--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The story is always better than your…" description: "\"The story is always better than your ability to write it. My belief about this is that if you ever get to the point that you think you've done a story ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/robin-mckinley-1591_ability_the-story-is-always-better-than-your-abi_808499.png" --- # The story is always better than your ability to write it… ![“The story is always better than your ability to write it. My belief about this is that if you ever get to the point that you think you've done a story justice, you're in the wrong business.” quote by Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/robin-mckinley-1591_ability_the-story-is-always-better-than-your-abi_808499.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/robin-mckinley-1591_ability_the-story-is-always-better-than-your-abi_808499.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/robin-mckinley-1591_ability_the-story-is-always-better-than-your-abi_808499.png) > “The story is always better than your ability to write it. My belief about this is that if you ever get to the point that you think you've done a story justice, you're in the wrong business.” [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing skill is often less compelling than the story itself; the narrative should shine beyond the author's prose. **In simple terms:** Story matters more than writing skill. Key Takeaway Focus on strong storytelling. Themes storytelling craft humility Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenplay development - creative workshops - self‑editing Key Concepts narrative power authorial limitation Questions to Reflect On - How can you let the story speak louder than your style? - What techniques elevate narrative over prose? A Different Perspective Even great stories can suffer from poor execution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The story is always better than your ability to write it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-story-is-always-better-than-your-ability-to-write-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [All criticism hurts me. I'm so in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/all-criticism-hurts-me-i-m-so-in-the-wrong-business/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [If you can't get emotional about what you believe in your heart, you're in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-lombardi/if-you-can-t-get-emotional-about-what-you-believe-in-your-heart-you/) [Vince Lombardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-lombardi/) > [“He's not a bad guy, John. It's human nature. He wanted it to be some mistake I made that he wouldn't have made, some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-doria-russell/he-s-not-a-bad-guy-john-it-s-human-nature-he-wanted-it-to-be-some/) [Mary Doria Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-doria-russell/) > [So long as money can answer, it were wrong in any business to put the life in danger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadi/so-long-as-money-can-answer-it-were-wrong-in-any-business-to-put-the/) [Saadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadi/) > [If you're not playing this game to be a champion, if you're not playing this game to be the best, if you're not playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-ingram-ii/if-you-re-not-playing-this-game-to-be-a-champion-if-you-re-not/) [Mark Ingram II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-ingram-ii/) > [If I didn't believe I'm the best, then I'm in the wrong business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zayed-khan/if-i-didn-t-believe-i-m-the-best-then-i-m-in-the-wrong-business/) [Zayed Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zayed-khan/) > [If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong either with you or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/if-your-business-keeps-you-so-busy-that-you-have-no-time-for-anything/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [It's a business driven by curiosity. If you don't want to go out and learn about the world and see the place, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-muir/it-s-a-business-driven-by-curiosity-if-you-don-t-want-to-go-out-and/) [David Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-muir/) > [If you think in terms of topping, you're in the wrong business. You can't think that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-manuel-miranda/if-you-think-in-terms-of-topping-you-re-in-the-wrong-business-you-can/) [Lin-Manuel Miranda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-manuel-miranda/) > [When I read some of the things other movie people say about their work, I think I'm in the wrong business. I don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-macmurray/when-i-read-some-of-the-things-other-movie-people-say-about-their/) [Fred MacMurray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-macmurray/) > [This country-right-or-wrong business is getting a little out-of-date.. History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/this-country-right-or-wrong-business-is-getting-a-little-out-of-date/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [Each story has a different approach for me and I try to work with lighting that will tell you visually the story better than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vilmos-zsigmond/each-story-has-a-different-approach-for-me-and-i-try-to-work-with/) [Vilmos Zsigmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vilmos-zsigmond/) > [The more layers a story has, the better it is for the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nana-patekar/the-more-layers-a-story-has-the-better-it-is-for-the-audience/) [Nana Patekar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nana-patekar/) > [When you're my age and you see a story, you better go for it pretty quickly. I'd just like to get a few more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-le-carre/when-you-re-my-age-and-you-see-a-story-you-better-go-for-it-pretty/) [John le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-le-carre/) ## More by Robin McKinley > [It's hard to look too grand when you're led by someone who looks like a pudding with legs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/it-s-hard-to-look-too-grand-when-you-re-led-by-someone-who-looks-like/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The most serious drawback to the telling-nothing approach is that it made that much more of a mystery of what had happened, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-most-serious-drawback-to-the-telling-nothing-approach-is-that-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was something very odd about the carpet this morning… More hedgehogs? Many more hedgehogs? Positively a lake of hedgehogs?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-something-very-odd-about-the-carpet-this-morning-more/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [He didn't look insane or inhuman. He did look uncooperative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/he-didn-t-look-insane-or-inhuman-he-did-look-uncooperative/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [People forgot; it was in the nature of people to forget, to blur boundaries, to retell stories to come out the way they wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/people-forgot-it-was-in-the-nature-of-people-to-forget-to-blur/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“But he hated to see his people people unhappy--because he was a good king, not because he was a nervous one--”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-he-hated-to-see-his-people-people-unhappy-because-he-was-a-good/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [ “\[the sheep\] sidled up beside him and bumped him lovingly with its head. Val looked at it sadly. "I am sorry, you ugly creature,"… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-sheep-sidled-up-beside-him-and-bumped-him-lovingly-with-its-head/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [I long for another human face just as I fear it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/i-long-for-another-human-face-just-as-i-fear-it/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“Rosie hated her curly golden hair. When she was old enough to hold minimal conversations, the itsy-bitsy-cutesycoo sort of grown-ups would pull the soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/rosie-hated-her-curly-golden-hair-when-she-was-old-enough-to-hold/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“There was, too, a reality to her new life that her old life had lacked, and she realized with a shock that she had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/there-was-too-a-reality-to-her-new-life-that-her-old-life-had-lacked/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Oh,' she said, too bone-weary to pretend: 'I would far rather that I love you as I saw yesterday I do than that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/oh-she-said-too-bone-weary-to-pretend-i-would-far-rather-that-i-love/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [But I'm going to try to tell the truth. Except for the parts I'm leaving out, because there's still stuff I'm just not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/but-i-m-going-to-try-to-tell-the-truth-except-for-the-parts-i-m/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [“The magic in that country was so thick and tenacious that it settled over the land like chalk-dust and over floors and shelves like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/the-magic-in-that-country-was-so-thick-and-tenacious-that-it-settled-2/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) > [Roses are for love. Not silly sweet-hearts' love but the love that makes you and keeps you whole, love that gets you through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-mckinley/roses-are-for-love-not-silly-sweet-hearts-love-but-the-love-that/) [Robin McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) [Explore all 225 Robin McKinley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-mckinley/) ## More Ability quotes > [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/) [Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/) > [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. 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Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/) [Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/) [Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) > [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/) [Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/) > [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/) [Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/) [Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The story is always better than your ability to write it. 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