--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One easy mistake to make with the first…" description: "\"One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a story; you cannot dilute things into a novel. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg" --- # One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand… ![“One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a story; you cannot dilute things into a novel. I think the first hundred pages of a novel are very important. That's where you set things up: the world, the characters. Once you've set that up…” quote by Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg) > “One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a story; you cannot dilute things into a novel. I think the first hundred pages of a novel are very important. That's where you set things up: the world, the characters. Once you've set that up, it'll be much easier.” [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expanding a short story into a novel often leads to unnecessary dilution; the opening hundred pages must establish world and characters to support later development. **In simple terms:** Avoid stretching a concise story into a longer form without purpose. Key Takeaway Strong foundations prevent narrative bloat. Themes Narrative Structure Storytelling Discipline World‑building Character Development Writing Process Mood Focused Cautious Reflective Type Advice Instructional When to use this quote - First‑draft planning - Manuscript outlining - Editing revisions Key Concepts Novel vs. Short Story Pacing Setup Importance Practical Applications - Literary workshops - Creative writing curricula Questions to Reflect On - How does a solid opening influence reader engagement? - When should a writer consider expanding a story? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/failure/) [Mistake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistake/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Short story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-story/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The Butcher Boy is a very great novel indeed and a very important Irish novel. The ambiguity of that is, he's writing a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/the-butcher-boy-is-a-very-great-novel-indeed-and-a-very-important/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [One of the biggest mistakes people make is to think that what you need to write a novel is imagination, creativity and a facility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-forsyth/one-of-the-biggest-mistakes-people-make-is-to-think-that-what-you/) [Kate Forsyth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-forsyth/) > [One of the most puzzling things about a novel is that "the way it really was" half the time is, and half the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/one-of-the-most-puzzling-things-about-a-novel-is-that-the-way-it/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [The things that the novel does not say are necessarily more numerous than those it does say and only a special halo around what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-things-that-the-novel-does-not-say-are-necessarily-more-numerous/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Certain kinds of things that the novel used to do, which was, "Oh, I'm living out here in West Nowhere, Nebraska and I'm curious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/certain-kinds-of-things-that-the-novel-used-to-do-which-was-oh-i-m/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Yes. To write a novel is to risk my sanity. The deeper I get into the suffering and conflict of the characters, into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/yes-to-write-a-novel-is-to-risk-my-sanity-the-deeper-i-get-into-the/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [ What was fun for me with this book \[Lincoln in the Bardo\] was to start out with the principle that went, "We're going to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/what-was-fun-for-me-with-this-book-lincoln-in-the-bardo-was-to-start/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I've made the decision to adhere to three general truths when it comes to my novels: There will be a love-story element to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/i-ve-made-the-decision-to-adhere-to-three-general-truths-when-it/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [I was trying to make a novel about something no one wanted to read about into something they couldn't put down or look away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-chee/i-was-trying-to-make-a-novel-about-something-no-one-wanted-to-read/) [Alexander Chee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-chee/) > [It all adds up; never discount your efforts, because small efforts build big things. One word doesn't make a novel, but one word does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/it-all-adds-up-never-discount-your-efforts-because-small-efforts/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [It's hard enough to make a novel a novel. I wouldn't know how to make it something else at the same time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-specktor/it-s-hard-enough-to-make-a-novel-a-novel-i-wouldn-t-know-how-to-make/) [Matthew Specktor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-specktor/) > [One novel in five hundred or a thousand has the quality a novel should have to make it a novel -- the quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/one-novel-in-five-hundred-or-a-thousand-has-the-quality-a-novel/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Life is a journey you have to take and its your choice on how you want to live it and in the end, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-a-journey-you-have-to-take-and-its-your-choice-on-how-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a great believer in gathering together all your obsessions and seeing if you can make a novel out of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-thomas/i-m-a-great-believer-in-gathering-together-all-your-obsessions-and/) [Scarlett Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-thomas/) > [In order to make the novel into a polyhistorical illumination of existence, you need to master the technique of ellipsis, the art of condensation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/in-order-to-make-the-novel-into-a-polyhistorical-illumination-of/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) ## More by Yiyun Li > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“sometimes Moran wondered if her chief merit was her willingness to serve as a human receptacle for details. Sympathy and admiration and surprise she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/sometimes-moran-wondered-if-her-chief-merit-was-her-willingness-to/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I always tell my students to go back after a hundred pages and rewrite from the beginning. It's really harder if you've already finished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-always-tell-my-students-to-go-back-after-a-hundred-pages-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [She wonders if this is what people call falling in love, the desire to be with someone for every minute of the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/she-wonders-if-this-is-what-people-call-falling-in-love-the-desire-to/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [Some people in China don't look at freedom of speech as an abstract ideal, but more as a means to an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/some-people-in-china-don-t-look-at-freedom-of-speech-as-an-abstract/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I would never describe a cloud as 'fluffy'—in Chinese or in English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-would-never-describe-a-cloud-as-fluffy-in-chinese-or-in-english/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“It saddened her that Luo insisted on holding on to her as if they had started to share some vital organs during their twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/it-saddened-her-that-luo-insisted-on-holding-on-to-her-as-if-they-had/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [To write about a struggle amidst the struggling: one must hope that the muddling will end someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/to-write-about-a-struggle-amidst-the-struggling-one-must-hope-that/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I think our eyes are trained to look for what we want to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-think-our-eyes-are-trained-to-look-for-what-we-want-to-see/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [What is revolution except a systematic way for one species to eat another alive?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/what-is-revolution-except-a-systematic-way-for-one-species-to-eat/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [“His mother had always been a headstrong woman, and with her grayish-white mane and unsmiling face, she appeared as regal and intimidating as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/his-mother-had-always-been-a-headstrong-woman-and-with-her-grayish/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [In China, your freedom is always limited, but this limitation applies to almost everyone. If someone does injustice to you, though, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/in-china-your-freedom-is-always-limited-but-this-limitation-applies/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [The boy will remain a son and never become a father. He will be forgotten by the crowd once his blood is rinsed clean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/the-boy-will-remain-a-son-and-never-become-a-father-he-will-be/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [You can write about a country without taking a stand, but you cannot write about a country without noting that there's history, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/you-can-write-about-a-country-without-taking-a-stand-but-you-cannot/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [Every place is a good place, only time goes wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/every-place-is-a-good-place-only-time-goes-wrong/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) [Explore all 54 Yiyun Li quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) ## 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": "One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a story; you cannot dilute things into a novel. I think the first hundred pages of a novel are very important. That's where you set things up: the world, the characters. Once you've set that up, it'll be much easier.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yiyun Li" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first-novel-is-to-expand-the-short/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first-novel-is-to-expand-the-short/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/yiyun-li-12305_books_one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first_28724.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One easy mistake to make with the first novel is to expand the short story. Some things are better as a…” — Yiyun Li", "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": "Yiyun Li", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One easy mistake to make with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first-novel-is-to-expand-the-short/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/one-easy-mistake-to-make-with-the-first-novel-is-to-expand-the-short/#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 } } ] } ```