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About this quote

What does it mean?
A play creates a complete reality with its own rules and characters.
In plain terms
A play is like its own world with different laws and people.
What can you take from it?
Fictional worlds operate under their own internal logic.

Where it applies

  • writing plays
  • analyzing stories
  • imagining scenarios

Putting it to work

  • build consistent fictional worlds
  • respect story logic

Questions to consider

  • What rules govern your own life?
  • How do stories create worlds?

Another view

Not all plays succeed in creating a believable world.

More from William Saroyan

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  3. Each person belongs to the environment, in his own person, as himself.

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