--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I like to write about real people, real…" description: "\"I like to write about real people, real crimes. But what has increasingly come to interest me, and also appear to me as a challenge, is the idea of doi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b93/amitava-kumar-5002_come_i-like-to-write-about-real-people-real-c_1719640.png" --- # I like to write about real people, real crimes. But what… ![“I like to write about real people, real crimes. But what has increasingly come to interest me, and also appear to me as a challenge, is the idea of doing strange things with what is real. Take what is real and make it more or less real.” quote by Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b93/amitava-kumar-5002_come_i-like-to-write-about-real-people-real-c_1719640.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b93/amitava-kumar-5002_come_i-like-to-write-about-real-people-real-c_1719640.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b93/amitava-kumar-5002_come_i-like-to-write-about-real-people-real-c_1719640.png) > “I like to write about real people, real crimes. But what has increasingly come to interest me, and also appear to me as a challenge, is the idea of doing strange things with what is real. Take what is real and make it more or less real.” [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Blurring reality and fiction challenges perception, inviting deeper engagement with truth. **In simple terms:** Mixing real and imagined deepens insight. Key Takeaway Experiment with narrative boundaries. Themes literature truth creativity Mood curious inquisitive Type creative philosophical When to use this quote - journalism - fiction writing - documentary filmmaking Key Concepts post‑modernism narrative theory perception Questions to Reflect On - When does artistic license distort reality? - How to balance truth and imagination? A Different Perspective Risk of confusing audience about facts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Doing Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-strange-1326187/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real Crimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-crimes-1326186/) [Real people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-people/) [Strange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange/) [Strange things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strange-things/) [Things Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-real/) [Write Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-real-364953/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [What's lucky about my career in general is that I stumbled into what every writer most wants. Not repeating myself and doing strange things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-lethem/what-s-lucky-about-my-career-in-general-is-that-i-stumbled-into-what/) [Jonathan Lethem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-lethem/) > [I am a man of very many anxieties but doing strange things with the camera is not one of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-von-trier/i-am-a-man-of-very-many-anxieties-but-doing-strange-things-with-the/) [Lars von Trier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-von-trier/) > [I try to write about real women, real people - in other words flawed characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-try-to-write-about-real-women-real-people-in-other-words-flawed/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I don't \*ever\* write about real people. Art is supposed to be better than that. If you want a slice of life, look out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/i-don-t-ever-write-about-real-people-art-is-supposed-to-be-better/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [I write about real people in disguise. If anything, my characters are toned down-the truth is much more bizarre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/i-write-about-real-people-in-disguise-if-anything-my-characters-are/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to-2/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [My life is good because I am not passive about it. I invest in what is real. 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I record bits of overheard dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-write-from-real-life-i-am-an-unrepentant-eavesdropper-and-a/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“It is difficult to write about a real person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/it-is-difficult-to-write-about-a-real-person/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [No one can write their real religious life with pen or pencil. It is written only in actions, and its seal is our character,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/no-one-can-write-their-real-religious-life-with-pen-or-pencil-it-is/) [Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/) > [When I got older I decided I wanted to be a real writer. I tried to write about real things. I wanted to describe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-i-got-older-i-decided-i-wanted-to-be-a-real-writer-i-tried-to/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“How do you write about something, even something real and painful-like suicide-when all of the writing that's been done on that subject has robbed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides-the-marriage-plot/how-do-you-write-about-something-even-something-real-and-painful-like/) [Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides-the-marriage-plot/) > [Use original detail in your writing. Life is so rich, if you can write down the real details of the way things were and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/use-original-detail-in-your-writing-life-is-so-rich-if-you-can-write/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [I like to write about real-life topics, and I like to write about different walks of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foster/i-like-to-write-about-real-life-topics-and-i-like-to-write-about/) [Mark Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foster/) ## More by Amitava Kumar > [I thought I'd be the first to introduce herbal tea to Patna. White tea, ginger tea, rooibos, camomile. No one touched it. On subsequent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/i-thought-i-d-be-the-first-to-introduce-herbal-tea-to-patna-white-tea/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [Any real piece of writing is an act of courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/any-real-piece-of-writing-is-an-act-of-courage/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [We live in a cynical system where the powerful are able to exploit the demand of the aggressive few, from whichever religion or group,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/we-live-in-a-cynical-system-where-the-powerful-are-able-to-exploit/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [For some members of the radical Left, particularly in the West, people in developing countries are an ideological abstraction, on whom fantasies of liberation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/for-some-members-of-the-radical-left-particularly-in-the-west-people/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [The writer will write in his or her words, but the readers, even when they are not reading you, will take it elsewhere entirely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/the-writer-will-write-in-his-or-her-words-but-the-readers-even-when/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [My past makes me an insider, but my profession makes me an outsider. A writer always stands outside to report on reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/my-past-makes-me-an-insider-but-my-profession-makes-me-an-outsider-a/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [“There is no point in fighting condescension with condescension.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/there-is-no-point-in-fighting-condescension-with-condescension/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [We learn that our lives find narrative form neither in the tired, familiar slogans of our captains nor in the symmetries of ideological camps,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/we-learn-that-our-lives-find-narrative-form-neither-in-the-tired/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [All good works of art must ask this question: 'You want to breathe free, yes, but do you know how to kiss?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/all-good-works-of-art-must-ask-this-question-you-want-to-breathe-free/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [An essay is not an op-ed that tells its reader what to think. An essay is a complicated working-out of one's own contradictions and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/an-essay-is-not-an-op-ed-that-tells-its-reader-what-to-think-an-essay/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [Does the entry of Indian H-1B worker augur a change in the relations of production in the world of cybertechnology? No, but the presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/does-the-entry-of-indian-h-1b-worker-augur-a-change-in-the-relations/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [Michael Ondaatje’s work taught me how to be at home in fragments, and how to think about a big story in carefully curated vignettes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/michael-ondaatje-s-work-taught-me-how-to-be-at-home-in-fragments-and/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [The thing about good art is that it makes you look at things in a new way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/the-thing-about-good-art-is-that-it-makes-you-look-at-things-in-a-new/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [To write what is not dead on the page, one has to be open to all kinds of disturbances and challenges and confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/to-write-what-is-not-dead-on-the-page-one-has-to-be-open-to-all-kinds/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [Inequality reigns in horrifying ways, and not everyone can even read, but the world of media and advertising withholds very little from the imagination…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/inequality-reigns-in-horrifying-ways-and-not-everyone-can-even-read/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) [Explore all 104 Amitava Kumar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) ## More Come quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [If you've got some to say to Ric Flair, you come say it to me, and I'll make the translation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roddy-piper/if-you-ve-got-some-to-say-to-ric-flair-you-come-say-it-to-me-and-i-ll/) [Roddy Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roddy-piper/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Mihir is one of the most secure men that I have ever come across in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manini-mishra/mihir-is-one-of-the-most-secure-men-that-i-have-ever-come-across-in/) [Manini Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manini-mishra/) > [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/) [Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/) > [We'd always come into Syracuse for the Empire State Games and the stair fair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beau-biden/we-d-always-come-into-syracuse-for-the-empire-state-games-and-the/) [Beau Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beau-biden/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [“More we know, more we come know that how less we know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/souvik-khamrui/more-we-know-more-we-come-know-that-how-less-we-know/) [Souvik Khamrui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/souvik-khamrui/) > [I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. 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