--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write a story as if it were a letter to…" description: "\"I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that's what you do.\" — Theodore Sturgeon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg" --- # I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and… ![“I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that's what you do.” quote by Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg) > “I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that's what you do.” [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing is a personal, intimate communication like a letter. **In simple terms:** Storytelling is a personal letter. Key Takeaway Write with personal honesty. Themes creativity communication intimacy Mood intimate thoughtful Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - personal essays - blog posts - novels - letters Key Concepts narrative voice authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance intimacy and universality? - What does a letter feel like to you? A Different Perspective Overly personal tone may alienate some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Mara gave you my letter?" "Yes." "You must have been astonished." She had exposed her heart in that letter. His eyebrows shot up. "'Astonished'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meljean-brook/mara-gave-you-my-letter-yes-you-must-have-been-astonished-she-had/) [Meljean Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meljean-brook/) > [“Julian had once told me that a story is a letter the author writes to himself, to tell himself things that he would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/julian-had-once-told-me-that-a-story-is-a-letter-the-author-writes-to/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“a story is a letter the author writes to himself to tell what he wouldn't discover otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/a-story-is-a-letter-the-author-writes-to-himself-to-tell-what-he/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [It happened like this. I was stolen from an airport. Taken from everything I knew, everything I was used to. Taken to sand and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-christopher/it-happened-like-this-i-was-stolen-from-an-airport-taken-from/) [Lucy Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-christopher/) > [“A story is a letter that the author writes to himself, to tell him things that he would be unable to discover otherwise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/a-story-is-a-letter-that-the-author-writes-to-himself-to-tell-him/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [“A story is a letter the author writes to himself”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-ruiz-zafon/a-story-is-a-letter-the-author-writes-to-himself/) [Carlos Ruiz Zafón](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-ruiz-zafon/) > [You write a story about loneliness, and you grab them all because everybody's an expert on that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/you-write-a-story-about-loneliness-and-you-grab-them-all-because/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I'm not a writer. I'm not smart. I couldn't possibly even write my own story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoey-deutch/i-m-not-a-writer-i-m-not-smart-i-couldn-t-possibly-even-write-my-own/) [Zoey Deutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoey-deutch/) > [You have to write your own story, your own graph and rhythm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chunky-pandey/you-have-to-write-your-own-story-your-own-graph-and-rhythm/) [Chunky Pandey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chunky-pandey/) > [I always write a story in one sitting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-always-write-a-story-in-one-sitting/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [I write my story in my books, It show that your name filled in my books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-my-story-in-my-books-it-show-that-your-name-filled-in-my-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I sent The World Well Lost to one editor who rejected it on sight, and then wrote a letter to every other editor in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-sent-the-world-well-lost-to-one-editor-who-rejected-it-on-sight-and/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) ## More by Theodore Sturgeon > [As far as Im concerned, I didnt dream - ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/as-far-as-im-concerned-i-didnt-dream-ever/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [For years, I thought I simply didn't dream. I felt left out. Everybody else had a thing I didn't have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/for-years-i-thought-i-simply-didn-t-dream-i-felt-left-out-everybody/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I learned how to live on five and sometimes ten dollars a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-learned-how-to-live-on-five-and-sometimes-ten-dollars-a-week/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“She was perhaps seventeen when it happened. She was in Central Park, in New York. It was too warm for such an early spring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/she-was-perhaps-seventeen-when-it-happened-she-was-in-central-park-in/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“Anger was foreign to him; he had only felt it once before. But now it came, a wash of it that made him swell,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/anger-was-foreign-to-him-he-had-only-felt-it-once-before-but-now-it/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Fear is a survival instinct; fear in its way is a comfort for it means that somewhere hope is alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fear-is-a-survival-instinct-fear-in-its-way-is-a-comfort-for-it-means/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against attacks of people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-repeat-sturgeon-s-revelation-which-was-wrung-out-of-me-after-twenty/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Once I had all the facts in, I found I didn't have the immoral courage to pull the caper. So I wrote it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/once-i-had-all-the-facts-in-i-found-i-didn-t-have-the-immoral-courage/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [It should consist of short, sharply focused sentences, each of which is a whole scene in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/it-should-consist-of-short-sharply-focused-sentences-each-of-which-is/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Logic and truth are two very different things, but they often look the same to the mind that's performing the logic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/logic-and-truth-are-two-very-different-things-but-they-often-look-the/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Science fiction, outside of poetry, is the only literary field which has no limits, no parameters whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/science-fiction-outside-of-poetry-is-the-only-literary-field-which/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Create a world in which these things do or do not exist, or in which they are extended in some way. Test reality against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/create-a-world-in-which-these-things-do-or-do-not-exist-or-in-which/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“Living things aren't finished, you see. Everything they have ever been in contact with, each thought they have had, each person they have known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/living-things-aren-t-finished-you-see-everything-they-have-ever-been/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [Fiction is very important to me. It's what I do, it's what I do with my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fiction-is-very-important-to-me-it-s-what-i-do-it-s-what-i-do-with-my/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [The first writing I did was short short stories for a newspaper syndicate for which I was paid five dollars a piece on publication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/the-first-writing-i-did-was-short-short-stories-for-a-newspaper/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) [Explore all 102 Theodore Sturgeon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) ## More Letter quotes > [Another success is the post-office, with its educating energy augmented by cheapness and guarded by a certain religious sentimentin mankind; so that the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/another-success-is-the-post-office-with-its-educating-energy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Letter-writing on the part of a busy man or woman is the quintessence of generosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-repplier/letter-writing-on-the-part-of-a-busy-man-or-woman-is-the-quintessence/) [Agnes Repplier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-repplier/) > ['Forever Evil' is my love letter to DC super villains. It's my chance to take all of the villains I've worked with and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-johns/forever-evil-is-my-love-letter-to-dc-super-villains-it-s-my-chance-to/) [Geoff Johns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-johns/) > [What truly gives me joy is when I get a letter from a young woman who says they saw a programme, then read a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/what-truly-gives-me-joy-is-when-i-get-a-letter-from-a-young-woman-who/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [“You need a new story; one that starts with this letter and ends with you holding my Rah.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-st-vil/you-need-a-new-story-one-that-starts-with-this-letter-and-ends-with/) [Lola St.Vil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-st-vil/) > [“- Mom, can I tell them there that I'm Romanian? - Sure, why not tell them? - I was thinking that they wouldn't think...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-enescu/mom-can-i-tell-them-there-that-i-m-romanian-sure-why-not-tell-them-i/) George Enescu > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [When you have to write a letter, you're automatically put into a state of composure and a kind of formality. You can't help it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justine-bateman/when-you-have-to-write-a-letter-you-re-automatically-put-into-a-state/) [Justine Bateman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justine-bateman/) > [“ 134. Letters are Commonplace Letters are commonplace enough, yet what splendid things they are! When someone is in a distant province and one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sei-shonagon/134-letters-are-commonplace-letters-are-commonplace-enough-yet-what/) [Sei Shonagon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sei-shonagon/) > [“Clary, Despite everything, I can't bear the thought of this ring being lost forever, any more then I can bear the thought of leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clary-despite-everything-i-can-t-bear-the-thought-of-this-ring-being/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“My Dear Mrs Winter. (I had half a mind when I dipped my pen in the ink, to address you by your old natural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/my-dear-mrs-winter-i-had-half-a-mind-when-i-dipped-my-pen-in-the-ink/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“LETTER FROM JOSEPH TO EMMA NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK 13 OCTOBER 1832 "I feel as if I wanted to say something to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-eschler/letter-from-joseph-to-emma-new-york-city-new-york-13-october-1832-i/) [Angela Eschler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-eschler/) > [“I have just received your letter, and shall devote this whole morning to answering it, as I foresee that a little writing will not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/i-have-just-received-your-letter-and-shall-devote-this-whole-morning/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“The contents of this letter threw Elizabeth into a flutter of spirits in which it was difficult to determine whether pleasure or pain bore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/the-contents-of-this-letter-threw-elizabeth-into-a-flutter-of-spirits/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [“I have received the favor of your letter of August 17th, and with it the volume you were so kind as to send me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/i-have-received-the-favor-of-your-letter-of-august-17th-and-with-it/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) Browse all 944 Letter quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that's what you do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Theodore Sturgeon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-to-someone-and-essentially/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Letter" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-to-someone-and-essentially/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/theodore-sturgeon-4560_letters_i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-t_936804.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write a story as if it were a letter to someone and essentially, that's what you do.” — Theodore Sturgeon", "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": "Theodore Sturgeon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I write a story as if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-to-someone-and-essentially/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/i-write-a-story-as-if-it-were-a-letter-to-someone-and-essentially/#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 } } ] } ```