--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time someone gave me some samples…" description: "\"By the time someone gave me some samples of standard screenplays I was already beyond that stuff, because I was not only a tinkerer in ways to do thing..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1a/william-monahan-3226_dylan_by-the-time-someone-gave-me-some-samples_2361547.jpg" --- # By the time someone gave me some samples of standard… ![“By the time someone gave me some samples of standard screenplays I was already beyond that stuff, because I was not only a tinkerer in ways to do things, I'd started from Dylan Thomas. As a screen dramatist he was a very intense visualist, with great timing and fluency.” quote by William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1a/william-monahan-3226_dylan_by-the-time-someone-gave-me-some-samples_2361547.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1a/william-monahan-3226_dylan_by-the-time-someone-gave-me-some-samples_2361547.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1a/william-monahan-3226_dylan_by-the-time-someone-gave-me-some-samples_2361547.jpg) > “By the time someone gave me some samples of standard screenplays I was already beyond that stuff, because I was not only a tinkerer in ways to do things, I'd started from Dylan Thomas. As a screen dramatist he was a very intense visualist, with great timing and fluency.” [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He describes his early exposure to screenplays as already surpassed, noting influence from Dylan Thomas’s visual and rhythmic style. **In simple terms:** Early work exceeded typical scripts, inspired by Thomas. Key Takeaway Seek unique influences beyond conventions. Themes creativity influence writing Mood inspirational reflective Type creative professional When to use this quote - screenwriting - creative workshops - artistic development Key Concepts literary modernism visual storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How can you break from standard templates? - What visual techniques can enhance a script? A Different Perspective May not apply to all writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fluency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluency/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Screenplays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplays/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Timing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timing/) ## Related quotes > [If you change a location opportunistically, to gain a day on the schedule, which I did more than once, you have to re-rig everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/if-you-change-a-location-opportunistically-to-gain-a-day-on-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [“When Gertrude Stein came to Ann Arbor, my mother said that all she said was, a rose is a rose is a rose is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-emshwiller/when-gertrude-stein-came-to-ann-arbor-my-mother-said-that-all-she/) [Carol Emshwiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-emshwiller/) > [ If poetry were nothing but texture, \[Dylan\] Thomas would be as good as any poet alive. The what of his poems is hardly essential… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/if-poetry-were-nothing-but-texture-dylan-thomas-would-be-as-good-as/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [I've been interested in writing and storytelling since I learned to read, but it wasn't until I read Dylan Thomas, when I was 14,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mcinerney/i-ve-been-interested-in-writing-and-storytelling-since-i-learned-to/) [Jay McInerney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mcinerney/) > [“Wales' most famous writer, Dylan Thomas, spoke no Welsh.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/wales-most-famous-writer-dylan-thomas-spoke-no-welsh/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Under Milk Wood' was given to me when I was quite young, in Sydney. I didn't even know what Wales was, let alone anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-michael-of-kent/under-milk-wood-was-given-to-me-when-i-was-quite-young-in-sydney-i/) [Princess Michael of Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-michael-of-kent/) > [I definitely notice the absence of character in most poetry, which is not so say that I'm an innovator in that regard. Character-based poems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-mccrae/i-definitely-notice-the-absence-of-character-in-most-poetry-which-is/) [Shane McCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-mccrae/) > [The closer you get to death, the more alive you feel. Dylan Thomas wrote, Do not go gentle into that good night. 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By the word religion I have seen the lunacy of fanatics of every denomination be called the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-put-no-stock-in-religion-by-the-word-religion-i-have-seen-the/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [When I was a kid in London there was just something about the light and there's something about the way London went onto film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/when-i-was-a-kid-in-london-there-was-just-something-about-the-light/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I think the only real referent for anybody writing drama is probably Hamlet. You have the most extreme tragic drama, this sort of blood-boltered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-think-the-only-real-referent-for-anybody-writing-drama-is-probably/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [If you need someone to come out of the sewer with a wire you don't hire someone who needs laborious collective instruction. 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No one serious touches it. It used to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/poetry-died-as-a-commercial-form-and-then-it-died-as-a-serious-art/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [Casting is all about availability, as much as anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/casting-is-all-about-availability-as-much-as-anything-else/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [For me, film has been good because I'm able to work at top crack, working at something I love to do, in the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/for-me-film-has-been-good-because-i-m-able-to-work-at-top-crack/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [London matters to me because it's the center of what I do for a living and has been since Tudor times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/london-matters-to-me-because-it-s-the-center-of-what-i-do-for-a/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) > [I was always entirely about work, about getting where I am now. If I'm not working I'm thinking about it, though at some point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-monahan/i-was-always-entirely-about-work-about-getting-where-i-am-now-if-i-m/) [William Monahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) [Explore all 136 William Monahan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-monahan/) ## More Dylan quotes > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [“Dylan stopped at an intersection and gave Chris a long look. 'Not you. You are original. Unique.' 'That good or bad?' 'Oh definitely good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-fielding/dylan-stopped-at-an-intersection-and-gave-chris-a-long-look-not-you/) [Kim Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-fielding/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [“the mayor wants things smoothed over between O’Neil and you.” Inside Rachel a war battled: Yay! she was going to see Dylan regularly. And:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-shay/the-mayor-wants-things-smoothed-over-between-o-neil-and-you-inside/) [Kathryn Shay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-shay/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I first met (Bob Dylan) in '65. We've had a friendship for a long time. He decided to play on a record I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-sahm/i-first-met-bob-dylan-in-65-we-ve-had-a-friendship-for-a-long-time-he/) [Doug Sahm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-sahm/) > [ Probably the high-watermark of \[Bob\] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/probably-the-high-watermark-of-bob-dylan-s-career-came-after-he/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Most of the artists were trying to make a living, trying to get laid, trying to figure out who they were. They weren't trying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geffen/most-of-the-artists-were-trying-to-make-a-living-trying-to-get-laid/) [David Geffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geffen/) > [I've been really, really blessed. I got to perform on stage with Bob Dylan. I've gotten to sing with Mick Jagger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-ve-been-really-really-blessed-i-got-to-perform-on-stage-with-bob/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Courtney Love's name should be right next to Bob Dylan when they say best lyricist of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-perry/courtney-love-s-name-should-be-right-next-to-bob-dylan-when-they-say/) [Linda Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-perry/) Browse all 668 Dylan quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the time someone gave me some samples of standard screenplays I was already beyond that stuff, because I was not only a tinkerer in ways to do things, I'd started from Dylan Thomas. 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