Fiction Quotes | Beyond Motive

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Fiction Quotes

"His theory was that non-fiction could be as artful as fiction."

"His theory was that non-fiction could be as artful as fiction."

Gerald Clarke, Zimbabwean Politician

Fiction, Theory

127

"The neurotic is nailed to the cross of his fiction."

"The neurotic is nailed to the cross of his fiction."

Alfred Adler, Austrian Psychologist

46

"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike."

"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike."

J. K. Rowling, English Author

Fiction, Indifference, Neglect

44

"I think I had actually served my apprenticeship as a writer of fiction by writing all those songs. I had already been through phases of autobiographical or experimental stuff."

"I think I had actually served my apprenticeship as a writer of fiction by writing all those songs. I had already been through phases of autobiographical or experimental stuff."

Kazuo Ishiguro, Japanese Author

Fiction, Songs, Writer, Writing

42

"What we've got here is a lunatic genius ghost-in-the-computer monorail that likes riddles and goes faster than the speed of sound. Welcome to the fantasy version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

"What we've got here is a lunatic genius ghost-in-the-computer monorail that likes riddles and goes faster than the speed of sound. Welcome to the fantasy version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest."

Stephen King, American Author

Fiction, Genius, Madness, Fantasy, Technology

40

"Good fiction is made of that which is real, and reality is difficult to come by."

"Good fiction is made of that which is real, and reality is difficult to come by."

Ralph Ellison, American Author

Fiction, Reality

39

"We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too reductive in its definition of human beings."

"We have fallen into this very mean description of humanity. Naturalism in fiction is too reductive in its definition of human beings."

Ben Okri, Nigerian Poet

Fiction, Humanity

38

"Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn't exist."

"Whoever knows that the mind is a fiction and devoid of anything real knows that his own mind neither exists nor doesn't exist."

Bodhidharma, Indian Leader

37

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures."

"Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures."

Jessamyn West, American Author

Fiction, Reality

37

"A fiction about soft or easy deaths is part of the mythology of most diseases that are not considered shameful or demeaning."

"A fiction about soft or easy deaths is part of the mythology of most diseases that are not considered shameful or demeaning."

Susan Sontag, American Author

Fiction, Mythology

37

"Real magic is the hand around the bandsaw, the thrown spark in the powder keg, the dimension-warp linking you straight into the heart of a star, the flaming sword that burns all the way down to the pommel. Sooner juggle torches in a tar pit than mess with real magic. Sooner lie down in front of a thousand elephants."

"Real magic is the hand around the bandsaw, the thrown spark in the powder keg, the dimension-warp linking you straight into the heart of a star, the flaming sword that burns all the way down to the pommel. Sooner juggle torches in a tar pit than mess with real magic. Sooner lie down in front of a thousand elephants."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Fiction, Danger, Magic, Truth, Power

37

"There is no life here but the slow death of days, and so when the evil falls on the town, its coming seems almost preordained, sweet and morphic. It is almost as though the town knows the evil was coming and the shape it would take."

"There is no life here but the slow death of days, and so when the evil falls on the town, its coming seems almost preordained, sweet and morphic. It is almost as though the town knows the evil was coming and the shape it would take."

Stephen King, American Author

Fiction, Evil, Fate, Truth, Wisdom

36

"Memoirs are a well-known form of fiction."

"Memoirs are a well-known form of fiction."

Frank Harris, Irish Author

36

"Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic."

"Every writer knows he is spurious; every fiction writer would rather be credible than authentic."

John Le Carre, English Writer

36

"I rather like getting away from fiction."

"I rather like getting away from fiction."

Penelope Lively, English Author

36

"But I don't want to write my own fiction,' Cath said, as emphatically as she could. 'I don't want to write my own characters or my own worlds -- I don't care about them. . . . I'd rather pour myself into a world I love and understand than try to make something up out of nothing."

"But I don't want to write my own fiction,' Cath said, as emphatically as she could. 'I don't want to write my own characters or my own worlds -- I don't care about them. . . . I'd rather pour myself into a world I love and understand than try to make something up out of nothing."

Rainbow Rowell, American Author

Fiction, Writing, Imagination, Escape

36

"I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the visual arts into the making of narratives if I hadn't been able to shift into fiction."

"I'd have been a filmmaker or a cartoonist or something else which extended from the visual arts into the making of narratives if I hadn't been able to shift into fiction."

Jonathan Lethem, American Writer

36

"Create a world in which these things do or do not exist, or in which they are extended in some way. Test reality against this fiction. The reader will recognize the world that you're talking about, even though it may be another one altogether."

"Create a world in which these things do or do not exist, or in which they are extended in some way. Test reality against this fiction. The reader will recognize the world that you're talking about, even though it may be another one altogether."

Theodore Sturgeon, American Writer

Fiction, May, Reality, Talking

36

"Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists."

"Writing fiction has developed in me an abiding respect for the unknown in a human lifetime and a sense of where to look for the threads, how to follow, how to connect, find in the thick of the tangle what clear line persists."

Eudora Welty, American Author

Fiction, Respect, Sense, Writing

35

"In the best fiction, the language itself can become almost invisible."

"In the best fiction, the language itself can become almost invisible."

Robert Morgan, American Soldier

Fiction, Language

35

"I instantly chucked my academic ambitions and began writing fiction full-time."

"I instantly chucked my academic ambitions and began writing fiction full-time."

Peter Straub, American Writer

Fiction, Writing

35

"A stage play requires very different craft from a book, fiction or otherwise, and ditto from a screenplay."

"A stage play requires very different craft from a book, fiction or otherwise, and ditto from a screenplay."

Dirk Benedict, American Actor

35

"I no longer feel pressure to produce fiction."

"I no longer feel pressure to produce fiction."

George Murray, Canadian Poet

Fiction, Pressure

34

"I think it's Jerry's masterful fiction writing."

"I think it's Jerry's masterful fiction writing."

Tim LaHaye, American Clergyman

Fiction, Writing

34

"Fiction writing is great. You can make up almost anything."

"Fiction writing is great. You can make up almost anything."

Ivana Trump, Czechoslovakian Celebrity

Fiction, Writing

34

"And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together the way we are - where one person does the theological way out and suggestions, and the other person goes into the cave and does the fiction writing."

"And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together the way we are - where one person does the theological way out and suggestions, and the other person goes into the cave and does the fiction writing."

Tim LaHaye, American Clergyman

Fiction, Writer, Writing

34

"He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals."

"He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals."

Patricia Briggs, American Author

Fiction, Power, Heroism, Strength, Observation

33

"I don't read a great deal of fiction, to my shame, other than the classics."

"I don't read a great deal of fiction, to my shame, other than the classics."

Richard Attenborough, English Actor

33

"I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me."

"I read very widely, both non-fiction and fiction, so I don't think there's a single writer who influences me."

Peter Benchley, American Author

Fiction, Writer

33

"I was writing fiction, but not finishing fiction."

"I was writing fiction, but not finishing fiction."

Elizabeth Moon, American Author

Fiction, Writing

33

"A public is a necessary fiction."

"A public is a necessary fiction."

Rowan D. Williams, British Archbishop

Fiction, Public

33

"I really don't believe in magic."

"I really don't believe in magic."

J. K. Rowling, English Author

33

"I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it."

"I had been writing fiction since I was in eighth grade, because I loved it."

Thomas Perry, German Musician

Fiction, Writing

33

"I read the newspapers avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction."

"I read the newspapers avidly. It is my one form of continuous fiction."

Aneurin Bevan, Welsh Politician

Fiction, Newspapers

33

"And I sense it was a rather constructed, almost half narrative fiction film in some ways. A lot of it was staged and manipulated to get those things in there that I knew to be strong."

"And I sense it was a rather constructed, almost half narrative fiction film in some ways. A lot of it was staged and manipulated to get those things in there that I knew to be strong."

Terry Zwigoff, American Director

Fiction, Film, Sense

32

"The 'interactive fiction' format hasn't changed in any fundamental way since the early 1970s, in the same way that the format of the novel hasn't since 1700."

"The 'interactive fiction' format hasn't changed in any fundamental way since the early 1970s, in the same way that the format of the novel hasn't since 1700."

Graham Nelson, English Mathematician

32

"Uh...are we going to talk about what just happened?" Victoria asked as Drake stepped over to Finn's desk to look at the map layout of the cemetery, seemingly calm about the fact that Bo and Nyx had just disappeared into thin air."

"Uh...are we going to talk about what just happened?" Victoria asked as Drake stepped over to Finn's desk to look at the map layout of the cemetery, seemingly calm about the fact that Bo and Nyx had just disappeared into thin air."

Katie Reus, American Author

Fiction, Curiosity, Observation, Wonder, Conflict

32

"Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form."

"Writers of fiction, when they begin, are more likely to try the short form."

Irwin Shaw, American Novelist

Fiction, Writers

30

"And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement, and trespass charges already mentioned, and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy anymore. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after, without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done...which proves that you can be excused for just about anything if you are a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions."

"And then Jack chopped down what was the world's last beanstalk, adding murder and ecological terrorism to the theft, enticement, and trespass charges already mentioned, and all the giant's children didn't have a daddy anymore. But he got away with it and lived happily ever after, without so much as a guilty twinge about what he had done...which proves that you can be excused for just about anything if you are a hero, because no one asks inconvenient questions."

Terry Pratchett, English Author

Fiction, Justice, Heroism, Irony, Ethics

30

"Terrific. A bisexual dominant vampire with kidnapping expertise."

"Terrific. A bisexual dominant vampire with kidnapping expertise."

J.R. Ward, American Author

Fiction, Fantasy, Darkness, Power, Desire

30

"Fiction is socially meaningful."

"Fiction is socially meaningful."

David Guterson, American Author

29

"Writing fiction, there are no limits to what you write as long as it increases the value of the paper you are writing on."

"Writing fiction, there are no limits to what you write as long as it increases the value of the paper you are writing on."

Buddy Ebsen, American Actor

Fiction, Limits, Value, Writing

29

"I do one Xanth novel a year, because at the moment that is all that publishers will accept; they don't want any other type of fiction from me, so Xanth pays my way."

"I do one Xanth novel a year, because at the moment that is all that publishers will accept; they don't want any other type of fiction from me, so Xanth pays my way."

Piers Anthony, English Writer

Fiction, Want, Will

29

"I came to the conclusion that I am not a fiction writer."

"I came to the conclusion that I am not a fiction writer."

Tim LaHaye, American Clergyman

Fiction, Writer

29

"I did documentaries for maybe 10 years before I turned to fiction films."

"I did documentaries for maybe 10 years before I turned to fiction films."

Walter Salles, Brazilian Director

29

"However far fiction writers stray from their own lives and experiences - and I stray pretty far from mine - I think, ultimately, that we may be writing what we need to write in some way, albeit unconsciously."

"However far fiction writers stray from their own lives and experiences - and I stray pretty far from mine - I think, ultimately, that we may be writing what we need to write in some way, albeit unconsciously."

Wally Lamb, American Author

Fiction, May, Pretty, Writers

29

"The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an alternative way of telling a story and manipulating characters; the novel is such a wonderfully flexible form."

"The pleasure of writing fiction is that you are always spotting some new approach, an alternative way of telling a story and manipulating characters; the novel is such a wonderfully flexible form."

Penelope Lively, English Author

Fiction, Pleasure, Writing

28

"One can easily classify all works of fiction either as descendants of the Iliad or of the Odyssey."

"One can easily classify all works of fiction either as descendants of the Iliad or of the Odyssey."

Raymond Queneau, French Poet

28

"First of all, writing at best - certainly fiction writing - more and more I think is magic."

"First of all, writing at best - certainly fiction writing - more and more I think is magic."

Kathy Acker, American Activist

Fiction, First, Magic, Writing

28

"It's not highly intellectual material. I'm dedicating it to the pulp fiction of the past."

"It's not highly intellectual material. I'm dedicating it to the pulp fiction of the past."

Bruce Boxleitner, American Actor

27

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