--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I write fiction, I never try to…" description: "\"When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I just want to tell a story. But I admit that I want the story to be memorable and the characte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/isabel-allende-266_admit_when-i-write-fiction-i-never-try-to-deli_675387.jpg" --- # When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I… ![“When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I just want to tell a story. But I admit that I want the story to be memorable and the characters to touch the reader's heart.” quote by Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/isabel-allende-266_admit_when-i-write-fiction-i-never-try-to-deli_675387.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/isabel-allende-266_admit_when-i-write-fiction-i-never-try-to-deli_675387.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/858/isabel-allende-266_admit_when-i-write-fiction-i-never-try-to-deli_675387.jpg) > “When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I just want to tell a story. But I admit that I want the story to be memorable and the characters to touch the reader's heart.” [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The writer focuses on storytelling rather than preaching, aiming for memorable characters that touch readers. **In simple terms:** Storytelling over moralizing, aiming for emotional impact. Key Takeaway Craft stories that resonate emotionally. Themes writing fiction emotion Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary creative When to use this quote - novel writing - workshops - reading groups - publishing Key Concepts narrative technique character development Questions to Reflect On - How does avoiding didacticism affect reader engagement? - What makes a character unforgettable? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Memorable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memorable/) [Message](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/message/) [Messages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messages/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I arrived at my way of "working" as a way of visually approximating what I feel the tone of fiction to be in prose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-ware/i-arrived-at-my-way-of-working-as-a-way-of-visually-approximating/) [Chris Ware](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-ware/) > [Really, I've worked my whole adult life at fiction, to try and write fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bock/really-i-ve-worked-my-whole-adult-life-at-fiction-to-try-and-write/) [Charles Bock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bock/) > [“I want to share my story, and I want to know yours. I believe with all my heart that sharing our stories, the real,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-white/i-want-to-share-my-story-and-i-want-to-know-yours-i-believe-with-all/) [Anna White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-white/) > [My general approach to writing fiction is that you try to have as few conceptual notions as possible and you just respond to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/my-general-approach-to-writing-fiction-is-that-you-try-to-have-as-few/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I'm a writer of fiction. I try to write about my time, but it's dangerous if I'm seen as an investigative writer. I manipulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abi-morgan/i-m-a-writer-of-fiction-i-try-to-write-about-my-time-but-it-s/) [Abi Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abi-morgan/) > [I have a longing for fiction - to try to believe in it and to disappear into it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-have-a-longing-for-fiction-to-try-to-believe-in-it-and-to-disappear/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [My great fear has always been complete and utter failure. Hence, you see, all the dispossessed people in my fiction, and why I try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-ackroyd/my-great-fear-has-always-been-complete-and-utter-failure-hence-you/) [Peter Ackroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-ackroyd/) > [Fact is often stranger than fiction because most writers of fiction try to make their stories plausible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-posner/fact-is-often-stranger-than-fiction-because-most-writers-of-fiction/) [Richard Posner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-posner/) > [There's basically an element of fiction in everything you remember. Imagination and memory are almost the same brain processes. When I write fiction, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/there-s-basically-an-element-of-fiction-in-everything-you-remember/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [When I do actual sequential work, I really want a story I can get a behind: a story that really holds my attention for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-stelfreeze/when-i-do-actual-sequential-work-i-really-want-a-story-i-can-get-a/) [Brian Stelfreeze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-stelfreeze/) > [I want story, wit, music, wryness, color, and a sense of reality in what I read, and I try to get it in what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-macdonald/i-want-story-wit-music-wryness-color-and-a-sense-of-reality-in-what-i/) [John D. MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-macdonald/) > [“Do you know, I used to feel special, like I would wake up in a fairytale and be a great hero. But now…I don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moira-katson/do-you-know-i-used-to-feel-special-like-i-would-wake-up-in-a/) [Moira Katson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moira-katson/) > [So you want another story?" Uhh... no. We would like to know what really happened." Doesn't the telling of something always become a story?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/so-you-want-another-story-uhh-no-we-would-like-to-know-what-really/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one. But just the one. Don’t either of you ask me for more.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/so-then-you-want-a-story-and-i-will-tell-you-one-but-just-the-one-don/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“You want the story of my life? Big ideas, small results.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-stanwyck/you-want-the-story-of-my-life-big-ideas-small-results/) [Barbara Stanwyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-stanwyck/) ## More by Isabel Allende > [“I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, and my grandchildren, my mother, my dog,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-am-happier-when-i-love-than-when-i-am-loved-i-adore-my-husband-my/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Having a point to start is important. You know that when you decide to write something it's like a commitment. It's like falling in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/having-a-point-to-start-is-important-you-know-that-when-you-decide-to/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Music is a wind that blows away the years, memories, and fear, that crouching animal I carry inside me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/music-is-a-wind-that-blows-away-the-years-memories-and-fear-that/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Everybody has losses - it's unavoidable in life. Sharing our pain is very healing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/everybody-has-losses-it-s-unavoidable-in-life-sharing-our-pain-is/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“The writer and the dreamer have so much in common: They can't control the plot, they are always part of the story or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-writer-and-the-dreamer-have-so-much-in-common-they-can-t-control/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [People think that they will sit down and produce the great American novel in one sitting. It doesn't work that way. This is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/people-think-that-they-will-sit-down-and-produce-the-great-american/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“He had a principle: if you lend money and never see the person again, that's money well spent.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/he-had-a-principle-if-you-lend-money-and-never-see-the-person-again/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Catholics form a majority in Chile, although there are more and more Evangelicals and Pentacostals who irritate everyone because they have a direct understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/catholics-form-a-majority-in-chile-although-there-are-more-and-more/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“At times I feel as if I had lived all this before and that I have already written these very words, but I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/at-times-i-feel-as-if-i-had-lived-all-this-before-and-that-i-have/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-have-lived-with-passion-and-in-a-hurry-trying-to-accomplish-too/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I'm surrounded by the scene of aging. I myself am in my 70s and not getting any younger. Although I'm very healthy, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-m-surrounded-by-the-scene-of-aging-i-myself-am-in-my-70s-and-not/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I try to write the kind of books I like to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/i-try-to-write-the-kind-of-books-i-like-to-read/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [“Intimacy needs time to mature—a shared history, tears shed, obstacles overcome, photographs in an album. It’s a slow-growing plant.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/intimacy-needs-time-to-mature-a-shared-history-tears-shed-obstacles/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [ The idea of the book \["The Japanese Lover"\] came in a conversation that I had with a friend walking in the streets of New… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/the-idea-of-the-book-the-japanese-lover-came-in-a-conversation-that-i/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) [Explore all 552 Isabel Allende quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More Admit quotes > [It is hard to admit to someone that you love him..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misherie/it-is-hard-to-admit-to-someone-that-you-love-him/) [Misherie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misherie/) > [I am not perfect by any means and ill be the first to admit I make plenty of mistakes but I wont make them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-not-perfect-by-any-means-and-ill-be-the-first-to-admit-i-make/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think it takes a lot for you to admit you made a mistake and correct it right away, especially on live television.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pia-wurtzbach/i-think-it-takes-a-lot-for-you-to-admit-you-made-a-mistake-and/) [Pia Wurtzbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pia-wurtzbach/) > [I'll admit a little something: If I go to one of those hotels where there's, like, a $50 omelet, I'm taking the silverware home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-olyphant/i-ll-admit-a-little-something-if-i-go-to-one-of-those-hotels-where/) [Timothy Olyphant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-olyphant/) > [Most celebrities are not going to admit they had work done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-nassif/most-celebrities-are-not-going-to-admit-they-had-work-done/) [Paul Nassif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-nassif/) > [If you're in rock 'n' roll, you're not supposed to admit to liking theatre stuff, but I'm a big theatregoer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-re-in-rock-n-roll-you-re-not-supposed-to-admit-to-liking/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [No one likes to admit they are racist or bear prejudices. Nor do they even like to be open and honest when they witness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/no-one-likes-to-admit-they-are-racist-or-bear-prejudices-nor-do-they/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [I love you. But I have no right to admit it to myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-snyder/i-love-you-but-i-have-no-right-to-admit-it-to-myself/) Brittany\_Snyder > [There is something in me-I just can't stand to admit defeat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-sills/there-is-something-in-me-i-just-can-t-stand-to-admit-defeat/) [Beverly Sills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-sills/) > [As far as I can tell, the only unambiguous consequence of the claimed invasion of Earth by beings from another star system has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/as-far-as-i-can-tell-the-only-unambiguous-consequence-of-the-claimed/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [My first exposure to sanitation issues occurred when I got admission into an engineering college. They probably didn't want to admit me and informed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-murty/my-first-exposure-to-sanitation-issues-occurred-when-i-got-admission/) [Sudha Murty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-murty/) > [I have to admit that I get quite emotional listening to the amazing talent that exists in the New York subways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-o-hare/i-have-to-admit-that-i-get-quite-emotional-listening-to-the-amazing/) [Lisa O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-o-hare/) > [I was ashamed to admit I was hipped to the idea of acting. That's why I started in with the props.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-was-ashamed-to-admit-i-was-hipped-to-the-idea-of-acting-that-s-why/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I admit that I am very possessive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-khemu/i-admit-that-i-am-very-possessive/) [Kunal Khemu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-khemu/) > [Some people need to grow up and learn how to admit when they're wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-people-need-to-grow-up-and-learn-how-to-admit-when-they-re-wrong/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 816 Admit quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I write fiction, I never try to deliver a message; I just want to tell a story. 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