Character Quote by Lajos Egri

If you're gonna start a story, you start from the beginning, right?

— Luke Evans

Don't mistake a good setup for a satisfying conclusion - many beginning writers end their stories when the real story is just ready to…

— Stanley Schmidt

Even the most complicated stories start with a very simple premise.

— Chris Van Allsburg

Do not start a story unless you have an ending in mind. You can change the story's ending if you wish, but you should…

— Gene Wolfe

I begin by writing paragraphs that don’t have an immediate relation to a plot. The sound of the story comes first.

— Grace Paley

I'm not an outliner. I come up with a premise and then take it from there.

— Liane Moriarty

Usually I work out the plot before I start. This time I thought: Writers always talk about not knowing where a book is going…

— Daniel Kehlmann

I never start with the story first, which is maybe obvious, because the narrative line of my films is really not that strong or…

— Jim Jarmusch

I tend to start with a fantastical premise, and then I place it in the world we know. Or, really, it places itself. Honestly,…

— Laurie Foos

I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film. I usually don't have the time. So the story…

— Hayao Miyazaki

Normally I start with a plot, and write a synopsis, and the ideas come from the construction.

— Jo Nesbo

If you have a good story idea, don't assume it must form a prose narrative. It may work better as a play, a screenplay…

— Hilary Mantel