--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've never seen novels as built things. I…" description: "\"I've never seen novels as built things. I have a tendency to see them as found things so that I always feel a little bit like an archaeologist who's wo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/stephen-king-13_archaeologists_i-ve-never-seen-novels-as-built-things-i_1250550.jpg" --- # I've never seen novels as built things. I have a tendency… ![“I've never seen novels as built things. I have a tendency to see them as found things so that I always feel a little bit like an archaeologist who's working to get some fragile fossil out of the ground. And the more you get out unbroken, the better you succeed.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/stephen-king-13_archaeologists_i-ve-never-seen-novels-as-built-things-i_1250550.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/stephen-king-13_archaeologists_i-ve-never-seen-novels-as-built-things-i_1250550.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/052/stephen-king-13_archaeologists_i-ve-never-seen-novels-as-built-things-i_1250550.jpg) > “I've never seen novels as built things. I have a tendency to see them as found things so that I always feel a little bit like an archaeologist who's working to get some fragile fossil out of the ground. And the more you get out unbroken, the better you succeed.” [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. He views novels as artifacts to uncover, not constructs to design, emphasizing discovery over invention. **In simple terms:** Novels are like fossils to dig up. Key Takeaway Approach writing as an excavation. Themes creativity discovery craft literature Mood reflective inquisitive Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - creative process - editing Key Concepts archaeology fragility uncovering Questions to Reflect On - How does seeing a story as a fossil affect your writing? - Can you balance discovery with design? A Different Perspective Treating novels as built may limit imaginative construction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Archaeologists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) [Bits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bits/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built/) [Built Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/built-things-3493564/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Fossils](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossils/) [Found](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/found/) [Fragile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fragile/) [Like Archaeologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-archaeologist-3939892/) [Little bit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-bit/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Built](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-built-3939891/) [Seen Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seen-novels-3939893/) [Succeed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/succeed/) [Tendencies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tendencies/) [Unbroken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unbroken/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I've seen novels that have grown out of one story in a collection. 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More than one archaeologist has found his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/millar-burrows/on-the-whole-archaeological-work-has-unquestionably-strengthened/) [Millar Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/millar-burrows/) > [In becoming archaeologists of the world of our mothers, we are trying to retrieve the female past and to invent a future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bernikow/in-becoming-archaeologists-of-the-world-of-our-mothers-we-are-trying/) [Louise Bernikow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bernikow/) > [“Were archaeologists really such a sex-starved lot as all that? Did pigs really sweat?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/were-archaeologists-really-such-a-sex-starved-lot-as-all-that-did/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? 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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. 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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 Archaeologists quotes > [“Were archaeologists really such a sex-starved lot as all that? 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The city is crumbling into ashes. It has been buried under taxes and frauds and maladministrations so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lafcadio-hearn/times-are-not-good-here-the-city-is-crumbling-into-ashes-it-has-been/) [Lafcadio Hearn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lafcadio-hearn/) [Browse all 68 Archaeologists quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/archaeologists/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've never seen novels as built things. I have a tendency to see them as found things so that I always feel a little bit like an archaeologist who's working to get some fragile fossil out of the ground. 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