The king died and then the queen died is a story. The king died, and then queen died of grief is a plot.

plots, true or false, are necessary things, to raise up commonwealths and ruin kings.

Be a good listener in the special way a story requires: note the manner of presentation; the development of plot, character; the addition of new dramatic sequences; the emphasis accorded to one figure or another in the recital; and the degree of enthusiam, of coherence, the narrator gives to his or her account.

In our modern age, there are writers who have heaped scorn on the very idea of the primacy of story. I'd rather warm my hands on a sunlit ice floe than try to coax fire from the books they carve from glaciers.

I have lived with you and loved you, and now you are gone. Gone where I cannot follow, until I have finished all of my days.

Instead of dealing with Aces, Jacks, and Jokers...A Queen deserves a King who will play his cards right!