--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes language gets in the way of the…" description: "\"Sometimes language gets in the way of the story's feelings. The reader finds himself experiencing the language of the story rather than the story. The ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/leonard-michaels-29949_books_sometimes-language-gets-in-the-way-of-th_2850711.png" --- # Sometimes language gets in the way of the story's… ![“Sometimes language gets in the way of the story's feelings. The reader finds himself experiencing the language of the story rather than the story. The words sit there on the page like coins, with their own opacity, as though they're there for their own sake. "A man goes into a phone booth…” quote by Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/leonard-michaels-29949_books_sometimes-language-gets-in-the-way-of-th_2850711.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/leonard-michaels-29949_books_sometimes-language-gets-in-the-way-of-th_2850711.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/521/leonard-michaels-29949_books_sometimes-language-gets-in-the-way-of-th_2850711.png) > “Sometimes language gets in the way of the story's feelings. The reader finds himself experiencing the language of the story rather than the story. The words sit there on the page like coins, with their own opacity, as though they're there for their own sake. "A man goes into a phone booth, stirring coins in his palm." "Stirring" is such an obviously selected word. You can feel the writer looking for the word as he sat at the typewriter.” [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that overly conscious language can distract readers from the story’s emotional core. **In simple terms:** Style can block story feeling. Key Takeaway Balance craft with emotional flow. Themes writing style reader experience Mood reflective critical Type literary educational When to use this quote - novel writing - editing - creative workshops Key Concepts metafiction narrative technique Questions to Reflect On - How do you know when language serves the story? - When is stylistic flourish appropriate? A Different Perspective Focusing too much on word choice may alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Phones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/phones/) [Stirring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stirring/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“...being aware that the sacred quality hidden in the experience of eroticism is something impossible for language to reach (this is also due to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-bataille/being-aware-that-the-sacred-quality-hidden-in-the-experience-of/) [Georges Bataille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-bataille/) > [“You can measure the impeccability of your word by your level of self-love. 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Soon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bauer/almost-it-s-a-big-word-for-me-i-feel-it-everywhere-almost-home-almost-2/) [Joan Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bauer/) > ['Pigeonholed' isn't the right word, because I feel like I've had a very wide range of characters that I've been allowed to play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/pigeonholed-isn-t-the-right-word-because-i-feel-like-i-ve-had-a-very/) [Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/) > [Almost. It’s a big word for me. I feel it everywhere. Almost home. Almost happy. Almost changed. Almost, but not quite. Not yet. Soon,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-bauer/almost-it-s-a-big-word-for-me-i-feel-it-everywhere-almost-home-almost/) [Joan Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-bauer/) > [“There are some words that seem to well up from inside me without reason. I will be walking along an empty hallway, leaning against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eula-biss/there-are-some-words-that-seem-to-well-up-from-inside-me-without/) [Eula Biss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eula-biss/) > [I hate how FAKE word can feel so REAL...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-how-fake-word-can-feel-so-real/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [How much you love yourself and how you feel about yourself are directly proportionate to the quality and integrity of your word. When you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-angel-ruiz/how-much-you-love-yourself-and-how-you-feel-about-yourself-are/) [Miguel Angel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-angel-ruiz/) > [I am out in public and using the phone. I am in a phone booth, got the phone in my hand and a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/i-am-out-in-public-and-using-the-phone-i-am-in-a-phone-booth-got-the/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [I'm undefeated that's the stone truth cause battlin' me is like fightin' a gorilla in a phone booth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-l/i-m-undefeated-that-s-the-stone-truth-cause-battlin-me-is-like/) [Big L](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-l/) ## More by Leonard Michaels > [“March 6, 1961 I remembered a party in a house outside of Ann Arbor. There was a jazz band -- piano, bass, drums, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/march-6-1961-i-remembered-a-party-in-a-house-outside-of-ann-arbor/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Of mystery there is no end. Of clarity, there is precious little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/of-mystery-there-is-no-end-of-clarity-there-is-precious-little/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Stories should be natural as apples, brief as lust, long as a thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/stories-should-be-natural-as-apples-brief-as-lust-long-as-a-thought/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [“Something Evil I said, "Ikstein stands outside the door for a long time before he knocks. Did you suspect that? Did you suspect that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/something-evil-i-said-ikstein-stands-outside-the-door-for-a-long-time/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Some animals are secretive; some are shy. 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Melvin Bloom my roommate flipped the pages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/answers-i-began-two-hundred-hours-of-continuous-reading-in-the-twelve/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Self-confidence can be crippling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/self-confidence-can-be-crippling/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Is the story developing an attitude or victimized by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/is-the-story-developing-an-attitude-or-victimized-by-it/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [There's hardly anywhere in literature where you don't find a triangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/there-s-hardly-anywhere-in-literature-where-you-don-t-find-a-triangle/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [There is always something for which there is no accounting. Take, for example, the whole world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/there-is-always-something-for-which-there-is-no-accounting-take-for/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [Adultery is not about sex or romance. Ultimately, it is about how little we mean to one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/adultery-is-not-about-sex-or-romance-ultimately-it-is-about-how/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [I can only gesture at what makes a story good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/i-can-only-gesture-at-what-makes-a-story-good/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [I read assiduously. I kept in touch with my species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/i-read-assiduously-i-kept-in-touch-with-my-species/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) > [“In 1982, Raphael Nachman, visiting lecturer in mathematics at the university in Cracow, declined the tour of Auschwitz, where his grandparents had died, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-michaels/in-1982-raphael-nachman-visiting-lecturer-in-mathematics-at-the/) [Leonard Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) [Explore all 18 Leonard Michaels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-michaels/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes language gets in the way of the story's feelings. The reader finds himself experiencing the language of the story rather than the story. The words sit there on the page like coins, with their own opacity, as though they're there for their own sake. \"A man goes into a phone booth, stirring coins in his palm.\" \"Stirring\" is such an obviously selected word. 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