--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you invent two or three people and…" description: "\"If you invent two or three people and turn them loose in your manuscript, something is bound to happen to them -- you can't help it; and then it will t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/mark-twain-22_book_if-you-invent-two-or-three-people-and-tu_931618.png" --- # If you invent two or three people and turn them loose in… ![“If you invent two or three people and turn them loose in your manuscript, something is bound to happen to them -- you can't help it; and then it will take you the rest of the book to get them out of the natural consequences of that occurrence, and so first thing you know, there's your book all…” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/mark-twain-22_book_if-you-invent-two-or-three-people-and-tu_931618.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/mark-twain-22_book_if-you-invent-two-or-three-people-and-tu_931618.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9b2/mark-twain-22_book_if-you-invent-two-or-three-people-and-tu_931618.png) > “If you invent two or three people and turn them loose in your manuscript, something is bound to happen to them -- you can't help it; and then it will take you the rest of the book to get them out of the natural consequences of that occurrence, and so first thing you know, there's your book all finished up and never cost you an idea.” [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. Creating characters independently leads them to act beyond the writer’s control, shaping the story organically. **In simple terms:** Characters can drive the plot themselves. Key Takeaway Let characters guide your narrative. Themes creativity autonomy storytelling Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Novel drafting - screenwriting - improvisational theater - creative workshops Key Concepts Emergent narrative character agency writing process Questions to Reflect On - Can you balance character freedom with plot direction? - When does character autonomy hinder the story? A Different Perspective Relying on characters may reduce authorial intent and coherence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Bounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bounds/) [Consequence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consequence/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Natural consequences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-consequences/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The inventors we remember didn't invent anything. They're the people who took somebody else's invention and made it commercially viable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-kurlansky/the-inventors-we-remember-didn-t-invent-anything-they-re-the-people/) [Mark Kurlansky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-kurlansky/) > [People everywhere are about the same, but ... it did seem that in a small town, where evil is harder to accomplish, where opportunities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/people-everywhere-are-about-the-same-but-it-did-seem-that-in-a-small/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [If there wasn't a God we would have to invent one to keep people sane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/if-there-wasn-t-a-god-we-would-have-to-invent-one-to-keep-people-sane/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [“The best way to predict the future is to invent it” and “People who are serious about software should make their own hardware.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/the-best-way-to-predict-the-future-is-to-invent-it-and-people-who-are/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [Cultivate a sweet temper and the sweet speech which is its natural consequence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/cultivate-a-sweet-temper-and-the-sweet-speech-which-is-its-natural/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Perfection is the natural consequence of eternity: wait long enough, and anything will realize its potential. Coal becomes diamonds, sand becomes pearls, apes become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-caldwell/perfection-is-the-natural-consequence-of-eternity-wait-long-enough/) [Ian Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-caldwell/) > [When we obey the commandments of the Lord and serve His children unselfishly, the natural consequence is power from God—power to do more than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-scott/when-we-obey-the-commandments-of-the-lord-and-serve-his-children/) [Richard G. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-scott/) > [One inconvenience... may attend bold and arduous attempts: frequent failure may discourage. 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Hatred, partisanship, cliques, jealousy, and intrigues are the natural consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wassily-kandinsky/in-place-of-an-intensive-cooperation-among-artists-there-is-a-battle/) [Wassily Kandinsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wassily-kandinsky/) > [In the Eucharist, the Son of God comes to meet us and desires to become one with us; eucharistic adoration is simply the natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/in-the-eucharist-the-son-of-god-comes-to-meet-us-and-desires-to/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Sentimentality, like pornography, is fragmented emotion; a natural consequence of a high visual gradient in any culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-mcluhan/sentimentality-like-pornography-is-fragmented-emotion-a-natural/) [Marshall McLuhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-mcluhan/) > [Idealization of a group is a natural consequence of separation from the group; in other words, it is a by-product of alienation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-gunn-allen/idealization-of-a-group-is-a-natural-consequence-of-separation-from/) [Paula Gunn Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-gunn-allen/) > [It seems to be a natural consequence of our points of view to assume that the whole of space is filled with electrons and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-birkeland/it-seems-to-be-a-natural-consequence-of-our-points-of-view-to-assume/) Kristian Birkeland ## 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. 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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. 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I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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