--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I can't control life for my…" description: "\"I can't control life for my grandchildren, so how could I control a story? Sometimes I try to force something, and after working and working on that ch..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/isabel-allende-266_about_i-can-t-control-life-for-my-grandchildre_1664392.jpg" --- # I can't control life for my grandchildren, so how could I… ![“I can't control life for my grandchildren, so how could I control a story? Sometimes I try to force something, and after working and working on that chapter, I realise that I am swimming against the current. I will never get there. So I have to let go of whatever previous idea I had about it and…” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/isabel-allende-266_about_i-can-t-control-life-for-my-grandchildre_1664392.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/isabel-allende-266_about_i-can-t-control-life-for-my-grandchildre_1664392.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/isabel-allende-266_about_i-can-t-control-life-for-my-grandchildre_1664392.jpg) > “I can't control life for my grandchildren, so how could I control a story? Sometimes I try to force something, and after working and working on that chapter, I realise that I am swimming against the current. I will never get there. So I have to let go of whatever previous idea I had about it and let the characters decide.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to control narratives for future generations can be futile; letting characters guide the story yields authenticity. **In simple terms:** Control is limited; let the story flow naturally. Key Takeaway Release control, trust the creative process. Themes control creativity generational legacy Mood introspective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - parenting - legacy projects - creative blocks Key Concepts storytelling authenticity letting go Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance guidance with freedom in storytelling? - What does letting go teach you about authorship? A Different Perspective Control can lead to stagnation; unpredictability may cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/control/) [Grandchildren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grandchildren/) [Idea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idea/) [Let go](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/let-go/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [Being a mother and grandmother is the best of the best in my life. My grandchildren multiply the joy my daughters bring me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-stoddard/being-a-mother-and-grandmother-is-the-best-of-the-best-in-my-life-my/) [Alexandra Stoddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-stoddard/) > [I was just like, 'Oh, you do kind of have to create the character yourself. You have to create non-binary characters. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-r-fightmaster/i-was-just-like-oh-you-do-kind-of-have-to-create-the-character/) [E. R. Fightmaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-r-fightmaster/) > [There's this sense of excitement because you invent and control the characters. You decide whether they live or die. I find this type of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-sheldon/there-s-this-sense-of-excitement-because-you-invent-and-control-the/) [Sidney Sheldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-sheldon/) > [I begin early in the morning and edit everything I wrote the previous day. I write until mid-afternoon. My goal is to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-henley/i-begin-early-in-the-morning-and-edit-everything-i-wrote-the-previous/) [Virginia Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-henley/) > [“The most exciting part of writing a novel is when the characters take control of the story”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandt-legg/the-most-exciting-part-of-writing-a-novel-is-when-the-characters-take/) [Brandt Legg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandt-legg/) > [Reporters may believe they control the story, but the story always controls the reporters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/reporters-may-believe-they-control-the-story-but-the-story-always/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [I am one of those authors who believes (perhaps foolishly) that she is in complete control of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-chance/i-am-one-of-those-authors-who-believes-perhaps-foolishly-that-she-is/) [Megan Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-chance/) > [A visual always brings a first impression. But if there's going to be a first impression, I might as well use it to control…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mf-doom/a-visual-always-brings-a-first-impression-but-if-there-s-going-to-be/) [MF Doom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mf-doom/) > [I don't really control the story. I just let it go where it wants to go. I have no idea what's going to happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-don-t-really-control-the-story-i-just-let-it-go-where-it-wants-to/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [I went to film school to make films just because you're in control of the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-delpy/i-went-to-film-school-to-make-films-just-because-you-re-in-control-of/) [Julie Delpy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-delpy/) > [“You couldn’t control how your story started, but you can write a few good pages in there”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mustafa-saifuddin/you-couldn-t-control-how-your-story-started-but-you-can-write-a-few/) [Mustafa Saifuddin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mustafa-saifuddin/) > [I do believe, especially with the character of Batman, that the tone and the mood of the book is 80% of the job right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-finch/i-do-believe-especially-with-the-character-of-batman-that-the-tone/) [David Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-finch/) > [I have no control over my writing. I have lots of good intentions, but no control. There's a story that wants to be told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-have-no-control-over-my-writing-i-have-lots-of-good-intentions-but/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [In the books I have written, I have created in my mind a universe. My kids say I have a village in my head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-the-books-i-have-written-i-have-created-in-my-mind-a-universe-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Theater criticism should be visceral, at least on some level, an articulation of that fierceness and passion. I usually do a fair amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-brantley/theater-criticism-should-be-visceral-at-least-on-some-level-an/) [Ben Brantley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-brantley/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. 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Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) Browse all 26,122 About quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I can't control life for my grandchildren, so how could I control a story? Sometimes I try to force something, and after working and working on that chapter, I realise that I am swimming against the current. I will never get there. 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