--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The story is not in the words; it's in…" description: "\"The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.\" — Paul Auster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg" --- # The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle. ![“The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg) > “The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The essence of a story lies in the struggle, not just the words. **In simple terms:** Struggle defines narrative. Key Takeaway Focus on underlying conflict. Themes narrative conflict meaning Mood reflective poetic Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - personal challenges - creative projects Key Concepts storytelling human experience Questions to Reflect On - What struggles shape your personal story? - How do you convey conflict without words? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on language can miss deeper themes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adversity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Story Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-words-565478/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) [Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words/) [Words Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-struggle-1555658/) ## Related quotes > [The survival or preservation of certain favoured words in the struggle for existence is natural selection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-survival-or-preservation-of-certain-favoured-words-in-the/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [“There is some relationship between the hunger for truth and the search for the right words. 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Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. 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She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/just-because-she-doesn-t-talk-about-it-doesn-t-mean-she-isn-t-feeling/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [Every trial endured and weathered in the right spirit makes a soul nobler and stronger than it was before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-buckham-kennedy/every-trial-endured-and-weathered-in-the-right-spirit-makes-a-soul/) [James Buckham Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-buckham-kennedy/) > [Honesty, by evil fortune tried, Finds in adversity the seed of praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/honesty-by-evil-fortune-tried-finds-in-adversity-the-seed-of-praise/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Struggles are not associated to a particular people or creed, everyone struggles, not for the same reasons, but each has a personal struggle at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-chirisa/struggles-are-not-associated-to-a-particular-people-or-creed-everyone/) [Wayne Chirisa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-chirisa/) > [“Watch a man in times of adversity to discover what kind of man he is; for then at last words of truth are drawn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucretius/watch-a-man-in-times-of-adversity-to-discover-what-kind-of-man-he-is/) [Lucretius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucretius/) > [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/) > [“Life is not about less mistakes but about more trials”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-e-sever/life-is-not-about-less-mistakes-but-about-more-trials/) [S.E. SEVER](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-e-sever/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-everything-feels-like-an-uphill-struggle-just-think-of-the-view/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 5,001 Adversity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adversity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Auster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-the-struggle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adversity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-the-struggle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/016/paul-auster-351_adversity_the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-th_786128.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The story is not in the words; it's in the struggle.” — Paul Auster", "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": "Paul Auster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The story is not in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-the-struggle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-story-is-not-in-the-words-it-s-in-the-struggle/#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 } } ] } ```