--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think most short story writers, at one…" description: "\"I think most short story writers, at one time or another, over the course of several books, naturally skirt near the edge of one genre or another.\" — D..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/david-means-12399_books_i-think-most-short-story-writers-at-one_1018636.jpg" --- # I think most short story writers, at one time or another… ![“I think most short story writers, at one time or another, over the course of several books, naturally skirt near the edge of one genre or another.” quote by David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/david-means-12399_books_i-think-most-short-story-writers-at-one_1018636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/david-means-12399_books_i-think-most-short-story-writers-at-one_1018636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/886/david-means-12399_books_i-think-most-short-story-writers-at-one_1018636.jpg) > “I think most short story writers, at one time or another, over the course of several books, naturally skirt near the edge of one genre or another.” [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often drift between genres, blending elements to enrich their work. **In simple terms:** Cross‑genre writing is natural. Key Takeaway Experiment with genre. Themes writing genre experimentation Mood curious analytical Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - short story workshops - publishing - creative retreats Key Concepts Literary theory creative process Questions to Reflect On - Which genre blend excites you? - How do you maintain coherence? A Different Perspective Readers may resist genre mixing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writers/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/) [Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/) > [I love the necessary ambiguity of short stories - there simply isn't time to render every detail, so much of the story that orbits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-healy/i-love-the-necessary-ambiguity-of-short-stories-there-simply-isn-t/) [Matthew Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-healy/) > [The short-story writer knows that he can't proceed cumulatively, that time is not his ally. His only solution is to work vertically, heading up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julio-cort-zar/the-short-story-writer-knows-that-he-can-t-proceed-cumulatively-that/) [Julio Cortazar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julio-cort-zar/) > [Find the key emotion; this may be all you need know to find your short story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/find-the-key-emotion-this-may-be-all-you-need-know-to-find-your-short/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [You learn by writing short stories. Keep writing short stories. The money's in novels, but writing short stories keeps your writing lean and pointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-niven/you-learn-by-writing-short-stories-keep-writing-short-stories-the/) [Larry Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-niven/) > [One of my favorite writers is short story writer/essayist Jorge Luis Borges, who was blind. I'm not claiming to be anything remotely resembling a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-howes/one-of-my-favorite-writers-is-short-story-writer-essayist-jorge-luis/) Larry Howes > [I write very raw, ugly, illiterate first drafts very quickly (novels are always in first draft in under a year) and then I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/porochista-khakpour/i-write-very-raw-ugly-illiterate-first-drafts-very-quickly-novels-are/) [Porochista Khakpour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/porochista-khakpour/) > [Well, as a short-story writer, I don't think there are any weaknesses to the genre itself. I guess I would say that the difficulty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/well-as-a-short-story-writer-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-weaknesses/) ZZ Packer > [The more original a short-story writer, the odder looking the assortment of things he or she puts together for a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-bly/the-more-original-a-short-story-writer-the-odder-looking-the/) [Carol Bly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-bly/) > [I was trained mainly as a short story writer and that's how I started writing, but I've also become very interested in non-fiction, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-was-trained-mainly-as-a-short-story-writer-and-that-s-how-i-started/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Poetry died as a commercial form and then it died as a serious art form. No one serious touches it. 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Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariella-frostrup/had-elizabeth-bennet-known-how-wildly-darcy-s-heart-beat-for-her/) [Mariella Frostrup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariella-frostrup/) ## More by David Means > [In the days following 9/11, when we were reeling and disoriented, there was a kind of solace to be found in old recordings, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/in-the-days-following-9-11-when-we-were-reeling-and-disoriented-there/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Wars never simply end, not for those in combat and not for the culture, and one way or another, they shape-shift from generation to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/wars-never-simply-end-not-for-those-in-combat-and-not-for-the-culture/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Every interaction with another person involves a dance of expectation, even when you're just passing someone in the street. Inside those moments - however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/every-interaction-with-another-person-involves-a-dance-of-expectation/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I love the nooks and crannies of the American landscape; the back roads and back alleys, the places that are still untouched by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-love-the-nooks-and-crannies-of-the-american-landscape-the-back/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I love novels, and I read them more than anything, but stories cut in sharp and hard and are able to reveal things in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-love-novels-and-i-read-them-more-than-anything-but-stories-cut-in/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [The more you know about Bob Dylan, the less you know. 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In 'Hail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/in-kid-a-and-amnesiac-mr-yorke-s-lyrics-were-often-unfathomable/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Alice Munro is an atomic writer blasting doors into narrative time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/alice-munro-is-an-atomic-writer-blasting-doors-into-narrative-time/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [Iggy Pop is a pure Michigan product - gritty, smart, but not afraid of looking stupid or foolish. His father was once a high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/iggy-pop-is-a-pure-michigan-product-gritty-smart-but-not-afraid-of/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I like landscape, I guess. It's kind of a game to see how you can describe it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-like-landscape-i-guess-it-s-kind-of-a-game-to-see-how-you-can/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [You don't know what you need when you're a young writer. You can get small slivers of critical input, advice, comments, but if you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/you-don-t-know-what-you-need-when-you-re-a-young-writer-you-can-get/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I'm not sure if a writer should talk about themes. Themes arrive out of the deeper structure and concerns, but to me, the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-m-not-sure-if-a-writer-should-talk-about-themes-themes-arrive-out/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I was an at-home father, taking care of them for seven years when they were babies. I was one of those new-age, at-home dads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-was-an-at-home-father-taking-care-of-them-for-seven-years-when-they/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [I'm a relatively optimistic kind of guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-m-a-relatively-optimistic-kind-of-guy/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) [Explore all 55 David Means quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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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 > [But editors are still the world's readers. 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