--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But novels are never about what they are…" description: "\"But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be aware of this til..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/diane-johnson-29077_books_but-novels-are-never-about-what-they-are_2856451.jpg" --- # But novels are never about what they are about; that is… ![“But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer…” quote by Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/diane-johnson-29077_books_but-novels-are-never-about-what-they-are_2856451.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/diane-johnson-29077_books_but-novels-are-never-about-what-they-are_2856451.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8e8/diane-johnson-29077_books_but-novels-are-never-about-what-they-are_2856451.jpg) > “But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out what a novel is about, and the job becomes one of understanding and deepening or sharpening what is already written. That is finding the theme.” [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A novel’s deeper significance often emerges unintentionally, with the author discovering its true theme only after extensive development. **In simple terms:** Themes reveal themselves over time. Key Takeaway Allow stories to evolve organically. Themes literature creativity theme discovery process Mood reflective analytical Type philosophical creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - creative retreats Key Concepts narrative theory emergent meaning Questions to Reflect On - How can writers stay open to hidden themes? - What practices help uncover deeper meaning? A Different Perspective Authors may miss early insights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Deeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeper/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Findings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/findings/) [Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobs/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/may/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Pattern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-pattern-3697984/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Novels Deeper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels-deeper-2724869/) [Patterns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patterns/) [Sharpening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sharpening/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Theme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theme/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Finds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-finds-2320380/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/a-novel-s-whole-pattern-is-rarely-apparent-at-the-outset-of-writing/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/but-novels-are-never-about-what-they-are-about-that-is-there-is/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [My trouble is I'm the sort of writer who only finds out what he's getting at by the time he's got to the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-fry/my-trouble-is-i-m-the-sort-of-writer-who-only-finds-out-what-he-s/) [Christopher Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-fry/) > [A writer never finds the time to write. A writer makes it. 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If reading a book seems too difficult, instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/it-is-amazing-how-little-effort-most-people-make-to-improve-control/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [“The sharpening of the steel was less about the cutting edge of the blade than it was about the cutting edge of the soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/the-sharpening-of-the-steel-was-less-about-the-cutting-edge-of-the/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [I didn't dare to dream of making money. But now of course, I've made many thousands of dollars sharpening pencils.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rees/i-didn-t-dare-to-dream-of-making-money-but-now-of-course-i-ve-made/) [David Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rees/) > [The broad effects which can be obtained by punishment in man and beast, are the increase of fear, the sharpening of the sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-broad-effects-which-can-be-obtained-by-punishment-in-man-and/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend six hours sharpening my ax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-i-had-eight-hours-to-chop-down-a-tree-i-d-spend-six-hours/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We encounter the grinding wheels that sharpen our mental blades many places in life. Adversity, school, parents, spiritual guides, books, experience are all sharpening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-kall/we-encounter-the-grinding-wheels-that-sharpen-our-mental-blades-many/) [Rob Kall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-kall/) > [To see the butcher slap the steak before he laid it on the block, and give his knife a sharpening, was to forget breakfast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/to-see-the-butcher-slap-the-steak-before-he-laid-it-on-the-block-and/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) ## More by Diane Johnson > [Statuettes of drunken sailors, velvet pictures of island maidens, plastic seashell lamps made in Taiwan. What contempt the people who think up souvenirs have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/statuettes-of-drunken-sailors-velvet-pictures-of-island-maidens/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [A novel's whole pattern is rarely apparent at the outset of writing, or even at the end; that is when the writer finds out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/a-novel-s-whole-pattern-is-rarely-apparent-at-the-outset-of-writing/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [In what we think of as bad dialogue, the characters talk directly to each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/in-what-we-think-of-as-bad-dialogue-the-characters-talk-directly-to/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Not having to own a car has made me realize what a waste of time the automobile is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/not-having-to-own-a-car-has-made-me-realize-what-a-waste-of-time-the/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Glenda Adams has written a wicked and witty novel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/glenda-adams-has-written-a-wicked-and-witty-novel/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [The Novelist, afraid his ideas may be foolish, slyly puts them in the mouth of some other fool and reserves the right to disavow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/the-novelist-afraid-his-ideas-may-be-foolish-slyly-puts-them-in-the/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [...is this not in fact the purpose of young Americans going abroad? To make them think of things they never thought of?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/is-this-not-in-fact-the-purpose-of-young-americans-going-abroad-to/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [“Men are generally more law-abiding than women. Women have the feeling that since they didn't make the rules, the rules have nothing to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/men-are-generally-more-law-abiding-than-women-women-have-the-feeling/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [“Well, their piety is more evolved,” said Mrs. Pace. “In America we have only two forms, as Matthew Arnold said: the bitter and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/well-their-piety-is-more-evolved-said-mrs-pace-in-america-we-have/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Any essayist setting out on a frail apparatus of notings and jottings is a brave person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/any-essayist-setting-out-on-a-frail-apparatus-of-notings-and-jottings/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [“Yet—some Frenchman had written—“absence diminishes commonplace passions and enhances great ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/yet-some-frenchman-had-written-absence-diminishes-commonplace/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [The whole process of writing a novel is having this great, beautiful idea and then spoiling it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/the-whole-process-of-writing-a-novel-is-having-this-great-beautiful/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [“It didn't seem fair that you could not prevent being the object of other people's emotions, you were not safe from their hate--or from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/it-didn-t-seem-fair-that-you-could-not-prevent-being-the-object-of/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Women have the feeling that since they didn't make the rules, the rules have nothing to do with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/women-have-the-feeling-that-since-they-didn-t-make-the-rules-the/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) > [Laughter is the jam on the toast of life. It adds flavor, keeps it from being too dry, and makes it easier to swallow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-johnson/laughter-is-the-jam-on-the-toast-of-life-it-adds-flavor-keeps-it-from/) [Diane Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) [Explore all 18 Diane Johnson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-johnson/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) [Christopher K. Krebs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-k-krebs/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But novels are never about what they are about; that is, there is always deeper, or more general, significance. The author may not be aware of this till she is pretty far along with it. 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