--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the horribly frustrating things…" description: "\"One of the horribly frustrating things about writing feature films is the rules everyone applies and says, 'You have to do this by the end of the first..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg" --- # One of the horribly frustrating things about writing… ![“One of the horribly frustrating things about writing feature films is the rules everyone applies and says, 'You have to do this by the end of the first act and by the end of the second act you must introduce this.' As if there were rules to life or telling a story or the ways things happen, which…” quote by Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg) > “One of the horribly frustrating things about writing feature films is the rules everyone applies and says, 'You have to do this by the end of the first act and by the end of the second act you must introduce this.' As if there were rules to life or telling a story or the ways things happen, which of course there aren't.” [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Film writing guidelines are often treated as rigid rules, but storytelling is fluid; imposing strict structures limits creativity. **In simple terms:** Storytelling isn’t bound by strict rules. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility in narrative structure. Themes creativity storytelling rules flexibility Mood analytical thoughtful Type educational reflective When to use this quote - screenplay drafting - improvisation - genre blending - character development Key Concepts film theory writing process Questions to Reflect On - When do you follow a structure? - Which rules have helped you? A Different Perspective Some structures help maintain pacing and audience clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Telling A Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-a-story/) [Things happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [That sad moment when you're telling a story but you realize nobody's listening to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/that-sad-moment-when-you-re-telling-a-story-but-you-realize-nobody-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Telling a story is like reaching into a granary full of wheat and drawing out a handful. There is always more to tell than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/telling-a-story-is-like-reaching-into-a-granary-full-of-wheat-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“Telling a story is like playing a fiddle. No one want's to hear it when it's done badly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/telling-a-story-is-like-playing-a-fiddle-no-one-want-s-to-hear-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At the end of the day, it's all one version of telling a story. I treated this as if it was a two million…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-farrell/at-the-end-of-the-day-it-s-all-one-version-of-telling-a-story-i/) [Colin Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-farrell/) > [The most important thing to realise is that everyone is capable of telling a story. It doesn't matter where we were born or how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maeve-binchy/the-most-important-thing-to-realise-is-that-everyone-is-capable-of/) [Maeve Binchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maeve-binchy/) > [Being an actor is an extension of telling a story and I loved story telling as a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-burton/being-an-actor-is-an-extension-of-telling-a-story-and-i-loved-story/) [Amanda Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-burton/) > [Listening to someone telling a story & thinking: Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie, and lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/listening-to-someone-telling-a-story-thinking-lie-lie-lie-lie-lie-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everybody's got a different way of telling a story - and has different stories to tell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-richards/everybody-s-got-a-different-way-of-telling-a-story-and-has-different/) [Keith Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-richards/) > [I really like telling stories. When I was a kid, I wanted to write songs. In quite a fundamental, gratifying, childish way, I enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bettany/i-really-like-telling-stories-when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-write/) [Paul Bettany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bettany/) > [This is what I thought: for the most banal even to become an adventure, you must (and this is enough) begin to recount it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/this-is-what-i-thought-for-the-most-banal-even-to-become-an-adventure/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [When you play a violin piece, you are a storyteller, and you're telling a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-bell/when-you-play-a-violin-piece-you-are-a-storyteller-and-you-re-telling/) [Joshua Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-bell/) > [Consciousness begins when brains acquire the power, the simple power I must add, of telling a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/consciousness-begins-when-brains-acquire-the-power-the-simple-power-i/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [That's what we do in the WWE: we tell stories; we're characters. We go into the ring, and my character is telling a story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nia-jax/that-s-what-we-do-in-the-wwe-we-tell-stories-we-re-characters-we-go/) [Nia Jax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nia-jax/) ## More by Steven Knight > [There's a convention in English stuff that if something is more than 100 years old, people have to say 'do not' instead of 'don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/there-s-a-convention-in-english-stuff-that-if-something-is-more-than/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [There's lots of different ways of writing stuff and lots of different mindsets to have, but I think when it's your own creation, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/there-s-lots-of-different-ways-of-writing-stuff-and-lots-of-different/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [It's such a gift when you know who you're writing for and you know that that actor is capable of so much that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/it-s-such-a-gift-when-you-know-who-you-re-writing-for-and-you-know/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [I'm not a great film-goer, and I never have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-m-not-a-great-film-goer-and-i-never-have-been/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [There's no writers room, or any other writer involved. I write everything from beginning to end. Maybe it's just me not being able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/there-s-no-writers-room-or-any-other-writer-involved-i-write/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [I've realized that the only thing I'm interested in is the performance. If the performance is right, then I'm happy. You offer up the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-ve-realized-that-the-only-thing-i-m-interested-in-is-the/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [“It seems to me, that if there is a bad taste in your mouth, you spit it out. You don't constantly swallow it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/it-seems-to-me-that-if-there-is-a-bad-taste-in-your-mouth-you-spit-it/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [With FX in particular, they've been fantastic and were really hands off. I mean, it helps that you've got Ridley Scott on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/with-fx-in-particular-they-ve-been-fantastic-and-were-really-hands/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [I often find in the film world, that it's very self-referring. If you talk to someone about films, they talk about them in terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-often-find-in-the-film-world-that-it-s-very-self-referring-if-you/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [Whenever I went to L.A. the first thing people said in the meeting, no matter what it was about, was how much they loved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/whenever-i-went-to-l-a-the-first-thing-people-said-in-the-meeting-no/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [ I've spent three hours with Snoop Dogg, talking about how he loved \[Peaky Blinders series\]. And David Bowie loved it. The late Leonard Cohen… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-ve-spent-three-hours-with-snoop-dogg-talking-about-how-he-loved/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [I think the best research is people you meet and things that they say, rather than second hand accounts of something. I think when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/i-think-the-best-research-is-people-you-meet-and-things-that-they-say/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [Writing, when it works, one needs to access whatever it is that creates dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/writing-when-it-works-one-needs-to-access-whatever-it-is-that-creates/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [Making a film is hard because you're not dealing with the intangible. When you're writing, it's perfect because it's only in your head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/making-a-film-is-hard-because-you-re-not-dealing-with-the-intangible/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) > [There's a grown-upness about television now that wasn't there before. You do know you're doing stuff for adults who can tell the difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/there-s-a-grown-upness-about-television-now-that-wasn-t-there-before/) [Steven Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) [Explore all 179 Steven Knight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One of the horribly frustrating things about writing feature films is the rules everyone applies and says, 'You have to do this by the end of the first act and by the end of the second act you must introduce this.' As if there were rules to life or telling a story or the ways things happen, which of course there aren't.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Knight" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-about-writing-feature-films-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-about-writing-feature-films-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f21/steven-knight-2205_cinema_one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-a_2705948.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One of the horribly frustrating things about writing feature films is the rules everyone applies and says…” — Steven Knight", "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": "Steven Knight", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-knight/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One of the horribly frustrating things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-about-writing-feature-films-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-knight/one-of-the-horribly-frustrating-things-about-writing-feature-films-is/#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 } } ] } ```