--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not trying to emulate William…" description: "\"I'm not trying to emulate William Faulkner. I never said I was.\" — Dan Brown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/dan-brown-203_faulkner_i-m-not-trying-to-emulate-william-faulkn_1641710.png" --- # I'm not trying to emulate William Faulkner. I never said I… ![“I'm not trying to emulate William Faulkner. I never said I was.” quote by Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/dan-brown-203_faulkner_i-m-not-trying-to-emulate-william-faulkn_1641710.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/dan-brown-203_faulkner_i-m-not-trying-to-emulate-william-faulkn_1641710.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/dan-brown-203_faulkner_i-m-not-trying-to-emulate-william-faulkn_1641710.png) > “I'm not trying to emulate William Faulkner. I never said I was.” [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A disclaimer that the writer does not claim to imitate a famous novelist. **In simple terms:** Stating no intent to copy Faulkner. Key Takeaway Clarify originality. Themes authorship literary influence identity Mood defensive transparent Type literary self‑reflective When to use this quote - publishing - public speaking - marketing Key Concepts plagiarism creative integrity authorial voice Questions to Reflect On - How does influence shape style? - What defines originality? A Different Perspective Denial may invite comparison. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner/) [Faulkner Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner-said-574569/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [William](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/william-faulkner/) ## Related quotes > [When I was twelve, I started reading Eudora Welty, Thomas Wolfe, Flannery O'Connor, James Agee, and - do we dare breathe the name -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-mayes/when-i-was-twelve-i-started-reading-eudora-welty-thomas-wolfe/) [Frances Mayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-mayes/) > [I wanted to make comics that get at feelings that connect to the deepest moments of our lives, reading Tolstoy, Flaubert, Flannery O'Connor, Herman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-wanted-to-make-comics-that-get-at-feelings-that-connect-to-the/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Toni Morrison has a habit, perhaps traceable to the pernicious influence of William Faulkner, of plunging into the narrative before the reader has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/toni-morrison-has-a-habit-perhaps-traceable-to-the-pernicious/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'd love to have William Faulkner, Beethoven and Bach over. I want to find out what makes those guys tick!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candy-crowley/i-d-love-to-have-william-faulkner-beethoven-and-bach-over-i-want-to/) [Candy Crowley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candy-crowley/) > [ “I think that \[William\] Faulkner and I each had to escape certain particulars of our lives, and we found salvation through words. I understand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-think-that-william-faulkner-and-i-each-had-to-escape-certain/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [A favorite science fiction writer of mine is William Faulkner! It was an idea that came to me once, years ago, and I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/a-favorite-science-fiction-writer-of-mine-is-william-faulkner-it-was/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were before but who we are now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-burns/i-subscribe-to-william-faulkner-s-view-that-history-is-not-just-about/) [Ken Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-burns/) > [“The past is never dead. It’s not even past. —William Faulkner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-tyler/the-past-is-never-dead-it-s-not-even-past-william-faulkner/) [Stephanie Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-tyler/) > [“Literature is a struggle over the nature of reality. --Richard Wright to William Faulkner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/literature-is-a-struggle-over-the-nature-of-reality-richard-wright-to/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) > [“I believe that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-karr/i-believe-that-when-the-last-ding-dong-of-doom-has-clanged-and-faded/) [Mary Karr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-karr/) > [“BÔNG HỒNG CHO EMILY WILLIAM  FAULKNER (NOBEL 1949)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bong-hong-cho-emily-william-faulkner-nobel-1949/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I stopped reading William Faulkner because it's hard work. I want to read a good writer, but I also want to read something where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-stopped-reading-william-faulkner-because-it-s-hard-work-i-want-to/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [ I wrote a paper \[in school\] on \[William\] Faulkner and no one could tell what the sentences meant. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-crook/i-wrote-a-paper-in-school-on-william-faulkner-and-no-one-could-tell/) [Elizabeth Crook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-crook/) > [I can't change overnight into a serious literary author. You can't compare apples to oranges. William Faulkner was a great literary genius. I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/i-can-t-change-overnight-into-a-serious-literary-author-you-can-t/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [“How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home. —William Faulkner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/how-often-have-i-lain-beneath-rain-on-a-strange-roof-thinking-of-home/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) ## More by Dan Brown > [The more science I studied, the more I saw that physics becomes metaphysics and numbers become imaginary numbers. The farther you go into science,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-more-science-i-studied-the-more-i-saw-that-physics-becomes/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [A little faith can do wonders...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/a-little-faith-can-do-wonders/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [For me, the spiritual quest will be a life-long work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/for-me-the-spiritual-quest-will-be-a-life-long-work-in-progress/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Sometimes all it takes is a tiny shift of perspective to see something familiar in a totally new light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/sometimes-all-it-takes-is-a-tiny-shift-of-perspective-to-see/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Leonardo believed his research had the potential to convert millions to a more spiritual life. Last year he categorically proved the existence of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/leonardo-believed-his-research-had-the-potential-to-convert-millions/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The price of greatness...is responsibility - Winston Churchill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-price-of-greatness-is-responsibility-winston-churchill/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [We did not have a television while I was growing up, and so I read voraciously. My earliest memory of being utterly transfixed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/we-did-not-have-a-television-while-i-was-growing-up-and-so-i-read/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Robert,” Ambra whispered, “just remember the wise words of Disney’s Princess Elsa.” Langdon turned. “I’m sorry?” Ambra smiled softly. “Let it go.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/robert-ambra-whispered-just-remember-the-wise-words-of-disney-s/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“¿Tienes enemigos? Bien. ¡Eso significa que has defendido algo!”.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/tienes-enemigos-bien-eso-significa-que-has-defendido-algo/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Who will guard the guards ? If we're the guards of society, then who will watch us and make sure that we're not dangerous?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/who-will-guard-the-guards-if-we-re-the-guards-of-society-then-who/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“Dante's poem, Langdon was now reminded, was not so much about the misery of hell as it was about the power of the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/dante-s-poem-langdon-was-now-reminded-was-not-so-much-about-the/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [It's kind of a catch-22 now because since the 'Da Vinci Code,' I have access to places and people that I didn't have access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/it-s-kind-of-a-catch-22-now-because-since-the-da-vinci-code-i-have/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“The man was no stranger to deception, and yet his heart was pounding wildly now. He took another deep, throbbing breath. You've been deceiving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-man-was-no-stranger-to-deception-and-yet-his-heart-was-pounding/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [“the entire operating system of the cosmos could be summed up by a single overriding command: spread energy!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/the-entire-operating-system-of-the-cosmos-could-be-summed-up-by-a/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) [Explore all 833 Dan Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) ## More Faulkner quotes > [“Do you read them? Faulkner, Hemingway, Fitzgerald?" "Only if I have to. I try to avoid old dead white men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/do-you-read-them-faulkner-hemingway-fitzgerald-only-if-i-have-to-i/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [I don't want to turn 50 and say, 'Gosh, I wish I'd lived in that part of the world for a time. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-trotter/i-don-t-want-to-turn-50-and-say-gosh-i-wish-i-d-lived-in-that-part-of/) [Charlie Trotter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-trotter/) > [I was writing novels in high school and apprenticed myself in a way both to Faulkner and to Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-writing-novels-in-high-school-and-apprenticed-myself-in-a-way/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“The only thing that matters, as Faulkner once put it, is the human heart in conflict with itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/the-only-thing-that-matters-as-faulkner-once-put-it-is-the-human/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [I have more to say than Hemingway, and God knows, I say it better than Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-mccullers/i-have-more-to-say-than-hemingway-and-god-knows-i-say-it-better-than/) [Carson McCullers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-mccullers/) > [Faulkner is a writer who has had much to do with my soul, but Hemingway is the one who had the most to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/faulkner-is-a-writer-who-has-had-much-to-do-with-my-soul-but/) [Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [“I am not religious, I reckon. But peace is in my heart: I know it is.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-am-not-religious-i-reckon-but-peace-is-in-my-heart-i-know-it-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“I knew Faulkner very well. He was a great friend of mine. Well, as much as you could be a friend of his, unless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/i-knew-faulkner-very-well-he-was-a-great-friend-of-mine-well-as-much/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Faulkner was almost oriental. I never got into Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/faulkner-was-almost-oriental-i-never-got-into-faulkner/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [I'd have liked to have been another Faulkner, of course.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/i-d-have-liked-to-have-been-another-faulkner-of-course/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) > [“How often have I lain beneath rain on a strange roof, thinking of home. —William Faulkner”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-pizzolatto/how-often-have-i-lain-beneath-rain-on-a-strange-roof-thinking-of-home/) [Nic Pizzolatto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-pizzolatto/) > [Faulkner speaks to us on the questions of race, the challenges of modernity, and modern man's dilemma in all of its aspects. That he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/faulkner-speaks-to-us-on-the-questions-of-race-the-challenges-of/) [David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/) > [Faulkner turned out to be a great teacher. When a student asked a question ineptly, he answered the question with what the student had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-fiedler/faulkner-turned-out-to-be-a-great-teacher-when-a-student-asked-a/) [Leslie Fiedler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-fiedler/) > [Faulkner came from my region and taught me how you could write about a place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rash/faulkner-came-from-my-region-and-taught-me-how-you-could-write-about/) [Ron Rash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rash/) > [Faulkner's 'As I Lay Dying' had an immense effect on me, and most of my novels bear the burn marks of this experience, those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-carey/faulkner-s-as-i-lay-dying-had-an-immense-effect-on-me-and-most-of-my/) [Peter Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-carey/) [Browse all 66 Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faulkner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not trying to emulate William Faulkner. 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