--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Requirement ruins even the best of books." description: "\"“Requirement ruins even the best of books.”\" — Victoria Schwab" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg" --- # Requirement ruins even the best of books. ![“Requirement ruins even the best of books.” quote by Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg) > ““Requirement ruins even the best of books.”” [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Excessive constraints damage a story's natural flow and creativity. **In simple terms:** Too many rules ruin books. Key Takeaway Balance structure with creative freedom. Themes creativity writing balance Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical educational When to use this quote - author workshops - editing - creative brainstorming Key Concepts literary theory storytelling discipline Questions to Reflect On - When do constraints help rather than hinder? - How can you identify harmful versus helpful rules? A Different Perspective Strict guidelines can also provide helpful focus for some writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“It’s a shame they do that,” he says, thumbing through the pages. “Requirement ruins even the best of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/it-s-a-shame-they-do-that-he-says-thumbing-through-the-pages/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I never liked bad weather. Not until I met you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-never-liked-bad-weather-not-until-i-met-you/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Life is always messy. It's supposed to be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/life-is-always-messy-it-s-supposed-to-be/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Silver linings, kids. I'm full of them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/silver-linings-kids-i-m-full-of-them/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“You're a Keeper. You hunt down the animated records of the dead in your spare time. I'm pretty sure you can handle private school.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/you-re-a-keeper-you-hunt-down-the-animated-records-of-the-dead-in/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I left a ball of Oreo filling out for months one time. It never got hard. Lot of unnatural things in the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-left-a-ball-of-oreo-filling-out-for-months-one-time-it-never-got/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“You know what's really freaky? Wes segues. "The fact that the psycho in question was the same guy who was after Debbie Marcus." The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-faria-stolarz/you-know-what-s-really-freaky-wes-segues-the-fact-that-the-psycho-in/) [Laurie Faria Stolarz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-faria-stolarz/) > [Macy: “In Truth,” I said, “there are no rules other than you have to tell the truth.” Wes: “How do you win?” he asked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/macy-in-truth-i-said-there-are-no-rules-other-than-you-have-to-tell/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“Isn't it weird," I said, "the way you remember things, when someone's gone?" What do you mean?" I ate another piece of waffle. "When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/isn-t-it-weird-i-said-the-way-you-remember-things-when-someone-s-gone/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [In our group, it was a necessary requirement that one has to be able to collaborate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-dubochet/in-our-group-it-was-a-necessary-requirement-that-one-has-to-be-able/) [Jacques Dubochet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-dubochet/) > [“A huge mistake that many of us make is to work hard our entire life for money and not require money to work for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-willey/a-huge-mistake-that-many-of-us-make-is-to-work-hard-our-entire-life/) [Daniel Willey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-willey/) > [I believe that even today we can only tell a simple story without really interfering with gameplay. But in the future, I think it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hideo-kojima/i-believe-that-even-today-we-can-only-tell-a-simple-story-without/) [Hideo Kojima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hideo-kojima/) > [In my opinion, it's only logical that you have to be on the pitch and playing as often as possible to develop further. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-kroos/in-my-opinion-it-s-only-logical-that-you-have-to-be-on-the-pitch-and/) [Toni Kroos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-kroos/) > [Self-care is a requirement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelela/self-care-is-a-requirement/) [Kelela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelela/) > [“The approval of other is not a requirement for success.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-tate/the-approval-of-other-is-not-a-requirement-for-success/) Danielle Tate ## More by Victoria Schwab > [“She couldn't break the orbit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/she-couldn-t-break-the-orbit/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Perhaps it is in our best interest to... to surrender rather than waste words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/perhaps-it-is-in-our-best-interest-to-to-surrender-rather-than-waste/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The dead are silent, and objects, when they hold impressions, are quiet until you reach through them. But the touch of living is loud.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-dead-are-silent-and-objects-when-they-hold-impressions-are-quiet/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Having something and losing it, it's so much crueler than never having had it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/having-something-and-losing-it-it-s-so-much-crueler-than-never-having/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People are made up of so many small details. Some—like the smell of cookies baking—we can recreate. Or at least try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-are-made-up-of-so-many-small-details-some-like-the-smell-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I suppose it doesn't matter how they get out. All that matters is they do. And when they do, they must be found. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-suppose-it-doesn-t-matter-how-they-get-out-all-that-matters-is-they/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“The silliest things shatter you. A T-shirt discovered behind the washing machine. A toy that rolled under a cabinet in the garage, forgotten until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/the-silliest-things-shatter-you-a-t-shirt-discovered-behind-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What a mess. Truths are messy and lies are messy, and I don’t care what Da said, it’s impossible to cut a person into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-a-mess-truths-are-messy-and-lies-are-messy-and-i-don-t-care-what/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“People aren't smart when it comes to the dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/people-aren-t-smart-when-it-comes-to-the-dead/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Let them think you a demon or a god,” she said. “Let them fear you. It does not matter.” “It matters a great deal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/let-them-think-you-a-demon-or-a-god-she-said-let-them-fear-you-it/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“What do schools do that for?” he grumbles. “What’s the point of summer if they give you homework?” “Exactly!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/what-do-schools-do-that-for-he-grumbles-what-s-the-point-of-summer-if/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“I am broken the way most writers are, stories leaking through the cracks.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/i-am-broken-the-way-most-writers-are-stories-leaking-through-the/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Do you ever wonder why music brings a soul to surface? What makes beauty work as well as pain?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/do-you-ever-wonder-why-music-brings-a-soul-to-surface-what-makes/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“But there was something else, too, a strange excitement at the idea of playing normal, and every time he tried to untangle how he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/but-there-was-something-else-too-a-strange-excitement-at-the-idea-of/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) > [“Maybe one day the words will pour out like so many others, easy and smooth and on their own. Right now they take pieces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/maybe-one-day-the-words-will-pour-out-like-so-many-others-easy-and/) [Victoria Schwab](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) [Explore all 231 Victoria Schwab quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [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/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Requirement ruins even the best of books.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Victoria Schwab" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/victoria-schwab-1505_books_requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books_2928296.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Requirement ruins even the best of books.” — Victoria Schwab", "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": "Victoria Schwab", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-schwab/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Requirement ruins even the best of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-schwab/requirement-ruins-even-the-best-of-books/#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 } } ] } ```