--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the characters are not alive to me, it…" description: "\"If the characters are not alive to me, it doesn't matter how good the sentences are. It just becomes all cake and no frosting.\" — Amy Bloom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/amy-bloom-4288_alive_if-the-characters-are-not-alive-to-me-it_1750353.png" --- # If the characters are not alive to me, it doesn't matter… ![“If the characters are not alive to me, it doesn't matter how good the sentences are. It just becomes all cake and no frosting.” quote by Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/amy-bloom-4288_alive_if-the-characters-are-not-alive-to-me-it_1750353.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/amy-bloom-4288_alive_if-the-characters-are-not-alive-to-me-it_1750353.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de8/amy-bloom-4288_alive_if-the-characters-are-not-alive-to-me-it_1750353.png) > “If the characters are not alive to me, it doesn't matter how good the sentences are. It just becomes all cake and no frosting.” [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If characters feel lifeless, the prose loses impact, becoming superficial. **In simple terms:** Dead characters make writing hollow. Key Takeaway Give characters depth and authenticity. Themes character development authenticity literary quality Mood analytical inquisitive Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - character workshops - literary critique Key Concepts narrative empathy storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you breathe life into fictional people? - What makes a character feel real? A Different Perspective Focusing solely on style can neglect substance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) ## Related quotes > [I'm crap at interviews. I'm just not very good at sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-graves/i-m-crap-at-interviews-i-m-just-not-very-good-at-sentences/) [Rupert Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-graves/) > [I think that if you have a knack for storytelling, and you work really hard at it, you'll have a chance to tap into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/i-think-that-if-you-have-a-knack-for-storytelling-and-you-work-really/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [It’s fascinating. You know all these words, and they’re all English, but when you string them together into sentences, they just don’t make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/it-s-fascinating-you-know-all-these-words-and-they-re-all-english-but/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [“All she needs is to lay down a few sentences, sometimes just a few words, on paper to feel soothed, for a moment delivered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominique-fortier/all-she-needs-is-to-lay-down-a-few-sentences-sometimes-just-a-few/) Dominique Fortier > [If anybody asks me what I have accomplished, I will say all I have accomplished is that I have written a few good sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/if-anybody-asks-me-what-i-have-accomplished-i-will-say-all-i-have/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [No good sentences ever include the word ‘should.’ I should have paid the tavern bill; now they’re coming to break my legs. I should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/no-good-sentences-ever-include-the-word-should-i-should-have-paid-the/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Once there are good sentences on the page, I can feel a loyalty to them and start following their logic, and take refuge from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-franzen/once-there-are-good-sentences-on-the-page-i-can-feel-a-loyalty-to/) [Jonathan Franzen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-franzen/) > [Let me live, love and say it well in good sentences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/let-me-live-love-and-say-it-well-in-good-sentences/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [These days, I like to think of sentences as workers. Only one of their jobs is to look and sound good. Sentences are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/these-days-i-like-to-think-of-sentences-as-workers-only-one-of-their/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [There's shorthand that happens when you work with someone you know where you can almost finish each other's sentences. There's just a certain back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lo-truglio/there-s-shorthand-that-happens-when-you-work-with-someone-you-know/) [Joe Lo Truglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lo-truglio/) > [We spend millions of dollars to remove pain from our lives. It's why so many people get hooked on painkillers. The body becomes addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/we-spend-millions-of-dollars-to-remove-pain-from-our-lives-it-s-why/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [For someone who works in theatre, the rehearsal is where you discover everything. It is where magic happens, where the script enters you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-fazal/for-someone-who-works-in-theatre-the-rehearsal-is-where-you-discover/) [Ali Fazal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-fazal/) > [I think being on a TV show is amazing but also, people get kind of used to seeing you a certain way and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-plaza/i-think-being-on-a-tv-show-is-amazing-but-also-people-get-kind-of/) [Aubrey Plaza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-plaza/) > [If you have more downforce, everything becomes much easier. Drivers drive better, engineers they have more room for setup, the tyres are working better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kubica/if-you-have-more-downforce-everything-becomes-much-easier-drivers/) [Robert Kubica](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kubica/) > [Hollywood is very much an industry town. Your life becomes caught up in all of the parties and this list and that list. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-johnson/hollywood-is-very-much-an-industry-town-your-life-becomes-caught-up/) [Don Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-johnson/) ## More by Amy Bloom > [I'm sure I've been influenced by every fine writer I've ever read, from Dickens and Austen to Auden and Jane Hirshfield. And also, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-m-sure-i-ve-been-influenced-by-every-fine-writer-i-ve-ever-read/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My target audience is anyone who finds the world interesting and human behavior fascinating, terrible, inspiring, funny, and occasionally, mysterious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-target-audience-is-anyone-who-finds-the-world-interesting-and/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I assume as a writer that most of the time I'm going to fall down and fail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-assume-as-a-writer-that-most-of-the-time-i-m-going-to-fall-down-and/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [It is a wonderful, moving, heart-filling experience to sit with the man or woman you love and your beloved children and know that all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/it-is-a-wonderful-moving-heart-filling-experience-to-sit-with-the-man/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [If you're an American reader, you can love short stories the way other Americans love baseball; this is our game, people! We have more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/if-you-re-an-american-reader-you-can-love-short-stories-the-way-other/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My father certainly believed that one could make a living outside of an office, as he did. And that if I didn't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-father-certainly-believed-that-one-could-make-a-living-outside-of/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > ['Normal' is not clinical, it's not autobiographical, and I don't claim to be objective. It's strictly my perceptions and thoughts about the people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/normal-is-not-clinical-it-s-not-autobiographical-and-i-don-t-claim-to/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I am all for loving relationships in which the couple at the center are a match set in terms of height, weight, color, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-am-all-for-loving-relationships-in-which-the-couple-at-the-center/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [“The German deli was run by a distant cousin of Kaiser Wilhelm and the Great Neck Jews loved the place; they flocked to Kuch's.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/the-german-deli-was-run-by-a-distant-cousin-of-kaiser-wilhelm-and-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [I met Jay Jonhson. I won him the way poor people occasionally win the lottery: Shameless perseverance and embarrassingly dumb luck, and every time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/i-met-jay-jonhson-i-won-him-the-way-poor-people-occasionally-win-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Actual happiness is sometimes confused with the pursuit of it; and the most mindless and crass how-tos can get jumbled in with the modestly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/actual-happiness-is-sometimes-confused-with-the-pursuit-of-it-and-the/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Smart people often talk trash about happiness and worse than trash about books on happiness, and they have been doing so for centuries -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/smart-people-often-talk-trash-about-happiness-and-worse-than-trash/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [My father would have been spectacularly ill-suited to working for an institution of any kind, and I suspect that, to a lesser degree, that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/my-father-would-have-been-spectacularly-ill-suited-to-working-for-an/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [Marriage is not a ritual or an end. Its a long, intricate, intimate dance together and nothing matters more than your own sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/marriage-is-not-a-ritual-or-an-end-its-a-long-intricate-intimate/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [All intimacy is rare-that's what makes it precious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/all-intimacy-is-rare-that-s-what-makes-it-precious/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) [Explore all 112 Amy Bloom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [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/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If the characters are not alive to me, it doesn't matter how good the sentences are. 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