18th century Quote by David Liss
“I went with the old adage that you should write what you know. What I knew was 18th century Britain, so what I decided I would do is write a novel based on my dissertation research.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The New York Times, 2020
Writing what you know grounds fiction in authenticity, turning research into narrative.
In simple terms: Write from personal knowledge.
Key Takeaway
Leverage expertise for storytelling.
Themes
writing
research
authenticity
history
creativity
Mood
analytical
creative
Type
literary
educational
When to use this quote
- novel writing
- academic publishing
- historical reenactment
Key Concepts
historical fiction
academic background
personal experience
Questions to Reflect On
- What new perspectives can you add?
- How do you balance fact and fiction?
A Different Perspective
Relying solely on personal knowledge may limit imagination.
![“What had passed between them had been real and true and lived. Not like the silly infatuation she had felt for [him] when she was 16, or the foolish attraction she’d felt. Theirs had been a true love. Forged and built and earned.” quote by David Liss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/140/david-liss-15946_infatuation_what-had-passed-between-them-had-been-re_475583.jpg)
![“You have my word as a gentleman." [The other man remarks that he is not a gentleman and he retorts] "Then you have my word as a scoundrel, which, I know, opens up a rather confusing paradox that I have neither the time nor inclination to disentangle.” quote by David Liss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a80/david-liss-15946_language_you-have-my-word-as-a-gentleman-the-othe_486607.jpg)
![“And the differences thence arising [between the constitution of men and women] are no ways sufficient to argue more natural strength in the one than in the other, to qualify them more for military labours. Are not the Women of different degrees of strength, like the Men? Are there not strong and…” quote by Lady Sophia Fermor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2bf/lady-sophia-fermor-20567_18th-century_and-the-differences-thence-arising-betwe_38711.jpg)
![“By 18th century standards, they [Great Britain] were the freest, most dynamic, most willing to challenge tradition and authority. They had the highest wages and highest living standard, and probably the most engagement between the populace and the government of any country. Then the United States…” quote by Charles R. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca2/charles-r-morris-19787_18th-century_by-18th-century-standards-they-great-bri_49883.jpg)
![“I shou'd not myself have thought [Cato] worth so much notice as I have here taken of him; but that the Men are weak enough in general, to suffer their sense to be led away captive, by such half-thinking retailers of sentences. Among whom, This in particular, was he worth the pains, might be easily…” quote by Lady Sophia Fermor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/592/lady-sophia-fermor-20567_18th-century_i-shou-d-not-myself-have-thought-cato-wo_183319.jpg)
