--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I distrust plot for two reasons: first…" description: "\"“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planni..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/stephen-king-13_work-together_i-distrust-plot-for-two-reasons-first-be_1324900.jpg" --- # I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives… ![“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible. It’s best that I be as clear about this as I…” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/stephen-king-13_work-together_i-distrust-plot-for-two-reasons-first-be_1324900.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/stephen-king-13_work-together_i-distrust-plot-for-two-reasons-first-be_1324900.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dd/stephen-king-13_work-together_i-distrust-plot-for-two-reasons-first-be_1324900.jpg) > ““I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible. It’s best that I be as clear about this as I can—I want you to understand that my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow (and to transcribe them, of course). If you can see things this way (or at least try to), we can work together comfortably. If, on the other hand, you decide I’m crazy, that’s fine. You won’t be the first.”” [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. King argues that stories arise organically rather than being forced by strict plotting; writers should provide a framework and let narratives develop themselves. **In simple terms:** Stories grow naturally; writers set the stage. Key Takeaway Allow stories to evolve, don’t over‑plan. Themes creativity writing storytelling Mood reflective inquisitive Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - novel drafting - screenwriting - improvisational workshops Key Concepts organic narrative authorial humility Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance structure with freedom? - When does improvisation hinder clarity? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on spontaneity can lead to incoherent plots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believe Plotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-plotting-4425307/) [Making Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-stories-333654/) [Plot Reasons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plot-reasons-4425308/) [Plotting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plotting/) [Plotting Spontaneity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plotting-spontaneity-4425309/) [Work together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-together/) ## Related quotes > [...my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/my-basic-belief-about-the-making-of-stories-is-that-they-pretty-much/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Of course, the writer can impose control; It's just a really shitty idea. Writing controlled fiction is called "plotting." Buckling your seatbelt and letting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/of-course-the-writer-can-impose-control-it-s-just-a-really-shitty/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I've been writing since I was 7, but before that, I was orally making stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maxine-hong-kingston/i-ve-been-writing-since-i-was-7-but-before-that-i-was-orally-making/) [Maxine Hong Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maxine-hong-kingston/) > [When I was a child, I loved making stories, so I thought maybe I would be a novelist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/when-i-was-a-child-i-loved-making-stories-so-i-thought-maybe-i-would/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [One of the fun things about play is making up stories...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lasseter/one-of-the-fun-things-about-play-is-making-up-stories/) [John Lasseter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lasseter/) > [In making up stories, as in reading stories, I could create a contained world in which an experience is shared in its entirety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/in-making-up-stories-as-in-reading-stories-i-could-create-a-contained/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I was always inventing characters and making up stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-vega/i-was-always-inventing-characters-and-making-up-stories/) [Suzanne Vega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-vega/) > [As a kid, I liked making up stories, and I wrote a story about a kangaroo and a bat with Christy Chang, and she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-bender/as-a-kid-i-liked-making-up-stories-and-i-wrote-a-story-about-a/) [Aimee Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-bender/) > [It doesn't feel like work. Yes, I have days that are difficult, but I'm sitting in a chair making up stories. It's what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-lippman/it-doesn-t-feel-like-work-yes-i-have-days-that-are-difficult-but-i-m/) [Laura Lippman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-lippman/) > [I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-had-the-lonely-child-s-habit-of-making-up-stories-and-holding/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Never trust a writer. They are too good at making Stories.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/himanshu-chhabra/never-trust-a-writer-they-are-too-good-at-making-stories/) [Himanshu Chhabra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/himanshu-chhabra/) > [We understand ourselves through stories, by making stories out of our lives. Storytellers give people structure with which they can begin to look at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-harley/we-understand-ourselves-through-stories-by-making-stories-out-of-our/) [Bill Harley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-harley/) > [Instead of making up stories, stay with the facts. For example, "I am ruined" is a story. It limits you and prevents you from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/instead-of-making-up-stories-stay-with-the-facts-for-example-i-am/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [“I love making up stories. I love getting lost in other worlds and being with other characters. I love the way I think I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyne-aarsen/i-love-making-up-stories-i-love-getting-lost-in-other-worlds-and/) [Carolyne Aarsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyne-aarsen/) > [In some ways, I don’t feel as if I had a choice. Looking back at my childhood, even before I could read and write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-hale/in-some-ways-i-don-t-feel-as-if-i-had-a-choice-looking-back-at-my/) [Shannon Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-hale/) ## 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 Plotting quotes > [“When you fear nothing, you have nothing to fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-f-chandler/when-you-fear-nothing-you-have-nothing-to-fear/) [S.F. Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-f-chandler/) > [Tim Conway was a little different from the rest. He was always in the back of the studio building something with the prop man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vicki-lawrence/tim-conway-was-a-little-different-from-the-rest-he-was-always-in-the/) [Vicki Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vicki-lawrence/) > [Gettting to know your characters is so much more important than plotting. Working out every detail of your story in advance, especially when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/gettting-to-know-your-characters-is-so-much-more-important-than/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [My forte is the plotting. You sit down, and you work out a plot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-cussler/my-forte-is-the-plotting-you-sit-down-and-you-work-out-a-plot/) [Clive Cussler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-cussler/) > [“How dare he call me while I was plotting his murder?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alycia-linwood/how-dare-he-call-me-while-i-was-plotting-his-murder/) [Alycia Linwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alycia-linwood/) > [As an engineer I'm constantly spotting problems and plotting how to solve them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dyson/as-an-engineer-i-m-constantly-spotting-problems-and-plotting-how-to/) [James Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dyson/) > [When I decided to take writing seriously, I did a lot of reading and analyzing of the books I liked, and came up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-stephen/when-i-decided-to-take-writing-seriously-i-did-a-lot-of-reading-and/) [George Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-stephen/) > [“Introduction of deus ex machina is a tell-tale sign of sloppy plotting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mehalek/introduction-of-deus-ex-machina-is-a-tell-tale-sign-of-sloppy-plotting/) [Mike Mehalek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mehalek/) > [“Steven G. Johnson pointed out in the julia-​user mailing list that pyplot (a matplotlib wrapper) is another, fourth way for plotting in julia.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/steven-g-johnson-pointed-out-in-the-julia-user-mailing-list-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“On THE AMBER SPYGLASS: "If this plotline was a motorist, it would have been arrested for driving while intoxicated, if it had not perished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-wright/on-the-amber-spyglass-if-this-plotline-was-a-motorist-it-would-have/) [John C. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-wright/) > [There's more to directing than plotting scenes out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-juvonen/there-s-more-to-directing-than-plotting-scenes-out/) [Nancy Juvonen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-juvonen/) > [“I have a plan, one I've been plotting for years now. It is my only way out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-have-a-plan-one-i-ve-been-plotting-for-years-now-it-is-my-only-way/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“Other people dream while they are asleep. I plot new book ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-c-hillstrom/other-people-dream-while-they-are-asleep-i-plot-new-book-ideas/) [Michelle C. Hillstrom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-c-hillstrom/) > [You can't compete with hip-hop. That doesn't mean I don't want to be as big as a rap star. I do - I'm always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-flowers/you-can-t-compete-with-hip-hop-that-doesn-t-mean-i-don-t-want-to-be/) [Brandon Flowers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-flowers/) > [While my writing does seem to ultimately have a lot to do with pantsing in the end, without the plotting, I'd get nowhere to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/violet-duke/while-my-writing-does-seem-to-ultimately-have-a-lot-to-do-with/) [Violet Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/violet-duke/) [Browse all 52 Plotting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plotting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I distrust plot for two reasons: first, because our lives are largely plotless, even when you add in all our reasonable precautions and careful planning; and second, because I believe plotting and the spontaneity of real creation aren’t compatible. It’s best that I be as clear about this as I can—I want you to understand that my basic belief about the making of stories is that they pretty much make themselves. The job of the writer is to give them a place to grow (and to transcribe them, of course). If you can see things this way (or at least try to), we can work together comfortably. If, on the other hand, you decide I’m crazy, that’s fine. 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