--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a…" description: "\"I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a gag writer, and that comes from being in the newspaper comic strip world for a while in college. What I do is I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/jeff-kinney-4064_being_i-m-not-good-at-narrative-i-m-really-a-g_2471459.jpg" --- # I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a gag writer, and… ![“I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a gag writer, and that comes from being in the newspaper comic strip world for a while in college. What I do is I just write tons of jokes, then I sort them out in terms of quality and then pick the best of the jokes and then try to form them into a plot. If I…” quote by Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/jeff-kinney-4064_being_i-m-not-good-at-narrative-i-m-really-a-g_2471459.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/jeff-kinney-4064_being_i-m-not-good-at-narrative-i-m-really-a-g_2471459.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6b2/jeff-kinney-4064_being_i-m-not-good-at-narrative-i-m-really-a-g_2471459.jpg) > “I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a gag writer, and that comes from being in the newspaper comic strip world for a while in college. What I do is I just write tons of jokes, then I sort them out in terms of quality and then pick the best of the jokes and then try to form them into a plot. If I get a good theme going, I feel lucky.” [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He treats joke writing like a craft, sorting humor by quality before shaping a story. **In simple terms:** He writes many jokes, picks the best, then builds a plot. Key Takeaway Use iterative refinement: generate, filter, then structure. Themes creativity writing humor Mood reflective playful Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - stand‑up comedy - comic strip development - novel writing - content creation Key Concepts comedy writing story structure creative process Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide which jokes fit a narrative? - What role does humor play in storytelling? A Different Perspective Too many jokes can dilute focus; quality over quantity matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Comic strip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic-strip/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Gag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gag/) [Gag Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gag-writer-765029/) [Get](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/get/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [I feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-feel/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narrative Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative-really-765030/) [Newspaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspaper/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Pick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pick/) [Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot/) [Quality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quality/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Sort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sort/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Strip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strip/) [Terms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terms/) [Them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/them/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Then](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/then/) [Tons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tons/) [Try](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try/) [While](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/while/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The key to any good comic strip or television sitcom is to reset the board at the end of the episode because people like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/the-key-to-any-good-comic-strip-or-television-sitcom-is-to-reset-the/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I started out with three creative jobs - painter, janitor and gag writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hanna/i-started-out-with-three-creative-jobs-painter-janitor-and-gag-writer/) [William Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hanna/) > [I'm not the guy to ask about politics. I'm a gag writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/i-m-not-the-guy-to-ask-about-politics-i-m-a-gag-writer/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [One of the things you have to be able to do, as a comic strip artist, is to draw things repeatedly from a variety…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/one-of-the-things-you-have-to-be-able-to-do-as-a-comic-strip-artist/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [I've always felt that the comic strip medium stands equally beside all the other story telling mediums: novels, movies, stage plays, opera, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/i-ve-always-felt-that-the-comic-strip-medium-stands-equally-beside/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [Comic strip is almost like music on a page that you perform in your mind. It's not just pictures. There's a particular rhythm and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/comic-strip-is-almost-like-music-on-a-page-that-you-perform-in-your/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Writing this book feels like a completely different activity from writing my comic strip because it's about real life. I feel like I'm using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/writing-this-book-feels-like-a-completely-different-activity-from/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [To get syndicated as a comic strip artist is as likely as winning the lottery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/to-get-syndicated-as-a-comic-strip-artist-is-as-likely-as-winning-the/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [A stand-up comedian faces the audiences and gets their immediate feedback. I hide behind the comic strip, and unless people write to me, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/a-stand-up-comedian-faces-the-audiences-and-gets-their-immediate-2/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [Comic-strip artists do not make good husbands, and God knows they do not make good comic strips.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-herold/comic-strip-artists-do-not-make-good-husbands-and-god-knows-they-do/) [Don Herold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-herold/) > [I never thought Cathy would get married in the comic strip. And I also thought I would never get married in real life. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/i-never-thought-cathy-would-get-married-in-the-comic-strip-and-i-also-2/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [I wasn't intending to create a comic strip to begin with. So I think I wasn't aware that when the strip started, there had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy-guisewite/i-wasn-t-intending-to-create-a-comic-strip-to-begin-with-so-i-think-i/) [Cathy Guisewite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy-guisewite/) > [It seems so absurd to get really mad with a cartoonist over a comic strip. It's sort of like getting in a fight with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/it-seems-so-absurd-to-get-really-mad-with-a-cartoonist-over-a-comic/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [Back in the olden days when we were rubbing sticks together, everybody wanted to have a comic strip, to live in Westport Connecticut, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-adams/back-in-the-olden-days-when-we-were-rubbing-sticks-together-everybody/) [Neal Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-adams/) > [A comic strip has a rhythm and a pattern, and you got to get in and out quick. So you set up a joke,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/a-comic-strip-has-a-rhythm-and-a-pattern-and-you-got-to-get-in-and/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) ## More by Jeff Kinney > [Kids can sniff out when they are being preached to, and they don't like it. So while my books aren't amoral, they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/kids-can-sniff-out-when-they-are-being-preached-to-and-they-don-t/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [hope your birthday is hot hot hot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/hope-your-birthday-is-hot-hot-hot/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [In middle school, I started to draw, and my pencil sketches were huge. They were these 4ft by 3ft drawings, and I got a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/in-middle-school-i-started-to-draw-and-my-pencil-sketches-were-huge/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [Well, the problem is, it's not easy for me to think of ways to improve myself, because I'm pretty much one of the best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/well-the-problem-is-it-s-not-easy-for-me-to-think-of-ways-to-improve/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [“There was this book Dad used to read to me every night called "The Giving Tree." It was a really good book, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/there-was-this-book-dad-used-to-read-to-me-every-night-called-the/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I work in the house next to where I live. We bought a smaller house that I use as my office and the place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-work-in-the-house-next-to-where-i-live-we-bought-a-smaller-house/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [Many of Judy Blume's books - which I devoured when I was growing up and where I found characters that were believable because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/many-of-judy-blume-s-books-which-i-devoured-when-i-was-growing-up-and/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [The only reason I get out of bed at all on weekends is because eventually I can't stand the taste of my own breath…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/the-only-reason-i-get-out-of-bed-at-all-on-weekends-is-because/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I had a very normal, very typical American childhood. My father worked for the government at the Pentagon and my mother was an educator,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-had-a-very-normal-very-typical-american-childhood-my-father-worked/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I've never run into a person who yearns for their middle school days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-ve-never-run-into-a-person-who-yearns-for-their-middle-school-days/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I think goodreads is the best place to look for books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-think-goodreads-is-the-best-place-to-look-for-books/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I don't know if this makes me a bad person or whatever, but it's hard for me to get interested in other people's vacations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-don-t-know-if-this-makes-me-a-bad-person-or-whatever-but-it-s-hard/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [I can tell you that the book 'The Ugly Truth' is about puberty and all the awfulness that comes with that time in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-can-tell-you-that-the-book-the-ugly-truth-is-about-puberty-and-all/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [When I was on the swim team as a kid, I used to hide out from my coach by going into the bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/when-i-was-on-the-swim-team-as-a-kid-i-used-to-hide-out-from-my-coach/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [Holly is the fourth-prettiest girl in the class, but the top 3 all have boyfriends. So a lot of guys like me are doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/holly-is-the-fourth-prettiest-girl-in-the-class-but-the-top-3-all/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) [Explore all 112 Jeff Kinney quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) ## More Being quotes > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/) [Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [I love to fish. I love the peacefulness of being around the water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evonne-goolagong-cawley/i-love-to-fish-i-love-the-peacefulness-of-being-around-the-water/) [Evonne Goolagong Cawley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evonne-goolagong-cawley/) > [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/) [James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [Being a new mother is a blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phaedra-parks/being-a-new-mother-is-a-blessing/) [Phaedra Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phaedra-parks/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [We should not live in fear, we should all enjoy being able to express our views freely and openly, challenge each other on issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tan-cheng-bock/we-should-not-live-in-fear-we-should-all-enjoy-being-able-to-express/) [Tan Cheng Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tan-cheng-bock/) [Browse all 18,139 Being quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not good at narrative; I'm really a gag writer, and that comes from being in the newspaper comic strip world for a while in college. 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