--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: History is the history of human behavior…" description: "\"History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/amy-waldman-14698_behavior_history-is-the-history-of-human-behavior_1828159.jpg" --- # History is the history of human behavior, and human… ![“History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get the facts right - how a glove factory works, for example, or how courtesans in imperial Japan dressed.” quote by Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/amy-waldman-14698_behavior_history-is-the-history-of-human-behavior_1828159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/amy-waldman-14698_behavior_history-is-the-history-of-human-behavior_1828159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a78/amy-waldman-14698_behavior_history-is-the-history-of-human-behavior_1828159.jpg) > “History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. Most people recognize that novelists do research to get the facts right - how a glove factory works, for example, or how courtesans in imperial Japan dressed.” [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human behavior fuels both history and fiction; authors research real life to craft believable stories. **In simple terms:** Human actions shape stories. Key Takeaway Study real behavior for authentic writing. Themes history fiction human behavior Mood analytical creative Type literary educational When to use this quote - novel writing - journalism - screenwriting - historical analysis Key Concepts anthropology storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does real research change your narrative? - What ethical lines exist in depicting real people? A Different Perspective Research can be time‑consuming. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Behavior Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior-human-1712169/) [Courtesans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courtesans/) [Example](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/example/) [Factories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factories/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Gloves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloves/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [History History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-history/) [History Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history-human/) [Human behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-behavior/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Japan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/japan/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Raw material](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raw-material/) [Raw materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raw-materials/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) ## Related quotes > [The behavior of a human being in sexual matters is often a prototype for the whole of his other modes of reaction in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-behavior-of-a-human-being-in-sexual-matters-is-often-a-prototype/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Art is a normal and necessary behavior of human beings and like other common and universal occupations such as talking, working, exercising, playing, socializing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-dissanayake/art-is-a-normal-and-necessary-behavior-of-human-beings-and-like-other/) [Ellen Dissanayake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-dissanayake/) > [No matter how civilized we are and how much society has curbed violent behavior. Human beings still have the same genes they had 10,000…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-rogan/no-matter-how-civilized-we-are-and-how-much-society-has-curbed/) [Joe Rogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-rogan/) > [Generally, I tend to despise human behavior rather than human creatures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sidney-poitier/generally-i-tend-to-despise-human-behavior-rather-than-human-creatures/) [Sidney Poitier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sidney-poitier/) > [“it’s human behavior, human social behavior, and in many cases abnormal human social behavior. And it is indeed a mess, a subject involving brain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-sapolsky/it-s-human-behavior-human-social-behavior-and-in-many-cases-abnormal/) [Robert M. 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Naivety, error, contradiction, even (as in the cursing Psalms) wickedness are not removed. The total…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/the-human-qualities-of-the-raw-materials-show-through-naivety-error/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [Film is an editor's medium. You can create very good raw material and they can make it horrible, or you can do not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/film-is-an-editor-s-medium-you-can-create-very-good-raw-material-and/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) [Aristide Maillol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristide-maillol/) > [As hundreds of millions of Chinese have improved their standard of living, this has put enormous pressure on natural resources, raw materials, and food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/as-hundreds-of-millions-of-chinese-have-improved-their-standard-of/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [Attractive Etonians who go straight onto the Stock Exchange missing University on their fathers advice: the raw material of the great bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-madan/attractive-etonians-who-go-straight-onto-the-stock-exchange-missing/) [Geoffrey Madan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-madan/) > [We're fortunate enough to live on a planet that's bathed in thousands of times more energy than we use and that's stocked with thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-re-fortunate-enough-to-live-on-a-planet-that-s-bathed-in-thousands/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) ## More by Amy Waldman > [I'm kind of a mash-up of taste - Graham Greene and Jane Austen; W.G. Sebald and Alice Munro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-m-kind-of-a-mash-up-of-taste-graham-greene-and-jane-austen-w-g/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Nothing in life gets dropped without someone else having to pick it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/nothing-in-life-gets-dropped-without-someone-else-having-to-pick-it-up/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I wasn't sitting around years ago thinking, 'I really want to write a novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-wasn-t-sitting-around-years-ago-thinking-i-really-want-to-write-a/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [“She ate ramen noodles from the vending machine, their texture just a few molecular recombinations from the Styrofoam cup containing them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/she-ate-ramen-noodles-from-the-vending-machine-their-texture-just-a/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [My children, who are almost two: watching them develop has made me pay much closer attention to how we become who we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/my-children-who-are-almost-two-watching-them-develop-has-made-me-pay/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [The rhetoric is the first step, it coarsens attitudes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/the-rhetoric-is-the-first-step-it-coarsens-attitudes/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [In life, redemption was walking up the down escalator: stop to congratulate yourself, and back you slid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/in-life-redemption-was-walking-up-the-down-escalator-stop-to/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Perhaps this was the secret to being at peace: want nothing but what is given to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/perhaps-this-was-the-secret-to-being-at-peace-want-nothing-but-what/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Eden, paradise - all the best gardens are imaginary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/eden-paradise-all-the-best-gardens-are-imaginary/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [My parents are aging and there are difficult issues. It's strange to have children at the beginning of life and parents nearing the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/my-parents-are-aging-and-there-are-difficult-issues-it-s-strange-to/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Imagination, it turns out, is a great deal like reporting in your own head. Here is a paradox of fiction-writing. You are crafting something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/imagination-it-turns-out-is-a-great-deal-like-reporting-in-your-own/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [“Don't succumb to the fear; don't mistake the absolutism of Khan's opposition for morality”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/don-t-succumb-to-the-fear-don-t-mistake-the-absolutism-of-khan-s/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Fabricating reality was criminal; editing it, commonplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/fabricating-reality-was-criminal-editing-it-commonplace/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [I had been a reporter for 15 years when I set out to write my first novel. I knew how to research an article…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/i-had-been-a-reporter-for-15-years-when-i-set-out-to-write-my-first/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [So the premise of 'The Submission' is that there's an anonymous competition to design a 9/11 memorial and it's won by an American Muslim,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/so-the-premise-of-the-submission-is-that-there-s-an-anonymous/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) [Explore all 45 Amy Waldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) ## More Behavior quotes > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I now know that deep within the human concept is something dark, selfish, and completely willing to do whatever is necessary to support the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-west/i-now-know-that-deep-within-the-human-concept-is-something-dark/) [Melissa West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-west/) > [“We are endowed with genes which code out our reaction to beavers and otters, maybe our reaction to each other as well. We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-thomas/we-are-endowed-with-genes-which-code-out-our-reaction-to-beavers-and/) [Lewis Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-thomas/) > [The number of poor, and poorly prepared, students who succeed in college and beyond undercuts the simplistic notion that economic or educational disadvantage is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-merullo/the-number-of-poor-and-poorly-prepared-students-who-succeed-in/) [Roland Merullo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-merullo/) > [To behave creatively in art means behavior with skill; and skill comes from discipline, not derangement. The artist who knows the rules -and proportion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burne-hogarth/to-behave-creatively-in-art-means-behavior-with-skill-and-skill-comes/) [Burne Hogarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burne-hogarth/) > [You don't put milk in chamomile tea - that's disgusting behavior! That's not right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-fraser/you-don-t-put-milk-in-chamomile-tea-that-s-disgusting-behavior-that-s/) [Laura Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-fraser/) > [The laws of thermodynamics, as empirically determined, express the approximate and probable behavior of systems of a great number of particles, or, more precisely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-willard-gibbs/the-laws-of-thermodynamics-as-empirically-determined-express-the/) [J. Willard Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-willard-gibbs/) > [I started with the belief that every person who came to the laboratory was free to accept or to reject the dictates of authority.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/i-started-with-the-belief-that-every-person-who-came-to-the/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-gladwell/the-tipping-point-is-that-magic-moment-when-an-idea-trend-or-social/) [Malcolm Gladwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-gladwell/) > [I think we've told a lot of lies about human behavior through film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/i-think-we-ve-told-a-lot-of-lies-about-human-behavior-through-film/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The strongest rebellion may be expressed in quiet, undramatic behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/the-strongest-rebellion-may-be-expressed-in-quiet-undramatic-behavior/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [If you want good behavior, don't pay on a commission basis. Our judges aren't paid so much a case. We keep them pretty well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/if-you-want-good-behavior-don-t-pay-on-a-commission-basis-our-judges/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) [Browse all 4,218 Behavior quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "History is the history of human behavior, and human behavior is the raw material of fiction. 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