--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think fiction is all about the exercise…" description: "\"I think fiction is all about the exercise of the empathetic imagination. Part of what I do is let the stuff I read about meld with what I have experien..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/jim-shepard-20533_empathetic_i-think-fiction-is-all-about-the-exercis_2940724.jpg" --- # I think fiction is all about the exercise of the… ![“I think fiction is all about the exercise of the empathetic imagination. Part of what I do is let the stuff I read about meld with what I have experienced.” quote by Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/jim-shepard-20533_empathetic_i-think-fiction-is-all-about-the-exercis_2940724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/jim-shepard-20533_empathetic_i-think-fiction-is-all-about-the-exercis_2940724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8da/jim-shepard-20533_empathetic_i-think-fiction-is-all-about-the-exercis_2940724.jpg) > “I think fiction is all about the exercise of the empathetic imagination. Part of what I do is let the stuff I read about meld with what I have experienced.” [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction exercises empathetic imagination by merging readers' experiences with imagined narratives, fostering deeper understanding. **In simple terms:** Fiction blends imagination with empathy. Key Takeaway Read to expand empathetic imagination. Themes literature empathy imagination experience Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - social awareness Key Concepts narrative empathy psychology of reading creative writing Questions to Reflect On - How does a story change your perspective? - What emotions does empathetic reading evoke? A Different Perspective Fiction may not translate to real-world empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Empathetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathetic/) [Empathetic Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathetic-imagination-4383249/) [Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exercise/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Exercise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-exercise-1661958/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Stuff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stuff/) [Think Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-fiction/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“I would say, for the moment, that community, at least community larger than the immediate family, consists very largely of imaginative love for people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/i-would-say-for-the-moment-that-community-at-least-community-larger/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [In fiction, I exercise my nosiness. I am as curious as my cats, and indeed that has led to trouble often enough and used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/in-fiction-i-exercise-my-nosiness-i-am-as-curious-as-my-cats-and/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Fiction may be, whatever else, an exercise in the capacity for imaginative love, or sympathy, or identification,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/fiction-may-be-whatever-else-an-exercise-in-the-capacity-for/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I feel like one of the things I'm trying most to do is stretch my empathetic reach, as far as it will go. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-feel-like-one-of-the-things-i-m-trying-most-to-do-is-stretch-my/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I think fiction recues history from its confusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-think-fiction-recues-history-from-its-confusions/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everybody should read fiction… I don’t think serious fiction is written for a few people. I think we live in a stupid culture that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-everett/everybody-should-read-fiction-i-don-t-think-serious-fiction-is/) [Percival Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-everett/) > [I just think that fiction that isn't exploring what it means to be human today isn't art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-just-think-that-fiction-that-isn-t-exploring-what-it-means-to-be/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [I'm a novelist. I think fiction is important or I wouldn't be doing it, but most of it's bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-peck/i-m-a-novelist-i-think-fiction-is-important-or-i-wouldn-t-be-doing-it/) [Dale Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-peck/) > [If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I think fiction lends itself to messiness rather than the ideal, and plays well with the ironies surrounding what happens versus what should happen.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-toibin/i-think-fiction-lends-itself-to-messiness-rather-than-the-ideal-and/) [Colm Tóibín](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-toibin/) > [Fiction is truth. I think fiction is the truest thing there ever was. My whole effort is to remove that distinction. The writer is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/fiction-is-truth-i-think-fiction-is-the-truest-thing-there-ever-was/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I don't believe a poet has a better hold on truth or morality than a fiction writer has. And I don't think a fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-don-t-believe-a-poet-has-a-better-hold-on-truth-or-morality-than-a/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“An author has to fit into the skin of her characters, to imagine being trapped by unfortunate and sometimes violent circumstances she herself has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/loretta-h-marion/an-author-has-to-fit-into-the-skin-of-her-characters-to-imagine-being/) [Loretta H. Marion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/loretta-h-marion/) > [I think every fiction writer, to a certain extent, is a schizophrenic and able to have two or three or five voices in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ridley-pearson/i-think-every-fiction-writer-to-a-certain-extent-is-a-schizophrenic/) [Ridley Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ridley-pearson/) ## More by Jim Shepard > [I very much like people. I don't much like writers who don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-very-much-like-people-i-don-t-much-like-writers-who-don-t/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I love the box that such a decision puts you in, and I love the interest the reader has in seeing how you negotiate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-love-the-box-that-such-a-decision-puts-you-in-and-i-love-the/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I don't think conservativism is about a deficiency. I think it's about a commitment to an ideology that has to in some ways devalue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-don-t-think-conservativism-is-about-a-deficiency-i-think-it-s-about/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [What makes us threaten the things we want most?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/what-makes-us-threaten-the-things-we-want-most/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I do find stories - or literary fiction - an apt form for analyzing the world. And especially for trying to imagine the other.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-do-find-stories-or-literary-fiction-an-apt-form-for-analyzing-the/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [Does research get in the way of the story? It certainly can. Anything can, given that as writers we're all geniuses at procrastination. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/does-research-get-in-the-way-of-the-story-it-certainly-can-anything/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [“But what I did was the kind of thing you'd do and the kind of thing you've done: I felt bad for him and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/but-what-i-did-was-the-kind-of-thing-you-d-do-and-the-kind-of-thing/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I have written screenplays. Most recently for Errol Morris, who was thinking about doing his first fiction movie, and with a young director who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-have-written-screenplays-most-recently-for-errol-morris-who-was/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [Class is the most taboo subject in America. The American media would rather talk about race or perversion or anything else considered taboo before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/class-is-the-most-taboo-subject-in-america-the-american-media-would/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I don't beat at the details, but I do always keep in mind that anything that isn't A) moving the story forward or B)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-don-t-beat-at-the-details-but-i-do-always-keep-in-mind-that/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [Empathy is a human trait. But lots of humans exercise some traits more energetically than others. By "the usefulness of empathy" I mean the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/empathy-is-a-human-trait-but-lots-of-humans-exercise-some-traits-more/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [“But this is the only account hand-copied and tacked to my bulletin board, the testimony of a Dutch pilot caught on shore near Anjer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/but-this-is-the-only-account-hand-copied-and-tacked-to-my-bulletin/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I'm tempted to do everything. And sometimes I think, "Oh, come on. You can stick that detail somewhere."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-m-tempted-to-do-everything-and-sometimes-i-think-oh-come-on-you-can/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [I'll find something in what I read that snags my imagination in emotional terms; it resonates with me for reasons more complicated than just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/i-ll-find-something-in-what-i-read-that-snags-my-imagination-in/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) > [It turns out that our intuition is a greater genius than we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-shepard/it-turns-out-that-our-intuition-is-a-greater-genius-than-we-are/) [Jim Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) [Explore all 30 Jim Shepard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-shepard/) ## More Empathetic quotes > [“The most prolific and accomplished hunters were not the most bloodthirsty and indefatigable. They were the most cool and empathetic. They were the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-dutton/the-most-prolific-and-accomplished-hunters-were-not-the-most/) [Kevin Dutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-dutton/) > [To be empathetic to everyone around you, I think, is such a powerful thing to hold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/misty-copeland/to-be-empathetic-to-everyone-around-you-i-think-is-such-a-powerful/) [Misty Copeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/misty-copeland/) > [We're wired to be empathetic and to care about the needs of others, but also to be curious about others. And I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kehinde-wiley/we-re-wired-to-be-empathetic-and-to-care-about-the-needs-of-others/) [Kehinde Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kehinde-wiley/) > [To me, bringing mindfulness-bas ed practices to students, teachers and parents is some of the most important work we can be doing. If we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/to-me-bringing-mindfulness-bas-ed-practices-to-students-teachers-and/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [When I was at school, one of my teachers had two statements hanging from the board all year: 'Be observant' and 'Be empathetic.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marne-levine/when-i-was-at-school-one-of-my-teachers-had-two-statements-hanging/) [Marne Levine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marne-levine/) > [I am emotionally strong, passionate, empathetic, and sensitive towards others, especially the people I love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishaan-khatter/i-am-emotionally-strong-passionate-empathetic-and-sensitive-towards/) [Ishaan Khatter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishaan-khatter/) > [People didn't feel so much shame around it and that they didn't feel so much humiliation around it. And the other thing that people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/people-didn-t-feel-so-much-shame-around-it-and-that-they-didn-t-feel/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [Hillary Clinton's not seen as empathetic and compassionate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/hillary-clinton-s-not-seen-as-empathetic-and-compassionate/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [I got kids now... It gives you an empathetic feeling into other cultures and stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralphie-may/i-got-kids-now-it-gives-you-an-empathetic-feeling-into-other-cultures/) [Ralphie May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralphie-may/) > [Make intercessory prayer a priority in your life and the life of your family. It will cause you to be more empathetic, less self-obsessed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/make-intercessory-prayer-a-priority-in-your-life-and-the-life-of-your/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [I love everything. I love being the empathetic characters. I love being the villains. I think it's like when we're kids, we like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/i-love-everything-i-love-being-the-empathetic-characters-i-love-being/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [It was about finding creative, original musicians. Musicians who are strong composers. Flexible, empathetic musicians, who are great individually but who also have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-redman/it-was-about-finding-creative-original-musicians-musicians-who-are/) [Joshua Redman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-redman/) > [You need to be empathetic in your own personal life and we help our neighbors and our friends out who are struggling in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/you-need-to-be-empathetic-in-your-own-personal-life-and-we-help-our/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“...through our art to battle against fear, self-centeredness and exclusivity of our predominately narcissistic culture, and through our craft to cultivate a more empathetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/through-our-art-to-battle-against-fear-self-centeredness-and/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [In your formative years what you see really shapes so much of who you're going to become and so many of the things I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariana-debose/in-your-formative-years-what-you-see-really-shapes-so-much-of-who-you/) [Ariana DeBose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariana-debose/) [Browse all 189 Empathetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empathetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think fiction is all about the exercise of the empathetic imagination. 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