Writing fiction is very different to writing non-fiction…
“Writing fiction is very different to writing non-fiction. I love writing novels, but on history books, like my biographies of Stalin or Catherine the Great or Jerusalem, I spend endless hours doing vast amounts of research. But it ends up being based on the same principle as all writing about people: and that is curiosity!”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Writing fiction and non‑fiction differ in form, but both rely on curiosity to explore human stories.
In simple terms: Curiosity drives all writing about people.
Cultivate curiosity in research and storytelling.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- academic work
- creative workshops
- documentary projects
- personal essays
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What questions spark your curiosity about a subject?
- How do you verify facts while maintaining narrative flow?
Balancing factual accuracy with narrative flair can be challenging.