--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I should say, I don't write about myself…" description: "\"I should say, I don't write about myself or my life. So for me, in fiction, it's always been about what I can dream up, that feels far away from me.\" —..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/jennifer-egan-825_always_i-should-say-i-don-t-write-about-myself_2457053.jpg" --- # I should say, I don't write about myself or my life. So… ![“I should say, I don't write about myself or my life. So for me, in fiction, it's always been about what I can dream up, that feels far away from me.” quote by Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/jennifer-egan-825_always_i-should-say-i-don-t-write-about-myself_2457053.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/jennifer-egan-825_always_i-should-say-i-don-t-write-about-myself_2457053.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de5/jennifer-egan-825_always_i-should-say-i-don-t-write-about-myself_2457053.jpg) > “I should say, I don't write about myself or my life. So for me, in fiction, it's always been about what I can dream up, that feels far away from me.” [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## 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 separates personal experience from creative imagination, focusing on speculative worlds rather than autobiography. **In simple terms:** She writes fiction about imagined worlds, not her own life. Key Takeaway Embrace imaginative storytelling. Themes creativity identity fiction Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - role‑playing games - creative workshops Key Concepts imagination self‑distancing Questions to Reflect On - How does detachment affect narrative depth? - Can imagination replace lived experience? A Different Perspective Personal bias can limit authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-feels-618965/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-dream-618963/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-fiction-618964/) [My life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-life/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Write Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-life/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“I wish life were a fiction novel. 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I'd touch your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-couldn-t-tell-fact-from-fiction-or-if-the-dream-was-true-my-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fiction is not a dream. Nor is it guesswork. It is imagining based on facts, and the facts must be accurate or the work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-culkin-banning/fiction-is-not-a-dream-nor-is-it-guesswork-it-is-imagining-based-on/) [Margaret Culkin Banning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-culkin-banning/) > [“Fiction---good fiction, anyway---is dream made flesh, given purpose and drive, and set on a quest to show us the best in us and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-lisle/fiction-good-fiction-anyway-is-dream-made-flesh-given-purpose-and/) [Holly Lisle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-lisle/) > [In science fiction, we dream. In order to colonize in space, to rebuild our cities, which are so far out of whack, to tackle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/in-science-fiction-we-dream-in-order-to-colonize-in-space-to-rebuild/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [If the very thought of taking off all your clothes in the middle of the Washington Mall during a school holiday makes you blush,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-mairs/if-the-very-thought-of-taking-off-all-your-clothes-in-the-middle-of/) [Nancy Mairs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-mairs/) > [Something magical has happened to me: like a dream when one feels frightened and creepy, and suddenly wakes up to the knowledge that no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/something-magical-has-happened-to-me-like-a-dream-when-one-feels/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [When a dream feels so real you don't want to wake up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaliana-dietrich/when-a-dream-feels-so-real-you-don-t-want-to-wake-up/) [Kaliana Dietrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaliana-dietrich/) > [Girls often dream about this. Where she feels like a withered flower surrounded by all these fabulous people. Then out of nowhere, this prince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nix-mae/girls-often-dream-about-this-where-she-feels-like-a-withered-flower/) [Nix Mae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nix-mae/) > [“They say Aslan is on the move- perhaps has already landed." And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/they-say-aslan-is-on-the-move-perhaps-has-already-landed-and-now-a/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [“None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/none-of-the-children-knew-who-aslan-was-any-more-than-you-do-but-the/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [At first, being with Sebastian was like being in the middle of the best dream I'd ever had - but now it mostly feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/at-first-being-with-sebastian-was-like-being-in-the-middle-of-the/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [I feel like a sand that's blown away. Back into the storm I'm inside this dream. That feels just like a desert rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-maya/i-feel-like-a-sand-that-s-blown-away-back-into-the-storm-i-m-inside/) [Edward Maya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-maya/) ## More by Jennifer Egan > [“Behind the desk was nothing but view-the whole city flung out in front of us the way street vendors fling out their towels packed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/behind-the-desk-was-nothing-but-view-the-whole-city-flung-out-in/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I just think that, for my particular personality, feeling slightly invisible is always a help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-just-think-that-for-my-particular-personality-feeling-slightly/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Between books, I have to throw out everything I did before, because the tools I've used to write the previous book will not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/between-books-i-have-to-throw-out-everything-i-did-before-because-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [As a reader and a writer, I'm happiest when apparently mutually exclusive states can somehow coexist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/as-a-reader-and-a-writer-i-m-happiest-when-apparently-mutually/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I teach intermittently, and while I enjoy it, I don't find that it's a calling for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-teach-intermittently-and-while-i-enjoy-it-i-don-t-find-that-it-s-a/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Like all failed experiments, that one taught me something I didn’t expect: one key ingredient of so-called experience is the delusional faith that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/like-all-failed-experiments-that-one-taught-me-something-i-didn-t/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“Thousands of solar panels lift and tilt at the same time, in the same way. I clutch at Dad's arm: "Why are they doing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/thousands-of-solar-panels-lift-and-tilt-at-the-same-time-in-the-same/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [It was the hat. He looked sweet in the hat. How could a man in a fuzzy blue hat have used human bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/it-was-the-hat-he-looked-sweet-in-the-hat-how-could-a-man-in-a-fuzzy/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [“The seconds pass. I know what’s going on because it’s the same thing that always happens: give me something nice, something I love or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/the-seconds-pass-i-know-what-s-going-on-because-it-s-the-same-thing/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I had this idea that I could hire myself out as a person to go on archeological digs and dig, without any training! I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-had-this-idea-that-i-could-hire-myself-out-as-a-person-to-go-on/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [At night, the house thick with sleep, she would peer out her bedroom window at the trees and sky and feel the presence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/at-night-the-house-thick-with-sleep-she-would-peer-out-her-bedroom/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I number my drafts, and by the time a book is done, I'll have 75 or 80 drafts of some sections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-number-my-drafts-and-by-the-time-a-book-is-done-i-ll-have-75-or-80/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [Read at the level at which you want to write. Reading is the nourishment that feeds the kind of writing you want to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/read-at-the-level-at-which-you-want-to-write-reading-is-the/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) > [I was a stepchild in two different families. The hardest thing about being a stepchild is you know that in some way everything would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-egan/i-was-a-stepchild-in-two-different-families-the-hardest-thing-about-2/) [Jennifer Egan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) [Explore all 358 Jennifer Egan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-egan/) ## More Always quotes > [I think performing has pretty much always been a part of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isa-briones/i-think-performing-has-pretty-much-always-been-a-part-of-me/) [Isa Briones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isa-briones/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [It's always great to see old friends, especially those I have not been able to see in 15 months.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-regal/it-s-always-great-to-see-old-friends-especially-those-i-have-not-been/) [William Regal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-regal/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I have really good lateral movement. I've always had quick lateral movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/i-have-really-good-lateral-movement-i-ve-always-had-quick-lateral/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [Mythology is something that always has opportunities to explore. 'It' has been on Earth for millions of years. He's been in contact with humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-muschietti/mythology-is-something-that-always-has-opportunities-to-explore-it/) [Andy Muschietti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-muschietti/) > [It's not writing in the traditional sense, but I've always said that the writing process continues on the set and even into the editing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-b-weide/it-s-not-writing-in-the-traditional-sense-but-i-ve-always-said-that/) [Robert B. Weide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-b-weide/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. 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If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [I always say if you put someone from a small town into a big city for ten years, then when they go back, they'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-colter/i-always-say-if-you-put-someone-from-a-small-town-into-a-big-city-for/) [Mike Colter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-colter/) > [Bayern is always a team that can win the Champions League title in Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lothar-matthaus/bayern-is-always-a-team-that-can-win-the-champions-league-title-in/) [Lothar Matthaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lothar-matthaus/) [Browse all 36,048 Always quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I should say, I don't write about myself or my life. 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