---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Technique in the minds of many is…"
description: "\"Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories it is something or..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png"
---

#  Technique in the minds of many is something rigid…

![“Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories it is something organic, something that grows out of the material, and this being the case, it is different for every story of any account that has ever been written.” quote by Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png)

> “Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories it is something organic, something that grows out of the material, and this being the case, it is different for every story of any account that has ever been written.”

[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.

True storytelling evolves organically from its material, not from imposed formulas.

**In simple terms:** Organic storytelling

Key Takeaway

Stories grow, they don't get forced

Themes

writing creativity organic process art

Mood

inspirational thoughtful

Type

expository didactic

When to use this quote

- creative writing workshops
- novel development
- screenwriting

Key Concepts

technique material story

Practical Applications

- writing instruction
- literary criticism

Questions to Reflect On

- How can a writer balance structure with organic growth?
- What signs indicate a story is becoming formulaic?

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [I can be very stubborn, cold, strict, rigid, and - I'd like to think - driven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-meade/i-can-be-very-stubborn-cold-strict-rigid-and-i-d-like-to-think-driven/)

[Emily Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-meade/)

> [I know that the writer does call up the general and maybe the essential through the particular, but this general and essential is still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-know-that-the-writer-does-call-up-the-general-and-maybe-the/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [You still have only one self and one identity. However, self, identity and personality are not things, they are not objects, and they certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/you-still-have-only-one-self-and-one-identity-however-self-identity/)

[Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/)

> [I do not usually follow a rigid fitness regimen, and most of it depends upon what goals I have in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-do-not-usually-follow-a-rigid-fitness-regimen-and-most-of-it/)

[Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/)

> [The most rigid structures, the most impervious to change, will collapse first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/the-most-rigid-structures-the-most-impervious-to-change-will-collapse/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Style is something you can use, and you can be like a magpie, just taking what you want. The idea of the rigid style…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/style-is-something-you-can-use-and-you-can-be-like-a-magpie-just/)

[David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/)

> [You can't have a rigid view that all new taxes are evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/you-can-t-have-a-rigid-view-that-all-new-taxes-are-evil/)

[Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/)

> [The H-2A guest visa program has been prone to excessive delays and is too rigid to fit the changing needs of farmers and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elise-stefanik/the-h-2a-guest-visa-program-has-been-prone-to-excessive-delays-and-is/)

[Elise Stefanik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elise-stefanik/)

> [I used to be very rigid because I just wanted to get through it. Now, if I think a scene should go a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-sizemore/i-used-to-be-very-rigid-because-i-just-wanted-to-get-through-it-now/)

[Tom Sizemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-sizemore/)

> [Rigid, the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/rigid-the-skeleton-of-habit-alone-upholds-the-human-frame/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [The more you plan and the more rigid you are, it takes away from your experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-prior/the-more-you-plan-and-the-more-rigid-you-are-it-takes-away-from-your/)

[Matt Prior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-prior/)

> [I like the English. They have the most rigid code of immorality in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-bradbury/i-like-the-english-they-have-the-most-rigid-code-of-immorality-in-the/)

[Malcolm Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-bradbury/)

> [India's rigid social structure limits intergenerational economic mobility and fosters acceptance of vast wealth disparities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-rattner/india-s-rigid-social-structure-limits-intergenerational-economic/)

[Steven Rattner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-rattner/)

> [You should not translate for more than two hours at a time. After that, you lose your edge, the language becomes clumsy, rigid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/you-should-not-translate-for-more-than-two-hours-at-a-time-after-that/)

[Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/)

> [Class - or the economic status of individuals - is evident in all societies, some very well stratified by a rigid caste system determined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-sionil-jos/class-or-the-economic-status-of-individuals-is-evident-in-all/)

[F. Sionil Jose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-sionil-jos/)

## 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. He felt it rising in himself through time and darkness, rising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/he-felt-his-hunger-no-longer-as-a-pain-but-as-a-tide-he-felt-it/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“Where you come from is gone, where you thought you were going to never was there, and where you are is no good unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/where-you-come-from-is-gone-where-you-thought-you-were-going-to-never/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“There are all kinds of truth ... but behind all of them there is only one truth and that is that there's no truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-but-behind-all-of-them-there-is-only-one/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“Mrs. May winced. 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/)

> [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-feel-that-discussing-story-writing-in-terms-of-plot-character-and/)

[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. Their father had gone to a one-room schoolhouse through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/she-had-observed-that-the-more-education-they-got-the-less-they-could/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [One of the awful things about writing when you are a Christian is that for you the ultimate reality is the Incarnation, the present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/one-of-the-awful-things-about-writing-when-you-are-a-christian-is/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“Hazel Motes sat at a forward angel on the green plush train seat, looking one minute at the window as if he might want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/hazel-motes-sat-at-a-forward-angel-on-the-green-plush-train-seat/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [Go warn the children of God of the terrible speed of mercy,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/go-warn-the-children-of-god-of-the-terrible-speed-of-mercy/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

[Explore all 432 Flannery O'Connor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

## More Accounts quotes

> [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/)

[Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/)

> [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/)

[Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/)

> [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/)

[Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/)

> [The Hindus have a peculiar slovenliness in business matters, not being sufficiently methodical and strict in keeping accounts etc.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/the-hindus-have-a-peculiar-slovenliness-in-business-matters-not-being/)

[Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/)

> [With the Truman book, I wrote the entire account of his experiences in World War I before going over to Europe to follow his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccullough/with-the-truman-book-i-wrote-the-entire-account-of-his-experiences-in/)

[David McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccullough/)

> [A great read; an exciting, frightening account of organized crime today. But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/)

[Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/)

> [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/)

[Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/)

> [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/)

[Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/)

> [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/)

[Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/)

> [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/)

[Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/)

> [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. If the music industry wants to save money, they should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/stop-trying-to-treat-music-like-it-s-a-tennis-shoe-something-to-be/)

[Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/)

> [Anyone who thinks science is trying to make human life easier or more pleasant is utterly mistaken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/anyone-who-thinks-science-is-trying-to-make-human-life-easier-or-more/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [That surely must be a concern to anyone who decides this drug must be given to stop transmissions, again from mother to child, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/that-surely-must-be-a-concern-to-anyone-who-decides-this-drug-must-be/)

[Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/)

Browse all 2,677 Accounts quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material; but in the best stories it is something organic, something that grows out of the material, and this being the case, it is different for every story of any account that has ever been written.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Flannery O'Connor"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accounts"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db9/flannery-o-connor-639_accounts_technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-someth_86955.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Technique in the minds of many is something rigid, something like a formula that you impose on the material…” — Flannery O'Connor",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Flannery O'Connor",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Technique in the minds of many...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/technique-in-the-minds-of-many-is-something-rigid-something-like-a/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
