---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never think of stories as made things…"
description: "\"I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground.\" — Stephen King"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg"
---

#  I never think of stories as made things; I think of them…

![“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg)

> “I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground.”

[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.

Stories are discovered, not invented; they exist waiting to be uncovered like artifacts.

**In simple terms:** Stories are found, not made.

Key Takeaway

Listen for narratives around you.

Themes

creativity storytelling discovery imagination writing

Mood

reflective inspirational

Type

advice philosophical

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- journalism
- film development
- historical research
- personal memoirs

Key Concepts

literature anthropology philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- Where have you found an unexpected story?
- How can you become more attuned to hidden narratives?

A Different Perspective

Not all ideas are ready to be found; some require creation.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-3/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [I think the things we want most in life, the things we think will set us free, are not the thing we need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/i-think-the-things-we-want-most-in-life-the-things-we-think-will-set/)

[Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/)

> [We must always think about things, and we must think about things as they are, not as they are said to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/we-must-always-think-about-things-and-we-must-think-about-things-as/)

[George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/)

> [think of nothing things think of wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/think-of-nothing-things-think-of-wind/)

[Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/)

> [“People think that they think things, and they also think that they know things. They could usefully give some attention to the question of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idries-shah/people-think-that-they-think-things-and-they-also-think-that-they/)

[Idries Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idries-shah/)

> [some things you will think of yourself,...some things God will put into your mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/some-things-you-will-think-of-yourself-some-things-god-will-put-into/)

[Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/)

> [We put limitations on the way that we think about things, on ourselves, think about all the boxes we live in, male or female,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brit-marling/we-put-limitations-on-the-way-that-we-think-about-things-on-ourselves/)

[Brit Marling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brit-marling/)

> [I never think people should do things for me. I think I should do things for others. That makes me more comfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alber-elbaz/i-never-think-people-should-do-things-for-me-i-think-i-should-do/)

[Alber Elbaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alber-elbaz/)

> [Sometimes I think you do the things you think are best at the time for what you need to take care of, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aron-eisenberg/sometimes-i-think-you-do-the-things-you-think-are-best-at-the-time/)

[Aron Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aron-eisenberg/)

> [There are a lot of times where people think I'm in things that I'm not in, because they think I'm Kumail Nanjiani.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kondabolu/there-are-a-lot-of-times-where-people-think-i-m-in-things-that-i-m/)

[Hari Kondabolu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kondabolu/)

> [The best thing you can do for your fellow, next to rousing his conscience, is — not to give him things to think about,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-best-thing-you-can-do-for-your-fellow-next-to-rousing-his/)

[George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/)

> [Ah, but is it not the mind that is the real grace of Homo sapiens? All the things to think about! All the things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-emshwiller/ah-but-is-it-not-the-mind-that-is-the-real-grace-of-homo-sapiens-all/)

[Carol Emshwiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-emshwiller/)

> [“Q: But what do you think that the Bible, itself, says? Don't you know how it was arrived at? A: I never made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scopes-trial/q-but-what-do-you-think-that-the-bible-itself-says-don-t-you-know-how/)

Scopes Trial

> [“Happy stories are the things we tell to make ourselves feel better. But they are never true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anni-taylor/happy-stories-are-the-things-we-tell-to-make-ourselves-feel-better/)

[Anni Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anni-taylor/)

## 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 Found quotes

> [I never believed in trying to do anything. Whatever I set out to do I found I had already accomplished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/i-never-believed-in-trying-to-do-anything-whatever-i-set-out-to-do-i/)

[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/)

> [I love being in Malibu. It's so cool there, and the water is just, it's nice and, and I love the beach. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-evancho/i-love-being-in-malibu-it-s-so-cool-there-and-the-water-is-just-it-s/)

[Jackie Evancho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-evancho/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/)

[Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/)

> [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/)

[Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/)

> [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/)

[Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/)

> [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/)

[Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/)

> [Real breakthroughs are not found because you want to develop some new technology, but because you are curious and want to find out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-zeilinger/real-breakthroughs-are-not-found-because-you-want-to-develop-some-new/)

[Anton Zeilinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-zeilinger/)

> [Like a child exploring the attic of an old house on a rainy day, discovering a trunk full of treasure and then calling all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/like-a-child-exploring-the-attic-of-an-old-house-on-a-rainy-day/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/)

[Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/)

> [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/)

[James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/)

> [What has drug addiction done for me? It's cost me my career, my fortune and basically my sex life when I found out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbin-crosby/what-has-drug-addiction-done-for-me-it-s-cost-me-my-career-my-fortune/)

Robbin Crosby

> [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/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

Browse all 12,329 Found quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the ground.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen King"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Found"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a72/stephen-king-13_found_i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things_1222764.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I never think of stories as made things; I think of them as found things. As if you pull them out of the…” — 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": "I never think of stories as...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-never-think-of-stories-as-made-things-i-think-of-them-as-found-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
