--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A story should have a beginning, a middle…" description: "\"A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.\" — Jean-Luc Godard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg" --- # A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but… ![“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” quote by Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg) > “A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A story can follow the classic three‑act structure but may rearrange them for artistic effect. **In simple terms:** Stories need a beginning, middle, end, but order can vary. Key Takeaway Experiment with narrative order to surprise audiences. Themes storytelling structure creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type artistic educational When to use this quote - screenwriting - film direction - novel writing - theatre - educational workshops Key Concepts narrative theory film experimental art Questions to Reflect On - How does changing order affect emotional impact? - When is a traditional structure preferable? A Different Perspective Non‑linear order may confuse audiences if not handled skillfully. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) ## Related quotes > [To just tell a story from beginning, middle and end doesn't motivate me that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mann/to-just-tell-a-story-from-beginning-middle-and-end-doesn-t-motivate/) [Michael Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mann/) > [Some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle and end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/some-stories-don-t-have-a-clear-beginning-middle-and-end/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [“Every story has a beginning and an end. What lies between those two points is the journey.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-c-richter/every-story-has-a-beginning-and-an-end-what-lies-between-those-two/) R.C. Richter > [The story, from beginning to end, I found again in a heart of a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/the-story-from-beginning-to-end-i-found-again-in-a-heart-of-a-friend/) [Henry Wadsworth Longfellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-wadsworth-longfellow/) > [“Shall I tell you a story? A new and terrible one? A ghost story?" The voice, a faint echo in the cave, belongs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/shall-i-tell-you-a-story-a-new-and-terrible-one-a-ghost-story-the/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? It's about a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end-of-course-but-the-question/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [You can read a dozen different textbooks or how-to manuals that will tell you the basic rules of what makes a story - a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wein/you-can-read-a-dozen-different-textbooks-or-how-to-manuals-that-will/) [Len Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wein/) > [I think our goal and intention is to make sure that, when you watch each episode, you don't have to make that choice, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kurtzman/i-think-our-goal-and-intention-is-to-make-sure-that-when-you-watch/) [Alex Kurtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kurtzman/) > [A story has no beginning or end: arbitrarily one chooses that moment of experience from which to look back or from which to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-greene/a-story-has-no-beginning-or-end-arbitrarily-one-chooses-that-moment/) [Graham Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-greene/) > [“How are you going do your writings? How can the others understand you through words describing places, sensations, thoughts, feelings, hope, love, separations on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-vanderbuilt/how-are-you-going-do-your-writings-how-can-the-others-understand-you/) [Frederick Vanderbuilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-vanderbuilt/) > [It would seem that the Watergate story from beginning to end could be used as a primer on the American political system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/it-would-seem-that-the-watergate-story-from-beginning-to-end-could-be/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [“Almost everyone I’ve ever met likes to hear a story from the beginning. It’s a curious prejudice, when you think about it. In life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-tobolowsky/almost-everyone-i-ve-ever-met-likes-to-hear-a-story-from-the/) [Stephen Tobolowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-tobolowsky/) > [If I can tell you the story from beginning to end in five minutes, I'm ready to start writing. Then it's a constant spreading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-price/if-i-can-tell-you-the-story-from-beginning-to-end-in-five-minutes-i-m/) [Richard Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-price/) > [“The Hunter: “Your future refuses to behave.” Coo-yôn yanked off the jacket he’d sourced for me. Up was down. Then he stepped back. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/the-hunter-your-future-refuses-to-behave-coo-y-n-yanked-off-the/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [Every actor chooses their story at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shia-labeouf/every-actor-chooses-their-story-at-the-beginning/) [Shia LaBeouf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shia-labeouf/) ## More by Jean-Luc Godard > [Art is not a reflection of reality, it is the reality of a reflection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/art-is-not-a-reflection-of-reality-it-is-the-reality-of-a-reflection/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I think I'm innocently representing a certain belief in motion pictures, and, well OK.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-think-i-m-innocently-representing-a-certain-belief-in-motion/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [Film is truth 24 times a second, and every cut is a lie,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/film-is-truth-24-times-a-second-and-every-cut-is-a-lie/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [Why all these signs around us that make me doubt language and submerge me in meanings, drowning reality instead of extracting it from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/why-all-these-signs-around-us-that-make-me-doubt-language-and/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [There is no such thing as intellectual property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/there-is-no-such-thing-as-intellectual-property/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“Communism existed once, during two 45 minute half-times, when Honved, from Budapest, won over England by 6-3. The English played individually, and the Hungarians, collectively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/communism-existed-once-during-two-45-minute-half-times-when-honved/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [Language is the house that man lives in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/language-is-the-house-that-man-lives-in/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I don't think you should feel about a film. You should feel about a woman, not a movie. You can't kiss a movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-don-t-think-you-should-feel-about-a-film-you-should-feel-about-a/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [All you need for a movie is a gun and a girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/all-you-need-for-a-movie-is-a-gun-and-a-girl/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I'm satisfied to have an ordinary success and an ordinary life and an ordinary income. Later, I don't know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-m-satisfied-to-have-an-ordinary-success-and-an-ordinary-life-and-an/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [We are all older and more tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/we-are-all-older-and-more-tired/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [I've always said that to make movies, to make images and sound, is possible by one way or another. And it has not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/i-ve-always-said-that-to-make-movies-to-make-images-and-sound-is/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [What is your greatest ambition in life?' 'To become immortal... and then die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/what-is-your-greatest-ambition-in-life-to-become-immortal-and-then-die/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [“All you need for a movie is a gun and a cat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/all-you-need-for-a-movie-is-a-gun-and-a-cat/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) > [There is a problem in pretending I can still control my destiny in the commercial market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/there-is-a-problem-in-pretending-i-can-still-control-my-destiny-in/) [Jean-Luc Godard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) [Explore all 183 Jean-Luc Godard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) Manae Poet Of Carisis > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) Jacklyn H Lucas [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jean-Luc Godard" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end-but-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginning" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end-but-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07a/jean-luc-godard-2128_beginning_a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle_2775770.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” — Jean-Luc Godard", "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": "Jean-Luc Godard", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-luc-godard/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A story should have a beginning,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end-but-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-luc-godard/a-story-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end-but-not/#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 } } ] } ```