--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with…" description: "\"“Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes and discomfort and disquiet. Fiction should also prove just how complicated and troubled many..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/anonymous-1_life_fiction-can-and-should-mimic-life-with-a_2212128.jpg" --- # Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes… ![“Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes and discomfort and disquiet. Fiction should also prove just how complicated and troubled many people are.” quote by Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/anonymous-1_life_fiction-can-and-should-mimic-life-with-a_2212128.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/anonymous-1_life_fiction-can-and-should-mimic-life-with-a_2212128.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/anonymous-1_life_fiction-can-and-should-mimic-life-with-a_2212128.jpg) > ““Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes and discomfort and disquiet. Fiction should also prove just how complicated and troubled many people are.”” [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction should reflect life's messiness and show how complex people truly are. **In simple terms:** Fiction mirrors messy reality. Key Takeaway Embrace complexity in stories. Themes fiction life complexity Mood reflective thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - teaching literature Key Concepts psychology social realism character development Questions to Reflect On - Why do we avoid uncomfortable stories? - How can messy narratives foster empathy? A Different Perspective Readers may prefer escapism over discomfort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“All lives are interesting.One of the tasks of fiction, is to prove it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-d-miller/all-lives-are-interesting-one-of-the-tasks-of-fiction-is-to-prove-it/) [A.D. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-d-miller/) > [Every man is a borrower and a mimic, life is theatrical and literature a quotation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/every-man-is-a-borrower-and-a-mimic-life-is-theatrical-and-literature/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Ikebana is meant to mimic life in the way it develops; it shouldn't look like it's under the control of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-henrot/ikebana-is-meant-to-mimic-life-in-the-way-it-develops-it-shouldn-t/) [Camille Henrot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-henrot/) > [You can't mimic my life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z-2/you-can-t-mimic-my-life/) [Jay Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z-2/) > [“What is imagination? I don’t believe in fiction. In my mind everything comes from a part of who a writer is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-imagination-i-don-t-believe-in-fiction-in-my-mind-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Science fiction is for real, space opera is for fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/science-fiction-is-for-real-space-opera-is-for-fun/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Much more successful as an individual short story is Karl Schroeder’s ‘‘Jubilee’’, posted on Tor.com on February 26. This has at its core another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/much-more-successful-as-an-individual-short-story-is-karl-schroeder-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I knew I would stay in this town when I found the blue enamel pot floating in the lake. The pot led me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-knew-i-would-stay-in-this-town-when-i-found-the-blue-enamel-pot/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is important to be well read, at least a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-important-to-be-well-read-at-least-a-little-bit/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There's a word for an author who doesn't give up... published.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-word-for-an-author-who-doesn-t-give-up-published/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All writers, I think, are to one extent or another, damaged people. Writing is our way of repairing ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/all-writers-i-think-are-to-one-extent-or-another-damaged-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An author departs; he does not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-author-departs-he-does-not-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Writers are used to being re-created, and need it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/writers-are-used-to-being-re-created-and-need-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Read. Read all the time. Read as a matter of principle, as a matter of self-respect. Read as a nourishing staple of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/read-read-all-the-time-read-as-a-matter-of-principle-as-a-matter-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's not what you will get out of the books that is so enriching - it is what the books will get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-s-not-what-you-will-get-out-of-the-books-that-is-so-enriching-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Anonymous > [And a tear rolled down her cheek, as she said goodbye; because she's walking away, and she's never looking back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-a-tear-rolled-down-her-cheek-as-she-said-goodbye-because-she-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Scrabble - The game is available in Braille. That’s a nice fact. This makes me feel better about humanity for some reason. I can’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scrabble-the-game-is-available-in-braille-that-s-a-nice-fact-this/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everyone needs someone to love, and I choose you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everyone-needs-someone-to-love-and-i-choose-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Put on my J's and dance the whole night away Im naughty by nature like Im hip-hop hooray With my hands in the sky,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/put-on-my-j-s-and-dance-the-whole-night-away-im-naughty-by-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Me.. I have been through a lot, but I still manage to have a smile on my face. Im not worried about the past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/me-i-have-been-through-a-lot-but-i-still-manage-to-have-a-smile-on-my/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Im sorry I ever tried...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-sorry-i-ever-tried/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Being betrayed by the one you love is the worst feeling in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-betrayed-by-the-one-you-love-is-the-worst-feeling-in-the-world/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Let children support their parents or be imprisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-children-support-their-parents-or-be-imprisoned/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The only person I've ever purposely caused pain here is myself...By simply sharing, caring too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-only-person-i-ve-ever-purposely-caused-pain-here-is-myself-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The truth is, of course, that the curtness of the Ten Commandments is an evidence, not of the gloom and narrowness of a religion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-of-course-that-the-curtness-of-the-ten-commandments-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Explore all 162,899 Anonymous quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [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/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fiction can, and should, mimic life, with all its messes and discomfort and disquiet. 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