--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Start telling the stories that only you…" description: "\"“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/neil-gaiman-29_inspirational_start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you_2789971.jpg" --- # Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because… ![“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you. Tarantino - you can criticize everything…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/neil-gaiman-29_inspirational_start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you_2789971.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/neil-gaiman-29_inspirational_start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you_2789971.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c22/neil-gaiman-29_inspirational_start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you_2789971.jpg) > ““Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that - but you are the only you. Tarantino - you can criticize everything that Quentin does - but nobody writes Tarantino stuff like Tarantino. He is the best Tarantino writer there is, and that was actually the thing that people responded to - they’re going ‘this is an individual writing with his own point of view’. There are better writers than me out there, there are smarter writers, there are people who can plot better - there are all those kinds of things, but there’s nobody who can write a Neil Gaiman story like I can.”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unique personal voice matters more than technical skill; originality defines lasting impact. **In simple terms:** Your unique voice matters more than skill. Key Takeaway Cultivate your distinct perspective. Themes creativity authenticity voice competition writing Mood inspirational confident Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - blogging - content creation Key Concepts individuality storytelling literary criticism Questions to Reflect On - How can you develop your voice? - What makes your story uniquely yours? A Different Perspective Technical mastery still needed for execution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Better Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/better-writers-323007/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neil-gaiman-2/) [Tarantino Criticize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tarantino-criticize-3372466/) [Tarantino Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tarantino-writer-3372464/) [Writers People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-people-549335/) [Writes Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writes-tarantino-3372465/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-advice/) ## Related quotes > [Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there'll always be better writers than you and there'll always be smarter writers than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you-can-tell-because-there-ll/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If Quentin Tarantino is your writer-director then you're going to learn the words and your gonna learn why they're the words. You're gonna learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-russell/if-quentin-tarantino-is-your-writer-director-then-you-re-going-to/) [Kurt Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-russell/) > [“Start telling the stories that only you can tell. Because there will always be better writers than you, and there will always be smarter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/start-telling-the-stories-that-only-you-can-tell-because-there-will/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Rock and roll stars have it much better than writers when they're on a tour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/rock-and-roll-stars-have-it-much-better-than-writers-when-they-re-on/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other people is we notice when we're doing it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-ideas-all-the-time-the-only-difference-between-writers-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get ideas from daydreaming. You get ideas from being bored. You get ideas all the time. The only difference between writers and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-ideas-from-daydreaming-you-get-ideas-from-being-bored-you-get/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [A piratical ghost story in thirteen ingenious but potentially disturbing rhyming couplets, originally conceived as a confection both to amuse and to entertain by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/a-piratical-ghost-story-in-thirteen-ingenious-but-potentially/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“It's like the people who believe they'll be happy if they go and live somewhere else, but who learn it doesn't work that way.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/it-s-like-the-people-who-believe-they-ll-be-happy-if-they-go-and-live-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“You wanna be the next Tolkien? Don't read big, tolkien-esque fantasies. TOLKIEN didn't read big, tolkien-esque fantasies. He read books on finnish philology. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-wanna-be-the-next-tolkien-don-t-read-big-tolkien-esque-fantasies/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Q: I want to be an author when I grow up. Am I insane?" Neil Gaiman: "Yes. Growing up is highly overrated. Just be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/q-i-want-to-be-an-author-when-i-grow-up-am-i-insane-neil-gaiman-yes/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“How come you write the way you do?” an apprentice writer in my Johns Hopkins workshop once disingenuously asked Donald Barthelme, who was visiting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barth/how-come-you-write-the-way-you-do-an-apprentice-writer-in-my-johns/) [John Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barth/) > [It's true that some of us become better writers by living long enough. But this is also how we become worse writers. The trick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/it-s-true-that-some-of-us-become-better-writers-by-living-long-enough/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The better the writers the less they will speak about what they have written themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-better-the-writers-the-less-they-will-speak-about-what-they-have/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“From The Red Sox Reader: "The Yankees may have always had the better players, but the Red Sox always had the better writers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-riley/from-the-red-sox-reader-the-yankees-may-have-always-had-the-better/) [Dan Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-riley/) > [If people want to be better writers, they can't just read the blogs! You've got to look at something that's outside this rushing world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/if-people-want-to-be-better-writers-they-can-t-just-read-the-blogs/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Inspirational quotes > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/) [Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/) > [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/) [Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/) [Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/) > [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/) [Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/) > [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/) [Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/) > [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) [Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. 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