Fiction Quotes | Beyond Motive 2/4

top of page

Fiction Quotes

"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

30

"It seems that the fiction writer has a revolting attachment to the poor, for even when he writes about the rich, he is more concerned with what they lack than with what they have."

"It seems that the fiction writer has a revolting attachment to the poor, for even when he writes about the rich, he is more concerned with what they lack than with what they have."

Flannery O'Connor, American Author

Fiction, Poor, Writer

30

"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

30

"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

29

"As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read."

"As a kid, I didn't read a great deal of fiction, and I've forgotten most of what I did read."

Mark Haddon, English Novelist

29

"I think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot."

"I think good radio often uses the techniques of fiction: characters, scenes, a big urgent emotional question. And as in the best fiction, tone counts for a lot."

Ira Glass, American Journalist

Fiction, Question

29

"Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series also shows the potential of lighter fantastic fiction. I read the first, and listened to a tape of a later one, and it's fun."

"Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series also shows the potential of lighter fantastic fiction. I read the first, and listened to a tape of a later one, and it's fun."

Piers Anthony, English Writer

Fiction, First, Fun, Potential

29

"Good fiction must be entertaining, but what makes fiction special - and True - is that the realness of a novel allows it to carry a larger message."

"Good fiction must be entertaining, but what makes fiction special - and True - is that the realness of a novel allows it to carry a larger message."

Jerry B. Jenkins, American Novelist

29

"It would be easier to write a novel without reader input, but I feel the fiction is richer for it."

"It would be easier to write a novel without reader input, but I feel the fiction is richer for it."

Piers Anthony, English Writer

29

"I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying."

"I got nice rejections explaining that historical fiction was a difficult sell. But I kept trying."

Anita Diament, American Author

Fiction, Trying

28

"So what's it to be, Bear?"Dev lifted his leg and gave a sarcastic slap to his thigh."By golly, I'll take door number two, Bob. You know the one that calls for straight suicide with a side of mutilation and pain? Sign my hairy ass up for that and don't be late."

"So what's it to be, Bear?"Dev lifted his leg and gave a sarcastic slap to his thigh."By golly, I'll take door number two, Bob. You know the one that calls for straight suicide with a side of mutilation and pain? Sign my hairy ass up for that and don't be late."

Sherrilyn Kenyon, American Author

Fiction, Risk, Humor, Bravery, Pain

28

"I also read modern novels - I have just had to read 60 as I am one of the judges for the Orange Fiction Prize."

"I also read modern novels - I have just had to read 60 as I am one of the judges for the Orange Fiction Prize."

Kate Adie, British Journalist

Fiction, Judges

28

"Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer's role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there."

"Given that external reality is a fiction, the writer's role is almost superfluous. He does not need to invent the fiction because it is already there."

J. G. Ballard, British Author

Fiction, Reality, Writer

28

"I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping the parts that bored me."

"I learned to write fiction the way I learned to read fiction - by skipping the parts that bored me."

Jonathan Lethem, American Writer

27

"Reality shows are all the rage on TV at the moment, but that's not reality, it's just another aesthetic form of fiction."

"Reality shows are all the rage on TV at the moment, but that's not reality, it's just another aesthetic form of fiction."

Steven Soderbergh, American Director

Fiction, Reality

27

"Fiction has consisted either of placing imaginary characters in a true story, which is the Iliad, or of presenting the story of an individual as having a general historical value, which is the Odyssey."

"Fiction has consisted either of placing imaginary characters in a true story, which is the Iliad, or of presenting the story of an individual as having a general historical value, which is the Odyssey."

Raymond Queneau, French Poet

27

"Young readers have to be entertained. No child reads fiction because they think it's going to make them a better person."

"Young readers have to be entertained. No child reads fiction because they think it's going to make them a better person."

Mark Haddon, English Novelist

27

"It's always a mixture of fiction and your own story. It's more I recreate atmospheres and moods through songs."

"It's always a mixture of fiction and your own story. It's more I recreate atmospheres and moods through songs."

Keren Ann, Israeli Musician

Fiction, Moods, Songs

27

"When I started writing fiction, I knew how good it was immediately."

"When I started writing fiction, I knew how good it was immediately."

John C. Hawkes, American Novelist

Fiction, Writing

27

"Ripley is married. And he's not lost. He has his feet on the ground."

"Ripley is married. And he's not lost. He has his feet on the ground."

Patricia Highsmith, American Novelist

27

"I don't think Pulp Fiction is hard to watch at all."

"I don't think Pulp Fiction is hard to watch at all."

Quentin Tarantino, American Director

26

"I believe that, like most writers, my personality comes through in the fiction. So in that respect my writing can't be like any other author's really."

"I believe that, like most writers, my personality comes through in the fiction. So in that respect my writing can't be like any other author's really."

Paul Kane, English Writer

Fiction, Personality, Respect, Writers

26

"Fiction wouldn't be much fun without its fair share of scoundrels, and they have to live somewhere."

"Fiction wouldn't be much fun without its fair share of scoundrels, and they have to live somewhere."

Jasper Fforde, British Novelist

Fiction, Evil, Imagination, Storytelling

26

"That's why I have always admired documentaries, because they open windows that can make you understand much better where you come from, much better than fiction, I think."

"That's why I have always admired documentaries, because they open windows that can make you understand much better where you come from, much better than fiction, I think."

Walter Salles, Brazilian Director

Fiction, Open, Windows

26

"If there were a better, clearer, shorter way of saying what the fiction says, then why not scrap the fiction?"

"If there were a better, clearer, shorter way of saying what the fiction says, then why not scrap the fiction?"

J. M. Coetzee, South African Author

Fiction, Saying

26

"To create a past that seemed authentic but would be a fiction, you need an invented language."

"To create a past that seemed authentic but would be a fiction, you need an invented language."

Jeanette Winterson, British Novelist

Fiction, Language, Past

25

"I want prose fiction to be recognized as that, and I'm not interested in writing as it becomes more personal."

"I want prose fiction to be recognized as that, and I'm not interested in writing as it becomes more personal."

John C. Hawkes, American Novelist

Fiction, Prose, Want, Writing

25

"I don't read fiction at all."

"I don't read fiction at all."

Brent Spiner, American Actor

25

"Fiction is experimentation; when it ceases to be that, it ceases to be fiction."

"Fiction is experimentation; when it ceases to be that, it ceases to be fiction."

John Cheever, American Writer

25

"Simone couldn't move as she caught the hot look in his eyes. This was it and she knew it. She was lost to him. How could she deny him after all he'd done to protect her?"Simone!"She jumped at Jesse's shrill call.He popped into the room, then screamed like a girl. "I'm sorry. You two continue."Xypher let out a low, evil growl as he hung his head down and shook it over her. "I don't know about you, but that just killed my mood. The only thing to do more damage would would be to see Jesse naked. That would probably make me impotent for eternity. I think we just found the perfect birth control."

"Simone couldn't move as she caught the hot look in his eyes. This was it and she knew it. She was lost to him. How could she deny him after all he'd done to protect her?"Simone!"She jumped at Jesse's shrill call.He popped into the room, then screamed like a girl. "I'm sorry. You two continue."Xypher let out a low, evil growl as he hung his head down and shook it over her. "I don't know about you, but that just killed my mood. The only thing to do more damage would would be to see Jesse naked. That would probably make me impotent for eternity. I think we just found the perfect birth control."

Sherrilyn Kenyon, American Author

Fiction, Desire, Attraction, Humor, Chaos

25

"Did you wake him?""If I say yes, will you spank me?"Syn rolled his eyes. "You're horrible, Mari."

"Did you wake him?""If I say yes, will you spank me?"Syn rolled his eyes. "You're horrible, Mari."

Sherrilyn Kenyon, American Author

Fiction, Humor, Discipline, Interaction, Playfulness

25

"But even gold is not everything: and only a fanatic, and a rather foolish fanatic, would say that this style of fiction summed up and exhausted all the good that fiction could give and do."

"But even gold is not everything: and only a fanatic, and a rather foolish fanatic, would say that this style of fiction summed up and exhausted all the good that fiction could give and do."

George Saintsbury, English Writer

Fiction, Gold, Style

24

"The same that oft-times hath charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam of perilous seas, in fairy lands forlorn."

"The same that oft-times hath charm'd magic casements, opening on the foam of perilous seas, in fairy lands forlorn."

John Keats, English Poet

Fiction, Imagination, Fantasy, Adventure, Observation

24

"I can't read historical fiction because I find the real thing so much more interesting."

"I can't read historical fiction because I find the real thing so much more interesting."

Antonia Fraser, British Author

24

"Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and non-fiction. And even there, who can be sure?"

"Writing is writing, and stories are stories. Perhaps the only true genres are fiction and non-fiction. And even there, who can be sure?"

Tanith Lee, British Writer

Fiction, Writing

24

"I see what I did not see. I experience that which is outside my own experience. This is the magic of reading novels. This is the working out of the problem of illusion. I take a book off the shelf. I open it up and begin to read, and what I discover in its pages is real."

"I see what I did not see. I experience that which is outside my own experience. This is the magic of reading novels. This is the working out of the problem of illusion. I take a book off the shelf. I open it up and begin to read, and what I discover in its pages is real."

Siri Hustvedt, American Novelist

Fiction, Reading, Illusion, Reality, Imagination

24

"Nix had told Emma before she'd left for Europe that on this trip she would 'do that which you were born to do.' Apparently, Emma was born to get kidnapped by a deranged Lykae. Her fate sucked."

"Nix had told Emma before she'd left for Europe that on this trip she would 'do that which you were born to do.' Apparently, Emma was born to get kidnapped by a deranged Lykae. Her fate sucked."

Kresley Cole, American Author

Fiction, Fate, Adventure, Destiny, Humor

24

"There is no longer any such thing as fiction or nonfiction; there's only narrative."

"There is no longer any such thing as fiction or nonfiction; there's only narrative."

E. L. Doctorow, American Author

23

"I tend to read more nonfiction, really, because when I'm writing I don't like to read other fiction."

"I tend to read more nonfiction, really, because when I'm writing I don't like to read other fiction."

Irvine Welsh, Scottish Novelist

Fiction, Writing

23

"I like going back and writing fiction."

"I like going back and writing fiction."

Julia Sweeney, American Comedian

Fiction, Writing

23

"You learn a lot, writing fiction."

"You learn a lot, writing fiction."

Penelope Lively, English Author

Fiction, Writing

22

"I don't mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one."

"I don't mean that literary fiction is better than genre fiction, On the contrary; novels can perform two functions and most perform only one."

Mark Haddon, English Novelist

Fiction, Literary

22

"This is only a work of fiction , The Truth as always will be far stranger."

"This is only a work of fiction , The Truth as always will be far stranger."

Arthur C. Clarke, English Writer

Fiction, Truth, Observation, Imagination

22

"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

"Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

J. K. Rowling, English Author

Fiction, Hearing, World

22

"What Hamlet suffers from is a lack of zombies. Let us say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern show up-Ho-HO! Now you've got something that stirs the, um, something that stirs things that are stirrable. BOOM! A pack of ravenous flesh-eaters breaks open their heads and sucks out their eyeballs. No need for iambic pentameter because they are grunting, groaning annihilators of humanity with no time for meter. You're not asleep in the back of English class anymore, are you? This is what I'm talking about. Zombies. Learn it, live it, love it."

"What Hamlet suffers from is a lack of zombies. Let us say Rosencrantz and Guildenstern show up-Ho-HO! Now you've got something that stirs the, um, something that stirs things that are stirrable. BOOM! A pack of ravenous flesh-eaters breaks open their heads and sucks out their eyeballs. No need for iambic pentameter because they are grunting, groaning annihilators of humanity with no time for meter. You're not asleep in the back of English class anymore, are you? This is what I'm talking about. Zombies. Learn it, live it, love it."

Libba Bray, American Author

Fiction, Imagination, Humor, Zombies, Creativity

22

"I would, however, start writing fiction about 10 years before I actually did, because it's such great fun to do, many times more creative than nonfiction."

"I would, however, start writing fiction about 10 years before I actually did, because it's such great fun to do, many times more creative than nonfiction."

Judith Krantz, American Novelist

Fiction, Fun, Writing, Years

22

"I don't really have special rituals, but I don't try to write fiction unless I have a minimum of a few hours. For me, it takes a while to settle into a mode where I'm truly concentrating."

"I don't really have special rituals, but I don't try to write fiction unless I have a minimum of a few hours. For me, it takes a while to settle into a mode where I'm truly concentrating."

Curtis Sittenfeld, American Writer

Fiction, Rituals

22

"And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers come from those backgrounds, so does much of the fiction."

"And, of course, some SF is set close enough to here and now that Anglo and European do apply. Since many of the writers come from those backgrounds, so does much of the fiction."

Stanley Schmidt, American Writer

Fiction, Now, Writers

22

"If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the drunk or sober poet... Sometimes you can go looking for illumination."

"If you like to read, sometimes it's interesting just to go and see what the reality is, of the word, of the seedy or not so seedy fiction writer, the drunk or sober poet... Sometimes you can go looking for illumination."

Harold Brodkey, American Author

Fiction, Reality, Word, Writer

21

"I tend to resist invitations to interpret my own fiction."

"I tend to resist invitations to interpret my own fiction."

J. M. Coetzee, South African Author

20

bottom of page