--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That is what I define as a novel…" description: "\"That is what I define as a novel: something that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters and a plot that sustain interest from the first ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg" --- # That is what I define as a novel: something that has a… ![“That is what I define as a novel: something that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters and a plot that sustain interest from the first sentence to the last. But that is not what I do at all.” quote by Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg) > “That is what I define as a novel: something that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters and a plot that sustain interest from the first sentence to the last. But that is not what I do at all.” [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## 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 traditionally has structure and plot, but the author’s personal work may defy that form. **In simple terms:** Novels usually follow a structure, but not always. Key Takeaway Accept diverse narrative forms. Themes literature structure creativity Mood analytical curious Type critical inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary analysis - experimental fiction Key Concepts narrative theory postmodernism Questions to Reflect On - How does breaking structure affect reader engagement? - What value lies in unconventional storytelling? A Different Perspective Traditional expectations can limit artistic expression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The writer must always leave room for the characters to grow and change. If you move your characters from plot point to plot point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-north-patterson/the-writer-must-always-leave-room-for-the-characters-to-grow-and/) [Richard North Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-north-patterson/) > [I always start with characters rather than with a plot, which many critics would say is very obvious from the lack of plot in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/i-always-start-with-characters-rather-than-with-a-plot-which-many/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [Every novel should have a beginning, a middle, and an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/every-novel-should-have-a-beginning-a-middle-and-an-end/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [I do not begin my novel at the beginning, I do not reach chapter three before I reach chapter four, I do not go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/i-do-not-begin-my-novel-at-the-beginning-i-do-not-reach-chapter-three/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [Every novel is-at the beginning-the same opening of a door onto a completely unknown space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-novel-is-at-the-beginning-the-same-opening-of-a-door-onto-a/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“...you mean you don't fit characters into a plot? excatly...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes-a-familiar-rain/you-mean-you-don-t-fit-characters-into-a-plot-excatly/) [John Geddes A Familiar Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes-a-familiar-rain/) > [The characters are the plot. What they do and say and the things that happen to them are, in a sense, what the plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-characters-are-the-plot-what-they-do-and-say-and-the-things-that/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“If you spend enough time with your characters, plot simply happens.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-baty/if-you-spend-enough-time-with-your-characters-plot-simply-happens/) [Chris Baty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-baty/) > [“Stories start in all sorts of places. Where they begin often tells the reader of what to expect as they progress. Castles often lead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mckinsey/stories-start-in-all-sorts-of-places-where-they-begin-often-tells-the/) [Rebecca McKinsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mckinsey/) > [I retain characters more often than plot, but what seems to happen is that I latch on to specific moments, turns of phrase, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/i-retain-characters-more-often-than-plot-but-what-seems-to-happen-is/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [If a writer is true to his characters they will give him his plot. Observations must play second fiddle to integrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-bottome/if-a-writer-is-true-to-his-characters-they-will-give-him-his-plot/) [Phyllis Bottome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-bottome/) > [I write fast. But it takes me a while to get going. It's very important for me to see my whole plot. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikas-swarup/i-write-fast-but-it-takes-me-a-while-to-get-going-it-s-very-important/) [Vikas Swarup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikas-swarup/) > [ Steve \[King\] has been incredibly supportive. He's also really good about getting back to me when I have questions about plot or characterization. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-furth/steve-king-has-been-incredibly-supportive-he-s-also-really-good-about/) [Robin Furth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-furth/) > [You can't have a movie with a group of people that are significant players in the story, that push forward the plot, without introducing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/you-can-t-have-a-movie-with-a-group-of-people-that-are-significant/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) ## More by Guillermo Cabrera Infante > [Watching a movie from beginning to end is like reading, because even though what you see are images, they are telling you a story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/watching-a-movie-from-beginning-to-end-is-like-reading-because-even/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I read the Odyssey because it was the story of a man who returned home after being absent for more than twenty years and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-read-the-odyssey-because-it-was-the-story-of-a-man-who-returned/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Dialogue in fiction is always written to be read in silence. The page is the limit. Dialogue on stage and on the screen is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/dialogue-in-fiction-is-always-written-to-be-read-in-silence-the-page/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I am a writer of fragments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-am-a-writer-of-fragments/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/no-absolutely-not-writing-doesn-t-have-to-be-like-a-jigsaw-puzzle-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/well-i-write-in-exile-because-i-cannot-return-to-my-country-so-i-have/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I know that many writers have had to write under censorship and yet produced good novels; for instance, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote under Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-know-that-many-writers-have-had-to-write-under-censorship-and-yet/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not consider myself a Hispanic writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-consider-myself-a-hispanic-writer/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [The relationship between reader and characters is very difficult. It is even more peculiar than the relationship between the writer and his characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/the-relationship-between-reader-and-characters-is-very-difficult-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I think writers rush in where everybody is very frightened to tread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-think-writers-rush-in-where-everybody-is-very-frightened-to-tread/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I was never a true journalist, I was a movie critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-was-never-a-true-journalist-i-was-a-movie-critic/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [A good smoker, like a good lover, always takes his time with a cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/a-good-smoker-like-a-good-lover-always-takes-his-time-with-a-cigar/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not believe in inspiration, but I must have a title in order to work, otherwise I am lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-believe-in-inspiration-but-i-must-have-a-title-in-order-to/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/you-are-just-in-the-middle-of-a-struggle-with-words-which-are-really/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) [Explore all 54 Guillermo Cabrera Infante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## 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 > [“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. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. 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 > [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": "That is what I define as a novel: something that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters and a plot that sustain interest from the first sentence to the last. But that is not what I do at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-something-that-has-a-beginning-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-something-that-has-a-beginning-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23a/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_books_that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-somethi_3020232.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That is what I define as a novel: something that has a beginning, a middle and an end, with characters and a…” — Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "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": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That is what I define as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-something-that-has-a-beginning-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/that-is-what-i-define-as-a-novel-something-that-has-a-beginning-a/#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 } } ] } ```