--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm terrible at story and structure, but…" description: "\"I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at writing dialogue.\" — Steve Buscemi" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg" --- # I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at… ![“I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at writing dialogue.” quote by Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg) > “I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at writing dialogue.” [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. I struggle with plot structure but excel at writing dialogue. **In simple terms:** Good dialogue can compensate for weak plots. Key Takeaway Leverage strong dialogue in storytelling. Themes writing dialogue structure Mood practical creative Type instructional reflective When to use this quote - screenwriting - novel drafting - playwriting Key Concepts character voice narrative pacing Questions to Reflect On - How can dialogue reveal plot? - When should plot take precedence? A Different Perspective Relying too much on dialogue may neglect story coherence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-writing/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-dialogue/) ## Related quotes > [Readers take in dialogue one thought at a time. A frequent mistake of beginners is to combine thoughts, which may be suitable for other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/readers-take-in-dialogue-one-thought-at-a-time-a-frequent-mistake-of/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) > [For all forms, writing dialogue is almost like writing music. I pay close attention to rhythms and tones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/for-all-forms-writing-dialogue-is-almost-like-writing-music-i-pay/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [There's a point I can get to where I start writing character and then through the dialogue, after all of this preparation, the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/there-s-a-point-i-can-get-to-where-i-start-writing-character-and-then/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [If there's anything I'm keen to get better at in my writing, then it's the writing of prose as opposed to the writing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/if-there-s-anything-i-m-keen-to-get-better-at-in-my-writing-then-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [There is a kind of structure for a story that was peculiarly compelling for the radio. I thought I had invented it atom-by-atom sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/there-is-a-kind-of-structure-for-a-story-that-was-peculiarly/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [I'm big on story structure. I studied with John Truby, who mapped out story by means of moral wants and needs, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-leavitt/i-m-big-on-story-structure-i-studied-with-john-truby-who-mapped-out/) [Caroline Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-leavitt/) > [“Too often we sit back and speak platitudes of the nitty-gritty bits of writing; the editing, the story structure, the verbal sparring vs. banter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-heffington/too-often-we-sit-back-and-speak-platitudes-of-the-nitty-gritty-bits/) [Rachel Heffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-heffington/) > [I try to write every day until the book is done, but the exact process depends on the story and its structure. 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A sampling of those questions might be the following: Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haddon-w-robinson/a-series-of-different-questions-must-be-raised-when-trying-to/) [Haddon W. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haddon-w-robinson/) > [“Is this a case of “Do as I say, not as I do?” The reader has a perfect right to ask the question, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/is-this-a-case-of-do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do-the-reader-has-a-perfect/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Nothing teaches you as much about writing dialogue as listening to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-blume/nothing-teaches-you-as-much-about-writing-dialogue-as-listening-to-it/) [Judy Blume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-blume/) > [At its best, writing is a dialogue. It's one of the things I love about children's: the fact that this dialogue is really there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-serle/at-its-best-writing-is-a-dialogue-it-s-one-of-the-things-i-love-about/) [Rebecca Serle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-serle/) > [You want to have the experience. As far as the creative side, the more I do this, the more I know that it's all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-bentley/you-want-to-have-the-experience-as-far-as-the-creative-side-the-more/) [Wes Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-bentley/) ## More by Steve Buscemi > [I suppose things are better now, but ... I don't know. People still hate each other, they just know how to hide it better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-suppose-things-are-better-now-but-i-don-t-know-people-still-hate/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I read the script and decide if a particular character looks fun to play. I look for complexity and a sense of humor. Those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-read-the-script-and-decide-if-a-particular-character-looks-fun-to/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Bob Altman had this relaxed but serious attitude. Everybody loved him. I wanted him to adopt me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/bob-altman-had-this-relaxed-but-serious-attitude-everybody-loved-him/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I never know what I'm going to get. A 'Sopranos' fan is very different from a 'Big Lebowski' fan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-never-know-what-i-m-going-to-get-a-sopranos-fan-is-very-different/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Nothing's really changed for me over the years. I like telling stories about people with problems. I can't really put it much simpler than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/nothing-s-really-changed-for-me-over-the-years-i-like-telling-stories/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I don't tend to think of the characters i play as losers. I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-don-t-tend-to-think-of-the-characters-i-play-as-losers-i-like-the/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Casting is everything. Getting the person that you imagined is this character and then seeing what they bring to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/casting-is-everything-getting-the-person-that-you-imagined-is-this/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I like the struggles that people have, people who are feeling like they don't fit into society, because I still sort of feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-like-the-struggles-that-people-have-people-who-are-feeling-like/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Anything you write, even if you have to start over, is valuable. I let the story write itself through the characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/anything-you-write-even-if-you-have-to-start-over-is-valuable-i-let/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I never did improv professionally, but that was certainly in my training as an actor. I like it. Actually, when I did theater, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-never-did-improv-professionally-but-that-was-certainly-in-my/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [When I was doing stand-up, I was about twenty, and I really think that that's a little too young. I didn't have a whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/when-i-was-doing-stand-up-i-was-about-twenty-and-i-really-think-that/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [With Animal Factory you'd think that because it's mostly interiors, you could shoot it anywhere. So we shot this in Philadelphia, and we had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/with-animal-factory-you-d-think-that-because-it-s-mostly-interiors/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I never made a daring rescue, which is the story people want to hear. I did go to my share of fires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-never-made-a-daring-rescue-which-is-the-story-people-want-to-hear-i/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I never want to feel like the way that I see it isthe only way. Sometimes mistakes happen and that's better than whatyou thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-never-want-to-feel-like-the-way-that-i-see-it-isthe-only-way/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I was very surprised that for a while I could only get cast as straight. It was that way for a few years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-was-very-surprised-that-for-a-while-i-could-only-get-cast-as/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) [Explore all 103 Steve Buscemi quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) ## More Bad writing quotes > [“Except in stock locutions, such as "You were paid yesterday," "The Germans were defeated," or "The project was abandoned," the passive voice is virtually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/except-in-stock-locutions-such-as-you-were-paid-yesterday-the-germans/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [“There is one surefire way to produce bad writing: submit to the slavery of a deadline.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flavia-id/there-is-one-surefire-way-to-produce-bad-writing-submit-to-the/) Flavia Idà > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Jokes that are gratuitously offensive are synonymous with bad writing to me. I'm offended as a writer first and as a person second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-bloom/jokes-that-are-gratuitously-offensive-are-synonymous-with-bad-writing/) [Rachel Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-bloom/) > [“A person who wrote badly did better than a person who does not write at all. A bad writing can be corrected. An empty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/a-person-who-wrote-badly-did-better-than-a-person-who-does-not-write/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He isn't a - well...eh." She made a face. "Well, yeah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-mcadams/he-isn-t-a-well-eh-she-made-a-face-well-yeah/) [Molly McAdams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-mcadams/) > [Good writers hate bad writing but hating bad writing doesn’t make you good. Writing badly does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-harmon/good-writers-hate-bad-writing-but-hating-bad-writing-doesn-t-make-you/) [Dan Harmon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-harmon/) > [A day of bad writing is always better than a day of no writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/a-day-of-bad-writing-is-always-better-than-a-day-of-no-writing/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“Is this a case of “Do as I say, not as I do?” The reader has a perfect right to ask the question, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/is-this-a-case-of-do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do-the-reader-has-a-perfect/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [There is no left and right in writing. There is only good and bad writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-is-no-left-and-right-in-writing-there-is-only-good-and-bad/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [The way the show was conceived originally and developed, has always had good writing at the heart of it, it's very difficult to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/the-way-the-show-was-conceived-originally-and-developed-has-always/) [Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/) > [Think 'Game of Thrones.' In the old days, this sort of show might be considered bad writing. It doesn't really seem to be moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-rushkoff/think-game-of-thrones-in-the-old-days-this-sort-of-show-might-be/) [Douglas Rushkoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-rushkoff/) > [“I wanted to let go, drop him, anything to get him out of my arms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-a-bodeen/i-wanted-to-let-go-drop-him-anything-to-get-him-out-of-my-arms/) [S.A. Bodeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-a-bodeen/) > [“You can only write regularly if you're willing to write badly. You can't write regularly and well. One should accept bad writing as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/you-can-only-write-regularly-if-you-re-willing-to-write-badly-you-can/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Browse all 94 Bad writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at writing dialogue.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Buscemi" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but-i-m-not-so-bad-at-writing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bad writing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but-i-m-not-so-bad-at-writing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/346/steve-buscemi-5055_communication_i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but_1560257.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm terrible at story and structure, but I'm not so bad at writing dialogue.” — Steve Buscemi", "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": "Steve Buscemi", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm terrible at story and structure,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but-i-m-not-so-bad-at-writing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/i-m-terrible-at-story-and-structure-but-i-m-not-so-bad-at-writing/#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 } } ] } ```