Narrative Building Quotes

In a campaign, impressions can be much more important than facts and debate.

The Obama Doctrine is the first presidential strategy in history that is exclusively about communicating - not implementing - policy. The Obama Doctrine seems to be 'tweet with overwhelming force.'

We are our choices. Build yourself a great story.

I always begin with a character or characters, and then try to think up as much action for them as possible.

Now all the myths that you have heard and that resonate with you, those are the elements from round about that you are building into a form in your life. The thing worth considering is how they relate to each other in your context, not how they relate to something out there-how they were relevant on the North American prairies or in the Asian jungles hundreds of years agon, but how they are relevant now-unless by contemplating their former meaning you can begin to amplify your own understanding of the role they play in your life.

Men are shameless in selling their story. Women are often reserved. So we do need to encourage women to know their story and then tell it strategically as to how they can add value.

A story is built on characters and reasons.

Ideas come from life: what happens in mine, what I see happening in others', mixed with a great deal of imagination. I might see a person in a grocery store and build a whole character and life out of what's in her basket.

In order to govern you have to feed the news cycle

I fill up the well of stories in my head - without ever knowing I'm doing it.

Hillary Clinton doesn't know how to counterprogram Trump, if you will. Hillary doesn't know how to go out and write her own narrative of the day. Hillary doesn't know whether to focus on herself or to criticize Trump or to go after Crazy Bernie. She doesn't know what to do. And the press doesn't, either.

For memory, we use our imagination. We take a few strands of real time and carry them with us, then like an oyster we create a pearl around them.