--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When we really start searching for the…" description: "\"When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere confessions but in the deliberate lies and imag..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg" --- # When we really start searching for the truth in stories… ![“When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere confessions but in the deliberate lies and imagined possibilities, the magic and fantasy, and all the other unreal elements that go into the concoction of identity.” quote by Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg) > “When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere confessions but in the deliberate lies and imagined possibilities, the magic and fantasy, and all the other unreal elements that go into the concoction of identity.” [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth appears in both honest confession and crafted fiction; all narrative elements shape identity. **In simple terms:** Truth exists in honesty and imagination. Key Takeaway Seek truth in all story layers. Themes truth storytelling identity Mood inquisitive analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - reading - writing - media analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts narrative perception construction Questions to Reflect On - What narratives shape your sense of self? - How do you discern truth in mixed media? A Different Perspective Stories can distort truth intentionally. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Confessions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confessions/) [Deliberate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deliberate/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibilities/) [Sincere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sincere/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“money-making possibilities of MAGIC, he was instantly”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/money-making-possibilities-of-magic-he-was-instantly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ The process \[of mass-media deception\] has to be conscious, or it would not be carried out with sufficient precision, but it also has to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-process-of-mass-media-deception-has-to-be-conscious-or-it-would/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/to-tell-deliberate-lies-while-genuinely-believing-in-them-to-forget/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [All autobiographies are lies. I do not mean unconscious, unintentional lies: I mean deliberate lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/all-autobiographies-are-lies-i-do-not-mean-unconscious-unintentional/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You don't tell deliberate lies, but sometimes you have to be evasive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/you-don-t-tell-deliberate-lies-but-sometimes-you-have-to-be-evasive/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“This is why mysteries are the best kind of stories: because you only get the truth at the very end, when you're absolutely desperate,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/this-is-why-mysteries-are-the-best-kind-of-stories-because-you-only/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [The truth about stories is, that's all we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-king/the-truth-about-stories-is-that-s-all-we-are/) [Thomas King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-king/) > [“There is truth in stories,” said Arthur. “There is truth in one of your paintings, boy or in a sunset or a couplet from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/there-is-truth-in-stories-said-arthur-there-is-truth-in-one-of-your/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Too often we tell kids pleasant stories devoid of truth, and stories without truth are not good stories. Our audience deserves more from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-barnett/too-often-we-tell-kids-pleasant-stories-devoid-of-truth-and-stories/) [Mac Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-barnett/) > [Everything we know has come from stories that have been told over and over again as truth. Those stories turn into history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-jeffers/everything-we-know-has-come-from-stories-that-have-been-told-over-and/) [Oliver Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-jeffers/) > [“Stories are masks of God. That's a story, too, of course. I made it up, in collaborations with Joseph Campbell and Scheherazade, Jesus and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-tem/stories-are-masks-of-god-that-s-a-story-too-of-course-i-made-it-up-in/) Melanie Tem > [STORY, n. A narrative, commonly untrue. The truth of the stories here following has, however, not been successfully impeached.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/story-n-a-narrative-commonly-untrue-the-truth-of-the-stories-here/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The documentaries were something that I could do for a small amount of money, and then I felt like as long as I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-duvernay/the-documentaries-were-something-that-i-could-do-for-a-small-amount/) [Ava DuVernay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-duvernay/) > [ “\[This\] story ...is the one I recount to remind myself that I survived and that the worth of my life can be paid back… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-dawn/this-story-is-the-one-i-recount-to-remind-myself-that-i-survived-and/) [Amber Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-dawn/) > [The truth is, for however much my stories come out of things that have happened to me, they're not darkly or as deeply personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-mirman/the-truth-is-for-however-much-my-stories-come-out-of-things-that-have/) [Eugene Mirman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-mirman/) ## More by Joanna Scott > [How wonderful it would be to scatter words as they rise to consciousness, to let them lie where they fall.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/how-wonderful-it-would-be-to-scatter-words-as-they-rise-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Writing that flirts with incoherence can just as readily flounder as writing characterized by simplicity and composure. There is no reliable formula for originality,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/writing-that-flirts-with-incoherence-can-just-as-readily-flounder-as/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [I don't think Donald Barthelme would have minded being called a confusing writer. Confusion was a favorite subject for him in his essays and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/i-don-t-think-donald-barthelme-would-have-minded-being-called-a/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Vladimir Nabokov on 'Bleak House' or Henry James on 'The House of the Seven Gables' prove that reading can be an exciting subject in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/vladimir-nabokov-on-bleak-house-or-henry-james-on-the-house-of-the/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [With prurient absorption and only minimal risk, we can pretend to be the subject of the lead article on the front page of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/with-prurient-absorption-and-only-minimal-risk-we-can-pretend-to-be/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The novelist in me is probably hiding behind all the stories I write, looking for ways to connect them and continue the conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-novelist-in-me-is-probably-hiding-behind-all-the-stories-i-write/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Whether art is defined as a representation of or response to reality, it demands an intense engagement with things we haven't managed to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/whether-art-is-defined-as-a-representation-of-or-response-to-reality/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The best liars lie with their eyes rather than with their words. This might put writers at a disadvantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-best-liars-lie-with-their-eyes-rather-than-with-their-words-this/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Jim Longenbach, poet, critic, and my husband, is always passing along life-changing books for me to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/jim-longenbach-poet-critic-and-my-husband-is-always-passing-along/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [In the early 1980s, I spent a year working as an assistant at the Elaine Markson Literary Agency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/in-the-early-1980s-i-spent-a-year-working-as-an-assistant-at-the/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [Reviewers try to square the antics of a writer's life with the antics in the fiction. Even satirical verbal play is too often read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/reviewers-try-to-square-the-antics-of-a-writer-s-life-with-the-antics/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [There are plenty of writers, past and present, from Shakespeare to Henry James to Lydia Davis, who test the limits of coherence and put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/there-are-plenty-of-writers-past-and-present-from-shakespeare-to/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [The past is full of examples of renegade writers who were overlooked in their time not only because their work didn't fit neatly into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/the-past-is-full-of-examples-of-renegade-writers-who-were-overlooked/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [My first two books, I was very close to my main character, stuck inside their head. And then with 'Arrogance,' I broke into many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/my-first-two-books-i-was-very-close-to-my-main-character-stuck-inside/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) > [As entertainment, fiction may offer momentary relief from the stresses of reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/as-entertainment-fiction-may-offer-momentary-relief-from-the-stresses/) [Joanna Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) [Explore all 29 Joanna Scott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/) ## More Confessions quotes > [“Some disquieting confessions must be made in printing at last the play of Peter Pan; among them this, that I have no recollection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-barrie/some-disquieting-confessions-must-be-made-in-printing-at-last-the/) [J.M. Barrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-barrie/) > [I have no interest in writing confessions, in deliberately baring myself to my readers. I prefer to remain behind a screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-begley/i-have-no-interest-in-writing-confessions-in-deliberately-baring/) [Louis Begley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-begley/) > [“When it comes to the crunch, coming out is the greatest of all confessions. Nothing is more difficult to acknowledge. When we become ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/witi-ihimaera/when-it-comes-to-the-crunch-coming-out-is-the-greatest-of-all/) [Witi Ihimaera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/witi-ihimaera/) > [“..wer am meisten genießt, betet am meisten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-b-chner/wer-am-meisten-genie-t-betet-am-meisten/) [Georg Büchner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-b-chner/) > [Always our wars have been our confessions of weakness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-rukeyser/always-our-wars-have-been-our-confessions-of-weakness/) [Muriel Rukeyser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-rukeyser/) > [I have heard thousands of confessions, but never one of covetousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-xavier/i-have-heard-thousands-of-confessions-but-never-one-of-covetousness/) [Francis Xavier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-xavier/) > [“It's not the right word, Eva," he pressed on stubbornly, his lips at my ear. "That's why I haven't said it. It's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-day/it-s-not-the-right-word-eva-he-pressed-on-stubbornly-his-lips-at-my/) [Sylvia Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-day/) > [“He’s a steamroller in my life and I like to be laid out flat. I like his hands on my chest, pushing me down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-a-lord/he-s-a-steamroller-in-my-life-and-i-like-to-be-laid-out-flat-i-like/) Laura A. Lord > [“Fantastic,” I said without an ounce of enthusiasm. “I’m just one more embarrassing confession away from taking over the world.” --Spencer Nye”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-letts/fantastic-i-said-without-an-ounce-of-enthusiasm-i-m-just-one-more/) Jason Letts > [Tulse Luper, who without too many confessions, in a sense, is a fictive version of me. I have to say he has far more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/tulse-luper-who-without-too-many-confessions-in-a-sense-is-a-fictive/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) > [You're just a recent caught up sprung confessional ex. \*DONE](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-re-just-a-recent-caught-up-sprung-confessional-ex-done/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Uncalled for excuses are practical confessions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-simmons/uncalled-for-excuses-are-practical-confessions/) [Charles Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-simmons/) > [“...and I decide to stop inwardly composing the feminist world court's prosecutorial summation to the jury.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-viera-rigler/and-i-decide-to-stop-inwardly-composing-the-feminist-world-court-s/) [Laurie Viera Rigler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-viera-rigler/) > [I love Usher's 'Confessions.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mnek/i-love-usher-s-confessions/) [MNEK](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mnek/) > [“You okay?” she asks. “I think so. You?” “Yeah.” The courthouse looks like it’s burning under the morning sun. The flame-orange shimmer of hot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-martinez/you-okay-she-asks-i-think-so-you-yeah-the-courthouse-looks-like-it-s/) [Jessica Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-martinez/) [Browse all 99 Confessions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confessions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere confessions but in the deliberate lies and imagined possibilities, the magic and fantasy, and all the other unreal elements that go into the concoction of identity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joanna Scott" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-truth-in-stories-we-can-find/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Confessions" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-truth-in-stories-we-can-find/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5e5/joanna-scott-21641_confessions_when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-t_1214613.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we really start searching for the truth in stories, we can find it everywhere, not just in sincere…” — Joanna Scott", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Joanna Scott", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-scott/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When we really start searching for...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-truth-in-stories-we-can-find/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-scott/when-we-really-start-searching-for-the-truth-in-stories-we-can-find/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```