--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From all we have said about plotting in…" description: "\"“From all we have said about plotting in general it should be evident that even in those modern plots in which events happen by laws not immediately vi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg" --- # From all we have said about plotting in general it should… ![“From all we have said about plotting in general it should be evident that even in those modern plots in which events happen by laws not immediately visible, as when, for instance, the tattooed man in the circus reveals in the course of a whimsical conversation that he has on his chest a tattoo of…” quote by John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg) > ““From all we have said about plotting in general it should be evident that even in those modern plots in which events happen by laws not immediately visible, as when, for instance, the tattooed man in the circus reveals in the course of a whimsical conversation that he has on his chest a tattoo of the little girl now looking at him, a child he has never before seen, or as when, in Isak Dinesen, a decorous old nun turns abruptly into a monkey--there must be some rational or poetically persuasive basis.”” [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even hidden plot mechanisms need a logical or poetic justification to be believable. **In simple terms:** Invisible plot forces must have a convincing basis. Key Takeaway Provide clear, underlying reasons for plot twists. Themes plotting logic poetry narrative structure Mood analytical thoughtful critical Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - mystery writing - character development - scene construction Key Concepts causality suspension of disbelief Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance subtlety and clarity? - When is a hidden cause acceptable? A Different Perspective Over‑explaining can reduce mystery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Isak Dinesen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/isak-dinesen-223865/) [Little girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) [Modern Plots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-plots-5873644/) [Plots](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plots/) [Plotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plotting/) [Poetically Persuasive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetically-persuasive-5873645/) [Said Plotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said-plotting-5873643/) ## Related quotes > [“All plots tend to move deathward. This is the nature of plots. Political plots, terrorist plots, lovers’ plots, narrative plots, plots that are part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/all-plots-tend-to-move-deathward-this-is-the-nature-of-plots-2/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“Isak Dinesen said that life is no more than a process for turning healthy young puppies into mangy old dogs and man but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-vine/isak-dinesen-said-that-life-is-no-more-than-a-process-for-turning/) [Barbara Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-vine/) > [Isak Dinesen said that she wrote a little every day, without hope and without despair. I like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/isak-dinesen-said-that-she-wrote-a-little-every-day-without-hope-and/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I must confess I love female writers: Jane Austen, Isak Dinesen, Colette, Willa Cather, Dawn Powell, Joan Didion. I grew up on the Bronte…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/i-must-confess-i-love-female-writers-jane-austen-isak-dinesen-colette/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [“By the time I got to high school, I had learned to be more cautious about revealing my dreams. I was reading—and therefore writing—adventure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-a-obreht/by-the-time-i-got-to-high-school-i-had-learned-to-be-more-cautious/) [Téa Obreht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-a-obreht/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“What was it Isak Dinesen had said about salt as a cure? Tears, sweat, or the sea. She could use a cure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-post/what-was-it-isak-dinesen-had-said-about-salt-as-a-cure-tears-sweat-or/) [Nina Post](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-post/) > [“How dare he call me while I was plotting his murder?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alycia-linwood/how-dare-he-call-me-while-i-was-plotting-his-murder/) [Alycia Linwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alycia-linwood/) > [My forte is the plotting. You sit down, and you work out a plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/my-forte-is-the-plotting-you-sit-down-and-you-work-out-a-plot/) [Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/) > [When I decided to take writing seriously, I did a lot of reading and analyzing of the books I liked, and came up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephen/when-i-decided-to-take-writing-seriously-i-did-a-lot-of-reading-and/) [George Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephen/) > [“Introduction of deus ex machina is a tell-tale sign of sloppy plotting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mehalek/introduction-of-deus-ex-machina-is-a-tell-tale-sign-of-sloppy-plotting/) [Mike Mehalek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mehalek/) > [Gettting to know your characters is so much more important than plotting. Working out every detail of your story in advance, especially when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/gettting-to-know-your-characters-is-so-much-more-important-than/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Tim Conway was a little different from the rest. He was always in the back of the studio building something with the prop man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/tim-conway-was-a-little-different-from-the-rest-he-was-always-in-the/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [“When you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-f-chandler/when-you-fear-nothing-you-have-nothing-to-fear/) [S.F. Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-f-chandler/) > [As an engineer I'm constantly spotting problems and plotting how to solve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dyson/as-an-engineer-i-m-constantly-spotting-problems-and-plotting-how-to/) [James Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dyson/) ## More by John Gardner > [“All to often, on the long road up, young leaders become servants of what is rather than shapers of what might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-to-often-on-the-long-road-up-young-leaders-become-servants-of/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [When I was a child I truly loved: Unthinking love as calm and deep As the North Sea. But I have lived, And now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/when-i-was-a-child-i-truly-loved-unthinking-love-as-calm-and-deep-as/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“They only think they think. 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James may go too far, but his point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-any-long-fiction-henry-james-remarked-use-of-the-first-person/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [Nothing can be more limiting to the imagination than only writing about what you know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/nothing-can-be-more-limiting-to-the-imagination-than-only-writing/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [A nation that values bad philosophy above good plumbing will have neither good philosophy nor good plumbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/a-nation-that-values-bad-philosophy-above-good-plumbing-will-have/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The citizen can bring our political and governmental institutions back to life, make them responsive and accountable, and keep them honest. No one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/the-citizen-can-bring-our-political-and-governmental-institutions/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [Talking, talking. Spinning a web of words, pale walls of dreams, between myself and all I see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/talking-talking-spinning-a-web-of-words-pale-walls-of-dreams-between/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“In writing short stories—as in writing novels—take one thing at a time. (For some writers, this advice I'm giving may apply best to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-writing-short-stories-as-in-writing-novels-take-one-thing-at-a/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [All order, I've come to understand, is theoretical, unreal, a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities, the self…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/all-order-i-ve-come-to-understand-is-theoretical-unreal-a-harmless/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) [Explore all 138 John Gardner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) ## More Little girl quotes > [If I had to speak in front of a Korean audience, I would be hard pressed to sound other than a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/an-na/if-i-had-to-speak-in-front-of-a-korean-audience-i-would-be-hard/) [An Na](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/an-na/) > [Gianna Marie Turner is a beatiful name for a precious little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/gianna-marie-turner-is-a-beatiful-name-for-a-precious-little-girl/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [But, outside of being a sweet little girl, she was awfully dumb and capable of doing horrible things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/but-outside-of-being-a-sweet-little-girl-she-was-awfully-dumb-and/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [Shhh.” He put a finger to her lips. “Hear me out. I cannot deny that I would've liked to have made babies with you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/shhh-he-put-a-finger-to-her-lips-hear-me-out-i-cannot-deny-that-i/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [When I was a little girl - well, like, a teenager - I wanted to be Sam Jackson. I always wanted to be men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/when-i-was-a-little-girl-well-like-a-teenager-i-wanted-to-be-sam/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [“Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/woe-to-you-my-princess-when-i-come-i-will-kiss-you-quite-red-and-feed/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“I’ve always seen this in you, ever since you were a little girl — this hunger to love other people into their highest selves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-elisabeth/i-ve-always-seen-this-in-you-ever-since-you-were-a-little-girl-this/) [Jennifer Elisabeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-elisabeth/) > [“Where did you hear that song?" I ask her without sitting up. "From the HC," she says, blushing. "A little girl sang it. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierce-brown/where-did-you-hear-that-song-i-ask-her-without-sitting-up-from-the-hc/) [Pierce Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierce-brown/) > [Clothing was something I always wanted to do. I've been pulling tear sheets from magazines since I was a little girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-richie/clothing-was-something-i-always-wanted-to-do-i-ve-been-pulling-tear/) [Nicole Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-richie/) > [“The little girl knew if she bit any member of her family, they would get rabies too, and she died without ever having been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/the-little-girl-knew-if-she-bit-any-member-of-her-family-they-would/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [“It was the equivalent of asking a little girl not to scream the first time she was personally introduced to Hannah Montana.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-a-saare/it-was-the-equivalent-of-asking-a-little-girl-not-to-scream-the-first/) [J.A. Saare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-a-saare/) > [How did you escape? (Syd) I fought my way out in a manner that would have made Rambo proud. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/we-pretend-that-we-know-our-children-because-it-s-easier-than/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Browse all 1,597 Little girl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-girl/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“From all we have said about plotting in general it should be evident that even in those modern plots in which events happen by laws not immediately visible, as when, for instance, the tattooed man in the circus reveals in the course of a whimsical conversation that he has on his chest a tattoo of the little girl now looking at him, a child he has never before seen, or as when, in Isak Dinesen, a decorous old nun turns abruptly into a monkey--there must be some rational or poetically persuasive basis.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Gardner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in-general-it-should-be-evident/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Little girl" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in-general-it-should-be-evident/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/john-gardner-3092_little-girl_from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in_2376917.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From all we have said about plotting in general it should be evident that even in those modern plots in…” — John Gardner", "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": "John Gardner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“From all we have said about...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in-general-it-should-be-evident/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/from-all-we-have-said-about-plotting-in-general-it-should-be-evident/#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 } } ] } ```