---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There’s no story that’s the start of…"
description: "\"There’s no story that’s the start of itself.\" — Jeanette Winterson"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png"
---

#  There’s no story that’s the start of itself.

![“There’s no story that’s the start of itself.” quote by Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png)

> “There’s no story that’s the start of itself.”

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Stories cannot originate in isolation; they always arise from prior context or influence.

**In simple terms:** Stories need a starting point.

Key Takeaway

Recognize influences behind narratives.

Themes

literature origin interconnectedness

Mood

analytical thoughtful

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

- creative writing
- historical analysis
- media criticism
- personal storytelling

Key Concepts

Narrative theory causality

Questions to Reflect On

- What influences shape your favorite story?
- Can a story truly be original?

A Different Perspective

Some narratives may feel self‑contained yet still rely on unseen precedents.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-start-499839/)

## Related quotes

> [“ You started the story. Once you start a story, you have to make an end for it. That’s the rule. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/you-started-the-story-once-you-start-a-story-you-have-to-make-an-end/)

[Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/)

> [“Every story is the start of something big...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-grant/every-story-is-the-start-of-something-big/)

[Ernest Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-grant/)

> [As far as I am concerned, the first episode of Buffy was the beginning of my career. It was the first time I told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/as-far-as-i-am-concerned-the-first-episode-of-buffy-was-the-beginning/)

[Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/)

> [Work extra hard on the beginning of your story, so it snares reader's instantly. And know how you're going to end your story before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-lowery-nixon/work-extra-hard-on-the-beginning-of-your-story-so-it-snares-reader-s/)

[Joan Lowery Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-lowery-nixon/)

> [If you're gonna start a story, you start from the beginning, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/if-you-re-gonna-start-a-story-you-start-from-the-beginning-right/)

[Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/)

> [“My first draft is the skeleton of the story. I have to go back over it from start to finish repeatedly, adding all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alisha-ashton/my-first-draft-is-the-skeleton-of-the-story-i-have-to-go-back-over-it/)

[Alisha Ashton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alisha-ashton/)

> [“At some point we must stop editing everyone else' story and start writing our own.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-e-carson/at-some-point-we-must-stop-editing-everyone-else-story-and-start/)

[John E. Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-e-carson/)

> [“If you don't like your Life, Your Story, Then Start a New Chapter... Write a Different ending for your Life, Starting Right Now!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-marcus-coates/if-you-don-t-like-your-life-your-story-then-start-a-new-chapter-write/)

[Jeremy Marcus Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-marcus-coates/)

> [The last story you should write is the most important story. You should start with a story that is just an amusing, entertaining, fun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/the-last-story-you-should-write-is-the-most-important-story-you/)

[Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/)

> [You don't start at the top if you want to find the story. You start in the middle, because it's the people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/you-don-t-start-at-the-top-if-you-want-to-find-the-story-you-start-in/)

[Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/)

> [Your story is where you take it to, not where you start.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-robbins/your-story-is-where-you-take-it-to-not-where-you-start/)

[Tony Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-robbins/)

> [“The story starts in summer, of course. When else would a Michigan story start?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-carroll/the-story-starts-in-summer-of-course-when-else-would-a-michigan-story/)

[Nora Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-carroll/)

> [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [On 'Supernatural,' you go to a location and another location, and every week they do amazing things up there. You have to kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-edlund/on-supernatural-you-go-to-a-location-and-another-location-and-every/)

[Ben Edlund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-edlund/)

> [I prefer working, period. I think that I like doing film more just because when you get a script, you have the story from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/addison-timlin/i-prefer-working-period-i-think-that-i-like-doing-film-more-just/)

[Addison Timlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/addison-timlin/)

## More by Jeanette Winterson

> [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [I have found that I am not a space where people want to live, at least not without decorating first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-have-found-that-i-am-not-a-space-where-people-want-to-live-at-least/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“Yes. Just pass me my leg will you? It's on top of the wardrobe where he threw it, and I think my right arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/yes-just-pass-me-my-leg-will-you-it-s-on-top-of-the-wardrobe-where-he/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [Every second the Universe divides into possibilities and most of those possibilities never happen. It is not a uni-verse -- there is more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/every-second-the-universe-divides-into-possibilities-and-most-of/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [You are a pool of clear water where the light plays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-are-a-pool-of-clear-water-where-the-light-plays/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“It's the cliches that cause the trouble. A precise emotion seeks a precise expression. If what I feel is not precise than how should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-s-the-cliches-that-cause-the-trouble-a-precise-emotion-seeks-a/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [What would it have meant to be happy? What would it have meant if things had been bright, clear, good between us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-would-it-have-meant-to-be-happy-what-would-it-have-meant-if/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“Mrs Ratlow was a widow, and she was head of English, but she still did all the cooking and cleaning for her two sons,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/mrs-ratlow-was-a-widow-and-she-was-head-of-english-but-she-still-did/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“I shall have nowt to talk to now the baby is boiled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/i-shall-have-nowt-to-talk-to-now-the-baby-is-boiled/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“What art does is to coax us away from the mechanical and towards the miraculous. The so-called uselessness of art is a clue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/what-art-does-is-to-coax-us-away-from-the-mechanical-and-towards-the/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [Happy Valentines Day to those who have found love, in whatever shape or form, and to those who are still hunting, don’t give up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/happy-valentines-day-to-those-who-have-found-love-in-whatever-shape/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“It took me a long time to realise that there are two kinds of writing: the one you write and the one that writes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-realise-that-there-are-two-kinds-of-writing/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [A curse on this game. How can you stick at a game when the rules keep on changing? I shall call myself Alice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/a-curse-on-this-game-how-can-you-stick-at-a-game-when-the-rules-keep/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

> [“He turned away and I turned to him in vivid heat to look on the sun-dried world. The groves and towers were gone. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/he-turned-away-and-i-turned-to-him-in-vivid-heat-to-look-on-the-sun/)

[Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

[Explore all 1,016 Jeanette Winterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/)

## More Start quotes

> [I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-osimhen/i-wanted-to-start-playing-as-soon-as-i-turned-18/)

[Victor Osimhen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-osimhen/)

> [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I can be taken away from myself quite easily, I kind of start betraying myself and compromising my integrity, to keep someone else happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-taken-away-from-myself-quite-easily-i-kind-of-start/)

[Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/)

> [“If you start and persist you will succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/if-you-start-and-persist-you-will-succeed/)

[Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/)

> [I get pretty focused when I start working on something. And I drink a lot of water, way more than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-woodman/i-get-pretty-focused-when-i-start-working-on-something-and-i-drink-a/)

[Nick Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-woodman/)

> [My life honestly didn't start until I got married and had kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-matheson/my-life-honestly-didn-t-start-until-i-got-married-and-had-kids/)

[Tim Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-matheson/)

> [I decided to start my channel because my followers on Instagram told me that they wanted to learn how I did the looks I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-mua/i-decided-to-start-my-channel-because-my-followers-on-instagram-told/)

[Manny MUA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-mua/)

> [If you want to work on getting better, you need to start by knowing where you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-want-to-work-on-getting-better-you-need-to-start-by-knowing/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Like everybody, you get nights where you feel completely depressed. You start thinking about all the bad things and think about the glass half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/like-everybody-you-get-nights-where-you-feel-completely-depressed-you/)

[Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/)

> [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/)

[Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/)

> [Don't start something if you can't back it up with the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-hayward/don-t-start-something-if-you-can-t-back-it-up-with-the-truth/)

[Courtney Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-hayward/)

> [If a defender has the ball and turns, we start pressing the goalkeeper before he passes back because if they make a mistake, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demba-ba/if-a-defender-has-the-ball-and-turns-we-start-pressing-the-goalkeeper/)

[Demba Ba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demba-ba/)

> [You get those hunger pains. 'I am so hungry. We don't have any food. What are we going to eat?' Your stomach hurts. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mclemore/you-get-those-hunger-pains-i-am-so-hungry-we-don-t-have-any-food-what/)

[Ben McLemore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mclemore/)

> [When we stop running up huge budget deficits and start acting responsibly in Washington, we will provide small-business owners with the certainty they need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-graves/when-we-stop-running-up-huge-budget-deficits-and-start-acting/)

[Sam Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-graves/)

> [I have a lot of success and make a good living, but after while, you start going 'Why? Why are you doing all this?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyra-banks/i-have-a-lot-of-success-and-make-a-good-living-but-after-while-you/)

[Tyra Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyra-banks/)

[Browse all 6,705 Start quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There’s no story that’s the start of itself.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jeanette Winterson"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-itself/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Start"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-itself/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0fb/jeanette-winterson-166_start_there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-its_2000647.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There’s no story that’s the start of itself.” — Jeanette Winterson",
                "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": "Jeanette Winterson",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There’s no story that’s the start...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-itself/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/there-s-no-story-that-s-the-start-of-itself/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
