove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/she-was-surprised-to-feel-his-hand-on-her-arm-and-still-more/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [“He seemed grown-up, compared to the boys at school, and although he was not handsome, or even particularly good-looking—there were still some scars on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/he-seemed-grown-up-compared-to-the-boys-at-school-and-although-he-was/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [The key to writing successful YA is to keep the adults out of the story as much as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/the-key-to-writing-successful-ya-is-to-keep-the-adults-out-of-the/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [In my grammar school years back in the 1920s I used my ten-cents-a-week allowance for Saturday matinees of Douglas Fairbanks movies. All that swashbuckling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/in-my-grammar-school-years-back-in-the-1920s-i-used-my-ten-cents-a/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [“Well, she thought, I'm certainly bright. She had wanted to meet a new boy and when she finally did meet one she didn't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/well-she-thought-i-m-certainly-bright-she-had-wanted-to-meet-a-new/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I wrote books to entertain. I'm not trying to teach anything! If I suspected the author was trying to show me how to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-wrote-books-to-entertain-i-m-not-trying-to-teach-anything-if-i/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I had a bad time in school in the first grade. Because I had been a rather lonely child on a farm, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-had-a-bad-time-in-school-in-the-first-grade-because-i-had-been-a/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [“If there's one thing I can't stand, its a cheeky mouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/if-there-s-one-thing-i-can-t-stand-its-a-cheeky-mouse/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

> [I think the best teachers had a real interest in the subject they were teaching and a love for children. Some of the teachers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-think-the-best-teachers-had-a-real-interest-in-the-subject-they/)

[Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

[Explore all 94 Beverly Cleary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/)

## More Bedtime quotes

> [I would give anything to be able to kick a ball with my son or read the kids a bedtime story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-burrow/i-would-give-anything-to-be-able-to-kick-a-ball-with-my-son-or-read/)

[Rob Burrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-burrow/)

> [When I was very young my mother sang to me at bedtime and my dad would often play the banjo or fiddle in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-block/when-i-was-very-young-my-mother-sang-to-me-at-bedtime-and-my-dad/)

Rory Block

> [“Once the umbilical cord falls off, bathe every evening as a matter of routine. Babies learn by association and they will associate bath time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-walker/once-the-umbilical-cord-falls-off-bathe-every-evening-as-a-matter-of/)

Jennifer Walker

> [So much for modern science and its wonderful discoveries that just about everything can kill you. Life is only a bedtime story before a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bloch/so-much-for-modern-science-and-its-wonderful-discoveries-that-just/)

[Robert Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bloch/)

> [And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-schmidt/and-of-course-some-sf-is-set-close-enough-to-here-and-now-that-anglo/)

[Stanley Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-schmidt/)

> [Unfortunately, I suffer from insomnia, so my bedtime is as soon as I start to feel the least bit sleepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-jackson/unfortunately-i-suffer-from-insomnia-so-my-bedtime-is-as-soon-as-i/)

[Cheyenne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-jackson/)

> [“Bedtime stories Eventide Rhapsodies Anthologies of Memory Please enter cautiously and feel free to open what is closed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/bedtime-stories-eventide-rhapsodies-anthologies-of-memory-please/)

[Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/)

> [Ah, music, A magic far beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albus-dumbledore/ah-music-a-magic-far-beyond-all-we-do-here-and-now-bedtime-off-you/)

[Albus Dumbledore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albus-dumbledore/)

> [Don't fight with the pillow, but lay down your head And kick every worriment out of the bed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-vance-cooke/don-t-fight-with-the-pillow-but-lay-down-your-head-and-kick-every/)

[Edmund Vance Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-vance-cooke/)

> [ My four-year-old daughter regularly requests reading Book One \[the March\] at bedtime; the methods of reading, delivering, and processing the book's content vary according… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-powell/my-four-year-old-daughter-regularly-requests-reading-book-one-the/)

[Nate Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-powell/)

> [Unlike the majority of the writers of his age, La Rochefoucauld was an aristocrat; and this fact gives a peculiar tone to his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lytton-strachey/unlike-the-majority-of-the-writers-of-his-age-la-rochefoucauld-was-an/)

[Lytton Strachey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lytton-strachey/)

> [My husband is old-fashioned and kind, he does the greatest Sinatra impression, and I'd never have written anything if he hadn't read all those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-pearson/my-husband-is-old-fashioned-and-kind-he-does-the-greatest-sinatra/)

[Allison Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-pearson/)

> [Damn it, how will I ever get out of this labyrinth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-bolivar/damn-it-how-will-i-ever-get-out-of-this-labyrinth/)

[Simon Bolivar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-bolivar/)

> [Hauntings are memes, especially pernicious thought contagions, social contagions that need no viral or bacterial host and are transmitted in a thousand different ways.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitl-n-r-kiernan/hauntings-are-memes-especially-pernicious-thought-contagions-social/)

[Caitlín R. Kiernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitl-n-r-kiernan/)

> [I used to go to Cold Stone Creamery, get a tub of Butterfinger ice cream, and eat it all before bedtime. And my fingers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-hudgens/i-used-to-go-to-cold-stone-creamery-get-a-tub-of-butterfinger-ice/)

[Vanessa Hudgens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-hudgens/)

[Browse all 215 Bedtime quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bedtime/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Beverly Cleary"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-they-need-here-and-there/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bedtime"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-they-need-here-and-there/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ab3/beverly-cleary-5332_bedtime_writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-th_847150.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Writers are good at plucking out what they need here and there.” — Beverly Cleary",
                "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": "Beverly Cleary",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Writers are good at plucking out...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-they-need-here-and-there/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/writers-are-good-at-plucking-out-what-they-need-here-and-there/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
