--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So it begins, this story, like everything…" description: "\"“So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.”\" — Gregory David Roberts" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png" --- # So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a… ![“So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.” quote by Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png) > ““So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.”” [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The story starts with familiar elements—a woman, a city, luck—suggesting that narratives often begin with universal motifs. **In simple terms:** Stories often start with familiar motifs. Key Takeaway Recognize universal story foundations. Themes storytelling universal themes luck city Mood hopeful reflective Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - teaching storytelling Key Concepts narrative structure mythology character archetype Questions to Reflect On - What makes a familiar start feel fresh? - How does luck shape narrative tension? A Different Perspective Relying on tropes may limit originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [“The end mirrors the beginning. In the end, its about a woman & a city.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-end-mirrors-the-beginning-in-the-end-its-about-a-woman-a-city/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Excuse me? Tonight you represent every dateless woman in this city, every woman who's about to sit down to a lonely meal of Weight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/excuse-me-tonight-you-represent-every-dateless-woman-in-this-city/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“...was an elegant woman in a city of so many thousands of elegant women...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/was-an-elegant-woman-in-a-city-of-so-many-thousands-of-elegant-women/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She looked like a real woman in a city of mannequins.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-thornton/she-looked-like-a-real-woman-in-a-city-of-mannequins/) [Marshall Thornton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-thornton/) > [“Good fiction always begins with story and progresses to theme; it almost never begins with theme and progresses to story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/good-fiction-always-begins-with-story-and-progresses-to-theme-it/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Every road and every step along it begins with a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-willingham/every-road-and-every-step-along-it-begins-with-a-story/) [Bill Willingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-willingham/) > [Religion begins in story. 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No one want's to hear it when it's done badly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/telling-a-story-is-like-playing-a-fiddle-no-one-want-s-to-hear-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Gregory David Roberts > [The simple and astonishing truth about India and Indian people is that when you go there, and deal with them, your heart always guides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/the-simple-and-astonishing-truth-about-india-and-indian-people-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I think the novel form chose me. I was a writer before I became a criminal... my first instinct was to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-think-the-novel-form-chose-me-i-was-a-writer-before-i-became-a/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I look back, now, and I know that the naming moment, which seemed so insignificant then, which seemed to demand no more than an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-look-back-now-and-i-know-that-the-naming-moment-which-seemed-so/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“Men are just men - it is what they do, or refuse to do, that links them to good and evil. The truth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/men-are-just-men-it-is-what-they-do-or-refuse-to-do-that-links-them/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Indians are the Italians of Asia and vice versa. Every man in both countries is a singer when he is happy, and every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/indians-are-the-italians-of-asia-and-vice-versa-every-man-in-both/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [A lot of bad stuff in the world wasn’t really that bad until someone tried to change it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/a-lot-of-bad-stuff-in-the-world-wasn-t-really-that-bad-until-someone/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Of course I wanted to know. I was a writer. I wanted to know everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/of-course-i-wanted-to-know-i-was-a-writer-i-wanted-to-know-everything/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/sometimes-we-love-with-nothing-more-than-hope-sometimes-we-cry-with/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Love is the passionate search for a truth other than your own; and once you feel it, honestly and completely, love is forever..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/love-is-the-passionate-search-for-a-truth-other-than-your-own-and/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I know now that it's the sweet, sweating smell of hope, which is opposite of hate; and it's the sour, stifled smell of greed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-know-now-that-it-s-the-sweet-sweating-smell-of-hope-which-is/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I don't know what frightens me more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-don-t-know-what-frightens-me-more/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [“I hesitated. Karla once said that men reveal what they think when they look away, and what they feel when they hesitate. With women,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-hesitated-karla-once-said-that-men-reveal-what-they-think-when-they/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [you can't kill love. you can't even kill it with hate. you can kill in-love, and loving, and even loveliness. you can kill them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/you-can-t-kill-love-you-can-t-even-kill-it-with-hate-you-can-kill-in/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [Some loves are like that. Your heart starts to feel like an overcrowded lifeboat. You throw your pride out to keep it afloat, &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/some-loves-are-like-that-your-heart-starts-to-feel-like-an/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) > [I sometimes think that the size of our happiness is inversely proportional to the size of our house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/i-sometimes-think-that-the-size-of-our-happiness-is-inversely/) [Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) [Explore all 276 Gregory David Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/) ## More Luck quotes > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [You don't get lucky. You create lucky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sharma/you-don-t-get-lucky-you-create-lucky/) [Robin Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sharma/) > [“Coincidence is the exception, not the rule.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soheir-khashoggi/coincidence-is-the-exception-not-the-rule/) [Soheir Khashoggi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soheir-khashoggi/) > [If you don't meet luck halfway with really hard work, luck won't get you all the way there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asia-kate-dillon/if-you-don-t-meet-luck-halfway-with-really-hard-work-luck-won-t-get/) [Asia Kate Dillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asia-kate-dillon/) > [“Failing to meet your true destiny is a tragic act of free will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthon-st-maarten/failing-to-meet-your-true-destiny-is-a-tragic-act-of-free-will/) [Anthon St. Maarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthon-st-maarten/) > [To be successful, one must take chances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-stargell/to-be-successful-one-must-take-chances/) [Willie Stargell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-stargell/) > [“Clent, however, suppressed any sense of pity without the slightest difficulty. His brain was busy with the icy clockwork of calculation. If only this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/clent-however-suppressed-any-sense-of-pity-without-the-slightest/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [If you scared to take chances, you'll never have the answers...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/if-you-scared-to-take-chances-you-ll-never-have-the-answers/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [Don't minimize the importance of luck in determining life's course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-trebek/don-t-minimize-the-importance-of-luck-in-determining-life-s-course/) [Alex Trebek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-trebek/) > [I had a visit from an artist friend who basically said, "Your paintings are wonderful. Now stop." It did resonate with me. It hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caio-fonseca/i-had-a-visit-from-an-artist-friend-who-basically-said-your-paintings/) [Caio Fonseca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caio-fonseca/) > [Everybody needs a chance to find love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-longoria/everybody-needs-a-chance-to-find-love/) [Eva Longoria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-longoria/) > [We seal our fate with the choices we take, but don't give a second thought to the chances we take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-estefan/we-seal-our-fate-with-the-choices-we-take-but-don-t-give-a-second/) [Gloria Estefan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-estefan/) > [Life is a luck coin, once you're thrown into the pond..only you can make your worth the most by making it to the people's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zacomh/life-is-a-luck-coin-once-you-re-thrown-into-the-pond-only-you-can/) Zacomh > [Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/bad-luck-isn-t-brought-by-broken-mirrors-but-by-broken-minds/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) [Browse all 5,673 Luck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gregory David Roberts" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything-else-with-a-woman-and-a-city/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Luck" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything-else-with-a-woman-and-a-city/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/15d/gregory-david-roberts-1039_luck_so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything_1247437.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So it begins, this story, like everything else—with a woman, and a city, and a little bit of luck.” — Gregory David Roberts", "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": "Gregory David Roberts", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So it begins, this story, like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything-else-with-a-woman-and-a-city/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/so-it-begins-this-story-like-everything-else-with-a-woman-and-a-city/#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 } } ] } ```