--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As it happens, I think that in really…" description: "\"“As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.”\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg" --- # As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the… ![“As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg) > ““As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A good story’s overall impact exceeds the sum of its individual elements. **In simple terms:** The whole beats the parts. Key Takeaway Focus on overall cohesion. Themes storytelling structure holism Mood inspired reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - film script - marketing pitch Key Concepts Narrative theory emergent meaning Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure each element serves the larger narrative? - What parts feel disconnected? A Different Perspective A strong part can’t compensate for a weak whole. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-stories/) [Greater Sum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greater-sum-695406/) [Really Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really-good/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-greater-3337769/) [Sum Of The Parts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sum-of-the-parts/) ## Related quotes > [“The whole feels much greater than the sum of the parts,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-gottfried/the-whole-feels-much-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-parts/) [Sara Gottfried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-gottfried/) > [“Really, Dad. I understand now about the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/really-dad-i-understand-now-about-the-whole-being-greater-than-the/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [When people tell really good stories in songs, I really like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-simone/when-people-tell-really-good-stories-in-songs-i-really-like-it/) [Hannah Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-simone/) > [There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good stories seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-is-no-idea-dump-no-story-central-no-island-of-the-buried/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It had that comfortably sprung, lived-in look that library books with a lively circulation always get; bent page corners, a dab of mustard on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-had-that-comfortably-sprung-lived-in-look-that-library-books-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [There are books full of great writing that don't have very good stories. Read sometimes for the story... don't be like the book-snobs who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-books-full-of-great-writing-that-don-t-have-very-good/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [We are greater than the sum of our parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/we-are-greater-than-the-sum-of-our-parts/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [But that part of us greater than the sum of our parts cannot begin and cannot end, and so it cannot fail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/but-that-part-of-us-greater-than-the-sum-of-our-parts-cannot-begin/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [The only possible idea of India is that of a nation greater than the sum of its parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/the-only-possible-idea-of-india-is-that-of-a-nation-greater-than-the/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“Pride is a fallacy. None of us are greater than the sum of our parts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hirzel/pride-is-a-fallacy-none-of-us-are-greater-than-the-sum-of-our-parts/) [Eric Hirzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hirzel/) > [“...to form something greater than the sum of its parts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teri-terry/to-form-something-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts/) [Teri Terry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teri-terry/) > [“You are greater than the sum of the pieces of your broken heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cody-edward-lee-miller/you-are-greater-than-the-sum-of-the-pieces-of-your-broken-heart/) [Cody Edward Lee Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cody-edward-lee-miller/) > [We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-are-greater-than-the-sum-of-our-individual-ambitions/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“I believe now that we are greater than the sum of our parts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-now-that-we-are-greater-than-the-sum-of-our-parts/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Good stories quotes > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [In writing, I want to be remembered for telling good stories in beautiful and powerful language, using the poetry of words to reflect the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-edwards/in-writing-i-want-to-be-remembered-for-telling-good-stories-in/) [Kim Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-edwards/) > [I think there's so many shows out there that have pushed the limit on technology and all of that stuff. I think people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/valentin-chmerkovskiy/i-think-there-s-so-many-shows-out-there-that-have-pushed-the-limit-on/) [Valentin Chmerkovskiy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/valentin-chmerkovskiy/) > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“All good stories usually start at the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-fifth-estate/all-good-stories-usually-start-at-the-beginning/) [The Fifth Estate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-fifth-estate/) > [Immigrant stories are good stories for everyone to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-kenin/immigrant-stories-are-good-stories-for-everyone-to-know/) [Sofia Kenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-kenin/) > [Most of the stories I have go downhill quickly. In all honesty most of the good stories I have, no one else would think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jd-era/most-of-the-stories-i-have-go-downhill-quickly-in-all-honesty-most-of/) [JD Era](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jd-era/) > [(I want to) make good stories that have a redemptive message and allow people to dig into their own lives and personal struggles and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-waters/i-want-to-make-good-stories-that-have-a-redemptive-message-and-allow/) [Drew Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-waters/) > [Wherever the good stories are, I'm trying to place myself there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-wright/wherever-the-good-stories-are-i-m-trying-to-place-myself-there/) [Letitia Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-wright/) > [There are a lot of good stories out there, but I haven't found too many great scripts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-phillippe/there-are-a-lot-of-good-stories-out-there-but-i-haven-t-found-too/) [Ryan Phillippe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-phillippe/) > [Everyone seems quite good at stories and making them up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-stoner/everyone-seems-quite-good-at-stories-and-making-them-up/) [Casey Stoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-stoner/) > [If we want good stories, writers should be given their due.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanshu-chatterjee/if-we-want-good-stories-writers-should-be-given-their-due/) [Priyanshu Chatterjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanshu-chatterjee/) > [People want good stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-haysbert/people-want-good-stories/) [Dennis Haysbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-haysbert/) > [“All good stories - stories that touch your soul, stories that change your nature, stories that cause you to become a better person from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camron-wright/all-good-stories-stories-that-touch-your-soul-stories-that-change/) [Camron Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camron-wright/) > [I love telling good stories and I love playing powerful, strong women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yvette-gonzalez-nacer/i-love-telling-good-stories-and-i-love-playing-powerful-strong-women/) [Yvette Gonzalez-Nacer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yvette-gonzalez-nacer/) [Browse all 121 Good stories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-stories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-good-stories-the-whole-is-always/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Good stories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-good-stories-the-whole-is-always/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78e/stephen-king-13_sum-of-the-parts_as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-goo_1975011.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As it happens, I think that in really good stories, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts.” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As it happens, I think that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-good-stories-the-whole-is-always/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-it-happens-i-think-that-in-really-good-stories-the-whole-is-always/#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 } } ] } ```