--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction writing is a kind of magic. If I…" description: "\"“Fiction writing is a kind of magic. If I communicate the magic spell . . . it loses its force for me.”\" — Angus Wilson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3b/angus-wilson-29067_fiction-writing_fiction-writing-is-a-kind-of-magic-if-i_2464092.png" --- # Fiction writing is a kind of magic. If I communicate the… ![“Fiction writing is a kind of magic. If I communicate the magic spell . . . it loses its force for me.” quote by Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3b/angus-wilson-29067_fiction-writing_fiction-writing-is-a-kind-of-magic-if-i_2464092.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3b/angus-wilson-29067_fiction-writing_fiction-writing-is-a-kind-of-magic-if-i_2464092.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3b/angus-wilson-29067_fiction-writing_fiction-writing-is-a-kind-of-magic-if-i_2464092.png) > ““Fiction writing is a kind of magic. If I communicate the magic spell . . . it loses its force for me.”” [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing fiction creates a magical experience that can be diminished when explained directly. **In simple terms:** Explaining magic reduces its power. Key Takeaway Preserve mystery in storytelling. Themes creativity magic communication Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - teaching creative writing - literary criticism Key Concepts Narrative power illusion audience perception Questions to Reflect On - How can you convey wonder without revealing its mechanics? - What details can you omit to keep the magic alive? A Different Perspective If you over‑explain, you risk losing the reader’s wonder. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Once you're imagining being the main character, and you're having the conversations and actually being there, the magic in fiction writing takes over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hobbs/once-you-re-imagining-being-the-main-character-and-you-re-having-the/) [Will Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hobbs/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Personally I like the English style better. It is not quite so brittle, and the people as a rule, just wear clothes and drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/personally-i-like-the-english-style-better-it-is-not-quite-so-brittle/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Fiction writing and journalism, in my experience, are really excellent training grounds for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-hesse/fiction-writing-and-journalism-in-my-experience-are-really-excellent/) [Monica Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-hesse/) > [“Reading is fuel for the brain. Writing is fuel for the spirit...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-s-johnston/reading-is-fuel-for-the-brain-writing-is-fuel-for-the-spirit/) Megan S. Johnston > [“He was always crazy about her. If he was a king then she was his crest– the emblem of his kingdom. Without her, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atri-cruizer/he-was-always-crazy-about-her-if-he-was-a-king-then-she-was-his-crest/) Atri Cruizer > [Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/science-fiction-writers-i-am-sorry-to-say-really-do-not-know-anything/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [The advice would be the same for any kind of fiction. Keep writing, and keep sending things out, not to friends and relatives, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-advice-would-be-the-same-for-any-kind-of-fiction-keep-writing-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil-but there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/rejection-slips-or-form-letters-however-tactfully-phrased-are/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/and-then-i-met-jerry-and-he-s-such-a-creative-fiction-writer-and-i/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/in-everything-that-can-be-called-art-there-is-a-quality-of-redemption/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More by Angus Wilson > [I have no concern for the common man except that he should not be so common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/i-have-no-concern-for-the-common-man-except-that-he-should-not-be-so/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [Envy has the ugliness of a trapped rat that has gnawed its own foot in its effort to escape.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/envy-has-the-ugliness-of-a-trapped-rat-that-has-gnawed-its-own-foot/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [I opened the large central window of my office room to its full on the fine early May morning. Then I stood for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/i-opened-the-large-central-window-of-my-office-room-to-its-full-on/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [Once a Catholic always a Catholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/once-a-catholic-always-a-catholic/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [Life isn't just to be found, you have to work for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/life-isn-t-just-to-be-found-you-have-to-work-for-it/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [“...Life can't be put on paper in all its complexity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/life-can-t-be-put-on-paper-in-all-its-complexity/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [“Between Margaret's fine edged art and Glady's rough simplicity, where did the greater feminine solace lie? True art, after all, is simple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/between-margaret-s-fine-edged-art-and-glady-s-rough-simplicity-where/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [People are able to live with only half a heart, to live without real compassion, because they are able to use words that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/people-are-able-to-live-with-only-half-a-heart-to-live-without-real/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [All the seven deadly sins are self destroying, morbid appetites, but in their early stages at least, lust and gluttony, averice and sloth know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/all-the-seven-deadly-sins-are-self-destroying-morbid-appetites-but-in/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [The novelist must be his own most harsh critic and also his own most loving admirer and about both he must say nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/the-novelist-must-be-his-own-most-harsh-critic-and-also-his-own-most/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [The roots of art and play lie very close together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/the-roots-of-art-and-play-lie-very-close-together/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [The opportunities for heroism are limited in this kind of world: the most people can do is sometimes not to be as weak as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/the-opportunities-for-heroism-are-limited-in-this-kind-of-world-the/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [The impulse to write a novel comes from a momentary unified vision of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/the-impulse-to-write-a-novel-comes-from-a-momentary-unified-vision-of/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [“ 'Youth is the time for loving, so poets always say.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/youth-is-the-time-for-loving-so-poets-always-say/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [All fiction for me is a kind of magic and trickery, a confidence trick, trying to make people believe something is true that isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/all-fiction-for-me-is-a-kind-of-magic-and-trickery-a-confidence-trick/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) [Explore all 18 Angus Wilson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) ## More Fiction writing quotes > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [Once you're imagining being the main character, and you're having the conversations and actually being there, the magic in fiction writing takes over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hobbs/once-you-re-imagining-being-the-main-character-and-you-re-having-the/) [Will Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hobbs/) > [“That was enough dialogue for a few pages - he had to get into some fast, red-hot action. There weren't any more hitches now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornell-woolrich/that-was-enough-dialogue-for-a-few-pages-he-had-to-get-into-some-fast/) [Cornell Woolrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornell-woolrich/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/and-then-i-met-jerry-and-he-s-such-a-creative-fiction-writer-and-i/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Rejection slips, or form letters, however tactfully phrased, are lacerations of the soul, if not quite inventions of the devil-but there is no way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/rejection-slips-or-form-letters-however-tactfully-phrased-are/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [The advice would be the same for any kind of fiction. Keep writing, and keep sending things out, not to friends and relatives, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-advice-would-be-the-same-for-any-kind-of-fiction-keep-writing-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Science fiction writers, I am sorry to say, really do not know anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/science-fiction-writers-i-am-sorry-to-say-really-do-not-know-anything/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [“He was always crazy about her. If he was a king then she was his crest– the emblem of his kingdom. Without her, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atri-cruizer/he-was-always-crazy-about-her-if-he-was-a-king-then-she-was-his-crest/) Atri Cruizer > [“Reading is fuel for the brain. Writing is fuel for the spirit...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-s-johnston/reading-is-fuel-for-the-brain-writing-is-fuel-for-the-spirit/) Megan S. Johnston > [Fiction writing and journalism, in my experience, are really excellent training grounds for each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-hesse/fiction-writing-and-journalism-in-my-experience-are-really-excellent/) [Monica Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-hesse/) > [“Personally I like the English style better. It is not quite so brittle, and the people as a rule, just wear clothes and drink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/personally-i-like-the-english-style-better-it-is-not-quite-so-brittle/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [“In everything that can be called art there is a quality of redemption. It may be pure tragedy, if it is high tragedy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/in-everything-that-can-be-called-art-there-is-a-quality-of-redemption/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) [Browse all 199 Fiction writing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writing/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fiction writing is a kind of magic. 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