--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The short story is kind of a precision…" description: "\"The short story is kind of a precision tool. It allows me a certain type of freedom to go in and out of the American landscape, without having to commi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/david-means-12399_american_the-short-story-is-kind-of-a-precision-t_1424947.jpg" --- # The short story is kind of a precision tool. It allows me… ![“The short story is kind of a precision tool. It allows me a certain type of freedom to go in and out of the American landscape, without having to commit myself to a full-length novel. I find a lot of novels out there very boring.” quote by David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/david-means-12399_american_the-short-story-is-kind-of-a-precision-t_1424947.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/david-means-12399_american_the-short-story-is-kind-of-a-precision-t_1424947.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/584/david-means-12399_american_the-short-story-is-kind-of-a-precision-t_1424947.jpg) > “The short story is kind of a precision tool. It allows me a certain type of freedom to go in and out of the American landscape, without having to commit myself to a full-length novel. I find a lot of novels out there very boring.” [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. Short stories act as precise tools, offering freedom without the commitment of novels, which can be tedious. **In simple terms:** Short stories are concise and freeing. Key Takeaway Use short forms for experimentation. Themes literature form freedom Mood reflective analytical Type literary educational When to use this quote - Writing workshops - publishing - reading habits Key Concepts Narrative structure creative constraint Questions to Reflect On - When is a short story preferable? - How does length affect reader engagement? A Different Perspective Short stories may lack depth of longer works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [I think the recent cluster of WWII novels is so good because we have reached an optimal distance from the war. 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Completion, though, is not to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hickman/the-central-character-is-an-incomplete-package-of-yearning-that-takes/) [Patricia Hickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hickman/) > [How often one reads a contemporary full-length novel and thinks quietly, mutinously, that it would have worked out better at half or a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/how-often-one-reads-a-contemporary-full-length-novel-and-thinks/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [I'm writinng my first full-length novel, which is based on a novella I wrote called "The Mad Scientist's Daughter." I'm having a wonderful time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/i-m-writinng-my-first-full-length-novel-which-is-based-on-a-novella-i/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [Three of my novels and a good number of my short stories are told from the point of view of men. 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I take some possibility that people imagine, that they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-always-take-a-story-that-s-kind-of-out-there-like-an-urban-myth-i/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) ## 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. 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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 American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. 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But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The short story is kind of a precision tool. It allows me a certain type of freedom to go in and out of the American landscape, without having to commit myself to a full-length novel. 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