--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And before I'd got to the end of the…" description: "\"And before I'd got to the end of the first paragraph, I'd come up slap bang against a fundamental problem that still troubles me today whenever I begin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/philip-pullman-525_come_and-before-i-d-got-to-the-end-of-the-fir_1627205.jpg" --- # And before I'd got to the end of the first paragraph, I'd… ![“And before I'd got to the end of the first paragraph, I'd come up slap bang against a fundamental problem that still troubles me today whenever I begin a story, and it's this: where am I telling it from?” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/philip-pullman-525_come_and-before-i-d-got-to-the-end-of-the-fir_1627205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/philip-pullman-525_come_and-before-i-d-got-to-the-end-of-the-fir_1627205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/074/philip-pullman-525_come_and-before-i-d-got-to-the-end-of-the-fir_1627205.jpg) > “And before I'd got to the end of the first paragraph, I'd come up slap bang against a fundamental problem that still troubles me today whenever I begin a story, and it's this: where am I telling it from?” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrative voice must be clear; knowing the perspective shapes the story’s truth. **In simple terms:** Know whose viewpoint you’re writing from. Key Takeaway Define your narrative perspective early. Themes perspective truth storytelling Mood thoughtful analytical Type literary educational When to use this quote - fiction writing - journalism - branding Key Concepts narrative voice authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - From whose eyes will you tell this story? - How does perspective affect meaning? A Different Perspective Shifting perspectives can confuse audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Begin Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/begin-story-350992/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end/) [Fundamental Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamental-problem-350993/) [Paragraph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paragraph/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Troubles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troubles/) [Troubles Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/troubles-today-350994/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) ## Related quotes > [Do not borrow tomorrow's troubles today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-lawhead/do-not-borrow-tomorrow-s-troubles-today/) [Stephen R. Lawhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-lawhead/) > [Let go of yesterday's troubles! Today is a new day. Give every situation to God and when you do, do not worry about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-go-of-yesterday-s-troubles-today-is-a-new-day-give-every/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Certainly if the fundamental problem of society is that demands are infinite and resources are always limited, politics, not economics is the master science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-crick/certainly-if-the-fundamental-problem-of-society-is-that-demands-are/) [Bernard Crick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-crick/) > [I have no doubt that the fundamental problem the planet faces is the enormous increase in the human population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-attenborough/i-have-no-doubt-that-the-fundamental-problem-the-planet-faces-is-the/) [David Attenborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-attenborough/) > [Wherever illiteracy is a problem, it's as fundamental a problem as getting enough to eat or a place to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/northrop-frye/wherever-illiteracy-is-a-problem-it-s-as-fundamental-a-problem-as/) [Northrop Frye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/northrop-frye/) > [Bilingualism is for me the fundamental problem of linguistics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roman-jakobson/bilingualism-is-for-me-the-fundamental-problem-of-linguistics/) [Roman Jakobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roman-jakobson/) > [The fundamental problem of communication is that of reproducing at one point either exactly or approximately a message selected at another point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-shannon/the-fundamental-problem-of-communication-is-that-of-reproducing-at/) [Claude Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-shannon/) > [The fact that it wasn't tells me that we've got a much more fundamental problem of understanding what went wrong, and we've got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kay/the-fact-that-it-wasn-t-tells-me-that-we-ve-got-a-much-more/) [David Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kay/) > [“So this is a fundamental problem, being out of a loop that I don't even believe in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-othmer/so-this-is-a-fundamental-problem-being-out-of-a-loop-that-i-don-t/) [James P. Othmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-othmer/) > [In a sense Shapley's telling me that space was transparent, which I shouldn't have believed, illustrates a fundamental problem in science, believing what people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-l-greenstein/in-a-sense-shapley-s-telling-me-that-space-was-transparent-which-i/) [Jesse L. Greenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-l-greenstein/) > [“The fundamental problem has nothing to do with your behavior or your attitude. It has everything to do with having a wrong map.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-covey/the-fundamental-problem-has-nothing-to-do-with-your-behavior-or-your/) [Stephen R. Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-covey/) > [The fundamental problem is not that Trump has access to the nuclear launch codes, but that they exist at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valerie-plame/the-fundamental-problem-is-not-that-trump-has-access-to-the-nuclear/) [Valerie Plame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valerie-plame/) > [The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-conservation-of-natural-resources-is-the-fundamental-problem/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/the-conservation-of-our-natural-resources-and-their-proper-use/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [“An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/an-opening-line-should-invite-the-reader-to-begin-the-story-it-should/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. 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There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“More we know, more we come know that how less we know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/souvik-khamrui/more-we-know-more-we-come-know-that-how-less-we-know/) [Souvik Khamrui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/souvik-khamrui/) > [I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. 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