--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that the way that I write stories…" description: "\"I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an image, or a situation that sounds compelling -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/dan-chaon-2729_character_i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-storie_661046.png" --- # I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct… ![“I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an image, or a situation that sounds compelling - and then you just feel your way around until you find the edges of your story. It's like going into a dark room... you stumble around until you…” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/dan-chaon-2729_character_i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-storie_661046.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/dan-chaon-2729_character_i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-storie_661046.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/dan-chaon-2729_character_i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-storie_661046.png) > “I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an image, or a situation that sounds compelling - and then you just feel your way around until you find the edges of your story. It's like going into a dark room... you stumble around until you find the walls and then inch your way to the light switch.” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing by instinct means trusting intuition to guide plot and character, using basic ideas as anchors while exploring until the story’s structure emerges. **In simple terms:** Instinctive writing follows intuition, using basic ideas as guides. Key Takeaway Trust your gut and explore until clarity appears. Themes creativity intuition process storytelling Mood reflective inquisitive Type process inspirational When to use this quote - novel drafting - screenwriting - creative brainstorming - workshop exercises Key Concepts narrative discovery intuitive development Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance instinct with narrative coherence? - When does intuition mislead? A Different Perspective Instinct can overlook structural weaknesses without deliberate planning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Compelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compelling/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Dark room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark-room/) [Edges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/edges/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Inches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inches/) [Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instinct/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Rooms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rooms/) [Situation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/situation/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Instinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-instinct-5267579/) [Story Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-like/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-write/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing a short story is a little like walking into a dark room, finding a light and turning it on. The light is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/writing-a-short-story-is-a-little-like-walking-into-a-dark-room/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [The earliest impetuses for writing, for me, were simply the strange things I happened to notice in my everyday life, stuff I read about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-earliest-impetuses-for-writing-for-me-were-simply-the-strange/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [The way I write is, I listen to things in my head, and then I copy them down. I memorize conversations and things like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harvey-pekar/the-way-i-write-is-i-listen-to-things-in-my-head-and-then-i-copy-them/) [Harvey Pekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harvey-pekar/) > [If you want to read a perfect book there is only one way: write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/if-you-want-to-read-a-perfect-book-there-is-only-one-way-write-it/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read. Not by any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-way-you-can-write-the-truth-is-to-assume-that-what-you-set/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The way I write is this: I write about a thousand words a day, a little bit more. The next morning, I read those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/the-way-i-write-is-this-i-write-about-a-thousand-words-a-day-a-little/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [As a writer, even as a child, long before what I wrote began to be published, I developed a sense that meaning itself was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/as-a-writer-even-as-a-child-long-before-what-i-wrote-began-to-be/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Kabuki is the way that I so often write; Noh is how I would write if I were more 'spiritual,' more understated, or perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/kabuki-is-the-way-that-i-so-often-write-noh-is-how-i-would-write-if-i/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [The way I write is really like putting one foot in front of the other. I really let the characters do most of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/the-way-i-write-is-really-like-putting-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [The way you write affects what you say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/the-way-you-write-affects-what-you-say/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [Half the people tell me, 'I love 'Go All the Way,' but why do you have to write all those schlocky ballads.' And half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-carmen/half-the-people-tell-me-i-love-go-all-the-way-but-why-do-you-have-to/) [Eric Carmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-carmen/) > [Whatever works for the piece I'm thinking about is the way I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-branca/whatever-works-for-the-piece-i-m-thinking-about-is-the-way-i-write/) [Glenn Branca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-branca/) > [I fortunately have a good memor, and that helps a lot in the way I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruskin-bond/i-fortunately-have-a-good-memor-and-that-helps-a-lot-in-the-way-i/) [Ruskin Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruskin-bond/) > [What we've learned is there's no right way to write a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-tedeschi/what-we-ve-learned-is-there-s-no-right-way-to-write-a-song/) [Susan Tedeschi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-tedeschi/) > [Hemingway said the only way to write about a place is to leave it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guterson/hemingway-said-the-only-way-to-write-about-a-place-is-to-leave-it/) [David Guterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guterson/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. 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