--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing a story or a novel is one way of…" description: "\"“Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of a writer's own li..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eudora-welty-1564_books_writing-a-story-or-a-novel-is-one-way-of_1262280.png" --- # Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering… ![“Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of a writer's own life. This has been the case with me. Connections slowly emerge. Like distant landmarks you are approaching, cause and effect begin to align…” quote by Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eudora-welty-1564_books_writing-a-story-or-a-novel-is-one-way-of_1262280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eudora-welty-1564_books_writing-a-story-or-a-novel-is-one-way-of_1262280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd4/eudora-welty-1564_books_writing-a-story-or-a-novel-is-one-way-of_1262280.png) > ““Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of a writer's own life. This has been the case with me. Connections slowly emerge. Like distant landmarks you are approaching, cause and effect begin to align themselves, draw closer together. Experiences too indefinite of outline in themselves to be recognized for themselves connect and are identified as a larger shape. And suddenly a light is thrown back, as when your train makes a curve, showing that there has been a mountain of meaning rising behind you on the way you've come, is rising there still, proven now through retrospect. Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists. The strands are all there: to the memory nothing is ever lost.”” [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing reveals hidden patterns in personal experience, turning fragmented memories into coherent meaning through narrative. **In simple terms:** Storytelling uncovers hidden connections in life. Key Takeaway Use writing to map and understand your past. Themes creativity reflection meaning-making Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal journaling - novel writing - therapy - academic research Key Concepts narrative structure causality memory Questions to Reflect On - What patterns emerge when you write about your life? - How does narrative shape your perception of events? A Different Perspective Only works if the writer is honest and willing to confront painful memories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cause and effect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cause-and-effect/) [Connection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/connection/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [Retrospect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retrospect/) [Train](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/train/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/writing-fiction-has-developed-in-me-an-abiding-respect-for-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/writing-a-story-or-a-novel-is-one-way-of-discovering-sequence-in-2/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“That’s why I write, because life never works except in retrospect. And writing makes you look back. Because since you can’t control life, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/that-s-why-i-write-because-life-never-works-except-in-retrospect-and/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [So this is why I write. Because most times, your life isn’t funny the first time through. Most times, you can hardly stand it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/so-this-is-why-i-write-because-most-times-your-life-isn-t-funny-the/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I do think a good story in a novel is fair game and there's nothing wrong with adapting that. It sometimes gets a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-do-think-a-good-story-in-a-novel-is-fair-game-and-there-s-nothing/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [“A story, whether it be novel, short fiction, screenplay, play or poetry or any form of non-fiction, is like an ecosystem in which everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-binks/a-story-whether-it-be-novel-short-fiction-screenplay-play-or-poetry/) Andrew Binks > [It's difficult for me to have a large story, a very large story - a novel is a large story. I'm used to writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/it-s-difficult-for-me-to-have-a-large-story-a-very-large-story-a/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I've made the decision to adhere to three general truths when it comes to my novels: There will be a love-story element to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-ve-made-the-decision-to-adhere-to-three-general-truths-when-it/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I never know exactly where I'm going with a story, whether it's a short story or a novel. If I did I'd soon grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/i-never-know-exactly-where-i-m-going-with-a-story-whether-it-s-a/) [Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/) > [I think a good story can do as much as a novel; not the exact same thing, of course, but just as much artistically.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-means/i-think-a-good-story-can-do-as-much-as-a-novel-not-the-exact-same/) [David Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-means/) > [In a general sense, to convert any short story, novel, play, or opera into a movie, you have to re-rig it. Even though they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-payne/in-a-general-sense-to-convert-any-short-story-novel-play-or-opera/) [Alexander Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-payne/) > [Your life story is a novel; and people, though they love novels wound between two yellow paper covers, are oddly suspicious of those which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/your-life-story-is-a-novel-and-people-though-they-love-novels-wound/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [“This is a work of fiction, which, contrary to what any reader paying attention to recent events might assume, I began writing more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-jordan-lake/this-is-a-work-of-fiction-which-contrary-to-what-any-reader-paying/) [Joy Jordan-Lake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-jordan-lake/) > [“writing a story is dangerous more dangerous then anyone can know. Its planting small seeds of ideas into peoples minds. Some can grow and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-stein/writing-a-story-is-dangerous-more-dangerous-then-anyone-can-know-its/) Natalie Stein > [When you are writing the story of of your life never lend out your pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-writing-the-story-of-of-your-life-never-lend-out-your-pen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Eudora Welty > [“She (my mother) could still recite them (the poems) in full when she was lying helpless and nearly blind, in her bed, an old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-could-still-recite-them-the-poems-in-full-when-she-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Long before I wrote stories, I listened for stories. Listening for them is something more acute than listening to them. I suppose it’s an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/long-before-i-wrote-stories-i-listened-for-stories-listening-for-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [Once you're into a story everything seems to apply-what you overhear on a city bus is exactly what your character would say on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/once-you-re-into-a-story-everything-seems-to-apply-what-you-overhear/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Two by two, I read library books as fast as I could go, rushing them home in the basket of my bicycle. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/two-by-two-i-read-library-books-as-fast-as-i-could-go-rushing-them/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When somebody, no matter who, gives everything, it makes people feel ashamed for him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-somebody-no-matter-who-gives-everything-it-makes-people-feel/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Daydreaming had started me on the way; but story writing, once I was truly in its grip, took me and shook me awake.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/daydreaming-had-started-me-on-the-way-but-story-writing-once-i-was/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“All children in those small-town, unhurried days had a vast inner life going on in the movies. Children were allowed to go without chaperone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/all-children-in-those-small-town-unhurried-days-had-a-vast-inner-life/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“At the sting in her eyes, she remembered for him that there must be no tears in his.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/at-the-sting-in-her-eyes-she-remembered-for-him-that-there-must-be-no/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“We do need to bring to our writing, over and over again, all the abundance we possess. To be able, to be ready, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/we-do-need-to-bring-to-our-writing-over-and-over-again-all-the/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“Could she ever be, would she be, where she was going?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/could-she-ever-be-would-she-be-where-she-was-going/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“When one of us (children) caught measles or whooping cough and we were isolated in bad upstairs, we wrote notes to each other perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/when-one-of-us-children-caught-measles-or-whooping-cough-and-we-were/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“She (my mother) stood always prepared in herself to challenge the world in our place. She did indeed tend to make the world look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/she-my-mother-stood-always-prepared-in-herself-to-challenge-the-world/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“For there is hate as well as love, she supposed, in the coming together and continuing of our lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/for-there-is-hate-as-well-as-love-she-supposed-in-the-coming-together/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [“In children's art class we sat in a ring of kindergarten chairs and drew three daffodils that had just been picked out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/in-children-s-art-class-we-sat-in-a-ring-of-kindergarten-chairs-and/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) > [People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eudora-welty/people-are-mostly-layers-of-violence-and-tenderness-wrapped-like/) [Eudora Welty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) [Explore all 227 Eudora Welty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eudora-welty/) ## 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. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Writing a story or a novel is one way of discovering sequence in experience, of stumbling upon cause and effect in the happenings of a writer's own life. This has been the case with me. Connections slowly emerge. Like distant landmarks you are approaching, cause and effect begin to align themselves, draw closer together. Experiences too indefinite of outline in themselves to be recognized for themselves connect and are identified as a larger shape. And suddenly a light is thrown back, as when your train makes a curve, showing that there has been a mountain of meaning rising behind you on the way you've come, is rising there still, proven now through retrospect. Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists. 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