--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Forget narrative, backstory…" description: "\"Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. Just make the audience want to know what happens next.\" — David Mamet" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/david-mamet-1178_audience_forget-narrative-backstory-characterisat_2556194.jpg" --- # Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition… ![“Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. Just make the audience want to know what happens next.” quote by David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/david-mamet-1178_audience_forget-narrative-backstory-characterisat_2556194.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/david-mamet-1178_audience_forget-narrative-backstory-characterisat_2556194.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/david-mamet-1178_audience_forget-narrative-backstory-characterisat_2556194.jpg) > “Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. Just make the audience want to know what happens next.” [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Storytelling should prioritize keeping the audience eager to discover what happens next. **In simple terms:** Keep audience curious about next events. Key Takeaway Focus on suspense and forward momentum in narrative. Themes storytelling engagement structure Mood energetic intriguing Type dramatic instructional When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - live theater Key Concepts dramatic tension plot pacing Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance intrigue with character development? - What techniques sustain audience interest without gimmick? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on suspense may sacrifice character depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) ## Related quotes > [Make the audience wonder what's going on by putting them in the same position as the protagonist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/make-the-audience-wonder-what-s-going-on-by-putting-them-in-the-same/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [As long as the protagonist wants something, the audience will want something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-long-as-the-protagonist-wants-something-the-audience-will-want/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The best way to make friends with an audience is to make them laugh. You don't get people to laugh unless they surrender -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-capra/the-best-way-to-make-friends-with-an-audience-is-to-make-them-laugh/) [Frank Capra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-capra/) > [It's just an impulse, in some actors. You want to make the audience like you. That's the aim of the exercise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-coen/it-s-just-an-impulse-in-some-actors-you-want-to-make-the-audience/) [Ethan Coen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-coen/) > [ Lucian \[of Samosata; 120-190 CE\] was trying to make his audience laugh, rather than start a revolution ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-michael-hecht/lucian-of-samosata-120-190-ce-was-trying-to-make-his-audience-laugh/) [Jennifer Michael Hecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-michael-hecht/) > [So many roles for women demand that you make the audience fall in love with you or sympathise with you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-kendal/so-many-roles-for-women-demand-that-you-make-the-audience-fall-in/) [Felicity Kendal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-kendal/) > [And the goal really is to make the audience laugh, to bring them some joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-barry/and-the-goal-really-is-to-make-the-audience-laugh-to-bring-them-some/) [Todd Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-barry/) > [As an actor, it's very interesting to make the audience love you while you are doing horrendous things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-pugh/as-an-actor-it-s-very-interesting-to-make-the-audience-love-you-while/) [Florence Pugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-pugh/) > [I want to make the audience laugh and cry within ten seconds, to show just how close those emotions are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-neil/i-want-to-make-the-audience-laugh-and-cry-within-ten-seconds-to-show/) Simon Neil > [I've always been just as interested in making people think as I am in making them feel, and one of the things this scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-mcgregor/i-ve-always-been-just-as-interested-in-making-people-think-as-i-am-in/) [Wayne McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-mcgregor/) > [Your purpose is to make your audience see what you saw, hear what you heard, feel what you felt. Relevant detail, couched in concrete,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/your-purpose-is-to-make-your-audience-see-what-you-saw-hear-what-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [I really interact with the audiences. I make the audience part of the show. It's just a fun time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-harwell/i-really-interact-with-the-audiences-i-make-the-audience-part-of-the/) [Steve Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-harwell/) > ['Nicholas Nickleby' was the best example, where 43 people could make an audience of 1,500 look at a fingernail at any given moment. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-rees/nicholas-nickleby-was-the-best-example-where-43-people-could-make-an/) [Roger Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-rees/) > [You can't make the audience fall in love with a character you don't like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mckinnon/you-can-t-make-the-audience-fall-in-love-with-a-character-you-don-t/) [Kate McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mckinnon/) > [You can make an audience see nearly anything, if you yourself believe in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-renault/you-can-make-an-audience-see-nearly-anything-if-you-yourself-believe/) [Mary Renault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-renault/) ## More by David Mamet > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Culture exists and evolves to relegate to habit categories of interactions the constant conscious reference to which would make human interaction impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/culture-exists-and-evolves-to-relegate-to-habit-categories-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [When I started out I was a failed actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/when-i-started-out-i-was-a-failed-actor/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-must-have-a-pie-stress-cannot-exist-in-the-presence-of-a-pie/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“We cannot live in peace without Law. And though law cannot be perfect, it may be just if it is written in ignorance of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/we-cannot-live-in-peace-without-law-and-though-law-cannot-be-perfect/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Films have degenerated to their original operation as carnival amusement - they offer not drama but thrills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/films-have-degenerated-to-their-original-operation-as-carnival/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The Oscars demonstrate the will of the people to control and judge those they have elected to stand above them (much, perhaps, as in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-oscars-demonstrate-the-will-of-the-people-to-control-and-judge/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [I know very well what it is to be out of work and to be cheated by employers and I know what it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-know-very-well-what-it-is-to-be-out-of-work-and-to-be-cheated-by/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [Hitchcock denigrated American films, saying they were all 'pictures of people talking' - as, indeed, most of them are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/hitchcock-denigrated-american-films-saying-they-were-all-pictures-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/life-in-the-movie-business-is-like-the-beginning-of-a-new-love-affair/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“How was her crumbcake? oh.. from the store... …”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/how-was-her-crumbcake-oh-from-the-store/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [A dramatic experience concerned with the mundane may inform but it cannot release; and one concerned essentially with the aesthetic politics of its creators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/a-dramatic-experience-concerned-with-the-mundane-may-inform-but-it/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [The product of the artist has become less important than the fact of the artist. We wish to absorb this person. We wish to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/the-product-of-the-artist-has-become-less-important-than-the-fact-of/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [In a world we find terrifying, we ratify that which doesn't threaten us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/in-a-world-we-find-terrifying-we-ratify-that-which-doesn-t-threaten-us/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“As a youth I enjoyed — indeed, like most of my contemporaries, revered — the agitprop plays of Brecht, and his indictments of Capitalism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/as-a-youth-i-enjoyed-indeed-like-most-of-my-contemporaries-revered/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) [Explore all 278 David Mamet quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) ## More Audience quotes > [If the audience likes your work, if they like you, they don't think whether you are married or have children or not. I made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimple-kapadia/if-the-audience-likes-your-work-if-they-like-you-they-don-t-think/) [Dimple Kapadia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimple-kapadia/) > [It's those moments, those odd moments that you look for and sometimes by creating this kind of loose atmosphere you find those little moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-levinson/it-s-those-moments-those-odd-moments-that-you-look-for-and-sometimes/) [Barry Levinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-levinson/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's the adrenaline rush you only get from being in front of an audience. It's addictive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-saadiq/it-s-the-adrenaline-rush-you-only-get-from-being-in-front-of-an/) [Raphael Saadiq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-saadiq/) > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [The liveness of theater, and the excitement of experiencing it alongside an audience, is something you can't get at home. That makes the theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-blaemire/the-liveness-of-theater-and-the-excitement-of-experiencing-it/) [Nick Blaemire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-blaemire/) > [One of the things that touches me most when I play for an audience is that although we may be unable to communicate in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/one-of-the-things-that-touches-me-most-when-i-play-for-an-audience-is/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) > [I have to feel the audience. I enjoy that feeling of community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gahan/i-have-to-feel-the-audience-i-enjoy-that-feeling-of-community/) [Dave Gahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gahan/) > [When you lived it for years and years and years and seen different characters just get pummeled and squashed because 'I said so,' it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arn-anderson/when-you-lived-it-for-years-and-years-and-years-and-seen-different/) [Arn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arn-anderson/) > [“During the first few minutes of your presentation, your job is to assure the audience members that you are not going to waste their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/during-the-first-few-minutes-of-your-presentation-your-job-is-to/) [Dale Ludwig and Greg Owen-Boger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-ludwig-and-greg-owen-boger/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [I don't think about who the audience is for my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-k-rowling-2/i-don-t-think-about-who-the-audience-is-for-my-books/) [J. K. Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling-2/) > [I feel I have been playing all primary characters. And if your character forms a connect with the audience, it doesn't matter if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angad-bedi/i-feel-i-have-been-playing-all-primary-characters-and-if-your/) [Angad Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angad-bedi/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) [Browse all 9,118 Audience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Forget narrative, backstory, characterisation, exposition, all of that. 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