--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you start with the idea that you are…" description: "\"If you start with the idea that you are going to be writing about a night in a graveyard, and that there are only a few living people in that frame, al..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/george-saunders-317_arise_if-you-start-with-the-idea-that-you-are_380617.jpg" --- # If you start with the idea that you are going to be… ![“If you start with the idea that you are going to be writing about a night in a graveyard, and that there are only a few living people in that frame, all sorts of interesting and difficult technical problems arise. And then form - new form, or experimental form - might be understood as just trying…” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/george-saunders-317_arise_if-you-start-with-the-idea-that-you-are_380617.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/george-saunders-317_arise_if-you-start-with-the-idea-that-you-are_380617.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ed/george-saunders-317_arise_if-you-start-with-the-idea-that-you-are_380617.jpg) > “If you start with the idea that you are going to be writing about a night in a graveyard, and that there are only a few living people in that frame, all sorts of interesting and difficult technical problems arise. And then form - new form, or experimental form - might be understood as just trying to tell that story most movingly and efficiently.” [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing about limited settings forces creative problem‑solving and innovative narrative forms **In simple terms:** Constraints spark inventive storytelling techniques Key Takeaway Embrace constraints to enhance creativity Themes creativity constraint innovation Mood reflective inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - short story - graveyard setting - minimal cast - technical challenges Key Concepts narrative structure experimental form Questions to Reflect On - How do constraints shape your creative process? - When do they become hindrances? A Different Perspective Constraints can also stifle spontaneity ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Graveyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graveyard/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Every role is a new form of surrender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-dern/every-role-is-a-new-form-of-surrender/) [Laura Dern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-dern/) > [Remembering is only a new form of suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baudelaire/remembering-is-only-a-new-form-of-suffering/) [Charles Baudelaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baudelaire/) > [To will a new form is unacceptable, because will builds distortion. Desire, too, is incomplete and arbitrary. These strategies, however intimate they might become,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guston/to-will-a-new-form-is-unacceptable-because-will-builds-distortion/) [Philip Guston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guston/) > [What I am interested in doing is finding and expressing a new form of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isadora-duncan/what-i-am-interested-in-doing-is-finding-and-expressing-a-new-form-of/) [Isadora Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isadora-duncan/) > [Socialism is a new form of slavery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/socialism-is-a-new-form-of-slavery/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [I see that idea that we need a new form as something critical. I mean, we do need to invent and not be benchmarking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-see-that-idea-that-we-need-a-new-form-as-something-critical-i-mean/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [When I'm trying a new form- trying to do something I'm not used to doing, which was true of the novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/when-i-m-trying-a-new-form-trying-to-do-something-i-m-not-used-to/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [We are moving towards a new form of collective intelligence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/we-are-moving-towards-a-new-form-of-collective-intelligence/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [Facebook the only new form to see that people are still alive out there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simphiwe/facebook-the-only-new-form-to-see-that-people-are-still-alive-out/) [Simphiwe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simphiwe/) > [Our life is but a new form of the way men have lived from the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/our-life-is-but-a-new-form-of-the-way-men-have-lived-from-the/) [Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/) > [“The dead has always been within us, its just the graveyard where we lay to rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/the-dead-has-always-been-within-us-its-just-the-graveyard-where-we/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [As we go on with our lives we tend to forget that the jails and the hospitals and the madhouses and the graveyards are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/as-we-go-on-with-our-lives-we-tend-to-forget-that-the-jails-and-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“In the middle of the cemetery is a grassy plane, strangely vacant. There are no granite tombs or crumbling concrete, just a sun-washed treeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-caldwell-crosby/in-the-middle-of-the-cemetery-is-a-grassy-plane-strangely-vacant/) Molly Caldwell Crosby > [Cheshvan starts tonight," Rixon said, "What are you doing arsing around in a graveyard?" "Thinking." "Thinking?" "A process by which I use my brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-fitzpatrick/cheshvan-starts-tonight-rixon-said-what-are-you-doing-arsing-around/) [Becca Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-fitzpatrick/) > [I am attracted to looking at the different things language can mean even in one sometimes quite ordinary utterance. Writing is partly about listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/i-am-attracted-to-looking-at-the-different-things-language-can-mean/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) ## More by George Saunders > [Success is like a mountain in front of you that keeps growing. If you're not careful, it will take up your whole life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/success-is-like-a-mountain-in-front-of-you-that-keeps-growing-if-you/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Wow wow wow is all I can say! Remember how I always buy lunchtime Scratch-Off ticket? Have I said? Maybe did not say? Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/wow-wow-wow-is-all-i-can-say-remember-how-i-always-buy-lunchtime/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“None of it was real; nothing was real. Everything was real; inconceivably real, infinitely dear. These and all things started as nothing, latent within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/none-of-it-was-real-nothing-was-real-everything-was-real/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“We must see God not as a Him (some linear rewarding fellow) but an IT, a great beast beyond our understanding, who wants something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-must-see-god-not-as-a-him-some-linear-rewarding-fellow-but-an-it-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [America, to me, should be shouting all the time, a bunch of shouting voices, most of them wrong, some of them nuts, but please,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/america-to-me-should-be-shouting-all-the-time-a-bunch-of-shouting/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Whatever your supposed politics are - left, right - if you put it in a human connection, most people will rise to the occasion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/whatever-your-supposed-politics-are-left-right-if-you-put-it-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“A Clinton staffer tells me his theory. Think about Frank Sinatra, he says: born to sing. Think about Willie Mays: born to play ball.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/a-clinton-staffer-tells-me-his-theory-think-about-frank-sinatra-he/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We try, we fail, we posture, we aspire, we pontificate - and then we age, shrink, die, and vanish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-try-we-fail-we-posture-we-aspire-we-pontificate-and-then-we-age/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What America is, to me, is a guy doesn't want to buy, you let him not buy, you respect his not buying. A guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-america-is-to-me-is-a-guy-doesn-t-want-to-buy-you-let-him-not/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [What good the prophet in the wilderness may do is incremental and personal. It's good for us to hear someone speak the irrational truth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-good-the-prophet-in-the-wilderness-may-do-is-incremental-and/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [We're in the transition between birth and death. But the one that people often know about is the transition between the moment of death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/we-re-in-the-transition-between-birth-and-death-but-the-one-that/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [You don't want to be that parent - the one who dresses his kid in a cloth sack when all the other kids are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-don-t-want-to-be-that-parent-the-one-who-dresses-his-kid-in-a/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) [Explore all 690 George Saunders quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More Arise 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/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [Let art, then, imitate nature, find what she desires, and follow as she directs. For in invention nature is never last, education never first;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/let-art-then-imitate-nature-find-what-she-desires-and-follow-as-she/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Do not be satisfied with the speech of your lips and the thought in your heart, all the promises and good sayings in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/do-not-be-satisfied-with-the-speech-of-your-lips-and-the-thought-in/) [Menachem Mendel of Kotzk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-mendel-of-kotzk/) > [Arise Evans had a fungous nose, and said, it was revealed to him, that the King's hand would cure him, and at the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-aubrey/arise-evans-had-a-fungous-nose-and-said-it-was-revealed-to-him-that/) [John Aubrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-aubrey/) > [Boasting and bravado may exist in the breast even of the coward, if he is successful through a mere lucky hit; but a just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thucydides/boasting-and-bravado-may-exist-in-the-breast-even-of-the-coward-if-he/) [Thucydides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thucydides/) > [We need less travelling by jet plaes from congress to congress... but more kneeling and praying and pleading to God to have mercy on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martyn-lloyd-jones/we-need-less-travelling-by-jet-plaes-from-congress-to-congress-but/) [Martyn Lloyd-Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martyn-lloyd-jones/) > [In my model, important interference phenomena arise when individual strata come into contact. These chaotic fluctuations are, I suppose, what my music is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-ferneyhough/in-my-model-important-interference-phenomena-arise-when-individual/) [Brian Ferneyhough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-ferneyhough/) > [Whenever you step out of the noise of thinking, that is meditation, and a different state of consciousness arises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/whenever-you-step-out-of-the-noise-of-thinking-that-is-meditation-and/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [An idea or institution may arise for one reason and be maintained for quite a different reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-mccabe/an-idea-or-institution-may-arise-for-one-reason-and-be-maintained-for/) [Joseph McCabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-mccabe/) > [The oppressed without hope are mysteriously quiet. When the conception of change is beyond the limits of the possible, there are no words to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-rowbotham/the-oppressed-without-hope-are-mysteriously-quiet-when-the-conception/) [Sheila Rowbotham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-rowbotham/) > [I arise full of eagerness and energy, knowing well what achievement lies ahead of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zane-grey/i-arise-full-of-eagerness-and-energy-knowing-well-what-achievement/) [Zane Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zane-grey/) > [When you train your thoughts to dissolve as they arise, they will cross your mind like a bird crosses the sky--without leaving a trace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julietta-suzuki/when-you-train-your-thoughts-to-dissolve-as-they-arise-they-will/) Julietta Suzuki > [Nothing, not even the best and noblest, can go on as it now is. Nothing, not even what is lowest and most bestial, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-not-even-the-best-and-noblest-can-go-on-as-it-now-is-nothing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) Browse all 1,703 Arise quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you start with the idea that you are going to be writing about a night in a graveyard, and that there are only a few living people in that frame, all sorts of interesting and difficult technical problems arise. 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