--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any story has a beginning, middle, and…" description: "\"Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? It's about a guy who is murdered in a fistfi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/t-c-boyle-8108_beginning_any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end_1390332.jpg" --- # Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but… ![“Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? It's about a guy who is murdered in a fistfight, but how does it evolve and what does it mean? That's what I discovered scene by scene, and this innovation of coming in as a first-person…” quote by T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/t-c-boyle-8108_beginning_any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end_1390332.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/t-c-boyle-8108_beginning_any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end_1390332.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/t-c-boyle-8108_beginning_any-story-has-a-beginning-middle-and-end_1390332.jpg) > “Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? It's about a guy who is murdered in a fistfight, but how does it evolve and what does it mean? That's what I discovered scene by scene, and this innovation of coming in as a first-person narrator was a complete surprise to me. It just happened.” [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Narrative structure starts with a hook, evolving through perspective and meaning. **In simple terms:** Begin with a compelling hook. Key Takeaway Start with a strong opening scene. Themes storytelling structure perspective Mood creative inquisitive Type literary instructional When to use this quote - novel writing - screenplay drafting - scene planning Key Concepts narrative theory creative process Questions to Reflect On - What hook captures your audience? - How does narrator choice affect story? A Different Perspective Risk of confusing audience without clear direction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Beginning middle and end](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-middle-and-end/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Narrators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrators/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [I think first-person narrators should be complex, because otherwise the first-person is too shallow and predictable. I like a first-person narrator who can't totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-think-first-person-narrators-should-be-complex-because-otherwise/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I think every first-person narrator in a novel should be compromised. I prefer that word to 'unreliable.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-palliser/i-think-every-first-person-narrator-in-a-novel-should-be-compromised/) [Charles Palliser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-palliser/) > [It is hard to create a first-person narrator that can be a child and yet is able to take in enough information for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/it-is-hard-to-create-a-first-person-narrator-that-can-be-a-child-and/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [Using a first-person narrator is simply a matter of hearing the voice inside yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lee-burke/using-a-first-person-narrator-is-simply-a-matter-of-hearing-the-voice/) [James Lee Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lee-burke/) > [Early on, I settled on the first-person strategy as a way to deal with exposition and world-description issues. As long as the book is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/early-on-i-settled-on-the-first-person-strategy-as-a-way-to-deal-with/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [When you pick up a book, everyone knows it's imaginary. You don't have to pretend it's not a book. We don't have to pretend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/when-you-pick-up-a-book-everyone-knows-it-s-imaginary-you-don-t-have/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The third person narrator, instead of being omniscient, is like a constantly running surveillance tape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/the-third-person-narrator-instead-of-being-omniscient-is-like-a/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) > [I think our goal and intention is to make sure that, when you watch each episode, you don't have to make that choice, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kurtzman/i-think-our-goal-and-intention-is-to-make-sure-that-when-you-watch/) [Alex Kurtzman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kurtzman/) > [The eagerness of a listener quickens the tongue of a narrator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/the-eagerness-of-a-listener-quickens-the-tongue-of-a-narrator/) [Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/) > [Before I think we was emcees, we was more or less narrators too. Because if you look at the early '80s hip hop, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raekwon/before-i-think-we-was-emcees-we-was-more-or-less-narrators-too/) [Raekwon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raekwon/) > [The unreliable narrator is an odd concept. The way I see it, we're all unreliable narrators of our lives who usually have absolute trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-pinborough/the-unreliable-narrator-is-an-odd-concept-the-way-i-see-it-we-re-all/) [Sarah Pinborough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-pinborough/) > [If you have a single narrator, a person like an "I" - "'I' did this" and "'I' did that" - it automatically solves the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/if-you-have-a-single-narrator-a-person-like-an-i-i-did-this-and-i-did/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [A narrator should not supply interpretations of his work; otherwise he would have not written a novel, which is a machine for generating interpretations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/a-narrator-should-not-supply-interpretations-of-his-work-otherwise-he/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [Everyone is interesting except the narrator in a first-person story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kennedy/everyone-is-interesting-except-the-narrator-in-a-first-person-story/) [William Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kennedy/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## More by T.C. Boyle > [Everything we do is escapism, because we'll all be dead and everything we do is completely meaningless. Why brush your teeth? Why not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/everything-we-do-is-escapism-because-we-ll-all-be-dead-and-everything/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [ The hardest thing in a novel is time. You've got \[a line like\] "two weeks later, he woke up with a headache," and you've… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/the-hardest-thing-in-a-novel-is-time-you-ve-got-a-line-like-two-weeks/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Writing is a channeling of an individual experience; so is reading. That's what's so exciting about this art form - it's interactive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/writing-is-a-channeling-of-an-individual-experience-so-is-reading/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [I'm pretty hardcore. I stick exactly to what I'm doing. So I write a novel in one period, and then I'll write stories in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/i-m-pretty-hardcore-i-stick-exactly-to-what-i-m-doing-so-i-write-a/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Work saved me. Literature saved me. It sounds corny but it's absolutely true. I was going in the wrong direction, but after the 9,000th…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/work-saved-me-literature-saved-me-it-sounds-corny-but-it-s-absolutely/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [There are always surprises. Life may be inveterately grim and the surprises disproportionately unpleasant, but it would be hardly worth living if there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/there-are-always-surprises-life-may-be-inveterately-grim-and-the/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [“Besides, to like something, to really like it and come out and say so, is taking a terrible risk. I mean, what if I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/besides-to-like-something-to-really-like-it-and-come-out-and-say-so/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [“I am concerned with social and environmental issues. What rational person is not? But advocacy and art do not mix. Art is a seduction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/i-am-concerned-with-social-and-environmental-issues-what-rational/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [Pleasure, I remind myself, is inseparable from its lawfully wedded mate, pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/pleasure-i-remind-myself-is-inseparable-from-its-lawfully-wedded-mate/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [A glad zest and hopefulness might be inspired even in the most jaded and ennui-cursed, were there in our homes such simple, truthful natures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/a-glad-zest-and-hopefulness-might-be-inspired-even-in-the-most-jaded/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [What I'm doing is exploring things. This is why I'm a fiction writer rather than an essayist or a politician or whatever. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/what-i-m-doing-is-exploring-things-this-is-why-i-m-a-fiction-writer/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [“Who was she in high school? Little Miss Nobody. She could have embroidered it on her sweaters, tattooed it across her forehead. And in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/who-was-she-in-high-school-little-miss-nobody-she-could-have/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [The professorial dictum has always been to write what you know, but I say write what you don't know and find something out. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/the-professorial-dictum-has-always-been-to-write-what-you-know-but-i/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [A richly detailed, poignant, and utterly fascinating look into another culture and how it is cross-pollinated by our own. It brings to mind the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/a-richly-detailed-poignant-and-utterly-fascinating-look-into-another/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) > [I always listen to music while I'm working and I always read aloud to my wife. I love to read aloud to an audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-c-boyle/i-always-listen-to-music-while-i-m-working-and-i-always-read-aloud-to/) [T.C. Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) [Explore all 83 T.C. Boyle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-c-boyle/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) Manae Poet Of Carisis > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) Jacklyn H Lucas [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any story has a beginning, middle, and end, of course, but the question is, where do you start it exactly? 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