--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You know that fiction, prose rather, is…" description: "\"You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the roughest trade of all in writing. You do not have the reference, the old important reference. You ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/ernest-hemingway-83_being-true_you-know-that-fiction-prose-rather-is-po_274805.jpg" --- # You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the… ![“You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the roughest trade of all in writing. You do not have the reference, the old important reference. You have the sheet of blank paper, the pencil, and the obligation to invent truer than things can be true. You have to take what is not palpable and…” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/ernest-hemingway-83_being-true_you-know-that-fiction-prose-rather-is-po_274805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/ernest-hemingway-83_being-true_you-know-that-fiction-prose-rather-is-po_274805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a41/ernest-hemingway-83_being-true_you-know-that-fiction-prose-rather-is-po_274805.jpg) > “You know that fiction, prose rather, is possibly the roughest trade of all in writing. You do not have the reference, the old important reference. You have the sheet of blank paper, the pencil, and the obligation to invent truer than things can be true. You have to take what is not palpable and make it completely palpable and also have it seem normal and so that it can become a part of experience of the person who reads it.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing demands inventing truth from imagination, turning intangible ideas into vivid, believable experiences. **In simple terms:** Create believable truth from imagination. Key Takeaway Transform abstract ideas into concrete, relatable narratives. Themes creativity truth writing Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - creative workshops Key Concepts imagination authenticity narrative craft Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure authenticity? - What limits imagination? A Different Perspective Truth may be subjective, not absolute. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-paper/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Prose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prose/) [Trade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trade/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I’m a man of music as much as I am a man of words and prose. One could even possibly say that they, music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-trandahl/i-m-a-man-of-music-as-much-as-i-am-a-man-of-words-and-prose-one-could/) [Nicholas Trandahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-trandahl/) > [Fiction is one of the few experiences where loneliness can be both confronted and relieved. Drugs, movies where stuff blows up, loud parties -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/fiction-is-one-of-the-few-experiences-where-loneliness-can-be-both-2/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“And also they’re just good escapist fun," Vivian said firmly, and Gill subsided beside her, giving an apologetic smile. "To read about these horrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavie-tidhar/and-also-they-re-just-good-escapist-fun-vivian-said-firmly-and-gill/) [Lavie Tidhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavie-tidhar/) > [The exquisite truth is to believe in something that maybe you know is a fiction, but you believe in it willingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-benigni/the-exquisite-truth-is-to-believe-in-something-that-maybe-you-know-is/) [Roberto Benigni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-benigni/) > [You know, as fiction writers, if our instincts are off, we can't pay our bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-know-as-fiction-writers-if-our-instincts-are-off-we-can-t-pay-our/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I've been writing long enough to know that fiction, as a rhetorical mode, works very differently from expository writing. If an author has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-ve-been-writing-long-enough-to-know-that-fiction-as-a-rhetorical/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [I know how fiction matters to me, because if I want to express myself, I have to make up a story. Some people call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-know-how-fiction-matters-to-me-because-if-i-want-to-express-myself/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I did go through graduate school and I like to do research, to create something that has a certain objective solidity. The same thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-did-go-through-graduate-school-and-i-like-to-do-research-to-create/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [You should spend more time with your families; write that novel you've always wanted to write. You know, the one about the fearless reporter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/you-should-spend-more-time-with-your-families-write-that-novel-you-ve/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Hemingway suggested you write the truest sentence you know. I say write the falsest one you don’t know. This is fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/hemingway-suggested-you-write-the-truest-sentence-you-know-i-say/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [I don't think I ever owned twenty pencils at one time. 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As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. 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There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Being true quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. 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