---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There is a part of me in every character…"
description: "\"There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another novel..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg"
---

#  There is a part of me in every character, naturally…

![“There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another novel.” quote by John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg)

> “There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another novel.”

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Writers embed parts of themselves in fictional characters, making autobiographies feel like another novel.

**In simple terms:** Writers project themselves into fiction, blurring autobiography.

Key Takeaway

Recognize personal bias in storytelling.

Themes

creativity identity writing

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- autobiography
- character development

Key Concepts

self‑projection fictionalization

Questions to Reflect On

- How does personal experience shape fictional characters?
- Can a writer ever be truly objective?

A Different Perspective

Autobiographies may lack objectivity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Autobiographies Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiographies-start-2849087/) [Autobiography](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Naturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-naturally-2849089/) [Good Autobiographies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-autobiographies-2849088/) [Naturally Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-novelists-1398951/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [I really do believe some people are naturally novelists and some people are short story writers. For me, when I was in middle school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-hobson/i-really-do-believe-some-people-are-naturally-novelists-and-some/)

[M. K. Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-k-hobson/)

> [I can't stand these autobiographies that start with, you know, 'I was born in Acton, and I went to such and such a school.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viv-albertine/i-can-t-stand-these-autobiographies-that-start-with-you-know-i-was/)

[Viv Albertine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viv-albertine/)

> [The power of faith will often shine forth the most when the character is naturally weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-hare/the-power-of-faith-will-often-shine-forth-the-most-when-the-character/)

[Augustus Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-hare/)

> [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [It is a most curious experience for a man of seventy-two to be confronted with the greenhorn enthusiasms of his youth. Young people think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-is-a-most-curious-experience-for-a-man-of-seventy-two-to-be/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The only excuse for a novelist, aside from the entertainment and vicarious living his books give the people who read them, is as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-only-excuse-for-a-novelist-aside-from-the-entertainment-and/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/)

[Linda Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-simon/)

> [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/)

[Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/)

> [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/)

[Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/)

> [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/)

[Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/)

> [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/)

[Craig Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-briggs/)

> [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/)

[David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/)

> [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/)

[Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/)

> [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/)

[Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/)

## More by John Dos Passos

> [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [In a moment when criticism shows a singular dearth of direction every man has to be a law unto himself in matters of theatre,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-a-moment-when-criticism-shows-a-singular-dearth-of-direction-every/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It's rather grisly, isnt it, how soon a living man becomes nothing more than a collection of stocks and bonds and debts and real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-s-rather-grisly-isnt-it-how-soon-a-living-man-becomes-nothing-more/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The people of this country are too tolerant. There's no other country in the world where they'd allow it... After all we built up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-people-of-this-country-are-too-tolerant-there-s-no-other-country/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [I never see the dawn that I don't say to myself perhaps.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/i-never-see-the-dawn-that-i-don-t-say-to-myself-perhaps/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [When the typewriter stops in a New York office everybody's embarrassed; men start to quarrel or to make love to the stenographer or drop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/when-the-typewriter-stops-in-a-new-york-office-everybody-s/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [What's the use, there never was a woman living who could understand political ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/what-s-the-use-there-never-was-a-woman-living-who-could-understand/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The fascinating thing to a dispassionate observer about the structure of life in the Soviet Union is that in their efforts to produce an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-fascinating-thing-to-a-dispassionate-observer-about-the-structure/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [To fight oppression, and to work as best we can for a sane organization of society, we do not have to abandon the state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/to-fight-oppression-and-to-work-as-best-we-can-for-a-sane/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [A satirist is a man whose flesh creeps so at the ugly and the savage and the incongruous aspects of society that he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/a-satirist-is-a-man-whose-flesh-creeps-so-at-the-ugly-and-the-savage/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [Letters are largely written to get things out of your system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/letters-are-largely-written-to-get-things-out-of-your-system/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [The Enormous Room seems to me to be the book that has nearest approached the mood of reckless adventure in which men will reach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/the-enormous-room-seems-to-me-to-be-the-book-that-has-nearest/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [“ Luther Burbank was born in a brick farmhouse in Lancaster Mass, he walked through the woods one winter crunching through the shinycrusted snow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/luther-burbank-was-born-in-a-brick-farmhouse-in-lancaster-mass-he/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It is a most curious experience for a man of seventy-two to be confronted with the greenhorn enthusiasms of his youth. Young people think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-is-a-most-curious-experience-for-a-man-of-seventy-two-to-be/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

> [It's not the possibility of Stalinism in the U.S. that's worrying me, it's the fact that the Stalinist C.P. seems doomed to fail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/it-s-not-the-possibility-of-stalinism-in-the-u-s-that-s-worrying-me/)

[John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

[Explore all 125 John Dos Passos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/)

## More Autobiography quotes

> [I think anything that anyone writes thats any good is going to have a lot of autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-adly-guirgis/i-think-anything-that-anyone-writes-thats-any-good-is-going-to-have-a/)

[Stephen Adly Guirgis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-adly-guirgis/)

> [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/)

[Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/)

> [“Someday, I want to write an unauthorized autobiography of myself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mcmullen-sullivan/someday-i-want-to-write-an-unauthorized-autobiography-of-myself/)

[David McMullen-Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mcmullen-sullivan/)

> [“As well as writing, 2004 saw my first attempt at wine making: the elixir of life. Unfortunately, my effort tasted more like the elixir…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-briggs/as-well-as-writing-2004-saw-my-first-attempt-at-wine-making-the/)

[Craig Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-briggs/)

> [I caught a cold and didn't have time to work on my autobiography.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-doucet/i-caught-a-cold-and-didn-t-have-time-to-work-on-my-autobiography/)

[Julie Doucet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-doucet/)

> [Who ever heard, indeed, of an autobiography that was not (interesting)? I can recall none in all the literature of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/who-ever-heard-indeed-of-an-autobiography-that-was-not-interesting-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I don't really think of my essays as being about myself. I know it sounds insane, but I just don't think of them as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-don-t-really-think-of-my-essays-as-being-about-myself-i-know-it/)

[Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/)

> [The way I would live my life is: never do something in real life that I would not want to write about in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddharth-katragadda/the-way-i-would-live-my-life-is-never-do-something-in-real-life-that/)

[Siddharth Katragadda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddharth-katragadda/)

> [biography cannot be separated from autobiography: that is, the life written about is inextricably entangled with the life of the biographer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-simon/biography-cannot-be-separated-from-autobiography-that-is-the-life/)

[Linda Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-simon/)

> [I think I'm like most novelists in that my books have gotten farther and farther away from autobiography the longer I've been writing them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-i-m-like-most-novelists-in-that-my-books-have-gotten-farther/)

[Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/)

> [If you wish to understand me at all (and to write an autobiography is only to open a window into one's heart) you must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-melba/if-you-wish-to-understand-me-at-all-and-to-write-an-autobiography-is/)

[Nellie Melba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-melba/)

> [I want an autobiography without revealing any personal information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-want-an-autobiography-without-revealing-any-personal-information/)

[Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/)

> [I don't like the word 'autobiography.' I rather like the term 'autofiction.' The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/)

[Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/)

> [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/)

[Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/)

> [“I don't think anyone could write a completely honest autobiography. I am sure no one could bear to read it: My Past Was An…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-don-t-think-anyone-could-write-a-completely-honest-autobiography-i/)

[William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/)

[Browse all 642 Autobiography quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiography/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies. You start one and it becomes another novel.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Dos Passos"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Autobiography"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/362/john-dos-passos-3598_autobiography_there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character_297488.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“There is a part of me in every character, naturally. That's why novelists rarely write good autobiographies…” — John Dos Passos",
                "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": "John Dos Passos",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "There is a part of me...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/there-is-a-part-of-me-in-every-character-naturally-that-s-why/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
