--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Don't have too much story for the time…" description: "\"Don't have too much story for the time you have.\" — Tom Rickman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg" --- # Don't have too much story for the time you have. ![“Don't have too much story for the time you have.” quote by Tom Rickman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg) > “Don't have too much story for the time you have.” Tom Rickman ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Prioritize meaningful experiences over excessive storytelling within limited time. **In simple terms:** Focus on what matters, not on long stories. Key Takeaway Choose substance over length. Themes time management storytelling priorities Mood thoughtful concise Type motivational practical When to use this quote - presentations - personal conversations - writing Key Concepts communication efficiency Questions to Reflect On - What story best illustrates your core message? - How can you convey depth concisely? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on brevity can omit nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have a story about how when I was a kid I wanted to do comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-james/i-don-t-have-a-story-about-how-when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-do-comedy/) [Janelle James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-james/) > [I don't take story input from fans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katey-sagal/i-don-t-take-story-input-from-fans/) [Katey Sagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katey-sagal/) > [“Saving History One Story at a Time”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mwsa-website/saving-history-one-story-at-a-time/) MWSA website > [“Let's change the world... one story at a time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-owens/let-s-change-the-world-one-story-at-a-time/) Lindsey Owens > [Our story is a 'once upon a time', but it's not a 'happy ever after'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sanders/our-story-is-a-once-upon-a-time-but-it-s-not-a-happy-ever-after/) [Rupert Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sanders/) > [Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/tell-me-a-story-in-this-century-and-moment-of-mania-tell-me-a-story/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Social media is social. We're looking to touch one heart at a time. With one great story at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-amos/social-media-is-social-we-re-looking-to-touch-one-heart-at-a-time/) [Shawn Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-amos/) > [“Can I tell you a funny story?” Gina asked. She didn’t wait for him to say yes or no. “It’s about, well . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-brockmann/can-i-tell-you-a-funny-story-gina-asked-she-didn-t-wait-for-him-to/) [Suzanne Brockmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-brockmann/) > [It never gets easier to tell your story. Each time you speak it, you relive it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-murad/it-never-gets-easier-to-tell-your-story-each-time-you-speak-it-you/) [Nadia Murad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadia-murad/) > [“I want to make you laugh or cry when you read a story . . .or do both at the same time. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/i-want-to-make-you-laugh-or-cry-when-you-read-a-story-or-do-both-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Just so you know I never had a dad either, but that's another story for another time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edge/just-so-you-know-i-never-had-a-dad-either-but-that-s-another-story/) [Edge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edge/) > [“Story time isn't much better. Imagine sitting in a circle with acquaintances, chanting spells and being drilled on a variety of subjects. "What sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bunmi-laditan/story-time-isn-t-much-better-imagine-sitting-in-a-circle-with/) [Bunmi Laditan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bunmi-laditan/) > [“Every story has a time to be told”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/every-story-has-a-time-to-be-told/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I did a film when I was about 30; it's a coming of age story called 'Gas Food Lodging,' and I'm so proud of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-knepper/i-did-a-film-when-i-was-about-30-it-s-a-coming-of-age-story-called/) [Robert Knepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-knepper/) > [My first three-sisters novel in a while, 'Sandcastles' tells the story of the Sullivan family - two passionate artists and their three wildly different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luanne-rice/my-first-three-sisters-novel-in-a-while-sandcastles-tells-the-story/) [Luanne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luanne-rice/) ## More by Tom Rickman > [Dialogue works the least well when it's telling you what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/dialogue-works-the-least-well-when-it-s-telling-you-what-s-going-on/) Tom Rickman > [When you are drawing characters to serve a plot purpose, you tend to get flat, stereotyped, unliving characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/when-you-are-drawing-characters-to-serve-a-plot-purpose-you-tend-to/) Tom Rickman Explore all 3 Tom Rickman quotes ## More Stories quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) Hubert Laws > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [She smiled, if he could see that, and waited for him to ask the real question. But he was silent. He wanted her to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-shinn/she-smiled-if-he-could-see-that-and-waited-for-him-to-ask-the-real/) [Sharon Shinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-shinn/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Having small children and being an investigative reporter would seem like a difficult mix, but it worked well for me. I was often working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-abramson/having-small-children-and-being-an-investigative-reporter-would-seem/) [Jill Abramson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-abramson/) > [In the current climate, things that are true, brave human stories become political.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/in-the-current-climate-things-that-are-true-brave-human-stories/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I think it's actually kind of sweet how there is a reciprocal effect that our stories can have on each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-think-it-s-actually-kind-of-sweet-how-there-is-a-reciprocal-effect/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [I had sort of had a 21st birthday when I was 17, 18 years old living in Japan. I had all of that stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-wright/i-had-sort-of-had-a-21st-birthday-when-i-was-17-18-years-old-living/) [Sarah Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-wright/) > [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/) > [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) [Browse all 19,094 Stories quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Don't have too much story for the time you have.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Rickman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-you-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Stories" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-you-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd3/tom-rickman-87125_stories_don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-y_2143505.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Don't have too much story for the time you have.” — Tom Rickman", "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": "Tom Rickman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rickman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Don't have too much story for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-you-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rickman/don-t-have-too-much-story-for-the-time-you-have/#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 } } ] } ```