--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An author in his book must be like God in…" description: "\"“An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.”\" — Gustave Flaubert" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg" --- # An author in his book must be like God in the universe… ![“An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.” quote by Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg) > ““An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.”” [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An author must be omnipresent in narrative yet remain unseen, guiding the story subtly. **In simple terms:** Writers shape worlds invisibly. Key Takeaway Write with subtle authority. Themes creativity authority presence Mood thoughtful philosophical Type literary theoretical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - storytelling workshops - creative retreats Key Concepts narrative voice authorial control Questions to Reflect On - How to balance visibility and subtlety? - When does authorial presence hinder immersion? A Different Perspective Over‑presence can dominate narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Author](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author/) [Author Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author-book-1113868/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god/) [God Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/god-universe/) [Like God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-god/) [Universe Present](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe-present-3132767/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The author, in his work, must be like God in the Universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-author-in-his-work-must-be-like-god-in-the-universe-present/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When I was in my teens, I was very, very keen on being the author of a book. What the book was was secondary.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-was-very-very-keen-on-being-the-author-of-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [There is nothing so much like God in all the universe as silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/there-is-nothing-so-much-like-god-in-all-the-universe-as-silence/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [We can co-create this change. Spreading the word, learning to treat others with love, acceptance and forgiveness, and bravely stepping up to do our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wilcock/we-can-co-create-this-change-spreading-the-word-learning-to-treat/) [David Wilcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wilcock/) > [“Nature  …   has made it impossible for us to have any communication from this earth with the other great bodies of the universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-maclaurin/nature-has-made-it-impossible-for-us-to-have-any-communication-from/) [Colin Maclaurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-maclaurin/) > [All is well. You did not come here to fix a broken world. The world is not broken. You came here to live a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/all-is-well-you-did-not-come-here-to-fix-a-broken-world-the-world-is/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [Bringing people into the here-and-now. The real universe. That's the present moment. The past is no good to us. The future is full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/bringing-people-into-the-here-and-now-the-real-universe-that-s-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Nobody's going to give you the gift of awesome. Nobody's going to make you good, or great, or amazing, or epic. Nobody's going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-b-truant/nobody-s-going-to-give-you-the-gift-of-awesome-nobody-s-going-to-make/) [Johnny B. Truant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-b-truant/) > [I see a lot of writers who complain when their book doesn't sell and the reason that happens sometimes, is they don't know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-sampsell/i-see-a-lot-of-writers-who-complain-when-their-book-doesn-t-sell-and/) [Kevin Sampsell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-sampsell/) > [“Being an author of a book is like being a mother of a debutante in the Middle Ages. You have to present your baby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elvira-baryakina/being-an-author-of-a-book-is-like-being-a-mother-of-a-debutante-in/) [Elvira Baryakina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elvira-baryakina/) > [When you read books, you kind of create that whole world in your mind, and you go on a journey with the author of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-steenburgen/when-you-read-books-you-kind-of-create-that-whole-world-in-your-mind/) [Mary Steenburgen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-steenburgen/) > [There's this creative thing in me that wants to have my work used - like the author of a book who wants it read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-goodnight/there-s-this-creative-thing-in-me-that-wants-to-have-my-work-used/) [James Goodnight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-goodnight/) > [I don't think that children, if left to themselves, feel that there is an author behind a book, a somebody who wrote it. Grown-ups…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-l-travers/i-don-t-think-that-children-if-left-to-themselves-feel-that-there-is/) [P. L. Travers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-l-travers/) > [“We really learn only from those books that we cannot judge. The author of a book that we were able to judge would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/we-really-learn-only-from-those-books-that-we-cannot-judge-the-author/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [I used to put black ink on the author's name in a book and write my name instead to check how it would look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gulzar/i-used-to-put-black-ink-on-the-author-s-name-in-a-book-and-write-my/) [Gulzar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gulzar/) ## More by Gustave Flaubert > [As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/as-for-the-piano-the-faster-her-fingers-flew-over-it-the-more-he/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Caught up in life, you see it badly. You suffer from it or enjoy it too much. The artist, in my opinion, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/caught-up-in-life-you-see-it-badly-you-suffer-from-it-or-enjoy-it-too/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“When one does something, one must do it wholly and well. Those bastard existences where you sell suet all day and write poetry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-one-does-something-one-must-do-it-wholly-and-well-those-bastard/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/love-is-a-springtime-plant-that-perfumes-everything-with-its-hope/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“But her life was as cold as an attic facing north; and boredom, like a silent spider, was weaving its web in the shadows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/but-her-life-was-as-cold-as-an-attic-facing-north-and-boredom-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [When you reduce a woman to writing, she makes you think of a thousand other women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/when-you-reduce-a-woman-to-writing-she-makes-you-think-of-a-thousand/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/travel-makes-one-modest-you-see-what-a-tiny-place-you-occupy-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [“We must not touch our idols; the gilt sticks to our fingers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/we-must-not-touch-our-idols-the-gilt-sticks-to-our-fingers/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [A superhuman will is needed in order to write, and I am only a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/a-superhuman-will-is-needed-in-order-to-write-and-i-am-only-a-man/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The writer must wade into life as into the sea, but only up to the navel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/the-writer-must-wade-into-life-as-into-the-sea-but-only-up-to-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [COLD. Healthier than heat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/cold-healthier-than-heat/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [And indeed, what is better than to sit by one's fireside in the evening with a book, while the wind beats against the window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/and-indeed-what-is-better-than-to-sit-by-one-s-fireside-in-the/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [One's existence should be in two parts: one should live like a bourgeois and think like a demigod.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/one-s-existence-should-be-in-two-parts-one-should-live-like-a/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Emma was no asleep, she was pretending to be asleep; and, while he was dozing off at her side, she lay awake, dreaming other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/emma-was-no-asleep-she-was-pretending-to-be-asleep-and-while-he-was/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) [Explore all 526 Gustave Flaubert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) ## More Author quotes > [An author departs; he does not die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/an-author-departs-he-does-not-die/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“There's a word for an author who doesn't give up... published.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-a-word-for-an-author-who-doesn-t-give-up-published/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A children's author on a soapbox is not a pleasant sight but I have become drawn into issues, slightly unwillingly, relating to young people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/a-children-s-author-on-a-soapbox-is-not-a-pleasant-sight-but-i-have/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [“Religion is like wax. How anyone deals with it is decisive for how it will look like.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-midland/religion-is-like-wax-how-anyone-deals-with-it-is-decisive-for-how-it/) [Ben Midland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-midland/) > [“Expression is a function of intention and intention emanates from your thought faculty.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/expression-is-a-function-of-intention-and-intention-emanates-from/) [Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ifeanyi-enoch-onuoha/) > [“There is no shortcut for hard work that leads to effectiveness. You must stay disciplined because most of the work is behind the scenes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/there-is-no-shortcut-for-hard-work-that-leads-to-effectiveness-you/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [I come from a working-class family. They're the people I know and the people I love, I guess. I do not write about them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/per-petterson/i-come-from-a-working-class-family-they-re-the-people-i-know-and-the/) [Per Petterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/per-petterson/) > [I am a completely horizontal author. I can't think unless I'm lying down, either in bed or stretched on a couch and with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-am-a-completely-horizontal-author-i-can-t-think-unless-i-m-lying/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [The author I wish I was reading right now and always is Nora Ephron. I love the humor, the awareness, the sense of self-deprecation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garance-dore/the-author-i-wish-i-was-reading-right-now-and-always-is-nora-ephron-i/) [Garance Dore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garance-dore/) > [“Betsy was so full of joy that she had to be alone. She went upstairs to her bedroom and sat down on Uncle Keith's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maud-hart-lovelace/betsy-was-so-full-of-joy-that-she-had-to-be-alone-she-went-upstairs/) [Maud Hart Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maud-hart-lovelace/) > [Writing is a intensely personal activity. I can pen down my best thoughts when I'm alone. But when one is elevated into the stature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwin-sanghi/writing-is-a-intensely-personal-activity-i-can-pen-down-my-best/) [Ashwin Sanghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwin-sanghi/) > [Meg Cabot is the best author ever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-cabot/meg-cabot-is-the-best-author-ever/) [Meg Cabot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-cabot/) > [“WHEN THE ALMIGHTY HAS PREDESTINED YOU, THERE IS NOONE IN THIS PHYSICAL LIFE THAT CAN BLOCK YOUR BLESSINGS…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muffin/when-the-almighty-has-predestined-you-there-is-noone-in-this-physical/) [Muffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muffin/) [Browse all 1,048 Author quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/author/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gustave Flaubert" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-in-the-universe-present/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Author" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-in-the-universe-present/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/gustave-flaubert-354_author_an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-i_3092262.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.” — Gustave Flaubert", "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": "Gustave Flaubert", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“An author in his book must...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-in-the-universe-present/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/an-author-in-his-book-must-be-like-god-in-the-universe-present/#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 } } ] } ```