--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The perfect detective story cannot be…" description: "\"The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of mind which can evolve the perfect problem is not the type of mind that can produce the artis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg" --- # The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of… ![“The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of mind which can evolve the perfect problem is not the type of mind that can produce the artistic job of writing.” quote by Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg) > “The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of mind which can evolve the perfect problem is not the type of mind that can produce the artistic job of writing.” [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative brilliance and analytical skill are distinct; a mind that solves perfect problems may lack the artistic flair to write a compelling detective story. **In simple terms:** Problem‑solving and artistic writing are different talents. Key Takeaway Recognize and develop both analytical and creative abilities. Themes creativity analysis literature Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing a mystery novel - solving complex puzzles - teaching creative writing Key Concepts cognitive style artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - Can you balance logical precision with storytelling? - How do you cultivate artistic skill alongside analytical talent? A Different Perspective A perfect problem may still need narrative craft to engage readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Detective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective/) [Detective stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective-stories/) [Detective Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detective-story/) [Detectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detectives/) [Evolve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evolve/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Perfect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect/) [Perfect Detective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-detective-3980439/) [Perfect Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfect-problem-3980440/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Produce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/produce/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-written-302675/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [The average detective story is probably no worse than the average novel, but you never see the average novel. It doesn't get published. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-average-detective-story-is-probably-no-worse-than-the-average/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [You find when you're writing a detective story that you're actually not trying to solve anything. You're trying to stop the reader from solving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/you-find-when-you-re-writing-a-detective-story-that-you-re-actually/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) > [There's a structure to a detective story that I can easily understand. I understand playing that particular game. It's like solving a puzzle. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bollen/there-s-a-structure-to-a-detective-story-that-i-can-easily-understand/) [Christopher Bollen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bollen/) > [The cinema, like the detective story, makes it possible to experience without danger all the excitement, passion and desirousness which must be repressed in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-cinema-like-the-detective-story-makes-it-possible-to-experience/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“The detective story, as created by Poe, is something as specialised and as intellectual as a chess problem, whereas the best English detective fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/the-detective-story-as-created-by-poe-is-something-as-specialised-and/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [I once started a detective story to make money—but I couldn't get the murder to take place! At the end of three chapters I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/i-once-started-a-detective-story-to-make-money-but-i-couldn-t-get-the/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [What I try to do is write a story about a detective rather than a detective story. Keeping the reader fooled until the last,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/what-i-try-to-do-is-write-a-story-about-a-detective-rather-than-a/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [Of course the modern detective story puts off its best tricks till the last, but Doyle always put his best tricks first and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-stout/of-course-the-modern-detective-story-puts-off-its-best-tricks-till/) [Rex Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-stout/) > [The detective story is the normal recreation of noble minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-guedalla/the-detective-story-is-the-normal-recreation-of-noble-minds/) [Philip Guedalla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-guedalla/) > [I believe there's a landscape that exists underneath everything that we can see in present-day stuff. And I think that makes life kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hopkins/i-believe-there-s-a-landscape-that-exists-underneath-everything-that/) [Stephen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hopkins/) > [Just imagine how interesting it would be if I were to publish a romance of the "Secret Annexe." The title alone would be enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/just-imagine-how-interesting-it-would-be-if-i-were-to-publish-a/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [make no mistake about it, the detective-story is part of the literature of escape, and not of expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-l-sayers/make-no-mistake-about-it-the-detective-story-is-part-of-the/) [Dorothy L. Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-l-sayers/) > [Where there's a will there's a detective story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-wells/where-there-s-a-will-there-s-a-detective-story/) [Carolyn Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-wells/) > [I love facts and figures. It's like following a detective story, piecing together what's going on in the economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-love-facts-and-figures-it-s-like-following-a-detective-story/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“Perhaps this is the purpose of detective investigations, real and fictional -- to transform sensation, horror and grief into a puzzle, and then to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-summerscale/perhaps-this-is-the-purpose-of-detective-investigations-real-and/) [Kate Summerscale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-summerscale/) ## More by Raymond Chandler > [Television's perfect. You turn a few knobs, a few of those mechanical adjustments at which the higher apes are so proficient, and lean back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/television-s-perfect-you-turn-a-few-knobs-a-few-of-those-mechanical/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/there-is-no-trap-so-deadly-as-the-trap-you-set-for-yourself/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Common sense is the guy who tells you that you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/common-sense-is-the-guy-who-tells-you-that-you-ought-to-have-had-your/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [She jerked away from me like a startled fawn might, if I had a startled fawn and it jerked away from me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/she-jerked-away-from-me-like-a-startled-fawn-might-if-i-had-a/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [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/) > [Dashiell Hammett took murder out of theVenetian vase and dropped it into the alley.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/dashiell-hammett-took-murder-out-of-thevenetian-vase-and-dropped-it/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [ “He \[James Cain\] is every kind of writer I detest...a Proust in greasy overalls, a dirty little boy with a piece of chalk and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/he-james-cain-is-every-kind-of-writer-i-detest-a-proust-in-greasy/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [It was a blonde. A blonde to make a bishop kick a hole in a stained-glass window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/it-was-a-blonde-a-blonde-to-make-a-bishop-kick-a-hole-in-a-stained/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“I had been stalking the bluebottle fly for five minutes, waiting for him to sit down. He didn't want to sit down. He just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/i-had-been-stalking-the-bluebottle-fly-for-five-minutes-waiting-for/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“A three-piece Mexican band was making the kind of music a Mexican band always makes. Whatever they play, it all sounds the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/a-three-piece-mexican-band-was-making-the-kind-of-music-a-mexican/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Mostly I just kill time," he said, "and it dies hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/mostly-i-just-kill-time-he-said-and-it-dies-hard/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The book was not new. Dates were stamped on the front endpaper, in and out dates. A rent book. A lending library of elaborate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-book-was-not-new-dates-were-stamped-on-the-front-endpaper-in-and/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/without-magic-there-is-no-art-without-art-there-is-no-idealism/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“The homicide skipper that year was a Captain Gregorius, a type of copper that is getting rarer but by no means extinct, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-homicide-skipper-that-year-was-a-captain-gregorius-a-type-of/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Explore all 430 Raymond Chandler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More Artistic quotes > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [We don't make glamorous movies today. Everything now is very realistic, artistic - and depressing. When is the last time you you saw a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-head/we-don-t-make-glamorous-movies-today-everything-now-is-very-realistic/) [Edith Head](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-head/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [It took me a long time to get to where I am, but I am here and it is everywhere I want to be.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/it-took-me-a-long-time-to-get-to-where-i-am-but-i-am-here-and-it-is/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [When we idealize the real, we sacrifice to artistic fancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fuseli/when-we-idealize-the-real-we-sacrifice-to-artistic-fancy/) [Henry Fuseli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fuseli/) > [For now, I'm supposing that all movements are equal, which they're not, except in this respect: that none of them gives a damn about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/for-now-i-m-supposing-that-all-movements-are-equal-which-they-re-not/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [At a time when painting itself often seems to be a threatened, even despised, form of artistic activity, Andrew Salgado emerges as a dazzlingly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-lucie-smith/at-a-time-when-painting-itself-often-seems-to-be-a-threatened-even/) [Edward Lucie-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-lucie-smith/) > [I think once the artistic world of the type designer merged with the scientific world of the computer programmer, you began to see this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bierut/i-think-once-the-artistic-world-of-the-type-designer-merged-with-the/) [Michael Bierut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bierut/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Writers and musicians know well the importance of extensive reading for successful writing or extensive listening for musical composition. Likewise, visual artists... understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/writers-and-musicians-know-well-the-importance-of-extensive-reading/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [Being a Catholic, I was drawn to the mystery of the Latin and the smoke and the mirrors and all of that. That part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/being-a-catholic-i-was-drawn-to-the-mystery-of-the-latin-and-the/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [It is, of course, a luxury to create art and, on top of this, to insist on expressing one's own artistic opinion. Nothing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-beckmann/it-is-of-course-a-luxury-to-create-art-and-on-top-of-this-to-insist/) [Max Beckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-beckmann/) > [Niches set back in the walls contained polished marble statues of entwined bodies. Will looked away from them hastily, and then back. It wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/niches-set-back-in-the-walls-contained-polished-marble-statues-of/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) [Browse all 1,574 Artistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of mind which can evolve the perfect problem is not the type of mind that can produce the artistic job of writing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Raymond Chandler" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-written-the-type-of-mind-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artistic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-written-the-type-of-mind-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ae/raymond-chandler-629_artistic_the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-wr_2068319.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The perfect detective story cannot be written. The type of mind which can evolve the perfect problem is not…” — Raymond Chandler", "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": "Raymond Chandler", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The perfect detective story cannot be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-written-the-type-of-mind-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/the-perfect-detective-story-cannot-be-written-the-type-of-mind-which/#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 } } ] } ```