--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: them perhaps half an hour to finish all…" description: "\"“them perhaps half an hour to finish all they have to do. Alan gets behind the wheel and honks the horn. In the stillness of the night, it sounds like”..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/ed-mcbain-29479_quote_them-perhaps-half-an-hour-to-finish-all_917883.jpg" --- # them perhaps half an hour to finish all they have to do… ![“them perhaps half an hour to finish all they have to do. Alan gets behind the wheel and honks the horn. In the stillness of the night, it sounds like” quote by Ed McBain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/ed-mcbain-29479_quote_them-perhaps-half-an-hour-to-finish-all_917883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/ed-mcbain-29479_quote_them-perhaps-half-an-hour-to-finish-all_917883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b71/ed-mcbain-29479_quote_them-perhaps-half-an-hour-to-finish-all_917883.jpg) > ““them perhaps half an hour to finish all they have to do. Alan gets behind the wheel and honks the horn. In the stillness of the night, it sounds like”” [Ed McBain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcbain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes a tense night scene with a car horn breaking the silence, creating suspense **In simple terms:** A sudden sound disrupts quiet, heightening tension Key Takeaway Use sensory details to build suspense Themes suspense night sound Mood tense atmospheric Type fiction creative When to use this quote - crime scene - night drive - storytelling workshop Key Concepts narrative tension ambient noise Questions to Reflect On - How does sound affect mood in storytelling? - When is silence more powerful than noise? A Different Perspective Overuse can become cliché ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Finish Alan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-alan-1398366/) [Half Hour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-hour-344905/) [Horn Stillness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horn-stillness-1398367/) [Hour Finish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hour-finish-317197/) [Wheel Honks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wheel-honks-1398368/) ## Related quotes > [I am a New Yorker, and 7:00 A.M. is a civilized hour to finish the day, not to start it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/i-am-a-new-yorker-and-7-00-a-m-is-a-civilized-hour-to-finish-the-day/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I'm always amazed by writers who say, 'Oh you know I had a half hour so I sat down and wrote a little bit.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-winter/i-m-always-amazed-by-writers-who-say-oh-you-know-i-had-a-half-hour-so/) [Terence Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-winter/) > [It is better to be doing the most insignificant thing than to reckon even a half-hour insignificant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-is-better-to-be-doing-the-most-insignificant-thing-than-to-reckon/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [There are times when you do a play when you are living in the character over a two-and-a-half-hour period or longer, and you come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/there-are-times-when-you-do-a-play-when-you-are-living-in-the/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [I hope this series is good work, but it is in the half-hour medium, which is limited to a kind of mediocrity that sponsors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-cooper/i-hope-this-series-is-good-work-but-it-is-in-the-half-hour-medium/) [Jackie Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-cooper/) > [I love TV. 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