--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to…" description: "\"Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a solid piece of bread. If not, it remains a shapeless thing . . . out of which you can’t make anyt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/italo-calvino-402_bread_fantasy-is-like-jam-you-have-to-spread-i_2078360.jpg" --- # Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a… ![“Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a solid piece of bread. If not, it remains a shapeless thing . . . out of which you can’t make anything.” quote by Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/italo-calvino-402_bread_fantasy-is-like-jam-you-have-to-spread-i_2078360.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/italo-calvino-402_bread_fantasy-is-like-jam-you-have-to-spread-i_2078360.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/723/italo-calvino-402_bread_fantasy-is-like-jam-you-have-to-spread-i_2078360.jpg) > “Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a solid piece of bread. If not, it remains a shapeless thing . . . out of which you can’t make anything.” [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagination must be grounded in structure to become useful; without a framework ideas stay formless and unproductive. **In simple terms:** Ideas need a solid base to become real. Key Takeaway Give your creativity a concrete form. Themes creativity structure productivity Mood inspired thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - writing - product development - teaching - problem solving Key Concepts literature metaphor design Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance freedom and form? - What structures help your ideas take shape? A Different Perspective Even with structure, rigidity can stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) ## Related quotes > [I love magic and playing with magic systems. But to me, good fantasy like all fiction comes down to good character and plotting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-coe/i-love-magic-and-playing-with-magic-systems-but-to-me-good-fantasy/) [David B. Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-coe/) > [I read 'Twilight' when I was overseas. I actually liked it. I didn't expect to, because I generally don't like fantasy like that because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-bird/i-read-twilight-when-i-was-overseas-i-actually-liked-it-i-didn-t/) [Sue Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-bird/) > [“Yeah, I write Urban Fantasy, but its more like Die Hard or Indiana Jones with Fairies, Mummies and a Vampire who uses guns more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-james-breaux/yeah-i-write-urban-fantasy-but-its-more-like-die-hard-or-indiana/) [Kevin James Breaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-james-breaux/) > [Imagine my delight and awe when I discovered such a thing was a real genre - contemporary fantasy or urban fantasy. It was like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/imagine-my-delight-and-awe-when-i-discovered-such-a-thing-was-a-real/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [If I would had been born years earlier, I would have been in all the Westerns. It's just the way that the industry goes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/if-i-would-had-been-born-years-earlier-i-would-have-been-in-all-the/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [In every respect, fantasy is like doing abstract paintings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/in-every-respect-fantasy-is-like-doing-abstract-paintings/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [Tyranny and fantasy both like to write everyone else's lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/tyranny-and-fantasy-both-like-to-write-everyone-else-s-lines/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [Fantasy is like an idealized reality, and the core of fantasy is the one person can make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-a-salvatore-2/fantasy-is-like-an-idealized-reality-and-the-core-of-fantasy-is-the/) [R. A. Salvatore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-a-salvatore-2/) > [I like fantasy. I like worlds where sometimes you need the special effects to make it come alive, but it's not so fun acting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evangeline-lilly/i-like-fantasy-i-like-worlds-where-sometimes-you-need-the-special/) [Evangeline Lilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evangeline-lilly/) > [I love, love, love fantasy, like 'Lord of the Rings' and things like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-quinn/i-love-love-love-fantasy-like-lord-of-the-rings-and-things-like-that/) [Molly Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-quinn/) > [If Robert Benchley and Dorothy Parker had teamed up to write epic fantasy, something like Split Heirs might have resulted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dechancie/if-robert-benchley-and-dorothy-parker-had-teamed-up-to-write-epic/) John DeChancie > [I like fantasy. I like horror, science fiction because I can get avant-garde with those performances in those movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/i-like-fantasy-i-like-horror-science-fiction-because-i-can-get-avant/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [Grief, first take on shape! what is shapeless causes fear and torment but when the enemy materializes, half the victory is won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-grillparzer/grief-first-take-on-shape-what-is-shapeless-causes-fear-and-torment/) [Franz Grillparzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-grillparzer/) > [“Art was, for Poe, the only method by which one could penetrate the shapeless empirical world in the search for order, and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/art-was-for-poe-the-only-method-by-which-one-could-penetrate-the/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. —BRUCE LEE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-jurek/empty-your-mind-be-formless-shapeless-like-water-bruce-lee/) [Scott Jurek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-jurek/) ## More by Italo Calvino > [“(one would say yes, if not every day, at least fairly regularly), whether only for yourself or also for others (often only for yourself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/one-would-say-yes-if-not-every-day-at-least-fairly-regularly-whether/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The Great Khan tried to concentrate on the game: but now it was the game’s reason that eluded him. The end of every game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-great-khan-tried-to-concentrate-on-the-game-but-now-it-was-the/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Or else you can say, like the camel driver who took me there: "I arrived here in my first youth, one morning, many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/or-else-you-can-say-like-the-camel-driver-who-took-me-there-i-arrived/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The naked man had lost hope now; he would never be able to return to the earth's surface;he would never leave the bottom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-naked-man-had-lost-hope-now-he-would-never-be-able-to-return-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“The art of writing tales consists in an ability to draw the rest of life from the little one has understood of it; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-art-of-writing-tales-consists-in-an-ability-to-draw-the-rest-of/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“I ask you to come down to earth," said the Baron in a calm, rather faint voice, "and to take up the duties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/i-ask-you-to-come-down-to-earth-said-the-baron-in-a-calm-rather-faint/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [The unconscious is the ocean of the unsayable, of what has been expelled from the land of language, removed as a result of ancient…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/the-unconscious-is-the-ocean-of-the-unsayable-of-what-has-been/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“... KUBLAI: We have proved that if we were here, we would not be. POLO: And here, in fact, we are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/kublai-we-have-proved-that-if-we-were-here-we-would-not-be-polo-and/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“And yet, in Raissa, at every moment there is a child in a window who laughs seeing a dog that has jumped on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/and-yet-in-raissa-at-every-moment-there-is-a-child-in-a-window-who/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Ludmilla, now you are being read. Your body is being subjected to a systematic reading, through channels of tactile information, visual, olfactory, and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/ludmilla-now-you-are-being-read-your-body-is-being-subjected-to-a/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Once the process of falsification is set in motion, it won't stop. We're in a country where everything that can be falsified has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/once-the-process-of-falsification-is-set-in-motion-it-won-t-stop-we/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Your case gives me new hope," I said to him. "With me, more and more often I happen to pick up a novel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/your-case-gives-me-new-hope-i-said-to-him-with-me-more-and-more-often/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [We could say, then, that man is an instrument the world employs to renew its own image constantly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/we-could-say-then-that-man-is-an-instrument-the-world-employs-to/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [“Perhaps it is this story that is a bridge over the void, and as it advances it flings forward news and sensations and emotions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/perhaps-it-is-this-story-that-is-a-bridge-over-the-void-and-as-it/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) > [Yet, even now, ever time (often) that I find that I don't understand something, then instinctively, I'm filled with the hope that perhaps this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italo-calvino/yet-even-now-ever-time-often-that-i-find-that-i-don-t-understand/) [Italo Calvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) [Explore all 468 Italo Calvino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italo-calvino/) ## More Bread quotes > [French women don't eat Wonder Bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mireille-guiliano/french-women-don-t-eat-wonder-bread/) [Mireille Guiliano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mireille-guiliano/) > [In the olden days in England, you could be hung for stealing a sheep or a loaf of bread. However, if a sheep stole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-harding/in-the-olden-days-in-england-you-could-be-hung-for-stealing-a-sheep/) [Mike Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-harding/) > [I don't eat meat - chicken, fish, none of that. I eat a lot of vegetable sandwiches, like lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, cucumbers, whatever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gza/i-don-t-eat-meat-chicken-fish-none-of-that-i-eat-a-lot-of-vegetable/) Gza > [“We should remark the grace and fascination that there is even in the incidentals of Nature's processes.. When a loaf of bread,. for instance,.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/we-should-remark-the-grace-and-fascination-that-there-is-even-in-the/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [When I met you you were oh so sweet, now you give me the bread and you take all the meat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/when-i-met-you-you-were-oh-so-sweet-now-you-give-me-the-bread-and-you/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [When you fight to give your family bread, that's not passion anymore: that's conviction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoel-romero/when-you-fight-to-give-your-family-bread-that-s-not-passion-anymore/) [Yoel Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoel-romero/) > [I think the best Thanksgiving we ever had was one where we didn't even have a turkey. Mom and Dad sat us kids down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-handey/i-think-the-best-thanksgiving-we-ever-had-was-one-where-we-didn-t/) [Jack Handey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-handey/) > [Bread is a second cause; the LORD Himself is the first source of our sustenance. He can work without the second cause as well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bread-is-a-second-cause-the-lord-himself-is-the-first-source-of-our/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even if we have to go without bread, we Albanians do not violate principles. We do not betray Marxism - Leninism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enver-hoxha/even-if-we-have-to-go-without-bread-we-albanians-do-not-violate/) [Enver Hoxha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enver-hoxha/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [“Nine times out of ten, people pick the wrong food. No, it’s not the sugar (GI = 68), it’s not the candy bar (GI…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-perlmutter/nine-times-out-of-ten-people-pick-the-wrong-food-no-it-s-not-the/) [David Perlmutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-perlmutter/) > [Waffles аrе јust awesome bread.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/waffles-r-ust-awesome-bread/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [At my age, I don't buy but a half a loaf of bread, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-haggard/at-my-age-i-don-t-buy-but-a-half-a-loaf-of-bread-you-know/) [Merle Haggard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-haggard/) > [Jesus Christ would have been considered just another long-haired hippie freak if he hadn't been crucified. The folks weren't impressed with healing the sick,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/jesus-christ-would-have-been-considered-just-another-long-haired/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“To consume the Eucharist is an act of anticonsumption, for here to consume is to be consumed, to be taken up into participation in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/to-consume-the-eucharist-is-an-act-of-anticonsumption-for-here-to/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) [Browse all 2,164 Bread quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bread/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fantasy is like jam. . . . You have to spread it on a solid piece of bread. 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