--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every sentence must do one of two…" description: "\"Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action.\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/kurt-vonnegut-41_action_every-sentence-must-do-one-of-two-things_2929442.jpg" --- # Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character… ![“Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/kurt-vonnegut-41_action_every-sentence-must-do-one-of-two-things_2929442.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/kurt-vonnegut-41_action_every-sentence-must-do-one-of-two-things_2929442.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c3/kurt-vonnegut-41_action_every-sentence-must-do-one-of-two-things_2929442.jpg) > “Every sentence must do one of two things-reveal character or advance the action.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Every line must either reveal character or move the plot forward. **In simple terms:** Sentences must serve purpose. Key Takeaway Write purposeful prose. Themes writing craft character plot structure Mood pragmatic instructive Type advice technical When to use this quote - scriptwriting - novel drafting - editing sessions Key Concepts character development plot progression narrative efficiency Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize character or plot? - How to balance both effectively? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one can neglect the other. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [Advance Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advance-action-4131873/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Advance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-advance-4309565/) [Reveal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reveal/) [Reveal Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reveal-character-1125329/) [Sentences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sentences/) [Things Reveal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-reveal-1519589/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Two things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two-things/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Don't put anything into a story that does not reveal character or advance the action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/don-t-put-anything-into-a-story-that-does-not-reveal-character-or/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“1. Use the time of a total stranger in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted. 2.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/1-use-the-time-of-a-total-stranger-in-such-a-way-that-he-or-she-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [May the days be aimless. Do not advance action according to a plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/may-the-days-be-aimless-do-not-advance-action-according-to-a-plan/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Don't think too hard. Just be present, and things will reveal themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yorgos-lanthimos/don-t-think-too-hard-just-be-present-and-things-will-reveal-themselves/) [Yorgos Lanthimos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yorgos-lanthimos/) > [“You reveal your character by what you do with what you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ge-paulus/you-reveal-your-character-by-what-you-do-with-what-you-have/) [GE Paulus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ge-paulus/) > [“EYou reveal your character by what you do with what you have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ge-paulus/eyou-reveal-your-character-by-what-you-do-with-what-you-have/) [GE Paulus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ge-paulus/) > [The best way to reveal a character is to get them to open their mouths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-doyle/the-best-way-to-reveal-a-character-is-to-get-them-to-open-their-mouths/) [Roddy Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-doyle/) > [One of the ways that you reveal character is by getting a character into a situation and seeing what they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bass/one-of-the-ways-that-you-reveal-character-is-by-getting-a-character/) [Ben Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bass/) > [“But just as the world is opening up, it's closing too, and things reveal their previously unimagined shapes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/but-just-as-the-world-is-opening-up-it-s-closing-too-and-things/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [Either you capture the mystery of things or you reveal the mystery. Everything else is just information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raghu-rai/either-you-capture-the-mystery-of-things-or-you-reveal-the-mystery/) [Raghu Rai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raghu-rai/) > [Few things reveal more about political leaders and their systems than the manner of their downfall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/few-things-reveal-more-about-political-leaders-and-their-systems-than/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [Sometimes things reveal themselves to you a little bit. I think it was Joan Didion that said, "We write to find out what we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-finn/sometimes-things-reveal-themselves-to-you-a-little-bit-i-think-it-was/) [Craig Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-finn/) > [Only two things can reveal life's great secrets: suffering and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/only-two-things-can-reveal-life-s-great-secrets-suffering-and-love/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [God tests and proves us by the common occurrences of life. It is the little things which reveal the chapters of the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/god-tests-and-proves-us-by-the-common-occurrences-of-life-it-is-the/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [In reality things reveal nothing to us. It is people who, by looking into at things, discover a way of penetrating the Soul of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/in-reality-things-reveal-nothing-to-us-it-is-people-who-by-looking/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. 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