--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stories, as much as we like to talk about…" description: "\"Stories, as much as we like to talk about them, retrospectively, as emanations of theme or worldview or intention, occur primarily as technical objects..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/george-saunders-317_decision_stories-as-much-as-we-like-to-talk-about_1745637.jpg" --- # Stories, as much as we like to talk about them… ![“Stories, as much as we like to talk about them, retrospectively, as emanations of theme or worldview or intention, occur primarily as technical objects when they're being written. Or at least they do for me. They're the result of thousands of decisions made at speed during revision.” quote by George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/george-saunders-317_decision_stories-as-much-as-we-like-to-talk-about_1745637.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/george-saunders-317_decision_stories-as-much-as-we-like-to-talk-about_1745637.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/george-saunders-317_decision_stories-as-much-as-we-like-to-talk-about_1745637.jpg) > “Stories, as much as we like to talk about them, retrospectively, as emanations of theme or worldview or intention, occur primarily as technical objects when they're being written. Or at least they do for me. They're the result of thousands of decisions made at speed during revision.” [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. Stories are created through rapid, technical decisions during writing, not just by reflecting themes or intentions after the fact. **In simple terms:** Writing is a series of fast, technical choices that shape a story. Key Takeaway Focus on the craft of decision‑making while writing. Themes writing craft decision‑making process technical storytelling Mood reflective analytical inquisitive Type process philosophical meta‑literary When to use this quote - authoring a novel - editing a screenplay - drafting a short story - collaborative writing - creative workshops Key Concepts Narrative theory cognitive load revision dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance technical choices with emotional truth? - Can rapid decisions hinder deeper thematic development? A Different Perspective The emphasis on technical decisions may undervalue the role of intuition and emotional resonance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decision](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) [Intention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intention/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Worldview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worldview/) ## Related quotes > [“Weick, we can only make sense of life retrospectively, even though it must be lived prospectively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-fuda/weick-we-can-only-make-sense-of-life-retrospectively-even-though-it/) Peter Fuda > [“It is easy, retrospectively, to endow one's youth with a false precocity or a false innocence; to tamper with the dates marking one's stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-is-easy-retrospectively-to-endow-one-s-youth-with-a-false/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [When you look at life retrospectively you rarely regret anything that you did, but you might regret things that you didn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicholson/when-you-look-at-life-retrospectively-you-rarely-regret-anything-that/) [Jack Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicholson/) > [“But the technology is only trivial retrospectively—not prospectively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/but-the-technology-is-only-trivial-retrospectively-not-prospectively/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Looking at myself retrospectively, how I survived, how I was reactionary as my surroundings were ever changing and I didn't have time to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-fox/looking-at-myself-retrospectively-how-i-survived-how-i-was/) [Julia Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-fox/) > [I try not to think retrospectively. It's important, as an artist, to look forward, always. I do try to take work that involves some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-try-not-to-think-retrospectively-it-s-important-as-an-artist-to/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [So for me the approach has become to go into a story not really sure of what I want to say, try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/so-for-me-the-approach-has-become-to-go-into-a-story-not-really-sure/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“How, then, to proceed? My method is: I imagine a meter mounted in my forehead, with “P” on this side (“Positive”) and “N” on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/how-then-to-proceed-my-method-is-i-imagine-a-meter-mounted-in-my/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I'm repledging myself to human-scale values. As a fiction writer, the best data comes through the senses and is then processed through many revisions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-m-repledging-myself-to-human-scale-values-as-a-fiction-writer-the/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [As Flannery O'Connor says, a person can choose what she writes but she can't choose what she makes live. Some people are really acoustic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-flannery-o-connor-says-a-person-can-choose-what-she-writes-but-she/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“I like stories more than I like books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-s-magalh-es/i-like-stories-more-than-i-like-books/) Tomás Magalhães > [“Sometimes I think that maybe we are just stories. Like we may as well just be words on a page, because we’re only what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/sometimes-i-think-that-maybe-we-are-just-stories-like-we-may-as-well/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [All my stories are like the Greek and Roman myths, and the Egyptian myths, and the Old and New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/all-my-stories-are-like-the-greek-and-roman-myths-and-the-egyptian/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I'm not someone who is driven by big external stories. I like big emotional stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-m-not-someone-who-is-driven-by-big-external-stories-i-like-big/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [The only thing that I am trying to do is to find stories that I like, stories that are meaningful and that can connect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfonso-herrera/the-only-thing-that-i-am-trying-to-do-is-to-find-stories-that-i-like/) [Alfonso Herrera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfonso-herrera/) ## 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 Decision quotes > [Making the right decision is hard,telling someone your decision is even harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-tiwari/making-the-right-decision-is-hard-telling-someone-your-decision-is/) [Abhishek Tiwari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-tiwari/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [Elections belong to the people. It's their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/elections-belong-to-the-people-it-s-their-decision-if-they-decide-to/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [“How can you make an informed decision about whether to save the world if you never leave your tiny part of it?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaun-david-hutchinson/how-can-you-make-an-informed-decision-about-whether-to-save-the-world/) [Shaun David Hutchinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaun-david-hutchinson/) > [Love is the foundation from which your decisions about your life should be made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-is-the-foundation-from-which-your-decisions-about-your-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Indecision becomes decision with time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/indecision-becomes-decision-with-time/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you think of people as making decisions actively, every time we think about the cup of coffee, we say, "How much will I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/if-you-think-of-people-as-making-decisions-actively-every-time-we/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [It was a conscious decision on my part to take up fewer films. And if you're not seen that often on screen, nobody calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-lever/it-was-a-conscious-decision-on-my-part-to-take-up-fewer-films-and-if/) [Johnny Lever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-lever/) > [Decision is a risk rooted in the courage of being free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/decision-is-a-risk-rooted-in-the-courage-of-being-free/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [I never think of things rationally or intellectually. I swear, every single decision I make is just instinct and my instincts tend to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neill-blomkamp/i-never-think-of-things-rationally-or-intellectually-i-swear-every/) [Neill Blomkamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neill-blomkamp/) > [“it is either you happen to life or life happens to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sesan-kareem/it-is-either-you-happen-to-life-or-life-happens-to-you/) [Sesan Kareem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sesan-kareem/) > [How strange that something so simple could have been instrumental in my decision to ruin one of my most relationships and friendships, and damage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/how-strange-that-something-so-simple-could-have-been-instrumental-in/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I am encouraged President Obama now says he will fulfill his constitutional obligation to seek authorization for any potential military action in Syria. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/i-am-encouraged-president-obama-now-says-he-will-fulfill-his/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [In New York, you are constantly faced with this very urgent decision that you have to make, about every twenty minutes...you have to decide,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cross/in-new-york-you-are-constantly-faced-with-this-very-urgent-decision/) [David Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cross/) [Browse all 9,145 Decision quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decision/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Stories, as much as we like to talk about them, retrospectively, as emanations of theme or worldview or intention, occur primarily as technical objects when they're being written. Or at least they do for me. 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