--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think that, every individual you invent…" description: "\"I think that, every individual you invent in narrative work, you have to have some root in who that person is. That may be an aspect of yourself; it ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6c/amor-towles-1249_admire_i-think-that-every-individual-you-invent_1024567.jpg" --- # I think that, every individual you invent in narrative… ![“I think that, every individual you invent in narrative work, you have to have some root in who that person is. That may be an aspect of yourself; it may be an aspect of something that you like, that you don't like. It may be an aspect that you wish you had. Maybe something you admire in another…” quote by Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6c/amor-towles-1249_admire_i-think-that-every-individual-you-invent_1024567.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6c/amor-towles-1249_admire_i-think-that-every-individual-you-invent_1024567.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6c/amor-towles-1249_admire_i-think-that-every-individual-you-invent_1024567.jpg) > “I think that, every individual you invent in narrative work, you have to have some root in who that person is. That may be an aspect of yourself; it may be an aspect of something that you like, that you don't like. It may be an aspect that you wish you had. Maybe something you admire in another person.” [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creating believable characters requires grounding them in personal experience or admired traits, making them authentic and relatable. **In simple terms:** Characters need personal roots to feel real. Key Takeaway Tie characters to real or aspirational qualities. Themes character development authenticity psychology Mood introspective creative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - role‑playing games Key Concepts identity empathy projection Questions to Reflect On - What aspect of yourself could enrich a character? - How can admiration for others shape fictional personalities? A Different Perspective May limit originality if over‑relied on self‑projection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Admire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Invent Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/invent-narrative-2304759/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Narrative Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative-work-2304761/) [Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person/) [Person Aspect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-aspect-2304760/) [Root Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/root-person-2304762/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I was like: the narrative should be that the work that we did was never paid for so Leave.E.U., by not registering that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-kaiser/i-was-like-the-narrative-should-be-that-the-work-that-we-did-was/) [Brittany Kaiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-kaiser/) > [If you need to fudge the facts a little bit to make your narrative work, there is nothing anyone can do to stop you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/if-you-need-to-fudge-the-facts-a-little-bit-to-make-your-narrative/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [Any narrative, whether it's fiction or not, you have to approach it as though it really happened to you. I think that's the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/any-narrative-whether-it-s-fiction-or-not-you-have-to-approach-it-as/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [You are the same person in every aspect of your life, and you have to be a responsible person in every aspect of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/you-are-the-same-person-in-every-aspect-of-your-life-and-you-have-to/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [Being Mormon is a big part of who I am, and I try very hard to live the right way, but I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephenie-meyer/being-mormon-is-a-big-part-of-who-i-am-and-i-try-very-hard-to-live/) [Stephenie Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephenie-meyer/) > [Any characteristic that you can't stand in another person is an aspect of you that you can't stand in yourself. Once you discover that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ferguson/any-characteristic-that-you-can-t-stand-in-another-person-is-an/) [Bill Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ferguson/) > [When you find that right person, every aspect of them will seem perfect. Because you will fall so in love that you look past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-find-that-right-person-every-aspect-of-them-will-seem/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I really admire the experimentalists who challenge traditional narrative - writers like Ishmael Reed, Michael Martone, Donald Barthelme, Tatyana Tolstaya, George Saunders, and many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/i-really-admire-the-experimentalists-who-challenge-traditional/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) > [I really admire Werner Herzog and Spike Lee. They're amazing documentarians. If you took away all the narratives, they'd just be amazing documentarians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/i-really-admire-werner-herzog-and-spike-lee-they-re-amazing/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [I've always been interested in medicine and was pleased when my brother became a doctor. But after thinking seriously about that field, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/i-ve-always-been-interested-in-medicine-and-was-pleased-when-my/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [Your job as a writer is to find storylines, narrative structures, and characters to show the things that you believe rather than saying them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/your-job-as-a-writer-is-to-find-storylines-narrative-structures-and/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) > [If you do weave one-liners into a story, you have to have an overall story as well, otherwise it doesn't really count as narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-vine/if-you-do-weave-one-liners-into-a-story-you-have-to-have-an-overall/) [Tim Vine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-vine/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Nostalgia keeps dissolving the ironic narratives in which I have contained my past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/nostalgia-keeps-dissolving-the-ironic-narratives-in-which-i-have/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) ## More by Amor Towles > [“To have even one year when you're presented with choices that can alter your circumstances, your character, your course- that's by the grace of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/to-have-even-one-year-when-you-re-presented-with-choices-that-can/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Rather than sitting in orderly rows in a schoolhouse, wouldn't one be better served by working her way towards an actual horizon, so that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/rather-than-sitting-in-orderly-rows-in-a-schoolhouse-wouldn-t-one-be/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [That's how quickly New York City comes about - like a weather wane - or the head of a cobra. Time tells which.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-s-how-quickly-new-york-city-comes-about-like-a-weather-wane-or/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mostly, he said, I've been thinking about what I'm not going to do. When I think of the last few years, I've been hounded…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mostly-he-said-i-ve-been-thinking-about-what-i-m-not-going-to-do-when/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“In the doleful court behind my building a patchwork of windows was all that separated me from a hundred muted lives being led without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/in-the-doleful-court-behind-my-building-a-patchwork-of-windows-was/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“That is how time passes when one is left waiting unaccountably. The hours become interminable. The minutes relentless. And the seconds? Why, not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/that-is-how-time-passes-when-one-is-left-waiting-unaccountably-the/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Mishka would pine for Katerina the rest of his life! Never again would he walk Nevsky Prospekt, however they chose to rename it, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/mishka-would-pine-for-katerina-the-rest-of-his-life-never-again-would/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [Every year, I would spend weeks at a time in the hotels of distant cities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/every-year-i-would-spend-weeks-at-a-time-in-the-hotels-of-distant/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For eventually, we come to hold our dearest possessions more closely than we hold our friends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-eventually-we-come-to-hold-our-dearest-possessions-more-closely/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“As we age, we are bound to find comfort from the notion that it takes generations for a way of life to fade. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/as-we-age-we-are-bound-to-find-comfort-from-the-notion-that-it-takes/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is the role of the parent to express his concerns and then take three steps back. Not one, mind you, not two,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-the-role-of-the-parent-to-express-his-concerns-and-then/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“But I've come to realie that however blue my circumstance,s if after finishing a chapter of a Dickens novel I feel a miss-my-stop-on-the-train sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/but-i-ve-come-to-realie-that-however-blue-my-circumstance-s-if-after/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [I make extensive outlines before I write a book. I usually know what will happen. I know the characters, and I know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/i-make-extensive-outlines-before-i-write-a-book-i-usually-know-what/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“Sometimes,” Nina clarified, “everybody tells you something because they are everybody. But why should one listen to everybody? Did everybody write the Odyssey? Did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/sometimes-nina-clarified-everybody-tells-you-something-because-they/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) > [“For it is a fact that a man can be profoundly out of step with his times. A man may have been born in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amor-towles/for-it-is-a-fact-that-a-man-can-be-profoundly-out-of-step-with-his/) [Amor Towles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) [Explore all 266 Amor Towles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amor-towles/) ## More Admire quotes > [Everyone will admire you when you do well. What a horrible thing to do to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/everyone-will-admire-you-when-you-do-well-what-a-horrible-thing-to-do/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I admire Serena Williams, because, I mean, who doesn't admire Serena Williams?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-konta/i-admire-serena-williams-because-i-mean-who-doesn-t-admire-serena/) [Johanna Konta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-konta/) > [How proud I am to be compared to Oprah. I really admire her. She's a minority woman and she's done all this by herself...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-saralegui/how-proud-i-am-to-be-compared-to-oprah-i-really-admire-her-she-s-a/) [Cristina Saralegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-saralegui/) > [I admire President Obama's ability to trust strangers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/i-admire-president-obama-s-ability-to-trust-strangers/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I really admire people's interactions with technology that aren't tech-centric but use it as a tool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-really-admire-people-s-interactions-with-technology-that-aren-t/) [Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/) > [During my first years in the Sierra, I was ever calling on everybody within reach to admire them, but I found no one half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/during-my-first-years-in-the-sierra-i-was-ever-calling-on-everybody/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [It could be my British need for discipline that makes me admire the American appetite for freedom and passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-winwood/it-could-be-my-british-need-for-discipline-that-makes-me-admire-the/) [Steve Winwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-winwood/) > [I believe in a world where there are no heroes, and I've read and know humanity a lot. There are moments that I admire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/i-believe-in-a-world-where-there-are-no-heroes-and-i-ve-read-and-know/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [I think it's really good and helpful to have the people you most admire in some other discipline than what you work in. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whit-stillman/i-think-it-s-really-good-and-helpful-to-have-the-people-you-most/) [Whit Stillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whit-stillman/) > [Part of what we admire about a painting or a piece of music is the order which the artist has imposed upon what would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-storr/part-of-what-we-admire-about-a-painting-or-a-piece-of-music-is-the/) [Anthony Storr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-storr/) > [I respect and admire the Premier League.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-koeman/i-respect-and-admire-the-premier-league/) [Ronald Koeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-koeman/) > [“Admire and appreciate your man and he will be happy on your side”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-alfiori/admire-and-appreciate-your-man-and-he-will-be-happy-on-your-side/) [Linda Alfiori](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-alfiori/) > [“The thing I admire most about you is no matter how hard, or how much the world has tried to beat you, break you,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikita-gill/the-thing-i-admire-most-about-you-is-no-matter-how-hard-or-how-much/) [Nikita Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikita-gill/) [Browse all 2,369 Admire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/admire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that, every individual you invent in narrative work, you have to have some root in who that person is. 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