--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I wrote speculative fiction because I…" description: "\"I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it, and thought I could do better than some of the people who were getting published.\" — Fred Saber..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png" --- # I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it… ![“I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it, and thought I could do better than some of the people who were getting published.” quote by Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png) > “I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it, and thought I could do better than some of the people who were getting published.” [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He writes speculative fiction to improve upon existing works and outdo published authors. **In simple terms:** He writes to surpass others. Key Takeaway Strive to innovate in your field. Themes speculative fiction creative ambition competition Mood driven ambitious Type creative motivational When to use this quote - genre writing - self‑improvement workshops Key Concepts authorial drive literary standards Questions to Reflect On - What motivates you to create better work? - How does rivalry shape creativity? A Different Perspective Competition can stifle collaboration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Speculative fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speculative-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [I've loved sci-fi and speculative fiction since I was a kid. It was inevitable I'd try my hand at it at some point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/i-ve-loved-sci-fi-and-speculative-fiction-since-i-was-a-kid-it-was/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) > [“My hopes for pie died on the sidewalk. There went my grin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/my-hopes-for-pie-died-on-the-sidewalk-there-went-my-grin/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) > [“In many ways sci-fi is a natural progression from the magical worlds we inhabited as children. Speculative fiction opens up parallel universes to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-berthoud/in-many-ways-sci-fi-is-a-natural-progression-from-the-magical-worlds/) Ella Berthoud > [“One second she’s all timid, and then reeoowr! Hellcat.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/one-second-she-s-all-timid-and-then-reeoowr-hellcat/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) > [“People think--wrongly--that speculative fiction is about predicting the future, but it isn’t; or if it is, it tends to do a rotten job of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-think-wrongly-that-speculative-fiction-is-about-predicting-the/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I read and write speculative fiction because I want to go someplace really different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kameron-hurley/i-read-and-write-speculative-fiction-because-i-want-to-go-someplace/) [Kameron Hurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kameron-hurley/) > [I write speculative fiction, and in my view, speculative fiction is really just a very intense version of the work of literature in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-liu/i-write-speculative-fiction-and-in-my-view-speculative-fiction-is/) [Ken Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-liu/) > [Speculative fiction encompasses that which we could actually do. Sci-fi is that which we're probably not going to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/speculative-fiction-encompasses-that-which-we-could-actually-do-sci/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Speculative fiction by definition is geared toward an audience that wants strangeness, an audience that wants to spend time in worlds that absolutely are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/speculative-fiction-by-definition-is-geared-toward-an-audience-that/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Quarantine is real s.f. It is speculative fiction whose adventures of the mind are based in our contemporary understanding of what the universe is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-burnham/quarantine-is-real-s-f-it-is-speculative-fiction-whose-adventures-of/) Karen Burnham > [“All because I fell in love with a madman.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/all-because-i-fell-in-love-with-a-madman/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) > [Speculative fiction is where my heart lies. It's what I read growing up, and it's what I read as an adult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/speculative-fiction-is-where-my-heart-lies-it-s-what-i-read-growing/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Sci-fi is speculative fiction. 'Field of Dreams' is sci-fi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-hammer/sci-fi-is-speculative-fiction-field-of-dreams-is-sci-fi/) [Bonnie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-hammer/) > [“I mean, that was the code, wasn’t it? Single girls and taken guys weren’t allowed to be friends. The leash always got in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-butler/i-mean-that-was-the-code-wasn-t-it-single-girls-and-taken-guys-weren/) [Carrie Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-butler/) > [One of my central approaches to writing speculative fiction is to take an absurd situation, which we presently feel is normal, and then push…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-weinstein/one-of-my-central-approaches-to-writing-speculative-fiction-is-to/) [Alexander Weinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-weinstein/) ## More by Fred Saberhagen > [The comments I most appreciate come from ordinary readers who've happened on one of my books at some time of stress in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-comments-i-most-appreciate-come-from-ordinary-readers-who-ve/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [I am generally way out of touch with trends, except now and then I am surprised to find myself leading one, like sympathetic vampires.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-am-generally-way-out-of-touch-with-trends-except-now-and-then-i-am/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [The advice would be the same for any kind of fiction. Keep writing, and keep sending things out, not to friends and relatives, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-advice-would-be-the-same-for-any-kind-of-fiction-keep-writing-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [I wouldn't like to just do one story or one type of stories all the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-wouldn-t-like-to-just-do-one-story-or-one-type-of-stories-all-the/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [I started writing seriously about 1960, at the fairly advanced age of 30.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-started-writing-seriously-about-1960-at-the-fairly-advanced-age-of/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [The Berserkers have been with me for about forty years, and we're not done yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/the-berserkers-have-been-with-me-for-about-forty-years-and-we-re-not/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Mysteries I read for fun, so I will probably never write one, for fear of spoiling the fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/mysteries-i-read-for-fun-so-i-will-probably-never-write-one-for-fear/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [More immediately, I'm currently working on another Dracula in which there will be connections with ancient Egypt. That's about as far as I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/more-immediately-i-m-currently-working-on-another-dracula-in-which/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [I finally decided one day, reading science fiction magazines of the time, I could do at least as well as some of these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-finally-decided-one-day-reading-science-fiction-magazines-of-the/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Actually ideas are everywhere. It's the paperwork, that is, sitting down and thinking them into a coherent story, trying to find just the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/actually-ideas-are-everywhere-it-s-the-paperwork-that-is-sitting-down/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [If people ask me for the ingredients of success, I say one is talent, two is stubbornness or determination, and third is sheer luck.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/if-people-ask-me-for-the-ingredients-of-success-i-say-one-is-talent/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [There's a big overlap with the people you meet at the fantasy and science fiction cons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/there-s-a-big-overlap-with-the-people-you-meet-at-the-fantasy-and/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [At this stage, my chief professional goal is simply to keep on writing and making a living at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/at-this-stage-my-chief-professional-goal-is-simply-to-keep-on-writing/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [My gut feeling is that paper and ink are going to be with us for a long time yet, and in substantial quantities, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/my-gut-feeling-is-that-paper-and-ink-are-going-to-be-with-us-for-a/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) > [Probably all the books I've ever written have been efforts to define the boundaries of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/probably-all-the-books-i-ve-ever-written-have-been-efforts-to-define/) [Fred Saberhagen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) [Explore all 33 Fred Saberhagen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/) ## 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": "I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it, and thought I could do better than some of the people who were getting published.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Fred Saberhagen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-loved-to-read-it-and-thought-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-loved-to-read-it-and-thought-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/364/fred-saberhagen-18964_fiction_i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-lo_2665472.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I wrote speculative fiction because I loved to read it, and thought I could do better than some of the…” — Fred Saberhagen", "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": "Fred Saberhagen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-saberhagen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I wrote speculative fiction because I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-loved-to-read-it-and-thought-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-saberhagen/i-wrote-speculative-fiction-because-i-loved-to-read-it-and-thought-i/#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 } } ] } ```