--- title: "16 Way Quotes By Dan Chaon" description: "16 Way quotes by Dan Chaon. Plus more from Dan Chaon and more Way sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/dan-chaon-2729_constructs_our-sense-of-self-is-a-kind-of-construct_2740849.png" --- > [Our sense of self is a kind of construct. It is in some ways like a novel, and it's like a fabric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/our-sense-of-self-is-a-kind-of-construct-it-is-in-some-ways-like-a/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b36/dan-chaon-2729_constructs_our-sense-of-self-is-a-kind-of-construct_2740849.png) > [Identity issues are hardwired into the way I think about character - it's almost as if I can't get away from them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/identity-issues-are-hardwired-into-the-way-i-think-about-character-it/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/dan-chaon-2729_character_identity-issues-are-hardwired-into-the-w_2365129.png) > [In some ways all of my fiction is like a conversation I'm having with the writers I read when I was first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-some-ways-all-of-my-fiction-is-like-a-conversation-i-m-having-with/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc1/dan-chaon-2729_book_in-some-ways-all-of-my-fiction-is-like-a_2906233.png) > [I always worry that knowing too much about a novel or a story early on in writing will close it down -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-always-worry-that-knowing-too-much-about-a-novel-or-a-story-early/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/dan-chaon-2729_feels_i-always-worry-that-knowing-too-much-abo_464186.png) > [I think we're always in some ways writing to the teachers who gave us early love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-think-we-re-always-in-some-ways-writing-to-the-teachers-who-gave-us/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/dan-chaon-2729_early-love_i-think-we-re-always-in-some-ways-writin_2170835.png) > [I know a lot of people don't listen to music when they're writing because it distracts them, but for me it's almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-know-a-lot-of-people-don-t-listen-to-music-when-they-re-writing/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d1/dan-chaon-2729_hypnotic_i-know-a-lot-of-people-don-t-listen-to-m_831006.png) > [People write fiction in their minds all the time - every time we read a 'human interest' news story, or a true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/people-write-fiction-in-their-minds-all-the-time-every-time-we-read-a/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/347/dan-chaon-2729_behave_people-write-fiction-in-their-minds-all_1007745.jpg) > [It's not like it ruined my life, I was going to say, but then I didn't. Because it occurred to me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-going-to-say-but-then-i-didn-t/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/dan-chaon-2729_kind_it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-go_1798948.png) > [Fiction is a particular kind of rhetoric, a way of thinking that I think can be useful in your life. It asks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric-a-way-of-thinking-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-chaon-2729_asks_fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric_493841.png) > [I wanted to write a horror story. But in some ways, I have always thought of myself as a kind of ghost-story/horror…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-wanted-to-write-a-horror-story-but-in-some-ways-i-have-always/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0c/dan-chaon-2729_ghost_i-wanted-to-write-a-horror-story-but-in_3037095.png) > [I guess I'm curious about how people process grief and how they process loss. And I'm also interested in the ways in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-process-grief-and-how-they/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/dan-chaon-2729_consequence_i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-pro_2713271.png) > [You can't count on notoriety lasting very long, and there's no way to predict whether anyone will care about your books or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/you-can-t-count-on-notoriety-lasting-very-long-and-there-s-no-way-to/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e55/dan-chaon-2729_book_you-can-t-count-on-notoriety-lasting-ver_1229838.png) > [The feeling of being an outsider, and the identity theme, are hardwired into me. If there's anything really autobiographical in my fiction,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the-identity-theme-are-hardwired/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/dan-chaon-2729_feeling_the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the_1115476.png) > [There is a stage you reach, Deagle thinks, a time somewhere in early middle age, when your past ceases to be about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/there-is-a-stage-you-reach-deagle-thinks-a-time-somewhere-in-early/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f0/dan-chaon-2729_about-yourself_there-is-a-stage-you-reach-deagle-thinks_2259620.jpg) > [I think that the way that I write stories is by instinct. You have some basic ideas - a character, or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-stories-is-by-instinct-you-have/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e78/dan-chaon-2729_character_i-think-that-the-way-that-i-write-storie_661046.png) > [Sometimes he thinks that if he could only trace the path of his life carefully enough, everything would become clear. The ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/sometimes-he-thinks-that-if-he-could-only-trace-the-path-of-his-life/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e34/dan-chaon-2729_breathe_sometimes-he-thinks-that-if-he-could-onl_1262886.jpg) ## Other authors on Way ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/dan-chaon/#itemlist", "name": "16 Way Quotes By Dan Chaon", "numberOfItems": 16, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our sense of self is a kind of construct. 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Because it occurred to me that maybe it had ruined my life, in a kind of quiet way--a little lie, probably not so vital, insidiously separating me from everyone I loved.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-going-to-say-but-then-i-didn-t/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/dan-chaon-2729_kind_it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-go_1798948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/dan-chaon-2729_kind_it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-go_1798948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dfa/dan-chaon-2729_kind_it-s-not-like-it-ruined-my-life-i-was-go_1798948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's not like it ruined my life, I was going to say, but then I didn't. Because it occurred to me that maybe…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fiction is a particular kind of rhetoric, a way of thinking that I think can be useful in your life. It asks you to image the world through someone else's eyes, and it allows you to try to empathize with situations that you haven't actually experienced.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric-a-way-of-thinking-that-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-chaon-2729_asks_fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric_493841.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-chaon-2729_asks_fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric_493841.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/275/dan-chaon-2729_asks_fiction-is-a-particular-kind-of-rhetoric_493841.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fiction is a particular kind of rhetoric, a way of thinking that I think can be useful in your life. It asks…” — Dan Chaon", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I wanted to write a horror story. 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And I'm also interested in the ways in which an event can have long-reaching consequences and a life over the course of years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-process-grief-and-how-they/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/dan-chaon-2729_consequence_i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-pro_2713271.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/dan-chaon-2729_consequence_i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-pro_2713271.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bde/dan-chaon-2729_consequence_i-guess-i-m-curious-about-how-people-pro_2713271.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I guess I'm curious about how people process grief and how they process loss. 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If there's anything really autobiographical in my fiction, it's that feeling. I always feel that way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the-identity-theme-are-hardwired/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/dan-chaon-2729_feeling_the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the_1115476.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/dan-chaon-2729_feeling_the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the_1115476.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78a/dan-chaon-2729_feeling_the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the_1115476.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The feeling of being an outsider, and the identity theme, are hardwired into me. 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