--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fiction came quite a while later. I began…" description: "\"Fiction came quite a while later. I began with short stories and fiction for children.\" — Helen Dunmore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/helen-dunmore-12115_began_fiction-came-quite-a-while-later-i-began_2456349.png" --- # Fiction came quite a while later. I began with short… ![“Fiction came quite a while later. I began with short stories and fiction for children.” quote by Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/helen-dunmore-12115_began_fiction-came-quite-a-while-later-i-began_2456349.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/helen-dunmore-12115_began_fiction-came-quite-a-while-later-i-began_2456349.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/754/helen-dunmore-12115_began_fiction-came-quite-a-while-later-i-began_2456349.png) > “Fiction came quite a while later. I began with short stories and fiction for children.” [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) ## 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 started her writing career with children's stories and short fiction before moving to longer works. **In simple terms:** She began with short and children's stories before writing novels. Key Takeaway Build writing skills through short forms first. Themes writing career development genre transition Mood inspirational reflective Type advice career guidance When to use this quote - writing workshops - publishing short stories - transitioning to novels Key Concepts creative process literary evolution audience building Questions to Reflect On - How did short stories shape your narrative voice? - What challenges arise when shifting genres? A Different Perspective Short forms may limit depth of exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Began](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began/) [Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-came-613436/) [Fiction Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-children-613437/) [Later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later/) [Quite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite/) [Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short/) [Short stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/short-stories/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-fiction-332192/) [While](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/while/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Making fiction for children, making books for children, isn't something you do for money. It's something you do because what children read and learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/making-fiction-for-children-making-books-for-children-isn-t-something/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I enjoy receiving and giving realistic fiction, for both children and adults, with strong characters, beautiful language, and humane visions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-creech/i-enjoy-receiving-and-giving-realistic-fiction-for-both-children-and/) [Sharon Creech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-creech/) > [Short stories are fiction's R & D department, and failed or less-than-conclusive experiments are not just to be expected but to be hoped for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/short-stories-are-fiction-s-r-d-department-and-failed-or-less-than/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [“Fiction is very, very important," he said, his voice is rising. "Storytelling is how people learn. You get people to understand new cultures and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristine-grayson/fiction-is-very-very-important-he-said-his-voice-is-rising/) [Kristine Grayson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristine-grayson/) > [I've always loved sister stories in fiction, from the time I was little, reading about Beezus and Ramona. I've always wanted to write a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-ve-always-loved-sister-stories-in-fiction-from-the-time-i-was/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [If all stories are fiction, fiction can be true -- not in detail or fact, but in some transformed version of feeling. If there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-anne-phillips/if-all-stories-are-fiction-fiction-can-be-true-not-in-detail-or-fact/) [Jayne Anne Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-anne-phillips/) > [“While the stories are fiction, the journey is real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-j-peterson/while-the-stories-are-fiction-the-journey-is-real/) [C.J. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-j-peterson/) > [Wars produce many stories of fiction, some of which are told until they are believed to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ulysses-s-grant/wars-produce-many-stories-of-fiction-some-of-which-are-told-until/) [Ulysses S. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ulysses-s-grant/) > [I began auditioning for acting jobs at the ripe old age of 12. Thirty years later, including a 15-year run on television, I sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-farr/i-began-auditioning-for-acting-jobs-at-the-ripe-old-age-of-12-thirty/) [Diane Farr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-farr/) > [In 2009, at the Vancouver Peace Summit, I met a supporter of Free the Slaves, an NGO dedicated to eradicating modern-day slavery; weeks later,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kristine/in-2009-at-the-vancouver-peace-summit-i-met-a-supporter-of-free-the/) [Lisa Kristine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kristine/) > [Harper Lee and Truman Capote became friends as next-door neighbors in the late 1920s, when they were about kindergarten age. From the start, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-j-shields/harper-lee-and-truman-capote-became-friends-as-next-door-neighbors-in/) [Charles J. Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-j-shields/) > [History may someday record that the Arab awakening that began with the Arab revolt of 1916 against the Ottomans ended about a century later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/history-may-someday-record-that-the-arab-awakening-that-began-with/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) > [We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. We found out later that we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-adams/we-began-intercepting-japanese-radio-transmissions-which-indicated/) [Jack Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-adams/) > [“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/begin-as-you-mean-to-go-on-and-go-on-as-you-began-and-let-the-lord-be/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) ## More by Helen Dunmore > [Mourning Ruby is not a flat landscape: it is more like a box with pictures painted on every face. And each face is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/mourning-ruby-is-not-a-flat-landscape-it-is-more-like-a-box-with/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [To try to expunge an individual's history is a terrible violation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/to-try-to-expunge-an-individual-s-history-is-a-terrible-violation/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [Reread, rewrite, reread, rewrite. If it still doesn't work, throw it away. It's a nice feeling, and you don't want to be cluttered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/reread-rewrite-reread-rewrite-if-it-still-doesn-t-work-throw-it-away/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“The word 'personal' is one of my aversions. Personal loan. Personal hygiene. Personal safety. It's only a way of wrapping up bad news that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/the-word-personal-is-one-of-my-aversions-personal-loan-personal/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I can remember being in my pram: children stayed in their prams much longer then than they do now. A big bouncy pram with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/i-can-remember-being-in-my-pram-children-stayed-in-their-prams-much/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“Dad was alive. I believed Conor, but I still didn't really know it. But now I do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/dad-was-alive-i-believed-conor-but-i-still-didn-t-really-know-it-but/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [A novel, in the end, is a container, a shape which you are trying to pour your story into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/a-novel-in-the-end-is-a-container-a-shape-which-you-are-trying-to/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“Fear of this order is not an emotion. It is like a virus overwhelming every cell of his body, while his mind struggles to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/fear-of-this-order-is-not-an-emotion-it-is-like-a-virus-overwhelming/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“Our houses are palaces to those who have none.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/our-houses-are-palaces-to-those-who-have-none/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I could start with Mandelstam, who was a huge influence on my early writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/i-could-start-with-mandelstam-who-was-a-huge-influence-on-my-early/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [My first collection of poems was published by Bloodaxe Books, which was then a very new imprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/my-first-collection-of-poems-was-published-by-bloodaxe-books-which/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“It seemed to me that there was a self-interest hidden in the core of all of us, which cooled us when we contemplated any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/it-seemed-to-me-that-there-was-a-self-interest-hidden-in-the-core-of/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [A problem with a piece of writing often clarifies itself if you go for a long walk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/a-problem-with-a-piece-of-writing-often-clarifies-itself-if-you-go/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [“You have to keep on with a house, day after day, I think. Heating, cleaning, opening and closing windows, making sounds to fill the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/you-have-to-keep-on-with-a-house-day-after-day-i-think-heating/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) > [I hope that readers will tear through my books because they can't stop themselves - and then, maybe, read them again and find new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-dunmore/i-hope-that-readers-will-tear-through-my-books-because-they-can-t/) [Helen Dunmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) [Explore all 56 Helen Dunmore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-dunmore/) ## More Began quotes > [When I was 13, I began relaxing my hair, and that meant when I turned 18 it began to crack and fall off, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soledad-o-brien/when-i-was-13-i-began-relaxing-my-hair-and-that-meant-when-i-turned/) [Soledad O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soledad-o-brien/) > [We began intercepting Japanese radio transmissions, which indicated the two forces were very close to each other. We found out later that we were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-adams/we-began-intercepting-japanese-radio-transmissions-which-indicated/) [Jack Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-adams/) > [“Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-h-spurgeon/begin-as-you-mean-to-go-on-and-go-on-as-you-began-and-let-the-lord-be/) [Charles H. Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-h-spurgeon/) > [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [I didn't have any role models. I really thought I was doomed to this loveless, lonely life. I didn't know any gay people until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-batt/i-didn-t-have-any-role-models-i-really-thought-i-was-doomed-to-this/) [Bryan Batt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-batt/) > [I began with small roles in successful movies like 'No Country For Old Men' by the Coen brothers; but it was 'The Last Exorcism'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-landry-jones/i-began-with-small-roles-in-successful-movies-like-no-country-for-old/) [Caleb Landry Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-landry-jones/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) [Manae Poet Of Carisis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manae-poet-of-carisis/) > [“I'm not giving up my life. My life began when I met you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-eckrich/i-m-not-giving-up-my-life-my-life-began-when-i-met-you/) [Shannon Eckrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-eckrich/) > [I was precocious, so I began reading 'Cosmo' when I was 12.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-coles/i-was-precocious-so-i-began-reading-cosmo-when-i-was-12/) [Joanna Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-coles/) > [When the 2008 victory of Barack Obama and the defeat of grumpy old John McCain began looking, um, inevitable, I started fielding inquiries about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/when-the-2008-victory-of-barack-obama-and-the-defeat-of-grumpy-old/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) > [I was a photographer. That's how I began my career, behind the camera.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shweta-tripathi/i-was-a-photographer-that-s-how-i-began-my-career-behind-the-camera/) [Shweta Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shweta-tripathi/) > [The work-family divide is the biggest issue for American women. But in some ways it's amazing how adjusted society has become to it. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-work-family-divide-is-the-biggest-issue-for-american-women-but-in/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [I often get asked, 'Is the book dead?' It hasn't happened yet. It's different than music. Music was always meant to be pure sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/i-often-get-asked-is-the-book-dead-it-hasn-t-happened-yet-it-s/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [I wasn‘t—" I began. I didn‘t—" He began. How charming," V‘lane cut us off. His voice arrived before he did. "The very portrait of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/i-wasn-t-i-began-i-didn-t-he-began-how-charming-v-lane-cut-us-off-his/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Watergate got us to think of leaders as mere mortals. America began to think of itself in a very different way - I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perlstein/watergate-got-us-to-think-of-leaders-as-mere-mortals-america-began-to/) [Rick Perlstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perlstein/) [Browse all 658 Began quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/began/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fiction came quite a while later. 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