"I'm drawn particularly to stories that evolve out of the character of the protagonist"
About this Quote
The intent is craft-level and ethical at once. Craft-wise, it’s a method for turning archival sprawl into narrative momentum: if you can locate a person’s governing traits, the plot begins to select itself. Ethical-wise, it’s an argument that history is made by human beings with limits and quirks, not by faceless “forces” that conveniently absolve everyone. McCullough’s best work (on Truman, Adams, the Panama Canal) makes institutions and geopolitics readable by insisting that character is where the abstract becomes accountable.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke to academic distance. “Evolve” signals restraint: not hero worship, not a Great Man cartoon, but an organic unfolding where decisions feel inevitable without being excused. In the late-20th-century landscape of specialization, his approach doubles as cultural outreach: make the protagonist vivid enough, and the reader will follow you into the machinery of governance, war, and ambition without noticing they’re being taught.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
McCullough, David. (2026, January 17). I'm drawn particularly to stories that evolve out of the character of the protagonist. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-drawn-particularly-to-stories-that-evolve-out-66069/
Chicago Style
McCullough, David. "I'm drawn particularly to stories that evolve out of the character of the protagonist." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-drawn-particularly-to-stories-that-evolve-out-66069/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'm drawn particularly to stories that evolve out of the character of the protagonist." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-drawn-particularly-to-stories-that-evolve-out-66069/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.





