--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I found that I could write two kinds of…" description: "\"I found that I could write two kinds of short stories: I could write very absurd, kind of surrealistic, funny stories; or I could write very dark, real..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/dennis-lehane-1503_absurd_i-found-that-i-could-write-two-kinds-of_2786918.jpg" --- # I found that I could write two kinds of short stories: I… ![“I found that I could write two kinds of short stories: I could write very absurd, kind of surrealistic, funny stories; or I could write very dark, realistic - hyper-realistic - stories. I was never happy with that, because I couldn't meld the two.” quote by Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/dennis-lehane-1503_absurd_i-found-that-i-could-write-two-kinds-of_2786918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/dennis-lehane-1503_absurd_i-found-that-i-could-write-two-kinds-of_2786918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c86/dennis-lehane-1503_absurd_i-found-that-i-could-write-two-kinds-of_2786918.jpg) > “I found that I could write two kinds of short stories: I could write very absurd, kind of surrealistic, funny stories; or I could write very dark, realistic - hyper-realistic - stories. I was never happy with that, because I couldn't meld the two.” [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on a creative conflict between writing absurd, surreal humor and dark, hyper-realistic stories, feeling unable to merge the two styles. **In simple terms:** Struggles to combine funny surrealism with gritty realism. Key Takeaway Explore hybrid storytelling. Themes creative tension genre conflict artistic identity literary style personal growth Mood conflicted inquisitive determined Type creative self-reflective When to use this quote - writing workshops - genre blending experiments - personal journaling - editorial feedback - literary analysis Key Concepts genre theory psychology of creativity narrative structure Questions to Reflect On - Can contrasting styles coexist in a single work? - What techniques help integrate disparate tones? A Different Perspective May limit audience reach due to niche style. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Dark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dark/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Funny story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-story/) [Hyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hyper/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Surrealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-surrealistic-3350771/) [Realistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realistic/) [Short stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-stories/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-write-361983/) [Surrealistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrealistic/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Write Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-absurd-3350770/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [And the most unusual and surrealistic place in New York City is Central Park.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/and-the-most-unusual-and-surrealistic-place-in-new-york-city-is/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) > [Dali likes me taking his picture because he is interested in pictures that do not simply reproduce reality. 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But I wanted to break into the mainstream, so I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-could-have-been-a-cult-writer-if-i-d-kept-writing-surrealistic/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Surrealistic flourishes are a different way of accessing the truth, of accessing real emotion. 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She doesn't advertise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/i-once-again-felt-an-odd-flush-of-admiration-for-my-partner-s-faith/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“And she was-definitely-a woman who did not shrink from gauntlets, but stepped up to them, and said, Okay, bring it. Bring your worst. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/and-she-was-definitely-a-woman-who-did-not-shrink-from-gauntlets-but/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“Jimmy looked back over at his wife, and Celeste could feel the tenderest of aches in the look. She could feel another teardrop piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/jimmy-looked-back-over-at-his-wife-and-celeste-could-feel-the/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“She told him that he had the most beautiful voice she'd ever heard, that it sounded like whiskey and wood smoke.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/she-told-him-that-he-had-the-most-beautiful-voice-she-d-ever-heard/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [My daughter squealed again and both Bubba and I winced. It’s not an attractive sound, that. It’s high-pitched and it enters your ear canals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/my-daughter-squealed-again-and-both-bubba-and-i-winced-it-s-not-an/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“It’s been a complicated decade for me.” She”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/it-s-been-a-complicated-decade-for-me-she/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“The only people who ask questions like ‘Did he want to be something besides a bartender?’ are people who can become whatever they want.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/the-only-people-who-ask-questions-like-did-he-want-to-be-something/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“Love, impossible, yet there was no mistaking it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/love-impossible-yet-there-was-no-mistaking-it/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“She blew a stream of smoke up at the empty clotheslines. 'These silly dreams you have when you're young. I mean, what, Katie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/she-blew-a-stream-of-smoke-up-at-the-empty-clotheslines-these-silly/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) > [“He looked back at the page, got one last glimpse before the match blew itself out. Going to find you today, Andrew. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-lehane/he-looked-back-at-the-page-got-one-last-glimpse-before-the-match-blew/) [Dennis Lehane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) [Explore all 231 Dennis Lehane quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-lehane/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. 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