---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In some sense, prose fiction is just a…"
description: "\"In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a space. If I can unlock the space, it comes out and it's vivid, I find that I care about it, a..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg"
---

#  In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a…

![“In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a space. If I can unlock the space, it comes out and it's vivid, I find that I care about it, and it's part of me.” quote by Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg)

> “In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a space. If I can unlock the space, it comes out and it's vivid, I find that I care about it, and it's part of me.”

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Prose fiction opens mental spaces, allowing vivid, personal experiences to emerge.

**In simple terms:** Stories unlock inner worlds.

Key Takeaway

Write to explore hidden spaces.

Themes

creativity fiction imagination

Mood

curious inspired

Type

literary creative

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- creative workshops
- personal journaling

Key Concepts

Narrative theory psychology of reading

Questions to Reflect On

- What spaces do you seek to unlock?
- How does narrative shape identity?

A Different Perspective

Fiction may not reflect reality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-just-249290/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [I care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-care/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Prose Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose-fiction-724646/) [Sense Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-prose-1008058/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Unlocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unlocking/) [Vivid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vivid/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [There are a lot of editorials that have nothing to do with anything like that. But I was just thinking of that sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-creeley/there-are-a-lot-of-editorials-that-have-nothing-to-do-with-anything/)

[Robert Creeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-creeley/)

> [“Prose fiction is something you build up from twenty-six letters and a handful of punctuation marks, and you, and you alone, using your imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/prose-fiction-is-something-you-build-up-from-twenty-six-letters-and-a/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [“Poetry, at the best, does us a kind of violence that prose fiction rarely attempts or accomplishes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/poetry-at-the-best-does-us-a-kind-of-violence-that-prose-fiction/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [You can't really go into TV thinking, 'Maybe I can make a few bucks doing this thing I'm only kind of interested in to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/you-can-t-really-go-into-tv-thinking-maybe-i-can-make-a-few-bucks/)

[Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/)

> [In prose fiction the freedom to work honestly exists, although you may have to fight for it. In those other areas of literature, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kelman/in-prose-fiction-the-freedom-to-work-honestly-exists-although-you-may/)

[James Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kelman/)

> [I want prose fiction to be recognized as that, and I'm not interested in writing as it becomes more personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-want-prose-fiction-to-be-recognized-as-that-and-i-m-not-interested/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The beauty of prose fiction that I see is simply that in order to create something you need only pay attention to personal exigency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kelman/the-beauty-of-prose-fiction-that-i-see-is-simply-that-in-order-to/)

[James Kelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kelman/)

> [I believe the novella is the perfect form of prose fiction. It is the beautiful daughter of a rambling, bloated ill-shaven giant (but a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-believe-the-novella-is-the-perfect-form-of-prose-fiction-it-is-the/)

[Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/)

> [External realities - worlds of politics, economics, law, war, interpersonal and social relations - are part of prose fiction. Fiction also includes the realities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-joseph/external-realities-worlds-of-politics-economics-law-war-interpersonal/)

[Lawrence Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-joseph/)

> [I believe the novella is the perfect form of prose fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-believe-the-novella-is-the-perfect-form-of-prose-fiction/)

[Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/)

> [The short story feels like the most natural length for prose fiction, or certainly for the kind of ideas and situations I like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-royle/the-short-story-feels-like-the-most-natural-length-for-prose-fiction/)

[Nicholas Royle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-royle/)

> [One of the best known, and one of the least intelligible, facts of literary history is the lateness, in Western European Literature at any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saintsbury/one-of-the-best-known-and-one-of-the-least-intelligible-facts-of/)

[George Saintsbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saintsbury/)

> [I was trained mainly as a short story writer and that's how I started writing, but I've also become very interested in non-fiction, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-was-trained-mainly-as-a-short-story-writer-and-that-s-how-i-started/)

[David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/)

> [I love science fiction just because of the scope of what it can be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eoin-macken/i-love-science-fiction-just-because-of-the-scope-of-what-it-can-be/)

[Eoin Macken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eoin-macken/)

> [“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/)

## More by Ben Marcus

> [To refrain from storytelling is perhaps one of the highest forms of respect we can pay. Those people, with no stories to circle them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/to-refrain-from-storytelling-is-perhaps-one-of-the-highest-forms-of/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [My goal, with whatever I'm working on, is to lose track of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/my-goal-with-whatever-i-m-working-on-is-to-lose-track-of-time/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“..., and he told a story once after intercourse, to the person who had just politely hoisted him while he hyperventilated in their space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/and-he-told-a-story-once-after-intercourse-to-the-person-who-had-just/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“Terms BEN MARCUS, THE 1. False map, scroll, caul, or parchment. It is comprised of the first skin. In ancient times, it hung from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/terms-ben-marcus-the-1-false-map-scroll-caul-or-parchment-it-is/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“We can contain such secret misery, perversion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/we-can-contain-such-secret-misery-perversion/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“Loud people have thin, hollow bones. They can be broken in half and discarded into a pit. They snap as easily as children do,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/loud-people-have-thin-hollow-bones-they-can-be-broken-in-half-and/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [I like big doses of grief when I read: Richard Yates, Flannery O'Connor, Kenzabaro Oe, Thomas Bernhard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/i-like-big-doses-of-grief-when-i-read-richard-yates-flannery-o-connor/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“This first. To understand this. Then maybe." Julian was impressed. The doctor had devised a pretty good tombstone. This first. To understand this. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/this-first-to-understand-this-then-maybe-julian-was-impressed-the/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“Who is setting the bar for what you call accessibility? The definition of “accessible” is “easy to understand,” and so much of the fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/who-is-setting-the-bar-for-what-you-call-accessibility-the-definition/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“People are considered as areas that resist light, mistakes in the air, collision sweet spots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/people-are-considered-as-areas-that-resist-light-mistakes-in-the-air/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“The true elitists in the literary world are the ones who have become annoyed by literary ambition in any form, who have converted the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/the-true-elitists-in-the-literary-world-are-the-ones-who-have-become/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“Together we were something less, which felt like such a relief, to not be ourselves for a while.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/together-we-were-something-less-which-felt-like-such-a-relief-to-not/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [“I prefer men who don't fall down and weep, who absorb a blow, who do not scamper and yell when chased, but stand firm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/i-prefer-men-who-don-t-fall-down-and-weep-who-absorb-a-blow-who-do/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [I love the way dates in a text make us think that truth will follow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/i-love-the-way-dates-in-a-text-make-us-think-that-truth-will-follow/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

> [Judaism to me, as badly as I practiced it, what I've always loved about it was its total embrace of complexity, its admission of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/judaism-to-me-as-badly-as-i-practiced-it-what-i-ve-always-loved-about/)

[Ben Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

[Explore all 90 Ben Marcus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/)

## More Care quotes

> [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/)

[Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/)

> [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/)

[Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/)

> [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/)

[Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/)

> [I certainly do care for you Jeff Campbell less than you are always thinking and much more than you are ever knowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/i-certainly-do-care-for-you-jeff-campbell-less-than-you-are-always/)

[Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/)

> [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/)

[Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/)

> [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/)

[Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/)

> [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/)

[Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/)

> [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/)

[Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/)

> [What makes you care about nature, about the planet? Is it really that you're afraid of what's going to happen if you don't take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/what-makes-you-care-about-nature-about-the-planet-is-it-really-that/)

[Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/)

> [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [When you're in your twenties and starting out, the problem is that you care about being cool. Being older, I can care less about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-righton/when-you-re-in-your-twenties-and-starting-out-the-problem-is-that-you/)

[James Righton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-righton/)

> [When will society, like a mother, take care of all her children?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/when-will-society-like-a-mother-take-care-of-all-her-children/)

[Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/)

> [I don't care if you make a print on a bath mat, just as long as it is a good print.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-weston/i-don-t-care-if-you-make-a-print-on-a-bath-mat-just-as-long-as-it-is/)

[Edward Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-weston/)

> [The world's problems are, by and large, human problems-the unavoidable consequence of egoic sleepwalking. If we care to look, all the signs are present…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adyashanti/the-world-s-problems-are-by-and-large-human-problems-the-unavoidable/)

[Adyashanti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adyashanti/)

> [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/)

[John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/)

[Browse all 19,019 Care quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a space. If I can unlock the space, it comes out and it's vivid, I find that I care about it, and it's part of me.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ben Marcus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-way-of-unlocking-a-space-if-i/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Care"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-way-of-unlocking-a-space-if-i/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e6/ben-marcus-7492_care_in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-wa_1686313.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In some sense, prose fiction is just a way of unlocking a space. If I can unlock the space, it comes out and…” — Ben Marcus",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ben Marcus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-marcus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "In some sense, prose fiction is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-way-of-unlocking-a-space-if-i/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-marcus/in-some-sense-prose-fiction-is-just-a-way-of-unlocking-a-space-if-i/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
