--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel that discussing story-writing in…" description: "\"I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying where the eye..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/flannery-o-connor-639_character_i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in_89592.png" --- # I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot… ![“I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying where the eyes, nose, and mouth are.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/flannery-o-connor-639_character_i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in_89592.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/flannery-o-connor-639_character_i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in_89592.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd3/flannery-o-connor-639_character_i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in_89592.png) > “I feel that discussing story-writing in terms of plot, character, and theme is like trying to describe the expression on a face by saying where the eyes, nose, and mouth are.” [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Analyzing literature by dissecting parts misses the holistic emotional impact. **In simple terms:** Component analysis fragments experience. Key Takeaway Holistic perception captures true meaning. Themes literature analysis holism aesthetic interpretation Mood thoughtful analytical Type quote critical insight When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary criticism - education Key Concepts plot character theme expression Practical Applications - teaching literary theory - writing instruction Questions to Reflect On - What is lost when we over‑segment art? - How can we balance analysis with feeling? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Expression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expression/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [My sister and brother are both writers as well. We are constantly discussing story and plot lines. 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It means, mostly, people can see through someone else by eye contact in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peng-liyuan/there-is-a-saying-eyes-are-the-windows-to-the-soul-it-means-mostly/) [Peng Liyuan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peng-liyuan/) > [Look into my eyes and hear what I'm not saying, for my eyes speak louder than my voice ever will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/look-into-my-eyes-and-hear-what-i-m-not-saying-for-my-eyes-speak/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's very hard to step into a job when people are just dismissing you as a pretty face, and saying you got your job…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-mcmahon/it-s-very-hard-to-step-into-a-job-when-people-are-just-dismissing-you/) [Julian McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-mcmahon/) > [“Mistress mine, your unique and special quality is this: When I'm around you, I'm happy." "Richard!" "Quit blubbering. Can't stand a female who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heinlein/mistress-mine-your-unique-and-special-quality-is-this-when-i-m-around/) [Robert Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heinlein/) > [Face your front' is a saying in my parents' culture. 'Face your front, don't look left and don't look right.' Don't be comparing yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ncuti-gatwa/face-your-front-is-a-saying-in-my-parents-culture-face-your-front-don/) [Ncuti Gatwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ncuti-gatwa/) > [There's a smile on your face saying you never need me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-smile-on-your-face-saying-you-never-need-me-at-all/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Only a true friend will tell you to your face, what others are saying behind your back!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/only-a-true-friend-will-tell-you-to-your-face-what-others-are-saying/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [The greatest compliment a writer can be given is that a story and character hold a reader spellbound. Im caught up in the story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-johansen/the-greatest-compliment-a-writer-can-be-given-is-that-a-story-and/) [Iris Johansen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-johansen/) > [I love story-writing because I can (more or less, on occasion) actually DO it. That's really the truth. I like the idea that a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-love-story-writing-because-i-can-more-or-less-on-occasion-actually/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [ Writing two stories \[in the Thorn and the Blossom\] about the same set of events that were complete stories in themselves, but also added… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/writing-two-stories-in-the-thorn-and-the-blossom-about-the-same-set/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [All the words I use in my stories can be found in the dictionary-it's just a matter of arranging them into the right sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/all-the-words-i-use-in-my-stories-can-be-found-in-the-dictionary-it-s/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“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/) > [“If your characters write your story, rather than you writing your characters, it's like your dog taking YOU for a walk. Don't let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-bell/if-your-characters-write-your-story-rather-than-you-writing-your/) [Jessica Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-bell/) ## More by Flannery O'Connor > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [... the man in the violent situation reveals those qualities least dispensable in his personality, those qualities which are all he will have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-man-in-the-violent-situation-reveals-those-qualities-least/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“I don’t know how to cure the source-itis except to tell you that I can discover a good many possible sources myself for Wise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-don-t-know-how-to-cure-the-source-itis-except-to-tell-you-that-i/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Everything that gave her pleasure was small and depressed him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/everything-that-gave-her-pleasure-was-small-and-depressed-him/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [To the hard of hearing you shout, and for the almost blind you draw large and startling figures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/to-the-hard-of-hearing-you-shout-and-for-the-almost-blind-you-draw/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“He felt his hunger no longer as a pain but as a tide. 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She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/mrs-may-winced-she-thought-the-word-jesus-should-be-kept-inside-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [She had observed that the more education they got, the less they could do. 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