--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every writer knows a lot more about their…" description: "\"Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.\" — Robin Hobb" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg" --- # Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and… ![“Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.” quote by Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg) > “Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.” [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers often understand their characters deeply, but much of that insight never appears in the final text. **In simple terms:** Writers know more than they show. Key Takeaway Learn to trust your intuition and edit wisely. Themes writing character development self-awareness Mood reflective thoughtful Type advice insightful When to use this quote - novel drafting - editing workshops - author interviews Key Concepts Narrative depth implicit knowledge Questions to Reflect On - How can you capture hidden character layers? - What editing techniques reveal deeper truth? A Different Perspective The unseen insight may be lost without careful revision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-story-1556012/) [Knows Lot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows-lot-302098/) [Makes Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes-page-5104697/) [Story Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-actually-823671/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-knows-845681/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [But it's the particularity of a place, the physical experience of being in a place, that makes it onto the page. That's why I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/but-it-s-the-particularity-of-a-place-the-physical-experience-of/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [To be honest, I don't think of any of my characters as minor characters - they're all the main characters in a story that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/to-be-honest-i-don-t-think-of-any-of-my-characters-as-minor/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“The experimental version of this story could actually be told as two stories happening “simultaneously,” each narrated in alternating sections which take place in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/the-experimental-version-of-this-story-could-actually-be-told-as-two/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > ['Love Story' is actually about a guy that I almost dated. But when I introduced him to my family and my friends, they all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/love-story-is-actually-about-a-guy-that-i-almost-dated-but-when-i/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I like it when somebody tells me a story, and I actually really feel that that's becoming like a lost art in American cinema.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-like-it-when-somebody-tells-me-a-story-and-i-actually-really-feel/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [The real story of Facebook is just that we've worked so hard for all this time. I mean, the real story is actually probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/the-real-story-of-facebook-is-just-that-we-ve-worked-so-hard-for-all/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [I just think people have a lot of fiction. But, you know, I mean, the real story of Facebook is just that we've worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/i-just-think-people-have-a-lot-of-fiction-but-you-know-i-mean-the/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [“Can a story be good only if it produces an effect? If the effect is a bad one, but intended, has the story done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/can-a-story-be-good-only-if-it-produces-an-effect-if-the-effect-is-a/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [The big issue was cutting. I finally cut as much as I could, about a fourth of the story, and actually liked it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zz-packer-64818/the-big-issue-was-cutting-i-finally-cut-as-much-as-i-could-about-a/) [ZZ Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zz-packer-64818/) > [“Every picture tells a story. But sometimes it's hard to know what story is actually being told.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anastasia-hollings/every-picture-tells-a-story-but-sometimes-it-s-hard-to-know-what/) [Anastasia Hollings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anastasia-hollings/) > [An expert is someone who knows a lot about the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hopkins/an-expert-is-someone-who-knows-a-lot-about-the-past/) [Tom Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hopkins/) > [An educated man is one who knows a lot and says nothing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gracie-fields/an-educated-man-is-one-who-knows-a-lot-and-says-nothing-about-it/) [Gracie Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gracie-fields/) > [You've gotta have somebody to trust, that knows a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/you-ve-gotta-have-somebody-to-trust-that-knows-a-lot/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [My dad teaches me. He teaches me everything. He's been acting for over 30 years, so he knows a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kodi-smit-mcphee/my-dad-teaches-me-he-teaches-me-everything-he-s-been-acting-for-over/) [Kodi Smit-McPhee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kodi-smit-mcphee/) > [“The "I" in the poem is not you but someone who knows a lot about you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-bell/the-i-in-the-poem-is-not-you-but-someone-who-knows-a-lot-about-you/) [Marvin Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-bell/) ## More by Robin Hobb > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“But that is not true for all folk. Some folk are meant to argue with fate. And win.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/but-that-is-not-true-for-all-folk-some-folk-are-meant-to-argue-with/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I tried to leave you alone, Fitz. To find what peace you could, even if it excluded me from your life.” Ten years ago,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-tried-to-leave-you-alone-fitz-to-find-what-peace-you-could-even-if/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Do you think you're taking Etta out of here?" "Yes," Kennit called over his shoulder up the sairs. "What about all these dead men?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/do-you-think-you-re-taking-etta-out-of-here-yes-kennit-called-over/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“A way out is a way in. Then,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/a-way-out-is-a-way-in-then/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Die in your dreams, wake up insane.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/die-in-your-dreams-wake-up-insane/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I felt a familiar squeezing in what I thought must be my heart. I had heard of being "heartbroken" or "heavy-hearted" but I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-felt-a-familiar-squeezing-in-what-i-thought-must-be-my-heart-i-had/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“They spoke of a dream of a child who bore the heart of a wolf.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/they-spoke-of-a-dream-of-a-child-who-bore-the-heart-of-a-wolf/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“We all perish in our last attempt to live.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/we-all-perish-in-our-last-attempt-to-live/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“There is always power in holding a secret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/there-is-always-power-in-holding-a-secret/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“... finally realizing that life was to be lived, rather than hoarded against an unseen tomorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/finally-realizing-that-life-was-to-be-lived-rather-than-hoarded/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“Why, I suddenly wondered, had I wasted all those hours I could have spent with her? Why hadn’t I gone with them, to listen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/why-i-suddenly-wondered-had-i-wasted-all-those-hours-i-could-have/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I think I made a better boy than I do a man, I admitted ruefully to the wolf. Why not wait until you've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-think-i-made-a-better-boy-than-i-do-a-man-i-admitted-ruefully-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“So, with all the wide world to choose from, you didn't choose at all. You simply stopped wandering one day”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/so-with-all-the-wide-world-to-choose-from-you-didn-t-choose-at-all/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [“I don't think I can stand it much longer,” he warned her. “Something will have to give way. And I fear it will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/i-don-t-think-i-can-stand-it-much-longer-he-warned-her-something-will/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) [Explore all 500 Robin Hobb quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) [David Hudgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hudgins/) > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robin Hobb" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Character" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/robin-hobb-489_character_every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-thei_3072421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every writer knows a lot more about their characters and story than actually makes it onto the page.” — Robin Hobb", "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": "Robin Hobb", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every writer knows a lot more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/every-writer-knows-a-lot-more-about-their-characters-and-story-than/#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 } } ] } ```