--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I'm writing fiction I'm thinking…" description: "\"When I'm writing fiction I'm thinking, God, this is so hard - I have to make all this stuff up! I wish I were writing a nonfiction book where all the f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/douglas-preston-7731_book_when-i-m-writing-fiction-i-m-thinking-go_1363823.jpg" --- # When I'm writing fiction I'm thinking, God, this is so… ![“When I'm writing fiction I'm thinking, God, this is so hard - I have to make all this stuff up! I wish I were writing a nonfiction book where all the facts are laid out and I don't have to be so much at sea.” quote by Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/douglas-preston-7731_book_when-i-m-writing-fiction-i-m-thinking-go_1363823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/douglas-preston-7731_book_when-i-m-writing-fiction-i-m-thinking-go_1363823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/884/douglas-preston-7731_book_when-i-m-writing-fiction-i-m-thinking-go_1363823.jpg) > “When I'm writing fiction I'm thinking, God, this is so hard - I have to make all this stuff up! I wish I were writing a nonfiction book where all the facts are laid out and I don't have to be so much at sea.” [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author feels the creative burden of inventing stories and envies nonfiction’s factual certainty. **In simple terms:** Fiction feels harder than nonfiction because it requires invention. Key Takeaway Embrace the challenge of imagination. Themes creativity fiction writing imagination challenge Mood frustrated hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative brainstorming - author’s block - genre switching Key Concepts inventive process authorial anxiety genre contrast Questions to Reflect On - What techniques can make fictional creation feel less daunting? - How can nonfiction inspire fictional storytelling? A Different Perspective Nonfiction also requires skillful narrative and factual accuracy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-thinking-4675374/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonfiction/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Thinking god](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking-god/) [Wish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wish/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-fiction/) [Writing nonfiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-nonfiction/) ## Related quotes > [Writing fiction is for me a fraught business, an occasion of daily dread for at least the first half of the novel, and sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/writing-fiction-is-for-me-a-fraught-business-an-occasion-of-daily/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I suppose writing nonfiction did prepare me for writing fiction. Whenever you write anything, you're honing your skills for writing anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-suppose-writing-nonfiction-did-prepare-me-for-writing-fiction/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [I go into any movie that's historical fiction thinking, 'OK, I'm here to watch a work of art, something delivering a series of opinions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-go-into-any-movie-that-s-historical-fiction-thinking-ok-i-m-here-to/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I started writing nonfiction because nonfiction is well-suited to subjects that, if you wrote them as fiction, people would say, "I don't believe this.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/i-started-writing-nonfiction-because-nonfiction-is-well-suited-to/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) > [I love playing with language and the rhythm of language - for some reason, this seems so much easier for me to do when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uzodinma-iweala/i-love-playing-with-language-and-the-rhythm-of-language-for-some/) [Uzodinma Iweala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uzodinma-iweala/) > [There is always a certain leap of faith that editors have made with their nonfiction writers. 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Maybe it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-can-t-even-imagine-writing-nonfiction-by-hand-i-think-if-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Writing nonfiction means I tell people's stories for them, not because they're special but because we all are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-deurbrouck/writing-nonfiction-means-i-tell-people-s-stories-for-them-not-because/) [Jo Deurbrouck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-deurbrouck/) > [It's exhausting writing nonfiction, particularly when it's personal. It's tiring, always speaking about things that are not necessarily fun retelling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-beah/it-s-exhausting-writing-nonfiction-particularly-when-it-s-personal-it/) [Ishmael Beah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-beah/) > [Writing nonfiction is more like sculpture, a matter of shaping the research into the finished thing. Novels are like paintings, specifically watercolors. Every stroke…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/writing-nonfiction-is-more-like-sculpture-a-matter-of-shaping-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I feel like I'm almost ready to write fiction about the border. But even after 10 years of writing nonfiction about it, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-vollmann/i-feel-like-i-m-almost-ready-to-write-fiction-about-the-border-but/) [William T. Vollmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-vollmann/) > [Writing nonfiction of various kinds has been instructive and entertaining as well as paying the rent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/writing-nonfiction-of-various-kinds-has-been-instructive-and/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I write fiction longhand. That's not so much about rejecting technology as being unable to write fiction on a computer for some reason. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-write-fiction-longhand-that-s-not-so-much-about-rejecting/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More by Douglas Preston > [“The Tyrannosaurus rex was a creature of the jungle. She lived in the deepest forests and swamps of North America, not long after it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/the-tyrannosaurus-rex-was-a-creature-of-the-jungle-she-lived-in-the/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“William Duncan Strong was a scholar, a man ahead of his time: quiet, careful and meticulous in his work, averse to spectacle and publicity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/william-duncan-strong-was-a-scholar-a-man-ahead-of-his-time-quiet/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [I need to write in a small room - the smaller the better. 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I usually get to work about 8 in the morning, and I work until 4 or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/i-m-pretty-much-a-9-to-5-kind-of-guy-i-usually-get-to-work-about-8-in/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“People need history in order to know themselves, to build a sense of identity and pride, continuity, community, and hope for the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/people-need-history-in-order-to-know-themselves-to-build-a-sense-of/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“When the team excavated, they uncovered the shattered ruins of a fortress, over fifteen centuries old, with massive walls and eight towers, matching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/when-the-team-excavated-they-uncovered-the-shattered-ruins-of-a/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [There are so many journalists out there, I hate to say it, who are lazy and don't do their research - and it shows.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/there-are-so-many-journalists-out-there-i-hate-to-say-it-who-are-lazy/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“What the hell was your pal Bertin demanding?” he asked. “Sipping syrup?” “It’s a cocktail he prefers when he gets, ah, overly excited.” “A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/what-the-hell-was-your-pal-bertin-demanding-he-asked-sipping-syrup-it/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“No civilization has survived forever. All move toward dissolution, one after the other, like waves of the sea falling upon the shore. None, including…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/no-civilization-has-survived-forever-all-move-toward-dissolution-one/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [“She’s more a daiquiri and margarita drinker.”“We all have our flaws,” said Pendergast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/she-s-more-a-daiquiri-and-margarita-drinker-we-all-have-our-flaws/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) > [Pirate Hunters is a fantastic book, an utterly engrossing and satisfying read. 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Belief in a higher power became the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-preston/religion-arose-as-an-effort-to-explicate-the-inexplicable-control-the/) [Douglas Preston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) [Explore all 80 Douglas Preston quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-preston/) ## More Book 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/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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