--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Reality always outstrips fiction…" description: "\"Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up, something more incredible always pops up in real life.\" — David Walliams" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg" --- # Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up… ![“Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up, something more incredible always pops up in real life.” quote by David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg) > “Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up, something more incredible always pops up in real life.” [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reality often surpasses fiction; the world creates more astonishing events than imagination. **In simple terms:** Real life can be more incredible than stories. Key Takeaway Stay open to surprises. Themes reality fiction surprise Mood wonderful amused Type inspirational reflective When to use this quote - news headlines - scientific discoveries - personal anecdotes Key Concepts unexpected events human creativity Questions to Reflect On - What recent event amazed you? - How does imagination shape perception? A Different Perspective Fiction can still inspire reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Definitely I love women, I love being around women, I find them incredible and intoxicating, and I've never had that feeling I get with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/definitely-i-love-women-i-love-being-around-women-i-find-them/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [ \[The Women's Room\] is one of those pieces of fiction that reveals itself in a different way every time. It's incredible. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-diane-raphael/the-women-s-room-is-one-of-those-pieces-of-fiction-that-reveals/) [June Diane Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-diane-raphael/) > [I would love to see what's going to happen with science fiction with peoples' heads, because we still have people running around in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-nielsen/i-would-love-to-see-what-s-going-to-happen-with-science-fiction-with/) [Leslie Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-nielsen/) > [“A deus ex machina will never appear in real life so you best make other arrangements.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/a-deus-ex-machina-will-never-appear-in-real-life-so-you-best-make/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [Do not, under any circumstances, belittle a work of fiction by trying to turn it into a carbon copy of real life; what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/do-not-under-any-circumstances-belittle-a-work-of-fiction-by-trying/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [I like characters. I like spirited characters whether they exist in fiction or real life. Whether they're the invention of artistic people or directors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-like-characters-i-like-spirited-characters-whether-they-exist-in/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [“In fiction: we find the predictable boring. In real life: we find the unpredictable terrifying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/in-fiction-we-find-the-predictable-boring-in-real-life-we-find-the/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [There is a set of balances and rhythms to a novel that we can't experience in real life. So I think there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/there-is-a-set-of-balances-and-rhythms-to-a-novel-that-we-can-t/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [The lovely thing about writing is, well, two things. One, writing fiction allows us to bring an order to our lives that doesn't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-e-butler/the-lovely-thing-about-writing-is-well-two-things-one-writing-fiction/) [Octavia E. Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-e-butler/) > [I know my idea of beauty isn't what most people's is, and the fact that I'm getting the opportunity to show my beauty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-osbourne/i-know-my-idea-of-beauty-isn-t-what-most-people-s-is-and-the-fact/) [Kelly Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-osbourne/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/the-past-and-the-future-become-unimportant-there-is-only-that-moment/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/) [Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/) > [What an incredible drug fear is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/what-an-incredible-drug-fear-is/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) ## More by David Walliams > [I have always liked shows that have laughter in them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-have-always-liked-shows-that-have-laughter-in-them/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [Definitely I love women, I love being around women, I find them incredible and intoxicating, and I've never had that feeling I get with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/definitely-i-love-women-i-love-being-around-women-i-find-them/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [A bully can only make you feel bad about yourself if you let them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/a-bully-can-only-make-you-feel-bad-about-yourself-if-you-let-them/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [I have a pathological fear of being on my own. When I'm with my own thoughts, I start to unravel myself, and I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-have-a-pathological-fear-of-being-on-my-own-when-i-m-with-my-own/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [I've just swum the length of the Thames. I feel quite tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-ve-just-swum-the-length-of-the-thames-i-feel-quite-tired/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [I was depressed as a child. I found it hard to make friends. My favourite thing was locking myself in the bathroom and practising…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-was-depressed-as-a-child-i-found-it-hard-to-make-friends-my/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“Alberta thought for a moment, and took a live mouse out of her pocket by its tail before dropping it into Wagner’s mouth. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/alberta-thought-for-a-moment-and-took-a-live-mouse-out-of-her-pocket/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [Writing for radio really focuses the mind, because you can't rely on thinking "Oh, just pull a funny face at the end of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/writing-for-radio-really-focuses-the-mind-because-you-can-t-rely-on/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [There's something about being a comedian that means you have to not be scared of failing because failing is part of the process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/there-s-something-about-being-a-comedian-that-means-you-have-to-not/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“nashin awa wi their een watterin. But naebody wis aw that freendly tae him. Naebody stapped for a blether.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/nashin-awa-wi-their-een-watterin-but-naebody-wis-aw-that-freendly-tae/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [People think writing a children's book is something you could do in an afternoon but it's actually really hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/people-think-writing-a-children-s-book-is-something-you-could-do-in/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [I think most people that do comedy write for themselves. I don't think there is any other way you can do it, really. Otherwise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/i-think-most-people-that-do-comedy-write-for-themselves-i-don-t-think/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [No more watching that show Small England or whatever it's called where those two idiots dress up as 'laydees'. It's a bad influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/no-more-watching-that-show-small-england-or-whatever-it-s-called/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“One boy dropped his trousers and did an almighty—!” “I don’t need to know, thank you!” replied Stella, cutting the boy off.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/one-boy-dropped-his-trousers-and-did-an-almighty-i-don-t-need-to-know/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) > [“They may have only had one pence to spend, but their hearts beamed with gold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/they-may-have-only-had-one-pence-to-spend-but-their-hearts-beamed/) [David Walliams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) [Explore all 93 David Walliams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/) ## 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": "Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up, something more incredible always pops up in real life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Walliams" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whatever-you-make-up-something-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whatever-you-make-up-something-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/781/david-walliams-7156_fiction_reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whateve_1256674.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you make up, something more incredible always pops up in real life.” — David Walliams", "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": "David Walliams", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walliams/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Reality always outstrips fiction. Whatever you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whatever-you-make-up-something-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walliams/reality-always-outstrips-fiction-whatever-you-make-up-something-more/#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 } } ] } ```