Plot Significance Quotes

If somebody is in a story, they need to be there for a reason, and not just to set up somebody else's story.

Oddly, the meanings of books are defined for me much more by their beginnings and middles than they are by their endings.

The subject of a novel is not the plot. Who remembers what happened to Lucien de Rebempre in the end?

Unless the story line carries the scenes, the scenes don't really mean anything.

Everything in a novel has to be intentional, even the things that aren't.

To me, it doesn't really matter how big the part is as long as the part is important to the story.

Thank God, 50 years ago I learned that our entire business is all based on two things; a great song and a great story. Film, television, if you don't have that story, nothing else matters. You don't call anybody else or direct anybody. The same with a song. A great song can make the worst singer in the world a star.

The basic quality that any great story must have is a story that illustrates the human condition.

Probably a good idea, let me know how it ends" "I already know how it ends" "You read the ending first?" "I always read the ending before I commit to the whole book." "If you know how it ends, why read the book?" "I don't read for the ending. I read for the story".

I give importance only to the story of a movie.

There's a rule for what makes good fantasy work, and it's as strange as any riddle ever posed in a fairy tale: In fantasy, you can do anything; and therefore, the one thing you must not do is 'just anything.' Why? Because in a story where anything can happen and anything can be true, nothing matters. You have no reason to care what happens. It's all arbitrary, and arbitrary isn't interesting.

I've never sat down and thought about the difference between plot and theme. To me, that's never been important.

The meaning of the story is the story.

But, as an actress, you don't want to run into these scenes, willy-nilly. The couple that I did do were important for the character and essential to the plot, to show what was actually going on between each character. It is great to be able to have that, and to be able to say certain things and have certain passions.

I think that story wins out over acting and that the thing as a whole is more important than the performances therein.

Don't worry about how pretty (the story) sounds, how lilting it is, and the imagery, and the metaphor, all that. Most readers don't care. It's the people in your book that matter.

Obviously, a theatrical masterpiece needs more than a plot; many television shows are nothing but plot, and it is doubtful that they will stand the test of time. But I also don't think that making fun of plot or acting like we're all somehow 'above' structure is such a good idea.

If your character is written well and is meaty enough, even two scenes has the potential to stand out.

That's the great thing about the 'Sin City' movies. Each little slot is incredibly meaningful, and each character has their own moment.

If you watched a movie about a guy who wanted a Volvo and worked for years to get it, you wouldn’t cry at the end when he drove off the lot, testing the windshield wipers. You wouldn’t tell your friends you saw a beautiful movie or go home and put a record on to think about the story you’d seen. The truth is, you wouldn’t remember that movie a week later, except you’d feel robbed and want your money back. Nobody cries at the end of a movie about a guy who wants a Volvo.

The question is: Where would it get you if something that's a little bit ambiguous in the movie is made clear? It doesn't get you anywhere.

When Melissa McCarthy came out with 'Bridesmaids,' all of a sudden you saw a plus-sized woman who had three dimensions, was not an appendage, was pivotal to the plot.

A story only matters, I suspect, to the extent that the people in the story change.

What the devil does the plot signify, except to bring in fine things?

Part of the fun of writing is having messages. Without them, it's all gunfights and car chases, and none of it means anything.