John le Carré? Michael Dean? Austin Kleon? James Scott Bell? Apocryphal?
Question for Quote Investigator: A popular story requires tension, danger, and conflict. A top-selling author once summarized this viewpoint with an entertaining statement about animals:
“The cat sat on the mat” is not a story. “The cat sat on the dog’s mat” is a story.
This adage has been credited to John le Carré, the famous author of espionage thrillers. Would you please help me to find a citation?
Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1974 Michael Dean of the BBC interviewed John le Carré (pen name of David Cornwell). The transcript appeared in “The Listener” magazine. Le Carré discussed his method for constructing plots. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
There is the other kind of book where you take one character, you take another character and you put them into collision, and the collision arrives because they have different appetites, and you begin to get the essence of drama.
The cat sat on the mat is not a story; the cat sat on the dog’s mat is the beginning of an exciting story, and out of that collision, perhaps, there comes a sense of retribution.
Le Carré made similar statements in multiple interviews during the ensuing years.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
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