--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a novelist. I think fiction is…" description: "\"I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't be doing it, but most of it's bad.\" — Dale Peck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/dale-peck-22041_fiction_i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-import_1032048.jpg" --- # I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't… ![“I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't be doing it, but most of it's bad.” quote by Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/dale-peck-22041_fiction_i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-import_1032048.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/dale-peck-22041_fiction_i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-import_1032048.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f23/dale-peck-22041_fiction_i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-import_1032048.jpg) > “I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't be doing it, but most of it's bad.” [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction is essential, yet many works lack quality, reflecting the difficulty of mastering the craft. **In simple terms:** Writing matters, but quality varies. Key Takeaway Strive for better storytelling. Themes writing craft quality Mood analytical encouraging Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - workshops - editing - publishing - reading groups Key Concepts literary criticism creative process Questions to Reflect On - What makes a story truly good? - How can writers improve their work? A Different Perspective Good writing requires discipline and revision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I think fiction is important because it has the power to transport a reader into another life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-think-fiction-is-important-because-it-has-the-power-to-transport-a/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [I don't think I knew that you could be a novelist. I think a lot of my students are in the same condition. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cusk/i-don-t-think-i-knew-that-you-could-be-a-novelist-i-think-a-lot-of-my/) [Rachel Cusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cusk/) > [Let's put it this way: if you are a novelist, I think you start out with a 20 word idea, and you work at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-carle/let-s-put-it-this-way-if-you-are-a-novelist-i-think-you-start-out/) [Eric Carle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-carle/) > [Because I'm a novelist, I think in terms of structure. The way I keep going is through structure. It's what inspires me and pushes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/because-i-m-a-novelist-i-think-in-terms-of-structure-the-way-i-keep/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [“Daemonic compulsiveness can kill as easily as it can save. The true novelist must be at once driven and indifferent. Van Gogh never sold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/daemonic-compulsiveness-can-kill-as-easily-as-it-can-save-the-true/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [The only way to be a novelist, to think that you can create something others will give themselves up to for a dozen hours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicola-griffith/the-only-way-to-be-a-novelist-to-think-that-you-can-create-something/) [Nicola Griffith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicola-griffith/) > [I started out as a novelist, and I think novels have gotten a little stiff, a little repetitive, and the energy in comics was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-king/i-started-out-as-a-novelist-and-i-think-novels-have-gotten-a-little/) [Tom King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-king/) > [The reason I write is because I have questions. What I don't want is for people to forget that I'm a novelist and think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheila-heti/the-reason-i-write-is-because-i-have-questions-what-i-don-t-want-is/) [Sheila Heti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheila-heti/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Reading fiction is important. It is a vital means of imagining a life other than our own, which in turn makes us more empathetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/reading-fiction-is-important-it-is-a-vital-means-of-imagining-a-life/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [Children's fiction is the most important fiction of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/children-s-fiction-is-the-most-important-fiction-of-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Science fiction is the most important literature in the history of the world, because it's the history of ideas, the history of our civilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/science-fiction-is-the-most-important-literature-in-the-history-of/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [My point has always been that, ever since the Industrial Revolution, science fiction has been the most important genre there is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-banks/my-point-has-always-been-that-ever-since-the-industrial-revolution/) [Iain Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-banks/) > [Fiction is very important to me. It's what I do, it's what I do with my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-sturgeon/fiction-is-very-important-to-me-it-s-what-i-do-it-s-what-i-do-with-my/) [Theodore Sturgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-sturgeon/) > [“And since a novel has this correspondence to real life, its values are to some extent those of real life. But it is obvious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-since-a-novel-has-this-correspondence-to-real-life-its-values-are/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) ## More by Dale Peck > [Your life could be taken from you at any moment. Between AIDS and the violence against gay people that was so prevalent back then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/your-life-could-be-taken-from-you-at-any-moment-between-aids-and-the/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [Losing my virginity was very boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/losing-my-virginity-was-very-boring/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [Who cares what the state thinks about your relationship? They're giving you tax breaks and this and that - it's just nonsense. You want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/who-cares-what-the-state-thinks-about-your-relationship-they-re/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [Because gay people were so much more visible, violence against gays was more common and reported on. But they were definitely related to each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/because-gay-people-were-so-much-more-visible-violence-against-gays/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“You are -" she stopped fanning long enough to push the glasses up her nose - "Sprout Bradford?" I thought it was a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/you-are-she-stopped-fanning-long-enough-to-push-the-glasses-up-her/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [I always hoped that I would settle down with someone. Marriage, I could really give two shits about, as an institution, but it makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-always-hoped-that-i-would-settle-down-with-someone-marriage-i-could/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [I came out after safe sex was invented and I always practiced safe sex. Except for when I lost my virginity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-came-out-after-safe-sex-was-invented-and-i-always-practiced-safe/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“Children," Mrs. Oakenfeld sighed. "I do not want you to be good to avoid being punished. I do not want you to be good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/children-mrs-oakenfeld-sighed-i-do-not-want-you-to-be-good-to-avoid/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [Sometimes when we think we’re protecting ourselves, we’re really hurting ourselves. And sometimes the people around us too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/sometimes-when-we-think-we-re-protecting-ourselves-we-re-really/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“Drift House: Susan's response to Queen Octavia's sarcasm in regards to fading memories..."But we pass our memories on," she insisted. "I mean, from one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/drift-house-susan-s-response-to-queen-octavia-s-sarcasm-in-regards-to/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“People who shop at Barnes and Noble voted Ulysses the best novel of the last century, and who's to tell them different? There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/people-who-shop-at-barnes-and-noble-voted-ulysses-the-best-novel-of/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“I hate it when people repeat the last thing that’s been said to them because they’re too afraid to ask what the other person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-hate-it-when-people-repeat-the-last-thing-that-s-been-said-to-them/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“I'm sorry, I don't understand. Could you tell me more about this 'profanity'?" Mrs. Miller nodded at my dictionary. "I'll assume you don't need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-m-sorry-i-don-t-understand-could-you-tell-me-more-about-this/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [“I have a secret. And everyone knows it but me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-have-a-secret-and-everyone-knows-it-but-me/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [We had the fun of being outlaws. But there's a whole generation now coming up with new gender identities. For this generation of kids…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/we-had-the-fun-of-being-outlaws-but-there-s-a-whole-generation-now/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) [Explore all 28 Dale Peck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) ## 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": "I'm a novelist. 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