The wars don't end when you sign peace treaties or when the years go by. They will echo on until I'm gone and all the widows and orphans are gone.
Tim O'BrienRead
Above all, a well-imagined story is organized around extraordinary human behaviors and unexpected and startling events, which help illuminate the commonplace and the ordinary.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A compelling story reveals extraordinary human actions and surprising events that shed light on everyday life.
Tim O'Brien's quote emphasizes the power of storytelling in highlighting exceptional human behaviors and unforeseen occurrences that can transform our understanding of the ordinary aspects of life. By organizing a narrative around these elements, a well-crafted story not only captivates its audience but also encourages them to reflect on their own experiences and the significance of the mundane.
Themes
StoryHuman BehaviorExtraordinaryEventsOrdinaryNarrative
In practice
Example use cases
During a writing workshop, I shared this quote to discuss the importance of compelling narratives.
More from Tim O'Brien
All quotes →...you find yourself studying the fine colors on the river, you feel wonder and awe at the setting of the sun, and you are filled with a hard, aching love for how the world could be and always should be, but now is not.
Tim O'BrienRead
Unlike Chicago or New York, small-town Minnesota did not allow a man's failings to disappear beneath a veil of numbers. People talked. Secrets did not stay secret.
Tim O'BrienRead
Place is so important to me. The Midwest is like a ghost in my life. It's present as I look out the window now. I see Texas, but if I close my eyes and look out the same window, I'm back in my hometown in Worthington, Minnesota, and I cherish those values and that diction.
Tim O'BrienRead
In fiction workshops, we tend to focus on matters of verisimilitude largely because such issues are so much easier to talk about than the failure of imagination.
Tim O'BrienRead
War is a fundamental aspect of human existence. It's good to know what war entails and what the human sacrifice is.
Tim O'BrienRead
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