Action Quote by Margaret MacMillan
“How can even the best novelist or playwright invent someone like Augustus Caesar or Catherine the Great, Galileo or Florence Nightingale? How can screenwriters create better action stories or human dramas than exist, thousand upon thousand, throughout the many centuries of recorded history?”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Struggle for Power: The United Nations and the World, Margaret MacMillan, 2008
The quote questions the difficulty of creating truly original characters or narratives when history already offers countless examples.
In simple terms: Creating new stories is hard because history is full of great figures.
Key Takeaway
Seek fresh perspectives, not just new characters.
Themes
creativity
history
storytelling
Mood
reflective
inquisitive
Type
analytical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- writing fiction
- screenwriting
- historical research
- character studies
Key Concepts
originality
character development
historical influence
Questions to Reflect On
- What untold perspectives can you explore?
- How can you reinterpret known histories?
A Different Perspective
Even with new angles, audiences may still compare to iconic figures.
![“He [Caesar Augustus] found a city built of brick; he left it built of marble. [Lat., Urbem lateritiam accepit, mamoream relinquit.]” quote by Suetonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fc9/suetonius-25582_augustus_he-caesar-augustus-found-a-city-built-of_210926.jpg)
![“Luke [the gospel writer] screws up his dating by tactlessly mentioning events that historians are capable of independently checking. There was indeed a census under Governor Quirinius - a local census, not one decreed by Caesar Augustus for the Empire as a whole - but it happened too late in 6 AD…” quote by Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5d9/richard-dawkins-115_ads_luke-the-gospel-writer-screws-up-his-dat_1114686.jpg)
