--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction is fun because you get to steal…" description: "\"Fiction is fun because you get to steal an identity and try to make it authentic.\" — Dan Chaon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png" --- # Fiction is fun because you get to steal an identity and… ![“Fiction is fun because you get to steal an identity and try to make it authentic.” quote by Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png) > “Fiction is fun because you get to steal an identity and try to make it authentic.” [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction allows writers to adopt new personas, exploring authenticity by inhabiting lives different from their own. **In simple terms:** Writing lets you become someone else authentically. Key Takeaway Explore diverse perspectives through storytelling. Themes creativity identity authenticity Mood introspective creative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - acting classes - role‑playing games - psychological therapy Key Concepts role-play narrative empathy Questions to Reflect On - How does assuming a character change your self‑view? - What responsibilities do writers have to truth? A Different Perspective Adopting false identities can blur self‑boundary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fun/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The front of a cheque alone gives someone enough information to steal your identity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-abagnale/the-front-of-a-cheque-alone-gives-someone-enough-information-to-steal/) [Frank Abagnale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-abagnale/) > [My job as the director is to make that as authentic as I can and not to disturb the revelry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-hicks/my-job-as-the-director-is-to-make-that-as-authentic-as-i-can-and-not/) [Scott Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-hicks/) > [It's when you are trying to make something that is "authentic" as opposed to real - people who appreciate music for the wrong reasons…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hunter/it-s-when-you-are-trying-to-make-something-that-is-authentic-as/) [James Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hunter/) > [Science fiction sometimes is fun because it reaches so far in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-taylor/science-fiction-sometimes-is-fun-because-it-reaches-so-far-in-the/) [Alan Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-taylor/) > [As long as you have ideas, you can keep going. That's why writing fiction is so much fun: because you're moving people about, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-davenport/as-long-as-you-have-ideas-you-can-keep-going-that-s-why-writing/) [Guy Davenport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-davenport/) > [There is an odd sense of responsibility attached to appearing in a drama about a real piece of history. A work of fiction is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-arcy/there-is-an-odd-sense-of-responsibility-attached-to-appearing-in-a/) [James D'arcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-arcy/) > [You can't make anything authentic by asking people what they want because they don't know what they want. That's what they're looking at you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-mayne/you-can-t-make-anything-authentic-by-asking-people-what-they-want/) [Thom Mayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-mayne/) > [From the very beginning, I always tried to make dialogue flow comfortably; I always did that to make it seem more authentic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/from-the-very-beginning-i-always-tried-to-make-dialogue-flow/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [The genre of science fiction is a fun house, an amusement park ride, but it's also a problem. The question that's always being indirectly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-lain/the-genre-of-science-fiction-is-a-fun-house-an-amusement-park-ride/) [Douglas Lain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-lain/) > [“If you tell me I look like someone you know, I might get panicked and think you’re on to me. I thought nobody saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/if-you-tell-me-i-look-like-someone-you-know-i-might-get-panicked-and/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“I've always been afraid that someone would steal my identity some day and be more successful at being me than I am!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/i-ve-always-been-afraid-that-someone-would-steal-my-identity-some-day/) [Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/) > [“So for the sake of your identity,” she said, “you avoided using your real name, which effectively allowed someone else to use your real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-ferris/so-for-the-sake-of-your-identity-she-said-you-avoided-using-your-real/) [Joshua Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-ferris/) > [“Now that parking meters have shifted from quarters to credit cards, I worry someone will steal my identity, my wallet, and my car and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/now-that-parking-meters-have-shifted-from-quarters-to-credit-cards-i/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [When I became Miss World, I couldn't believe I had won it. I used to sleep with my crown because I was scared someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/when-i-became-miss-world-i-couldn-t-believe-i-had-won-it-i-used-to/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [And in your new lives you'll have to live entirely for that one sensation-that of imminent truth. And you're going to have to holler…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/and-in-your-new-lives-you-ll-have-to-live-entirely-for-that-one/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) ## More by Dan Chaon > [“Maybe love, like suffering, is relative. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/maybe-love-like-suffering-is-relative/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Even when our death is imminent, we carry the image of ourselves moving forward, alive, into the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/even-when-our-death-is-imminent-we-carry-the-image-of-ourselves/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [For the last few years I've tried to force myself to write at least one page every day, which doesn't sound like much but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/for-the-last-few-years-i-ve-tried-to-force-myself-to-write-at-least/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It's hard to believe that this is how it's done. That this is how we get here into the world, by accident or design,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-this-is-how-it-s-done-that-this-is-how-we/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I also have just my own limits about stuff. I'm not interested in writing graphically about sexual assault for example. I feel like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-also-have-just-my-own-limits-about-stuff-i-m-not-interested-in/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I have to admit that most of the time I read in the same way that I smoke and chew gum and jiggle my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-have-to-admit-that-most-of-the-time-i-read-in-the-same-way-that-i/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Outside, the sleet had gotten thicker. You could hear it pebbling against the large glass windows, you could see it swirling wildly through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/outside-the-sleet-had-gotten-thicker-you-could-hear-it-pebbling/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I was worried that, as a college teacher, if I wrote too much about intergenerational sex my students would be creeped out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-was-worried-that-as-a-college-teacher-if-i-wrote-too-much-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [Plot and scene are still the hardest things for me, though I think they're the building blocks of what makes a story work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/plot-and-scene-are-still-the-hardest-things-for-me-though-i-think/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“I've been talking to myself a lot lately. I don't know what that's about, but my mother was the same way. She hated to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-ve-been-talking-to-myself-a-lot-lately-i-don-t-know-what-that-s/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“Your Mom's Car. Think about that. Try to wrap your brain around the supernatural and spiritual implications that the name bears down you. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/your-mom-s-car-think-about-that-try-to-wrap-your-brain-around-the/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“He pictures amputated human arms flopping like fish down the center of the road; syringes floating on beds of liposuctioned fat; gelatinous human eyeballs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/he-pictures-amputated-human-arms-flopping-like-fish-down-the-center/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“In the basement of Sydney's new house is a little room that is about the size and shape of a coffin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/in-the-basement-of-sydney-s-new-house-is-a-little-room-that-is-about/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [“It’s called apophenia. It’s the tendency we humans have to find meaning in disconnected information. For example, some people believe in what’s called the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/it-s-called-apophenia-it-s-the-tendency-we-humans-have-to-find/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) > [I would say that all short stories have mystery naturally built into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/i-would-say-that-all-short-stories-have-mystery-naturally-built-into/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) [Explore all 152 Dan Chaon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## 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 is fun because you get to steal an identity and try to make it authentic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Chaon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal-an-identity-and-try-to-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal-an-identity-and-try-to-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3c/dan-chaon-2729_fiction_fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal_885991.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Fiction is fun because you get to steal an identity and try to make it authentic.” — Dan Chaon", "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": "Dan Chaon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Fiction is fun because you get...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal-an-identity-and-try-to-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/fiction-is-fun-because-you-get-to-steal-an-identity-and-try-to-make/#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 } } ] } ```