--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like a good story well told. That is…" description: "\"I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/mark-twain-22_good-story_i-like-a-good-story-well-told-that-is-th_3053943.png" --- # I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am… ![“I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/mark-twain-22_good-story_i-like-a-good-story-well-told-that-is-th_3053943.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/mark-twain-22_good-story_i-like-a-good-story-well-told-that-is-th_3053943.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/571/mark-twain-22_good-story_i-like-a-good-story-well-told-that-is-th_3053943.png) > “I like a good story well told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories captivate because they convey meaning, prompting the teller to share them personally. **In simple terms:** Good stories compel sharing. Key Takeaway Share stories. Themes storytelling communication experience Mood thoughtful engaging Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - teaching - entertainment - personal growth Key Concepts literature psychology Questions to Reflect On - What story has changed your perspective? - How do you decide which stories to tell? A Different Perspective Not all stories are well told. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-story/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“As he was forced to tell his father more than once, “I said I’d fight for my mother’s throne. I never said I’d die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-a-aiken/as-he-was-forced-to-tell-his-father-more-than-once-i-said-i-d-fight/) [G.A. Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-a-aiken/) > [ \[L\]et us say that we are obliged to produce the truth by the power that demands truth and needs it in order to function:… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/l-et-us-say-that-we-are-obliged-to-produce-the-truth-by-the-power/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [The story being told in 'Star Wars' is a classic one. Every few hundred years, the story is retold because we have a tendency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/the-story-being-told-in-star-wars-is-a-classic-one-every-few-hundred/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [“Now here's the good part. It was the part where Monica told me was the reason her life had seemed to collapse. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-kirshenbaum/now-here-s-the-good-part-it-was-the-part-where-monica-told-me-was-the/) [Mira Kirshenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-kirshenbaum/) > [I told you I would cause you stress. I told you I would cause you pain. I even told you the reason why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keys/i-told-you-i-would-cause-you-stress-i-told-you-i-would-cause-you-pain/) [Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keys/) > [“The night I met him Mijail told me that, for some reason, life usually grants us what we are not looking for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/the-night-i-met-him-mijail-told-me-that-for-some-reason-life-usually/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [I have been told to reason by the heart, But heart, like head, leads helplessly; I have been told to reason by the pulse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-thomas/i-have-been-told-to-reason-by-the-heart-but-heart-like-head-leads/) [Dylan Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-thomas/) > [“I don't want to change sides and just be told what to do. There's no reason to change if I do that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-don-t-want-to-change-sides-and-just-be-told-what-to-do-there-s-no/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [I think a good story, well told is a good story, well told, whether you're watching the episodes all in a row or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenji-kohan/i-think-a-good-story-well-told-is-a-good-story-well-told-whether-you/) [Jenji Kohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenji-kohan/) > [“A good story, well told, makes you realize you were yearning for something you had no name for, something you didn’t even know you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-s-michaels/a-good-story-well-told-makes-you-realize-you-were-yearning-for/) F.S. Michaels > [“. . . for a good story, told often enough puts you in rooms you've never occupied.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/for-a-good-story-told-often-enough-puts-you-in-rooms-you-ve-never/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“Best story of me was never told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-hoechlin/best-story-of-me-was-never-told/) [Jordan Hoechlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-hoechlin/) > [“This is a story, told the way you say stories should be told: Somebody grew up, fell in love, and spent a winter with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-beattie/this-is-a-story-told-the-way-you-say-stories-should-be-told-somebody/) [Ann Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-beattie/) > [“Make you life the greatest story told!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-guillaume/make-you-life-the-greatest-story-told/) [Marie Guillaume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-guillaume/) > [“But I was beginning to learn that your life is a story told about you, not one that you tell. Of course, you pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-i-was-beginning-to-learn-that-your-life-is-a-story-told-about-you/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. Behind him stretched the illimitable continent of heaven, steeped in a glory of light and color; before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-creator-sat-upon-the-throne-thinking-behind-him-stretched-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [It's easy to quit smoking. I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. Man gets his through months and months of cruel torture; he will never get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-higher-animals-get-their-teeth-without-pain-or-inconvenience-man/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“As far as I can see, Italy, for fifteen hundred years, has turned all her energies, all her finances, and all her industry to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/as-far-as-i-can-see-italy-for-fifteen-hundred-years-has-turned-all/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Begin with the determination to succeed and the work is half done already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/begin-with-the-determination-to-succeed-and-the-work-is-half-done/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Many public-school children seem to know only two dates—1492 and 4th of July; and as a rule they don't know what happened on either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/many-public-school-children-seem-to-know-only-two-dates-1492-and-4th/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If we could imagine such a man, that is a man who could invent the fly and send him out on his mission and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-we-could-imagine-such-a-man-that-is-a-man-who-could-invent-the-fly/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [You perceive, now, that these things are all impossible except in a dream. You perceive that they are pure and puerile insanities, the silly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/you-perceive-now-that-these-things-are-all-impossible-except-in-a/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Lord save us all from a hope tree that has lost the faculty of putting out blossoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/lord-save-us-all-from-a-hope-tree-that-has-lost-the-faculty-of/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) [Explore all 3,277 Mark Twain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## More Good story quotes > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [As a rule, I don't worry about genre. I just want to tell a good story, with characters that interest me and my readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-rule-i-don-t-worry-about-genre-i-just-want-to-tell-a-good-story/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's all still about having a good story. You have to have a good story as your anchor, as your main focus. So for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-s-all-still-about-having-a-good-story-you-have-to-have-a-good/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [A good story will keep you wondering about what's happening, what's going on, where does this go? Now it's going to go that way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fede-alvarez/a-good-story-will-keep-you-wondering-about-what-s-happening-what-s/) [Fede Alvarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fede-alvarez/) > [A good story cannot be devised; it has to be distilled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-good-story-cannot-be-devised-it-has-to-be-distilled/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ I love the idea of longevity in this career. But \[producing\] is not about, "Let me do this because this might happen 20 years… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlize-theron/i-love-the-idea-of-longevity-in-this-career-but-producing-is-not/) [Charlize Theron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlize-theron/) > [We’re built to deal with death, disease, failure, struggle, heartbreak, problems. It’s what separates us from the animals and why we envy and love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-maron/we-re-built-to-deal-with-death-disease-failure-struggle-heartbreak/) [Marc Maron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-maron/) > [Audiences want great story telling; it's why white people watch my show 'Black in America.' It's why black people watch 'Latina in America.' All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/audiences-want-great-story-telling-it-s-why-white-people-watch-my/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [Most of the stories I have go downhill quickly. In all honesty most of the good stories I have, no one else would think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-era/most-of-the-stories-i-have-go-downhill-quickly-in-all-honesty-most-of/) [JD Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-era/) > [“A good story is like a good bowel movement: it's only really satisfying once it's ended, because if you just keep going eventually your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yahtzee-croshaw/a-good-story-is-like-a-good-bowel-movement-it-s-only-really/) [Yahtzee Croshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yahtzee-croshaw/) > [ \[All governments\] get into a rut where every potentially good story turns into a bad one. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-clegg/all-governments-get-into-a-rut-where-every-potentially-good-story/) [Nick Clegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-clegg/) > [Not that I've always loved the movie when they finally come out, or if they ever come out-because many of them don't come out-but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sayles/not-that-i-ve-always-loved-the-movie-when-they-finally-come-out-or-if/) [John Sayles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sayles/) > [(I want to) make good stories that have a redemptive message and allow people to dig into their own lives and personal struggles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-waters/i-want-to-make-good-stories-that-have-a-redemptive-message-and-allow/) [Drew Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-waters/) > [If it's a good story or if it's a character I want to act in, I end up wanting to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwak-dong-yeon/if-it-s-a-good-story-or-if-it-s-a-character-i-want-to-act-in-i-end-up/) [Kwak Dong-yeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwak-dong-yeon/) > [I'm not just a feel-good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquem-griffin/i-m-not-just-a-feel-good-story/) [Shaquem Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquem-griffin/) [Browse all 470 Good story quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-story/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I like a good story well told. 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