--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can go back and try to generalize…" description: "\"You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up saying things that all editors say about everything that ever gets published. Something abou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png" --- # You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up… ![“You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up saying things that all editors say about everything that ever gets published. Something about voice, about urgency, about actually having a story to tell.” quote by Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png) > “You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up saying things that all editors say about everything that ever gets published. Something about voice, about urgency, about actually having a story to tell.” [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques superficial editorial advice that reduces works to generic qualities, urging deeper, authentic storytelling. **In simple terms:** Critiques generic editorial advice. Key Takeaway Authentic voice matters. Themes authenticity storytelling critique creative process editorial standards Mood reflective critical inquisitive Type advice critique observation When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing feedback sessions - author self‑assessment - literary criticism Key Concepts voice urgency story structure Practical Applications - Developing a unique narrative voice - Guiding writers to focus on substantive storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can a writer maintain originality while meeting editorial expectations? - What practices help uncover a story’s true urgency? A Different Perspective Some may argue that basic editorial guidelines are necessary for consistency across publications. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Urgency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/urgency/) [Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/voice/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“Generally speaking, I try not to generalize.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/generally-speaking-i-try-not-to-generalize/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When both my editors say 'This is really bad, you need to change this,' I ignore that at my peril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/when-both-my-editors-say-this-is-really-bad-you-need-to-change-this-i/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Avoid context and specifics; generalize and keep repeating the generalization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-schwartz/avoid-context-and-specifics-generalize-and-keep-repeating-the/) [Jack Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-schwartz/) > [When I made TV shows, people called them regressive. Clearly, everyone wants to generalize everything, but I like to choose a middle path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekta-kapoor/when-i-made-tv-shows-people-called-them-regressive-clearly-everyone/) [Ekta Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ekta-kapoor/) > [If the United States has to accept the U.N. resolutions, we have to generalize it across the board. We can't just pick and choose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-waleed-bin-talal/if-the-united-states-has-to-accept-the-u-n-resolutions-we-have-to/) [Al-Waleed bin Talal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-waleed-bin-talal/) > [I want to be very careful about judging and how much to generalize about the use of media being pathological. For some people, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-rheingold/i-want-to-be-very-careful-about-judging-and-how-much-to-generalize/) [Howard Rheingold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-rheingold/) > [Our credulity is a part of the imperfection of our natures. It is inherent in us to desire to generalize, when we ought, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/our-credulity-is-a-part-of-the-imperfection-of-our-natures-it-is/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [I definitely don't generalize and put everybody in the same cup of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cole-hauser/i-definitely-don-t-generalize-and-put-everybody-in-the-same-cup-of/) [Cole Hauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cole-hauser/) > [“There was, for starters, the tendency of everyone who actually played the game to generalize wildly from his own experience. People always thought their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/there-was-for-starters-the-tendency-of-everyone-who-actually-played/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“To Generalize is to be an Idiot; To Particularize is the Alone Distinction of Merit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-generalize-is-to-be-an-idiot-to-particularize-is-the-alone/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Perhaps it will be simplest to throw away the tags and generalize India with one all-comprehensive name, as the Land of Wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/perhaps-it-will-be-simplest-to-throw-away-the-tags-and-generalize/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I hate to generalize because there are always so many exceptions to any rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gish-jen/i-hate-to-generalize-because-there-are-always-so-many-exceptions-to/) [Gish Jen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gish-jen/) > [“To think is to forget differences, generalize, make abstractions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-harris/to-think-is-to-forget-differences-generalize-make-abstractions/) Angela Harris > [To generalize is to be an idiot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-generalize-is-to-be-an-idiot/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [“When we generalize and judge people quickly without taking ample time, we've chosen a shortcut. It's superficial of us, and a lack of wisdom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/assegid-habtewold/when-we-generalize-and-judge-people-quickly-without-taking-ample-time/) [Assegid Habtewold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/assegid-habtewold/) ## More by Lorin Stein > [I regret that there aren't more short stories in other magazines. But in a certain way, I think the disappearance of the short-story template…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-regret-that-there-aren-t-more-short-stories-in-other-magazines-but/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [I tend to think that the onus is on the writer to engage the reader, that the reader should not be expected to need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-tend-to-think-that-the-onus-is-on-the-writer-to-engage-the-reader/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [For me the question that you have to ask, about any magazine, is whether it's needed, whether it's publishing things that no one else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/for-me-the-question-that-you-have-to-ask-about-any-magazine-is/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [We've never had a giant circulation. And we've always been a magazine for writers and for sophisticated readers. We've never had to run stories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/we-ve-never-had-a-giant-circulation-and-we-ve-always-been-a-magazine/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [I’m a reader who uses fiction as a way of worrying about life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-m-a-reader-who-uses-fiction-as-a-way-of-worrying-about-life/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [I love having people around who are better interviewers than I am and who can make the time to do a really great job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-love-having-people-around-who-are-better-interviewers-than-i-am-and/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [Chekhov's stories are about the moment that a life goes off the rails and the price that will be paid - forever. That's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/chekhov-s-stories-are-about-the-moment-that-a-life-goes-off-the-rails/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [I like fiction that deals with matters that are of burning importance to us in our private lives. And not all short stories are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-like-fiction-that-deals-with-matters-that-are-of-burning-importance/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [Names don't matter, CVs don't matter, previous publications don't matter at all, because, in a certain way, the ideal is for someone to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/names-don-t-matter-cvs-don-t-matter-previous-publications-don-t/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [Pretty much every issue that we've put out, there have been at least one or two things that really surprised me. It sounds like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/pretty-much-every-issue-that-we-ve-put-out-there-have-been-at-least/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [I hadn't thought about the balance in mood. You see that we did it in alphabetical order, so if there's any kind of shape,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/i-hadn-t-thought-about-the-balance-in-mood-you-see-that-we-did-it-in/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [A lot of people who want to see the short story have a renaissance of readership - they tend to think of short stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/a-lot-of-people-who-want-to-see-the-short-story-have-a-renaissance-of/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [The real threat to reading isn’t the time we spend hanging out, it’s the time we spend online.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/the-real-threat-to-reading-isn-t-the-time-we-spend-hanging-out-it-s/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [When I was a book editor, I got used to being told that my tastes were dark or edgy. These are not words that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/when-i-was-a-book-editor-i-got-used-to-being-told-that-my-tastes-were/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) > [Our generation grew up with the Review as a fact of life. It was America’s literary magazine. To our minds, it still is. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/our-generation-grew-up-with-the-review-as-a-fact-of-life-it-was/) [Lorin Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) [Explore all 27 Lorin Stein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/) ## More Editors quotes > [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/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [God often hides His blessing in trouble or trial, which makes it all the sweeter when it comes our way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/god-often-hides-his-blessing-in-trouble-or-trial-which-makes-it-all/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [My biggest advice would be to take the pictures you want to take. Don’t think about the marketplace, what sells or what an editor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lachapelle/my-biggest-advice-would-be-to-take-the-pictures-you-want-to-take-don/) [David LaChapelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lachapelle/) > [A perfect movie is a different thing, but a funny movie is easy. I was really happy that I got everyone that I got.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/a-perfect-movie-is-a-different-thing-but-a-funny-movie-is-easy-i-was/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [ I walked all around it \[the Guggenheim Bilbao\] and couldn't find one clear, clean shot. To make things worse, the weather was lousy. Nothing… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-polidori/i-walked-all-around-it-the-guggenheim-bilbao-and-couldn-t-find-one/) [Robert Polidori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-polidori/) > [A moment I've been dreading. George brought his ne're-do-well son around this morning and asked me to find the kid a job. Not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/a-moment-i-ve-been-dreading-george-brought-his-ne-re-do-well-son/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Authors of published papers and editors of scientific journals can, unfortunately, be slow to come to terms with criticism, and it's good that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gelman/authors-of-published-papers-and-editors-of-scientific-journals-can/) Andrew Gelman > [Democracy becomes a government of bullies tempered by editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/democracy-becomes-a-government-of-bullies-tempered-by-editors/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [51% of the French people - who are not very religious - were thinking that what "Charlie Hebdo" did was unwise. They aren't asking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/51-of-the-french-people-who-are-not-very-religious-were-thinking-that/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [If you look at any list of great modern writers such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, you'll notice two things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/if-you-look-at-any-list-of-great-modern-writers-such-as-ernest/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [Only kings, presidents, editors, and people with tapeworms have the right to use the editorial 'we.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/only-kings-presidents-editors-and-people-with-tapeworms-have-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [While I was still going to embrace social media, I knew I had to do things that nobody else was doing. I decided I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-edward/while-i-was-still-going-to-embrace-social-media-i-knew-i-had-to-do/) [Mark Edward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-edward/) > [My books have been translated into various languages and sold in other countries, but I never have any contact with the foreign publishers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-zarr/my-books-have-been-translated-into-various-languages-and-sold-in/) [Sara Zarr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-zarr/) > [Every newspaper editor says the heart of the paper is the reporter - which is true - except for the pay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/every-newspaper-editor-says-the-heart-of-the-paper-is-the-reporter/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) Browse all 976 Editors quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up saying things that all editors say about everything that ever gets published. Something about voice, about urgency, about actually having a story to tell.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorin Stein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-but-then-you-end-up-saying/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Editors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-but-then-you-end-up-saying/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/522/lorin-stein-22569_editors_you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-bu_82008.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can go back and try to generalize, but then you end up saying things that all editors say about…” — Lorin Stein", "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": "Lorin Stein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorin-stein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can go back and try...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-but-then-you-end-up-saying/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorin-stein/you-can-go-back-and-try-to-generalize-but-then-you-end-up-saying/#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 } } ] } ```