--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And while dollars have little to do with…" description: "\"And while dollars have little to do with it, the fiction writer should be asking the same question any capable film producer would ask: Is this scene t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/les-standiford-41302_asking_and-while-dollars-have-little-to-do-with_1309627.png" --- # And while dollars have little to do with it, the fiction… ![“And while dollars have little to do with it, the fiction writer should be asking the same question any capable film producer would ask: Is this scene truly necessary? It is the kind of thinking that, put into practice, results in a story with a sense of energy and direction.” quote by Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/les-standiford-41302_asking_and-while-dollars-have-little-to-do-with_1309627.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/les-standiford-41302_asking_and-while-dollars-have-little-to-do-with_1309627.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a56/les-standiford-41302_asking_and-while-dollars-have-little-to-do-with_1309627.png) > “And while dollars have little to do with it, the fiction writer should be asking the same question any capable film producer would ask: Is this scene truly necessary? It is the kind of thinking that, put into practice, results in a story with a sense of energy and direction.” [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A scene must earn its place; unnecessary elements drain a story’s energy and focus. **In simple terms:** Every scene should serve purpose. Key Takeaway Trim excess from your story. Themes storytelling editing efficiency Mood analytical practical Type instructional professional When to use this quote - screenwriting - film editing - creative workshops Key Concepts narrative economy visual storytelling film production Questions to Reflect On - Which scenes feel essential? - How do you test a scene’s necessity? A Different Perspective Removing scenes can risk losing nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-scene-4328950/) [Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) [Asks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asks/) [Capable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capable/) [Dollars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dollars/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writer/) [Fiction writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writers/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film Producer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-producer/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Producers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/producers/) [Results](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/results/) [Scene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene/) [Scene Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scene-truly-4328949/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer Asking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-asking-3802344/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [As a director you have to be at 30,000 ft objectively looking at everything, wondering if you're making the right objective, emotional, story, character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kurtzman/as-a-director-you-have-to-be-at-30-000-ft-objectively-looking-at/) [Alex Kurtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kurtzman/) > [“Do not insult a writer by asking him questions related to books written by someone else. If you are not reading the books written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sacredfire/do-not-insult-a-writer-by-asking-him-questions-related-to-books/) [Robin Sacredfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sacredfire/) > [It's always great when you want scientific fact to get a really good science fiction writer to talk to you about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/it-s-always-great-when-you-want-scientific-fact-to-get-a-really-good/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [If you're a fiction writer, though, I can tell you how to let people talk through you. Listen. Just be quiet, and listen. Let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-you-re-a-fiction-writer-though-i-can-tell-you-how-to-let-people/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [The fiction writer has to engage in a continual examination of conscience. He has to be aware of the freak in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-fiction-writer-has-to-engage-in-a-continual-examination-of/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [A fiction writer is never entirely alone. Her characters are constantly whispering in her ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cinda-williams-chima/a-fiction-writer-is-never-entirely-alone-her-characters-are/) [Cinda Williams Chima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cinda-williams-chima/) > [What I'm doing is exploring things. This is why I'm a fiction writer rather than an essayist or a politician or whatever. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/what-i-m-doing-is-exploring-things-this-is-why-i-m-a-fiction-writer/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [If I couldn't be a fiction writer, I would be a roller coaster designer for theme parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wells/if-i-couldn-t-be-a-fiction-writer-i-would-be-a-roller-coaster/) [Mike Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wells/) > [The challenge for any fiction writer is that your job involves simply sitting at a desk for a very, very long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-harbach/the-challenge-for-any-fiction-writer-is-that-your-job-involves-simply/) [Chad Harbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-harbach/) > [As a fiction writer, one of things you learn is God lives in specificity. You know, human kindness is increased as we pursue specificity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/as-a-fiction-writer-one-of-things-you-learn-is-god-lives-in/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The training of a journalist, of working with words for thousands of hours, is extraordinarily useful for a fiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/the-training-of-a-journalist-of-working-with-words-for-thousands-of/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [I don't think the function of writing, at least for me as a fiction writer, is to say to people, "Here's the answer." It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-don-t-think-the-function-of-writing-at-least-for-me-as-a-fiction/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [The fiction writer has a lot of balls to juggle. Setting, pacing, dialogue, and so on. And let's not forget: plot. That was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/the-fiction-writer-has-a-lot-of-balls-to-juggle-setting-pacing/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I'm not a science-fiction writer. I've only written one book that's science fiction, and that's Fahrenheit 451. All the others are fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-m-not-a-science-fiction-writer-i-ve-only-written-one-book-that-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) ## More by Les Standiford > [“It’s like you’ve been in a terrible accident and had your arm amputated,” she told him. “After a while, the pain goes away, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/it-s-like-you-ve-been-in-a-terrible-accident-and-had-your-arm/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“Society.” John Forster, who would one day become Dickens’s great friend, adviser, editor, and first biographer, wrote in the Examiner that Dickens had excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/society-john-forster-who-would-one-day-become-dickens-s-great-friend/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [Maybe it's because we as writers are alone so often, are so attuned to listening to the run of our own thoughts, that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/maybe-it-s-because-we-as-writers-are-alone-so-often-are-so-attuned-to/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [Never open your story with a character thinking, I advise my students. As a further precaution, don’t put a character in a room alone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/never-open-your-story-with-a-character-thinking-i-advise-my-students/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“That's easy," Russell said. "Because everybody else in this here place is crooked as a dog's hind leg. ...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/that-s-easy-russell-said-because-everybody-else-in-this-here-place-is/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“Permanent construction of the sort Flagler was referring to would not come cheaply, however. Early in 1910, Flagler wrote to John Carrere, designer of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/permanent-construction-of-the-sort-flagler-was-referring-to-would-not/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“The more a man learns, Dickens said, “the better, gentler, kinder man he must become. When he knows how much great minds have suffered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/the-more-a-man-learns-dickens-said-the-better-gentler-kinder-man-he/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [“Daniel Maclise (whose 1839 oil of Dickens hangs today at the National Portrait Gallery).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/daniel-maclise-whose-1839-oil-of-dickens-hangs-today-at-the-national/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) > [There are vast differences between scripts and stories, of course. Few fiction writers would want to give up the opportunity to explore how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-standiford/there-are-vast-differences-between-scripts-and-stories-of-course-few/) [Les Standiford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) [Explore all 10 Les Standiford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-standiford/) ## More Asking quotes > [Why did Erich von Stronheim leave Germany? Why did Hitchcock leave England? If you were a director you'd like to work in Hollywood too.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-polanski/why-did-erich-von-stronheim-leave-germany-why-did-hitchcock-leave/) [Roman Polanski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-polanski/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Stop asking yourself how or why and tell yourself you can." - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/stop-asking-yourself-how-or-why-and-tell-yourself-you-can-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [People will identify with a persecuted minority without asking themselves what they are identifying with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/people-will-identify-with-a-persecuted-minority-without-asking/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [If you're having a bad day already and everybody is just asking you petty questions, it drives people to the edge, or something really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-weixler/if-you-re-having-a-bad-day-already-and-everybody-is-just-asking-you/) [Jess Weixler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-weixler/) > [You never give away your heart; you lend it from time to time. If it were not so, how could we take it back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/you-never-give-away-your-heart-you-lend-it-from-time-to-time-if-it/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [I'm not asking people to feel sorry for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-abramoff/i-m-not-asking-people-to-feel-sorry-for-me/) [Jack Abramoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-abramoff/) > [The boldness of asking deep questions may require unforeseen flexibility if we are to accept the answers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-greene/the-boldness-of-asking-deep-questions-may-require-unforeseen/) [Brian Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-greene/) > [Use Google Before Asking A Stupid Question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muskaan/use-google-before-asking-a-stupid-question/) [Muskaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muskaan/) > [There were people asking 'Can women be funny?' People still ask that. It's like asking: 'Can women breathe in and out?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-walters/there-were-people-asking-can-women-be-funny-people-still-ask-that-it/) [Julie Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-walters/) > [Whether that's speaking up in your job or asking for a promotion or saying, 'I think I can do that.' Using your voice in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/whether-that-s-speaking-up-in-your-job-or-asking-for-a-promotion-or/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [Love cannot be had for the asking; it comes only as a gift from the heart of another](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/love-cannot-be-had-for-the-asking-it-comes-only-as-a-gift-from-the/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The Baseball Hall of Fame is something every player dreams about, but being a member of God's Hall of Fame is the greatest achievement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-carter/the-baseball-hall-of-fame-is-something-every-player-dreams-about-but/) [Gary Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-carter/) > [“In such a regime, I say you died a good death if your life had inspired someone to come forward and shoot your murdered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/in-such-a-regime-i-say-you-died-a-good-death-if-your-life-had/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) [Browse all 3,313 Asking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And while dollars have little to do with it, the fiction writer should be asking the same question any capable film producer would ask: Is this scene truly necessary? 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