--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...speaking as a novelist myself, I know…" description: "\"...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of our profession live in our imaginations as much or more as we inhabit what people call 'the re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg" --- # ...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of… ![“...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of our profession live in our imaginations as much or more as we inhabit what people call 'the real world'...” quote by Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg) > “...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of our profession live in our imaginations as much or more as we inhabit what people call 'the real world'...” [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers live partly in imagination, blurring the line between fiction and reality. **In simple terms:** Authors balance imagined worlds with real life. Key Takeaway Cultivate imagination alongside reality. Themes creativity reality fiction identity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative brainstorming - story development Key Concepts literature psychology metafiction Questions to Reflect On - How does imagination inform your daily decisions? - When does fiction become escapism? A Different Perspective Over‑identification with imagination may hinder real‑world engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Real world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-world/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [To be successful we must live from our imaginations, not from our memories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/to-be-successful-we-must-live-from-our-imaginations-not-from-our/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“Reality is the place we need to live, but our imaginations harbor the greatest places to visit!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-bianco/reality-is-the-place-we-need-to-live-but-our-imaginations-harbor-the/) [Giuseppe Bianco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-bianco/) > [A novelist has to know enough about a subject to fool the passenger next to him on an airplane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/a-novelist-has-to-know-enough-about-a-subject-to-fool-the-passenger/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I hadn't meant to do the pattern of publishing short stories and then a novel. I thought, 'I'm a novelist. I know it.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-sean-greer/i-hadn-t-meant-to-do-the-pattern-of-publishing-short-stories-and-then/) [Andrew Sean Greer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-sean-greer/) > [A novelist must know what his last chapter is going to say and one way or another work toward that last chapter. ... To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-uris/a-novelist-must-know-what-his-last-chapter-is-going-to-say-and-one/) [Leon Uris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-uris/) > [For years, I felt I was a novelist, but now I know I can write short fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-mccorkle/for-years-i-felt-i-was-a-novelist-but-now-i-know-i-can-write-short/) [Jill McCorkle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-mccorkle/) > [I got out of Iowa all set to be a poet and a novelist, but you know what? It's really tough to make a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-got-out-of-iowa-all-set-to-be-a-poet-and-a-novelist-but-you-know/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [There's a unique bond of trust between readers and authors that I don't believe exists in any other art form; as a reader, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/there-s-a-unique-bond-of-trust-between-readers-and-authors-that-i-don/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [I couldn't think about novels at all. It seemed the only writing that was appropriate to that horrendous event was journalism, reportage. And, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcewan/i-couldn-t-think-about-novels-at-all-it-seemed-the-only-writing-that/) [Ian Mcewan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcewan/) > [“Imagination is paradise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/imagination-is-paradise/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Those who receive the most images into their memories have the most lively imaginations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/those-who-receive-the-most-images-into-their-memories-have-the-most/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/never-be-limited-by-other-people-s-limited-imaginations/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [People who work with me think I should cut my hair. They say casting directors are less likely to hire me with long hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-culkin/people-who-work-with-me-think-i-should-cut-my-hair-they-say-casting/) [Rory Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-culkin/) > [“Dullness. Only humans could have invented it. What imaginations they had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/dullness-only-humans-could-have-invented-it-what-imaginations-they-had/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Television deprives children of their imaginations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/television-deprives-children-of-their-imaginations/) [Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/) ## More by Dan Simmons > [“That’s all! Now either leave us alone or join us as a father rather than a receiver of sacrifices. You have the choice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/that-s-all-now-either-leave-us-alone-or-join-us-as-a-father-rather/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The Song of Kali is with us. It has been with us for a very long time. Its chorus grows and grows and grows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-song-of-kali-is-with-us-it-has-been-with-us-for-a-very-long-time/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“In the end, thought Sol, past logic and hope, it is dreams and the love of those dearest to us that form Abraham’s answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/in-the-end-thought-sol-past-logic-and-hope-it-is-dreams-and-the-love/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“After seven centuries of existence and at least four centuries where few citizens existed without it, the datasphere – including the All Thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/after-seven-centuries-of-existence-and-at-least-four-centuries-where/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Context is to data what water is to a dolphin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/context-is-to-data-what-water-is-to-a-dolphin/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Pain is an interesting and off-putting thing. Few if any things in life concentrate our attention so completely and terribly, and few things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/pain-is-an-interesting-and-off-putting-thing-few-if-any-things-in/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Luckily, even as a young man not yet become himself, John Bridgens had two things besides indecision that kept him from self-destruction - books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/luckily-even-as-a-young-man-not-yet-become-himself-john-bridgens-had/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“To be a poet, I realized, a true poet, was to become the Avatar of humanity incarnate; to accept the mantle of poet is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/to-be-a-poet-i-realized-a-true-poet-was-to-become-the-avatar-of/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Those who ignore history's lessons in the ultimate folly of war are forced to do more than relive them ... they may be forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/those-who-ignore-history-s-lessons-in-the-ultimate-folly-of-war-are/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“The day before the Queen's Ball, Father had a visitor--a very young girl with literary aspirations, someone Lord Lytton had recommended visit Father and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/the-day-before-the-queen-s-ball-father-had-a-visitor-a-very-young/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [You've probably heard about the theory of steam-engine time - that even after the steam engine had been invented, it had to wait until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/you-ve-probably-heard-about-the-theory-of-steam-engine-time-that-even/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“THERE WILL BE NO FURTHER MISUSE OF THIS CHANNEL. YOU ARE DISTURBING OTHERS WHO ARE USING IT TO SERIOUS PURPOSE. ACCESS WILL BE RESTORED…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/there-will-be-no-further-misuse-of-this-channel-you-are-disturbing/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [“I know the fucking Bible, and there ain't no fucking Book of Leviathan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-know-the-fucking-bible-and-there-ain-t-no-fucking-book-of-leviathan/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. I loved you beyond boundaries of time and space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/i-loved-you-backward-and-forward-in-time-i-loved-you-beyond/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [ “Men who read a lot have a more sensitive disposition, added Fowler. \[...\] I did not know what to say to this. Maybe reading… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/men-who-read-a-lot-have-a-more-sensitive-disposition-added-fowler-i/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) [Explore all 307 Dan Simmons quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) ## More Imagination quotes > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/a-rock-pile-ceases-to-be-a-rock-pile-the-moment-a-single-man/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [Imagination is the greatest nation in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/imagination-is-the-greatest-nation-in-the-world/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Merkel has realized that the euro is not working, but she cannot change the narrative she has created because that narrative has caught the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/merkel-has-realized-that-the-euro-is-not-working-but-she-cannot/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Jonah Lehrer is one of the most talented explainers of science that we’ve got. What a pleasure it is to follow his investigation of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-foer/jonah-lehrer-is-one-of-the-most-talented-explainers-of-science-that/) [Joshua Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-foer/) > [If you've got creativity, imagination, and intelligence, and you want to be hypnotised, then there's no reason you shouldn't be able to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-barry/if-you-ve-got-creativity-imagination-and-intelligence-and-you-want-to/) [Keith Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-barry/) > [“The power of imagination is strongest in the place of solitude.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/the-power-of-imagination-is-strongest-in-the-place-of-solitude/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [A beard is something that is almost like a mirror to the viewer. When someone sees you wearing a beard, they're seeing something in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/a-beard-is-something-that-is-almost-like-a-mirror-to-the-viewer-when/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I like fantasy, but I don't live and breathe fantasy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/i-like-fantasy-but-i-don-t-live-and-breathe-fantasy/) [Lauren Schmidt Hissrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-schmidt-hissrich/) > [While the world of reality has its limits, the world of your imagination is without boundaries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/while-the-world-of-reality-has-its-limits-the-world-of-your/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/edgy-is-fine-i-m-not-a-prude-by-any-stretch-of-the-imagination-but/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [With VR, we have this same vision, which is create this ultimate platform for sharing your imagination. Our huge community of 300,000 developers creates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baszucki/with-vr-we-have-this-same-vision-which-is-create-this-ultimate/) [David Baszucki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baszucki/) > [I like the idea of letting the music do its own work and the stories being more expressionful - if that's a word -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/i-like-the-idea-of-letting-the-music-do-its-own-work-and-the-stories/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) [Browse all 9,060 Imagination quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of our profession live in our imaginations as much or more as we inhabit what people call 'the real world'...", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dan Simmons" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-that-members-of-our-profession/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Imagination" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-that-members-of-our-profession/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/286/dan-simmons-968_imagination_speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-tha_790421.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“...speaking as a novelist myself, I know that members of our profession live in our imaginations as much or…” — Dan Simmons", "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 Simmons", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "...speaking as a novelist myself, I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-that-members-of-our-profession/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/speaking-as-a-novelist-myself-i-know-that-members-of-our-profession/#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 } } ] } ```