--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As much as I really like the…" description: "\"As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.\" — Gillian Flynn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg" --- # As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the… ![“As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.” quote by Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg) > “As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.” [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Screenwriting offers collaboration, but novels grant the author total authority over story, tone, and detail. **In simple terms:** Novels give full creative control. Key Takeaway Choose the medium that matches your vision. Themes creativity control medium choice Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type creative professional When to use this quote - publishing - film adaptation - personal projects Key Concepts narrative theory authorial voice media studies Questions to Reflect On - Do you value control over collaboration? - How might a hybrid approach benefit you? A Different Perspective Collaboration can also enrich a story. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Screenwriting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenwriting/) ## Related quotes > [I don't mind doing scripted material. It's actually kind of a relief, because improvising is a little bit like screenwriting on your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/i-don-t-mind-doing-scripted-material-it-s-actually-kind-of-a-relief/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [I'm very lucky. I actually like screenwriting. I rarely feel a sense of doom going to my desk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-beaufoy/i-m-very-lucky-i-actually-like-screenwriting-i-rarely-feel-a-sense-of/) [Simon Beaufoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-beaufoy/) > [It's kind of liberating to be able to bring your own ideas to things, but it's also a lot of pressure, it's like screenwriting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-reilly/it-s-kind-of-liberating-to-be-able-to-bring-your-own-ideas-to-things/) [John C. Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-reilly/) > [ The hardest thing in a novel is time. You've got \[a line like\] "two weeks later, he woke up with a headache," and you've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/the-hardest-thing-in-a-novel-is-time-you-ve-got-a-line-like-two-weeks/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Readers always seem to think that the author has some control over the design of their books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/readers-always-seem-to-think-that-the-author-has-some-control-over/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's hard, because when you talk about process or your characters ruling your narrative, it sounds like you have no control, but obviously you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/it-s-hard-because-when-you-talk-about-process-or-your-characters/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't have any answers as to whether the Internet is a good or a bad thing, but it's certainly an important thing for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-rooney/i-don-t-have-any-answers-as-to-whether-the-internet-is-a-good-or-a/) [Sally Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-rooney/) > [In order to be a living, breathing thing, a novel has to be failed in some kind of way. Or at least that's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-spiotta/in-order-to-be-a-living-breathing-thing-a-novel-has-to-be-failed-in/) [Dana Spiotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-spiotta/) > [I believe that an author who cannot control her characters is, like a mother who cannot control her children, not really fit to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/i-believe-that-an-author-who-cannot-control-her-characters-is-like-a/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [“When you are writing a novel, you as the author will wear many hats. You are the writer, reader, and most importantly you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laquita-cameron/when-you-are-writing-a-novel-you-as-the-author-will-wear-many-hats/) LaQuita Cameron > [The novel that an author writes is often not the novel that the reader reads, and most of the 'messages' in a novel are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/the-novel-that-an-author-writes-is-often-not-the-novel-that-the/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [In a novel, the author gives the leading character intelligence and distinction. Fate goes to less trouble: mediocrities play a part in great events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/in-a-novel-the-author-gives-the-leading-character-intelligence-and/) [Charles Maurice de Talleyrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-maurice-de-talleyrand/) > [“As I have pointed out before, characters are not born like people, of woman; they are born of a situation, a sentence, a metaphor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/as-i-have-pointed-out-before-characters-are-not-born-like-people-of-2/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [“The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that-3/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [The characters in my novels are my own unrealized possibilities. That is why I am equally fond of them all and equally horrified by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-characters-in-my-novels-are-my-own-unrealized-possibilities-that/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Gillian Flynn > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Sometimes it is all too loud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/sometimes-it-is-all-too-loud/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“My thank-yous always come out rather labored. I often don't give them at all. People do what they're supposed to do and then wait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-thank-yous-always-come-out-rather-labored-i-often-don-t-give-them/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [There’s something disturbing about recalling a warm memory and feeling utterly cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/there-s-something-disturbing-about-recalling-a-warm-memory-and/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“My life has begun to feel like an epilogue.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-life-has-begun-to-feel-like-an-epilogue/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“The Victorians, especially southern Victorians, needed a lot of room to stray away from each other, to duck tuberculosis and flu, to avoid rapacious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-victorians-especially-southern-victorians-needed-a-lot-of-room-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“You think: Oh, here is the rest of my life. It’s finally arrived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-think-oh-here-is-the-rest-of-my-life-it-s-finally-arrived/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [What a generous thing that is, I realize, for a husband to try to make his wife laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/what-a-generous-thing-that-is-i-realize-for-a-husband-to-try-to-make/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [I am a great believer in jobs for teens. They teach important life lessons, build character, and inflict just the right amount of humiliation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/i-am-a-great-believer-in-jobs-for-teens-they-teach-important-life/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“you'd literally lie, cheat, and steal -hell, kill- to convince people you are a good guy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/you-d-literally-lie-cheat-and-steal-hell-kill-to-convince-people-you/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [My imagination is more tweaked by imagining the lives of the people who were there before us. I don't need to give myself the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/my-imagination-is-more-tweaked-by-imagining-the-lives-of-the-people/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“Given my druthers now, I’d prefer a snapshot of Warren Harding’s wife, “the Duchess,” who recorded the smallest offenses in a little red notebook…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/given-my-druthers-now-i-d-prefer-a-snapshot-of-warren-harding-s-wife/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It's the kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/a-town-so-suffocating-and-small-you-tripped-over-people-you-hated/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [“For a long time Cool Girl offended me. I used to see men - friends, coworkers, strangers - giddy over these awful pretender women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/for-a-long-time-cool-girl-offended-me-i-used-to-see-men-friends/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) [Explore all 668 Gillian Flynn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) ## 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": "As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gillian Flynn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriting-thing-the-novel-is-where/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriting-thing-the-novel-is-where/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/361/gillian-flynn-316_books_as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriti_1696291.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As much as I really like the screenwriting thing, the novel is where the author has so much control.” — Gillian Flynn", "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": "Gillian Flynn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "As much as I really like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriting-thing-the-novel-is-where/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/as-much-as-i-really-like-the-screenwriting-thing-the-novel-is-where/#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 } } ] } ```