--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you think about it, fiction is nothing…" description: "\"If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.\" — John Dufresne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png" --- # If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip… ![“If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.” quote by John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png) > “If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.” [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction mirrors real gossip, using imagined characters to explore human behavior and social dynamics. **In simple terms:** Stories are gossip about invented people. Key Takeaway Write to reflect reality. Themes creativity storytelling observation Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - media criticism Key Concepts narrative theory social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What truths do you reveal through made‑up characters? - How does gossip shape perception? A Different Perspective Fiction can oversimplify complex lives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Gossip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip/) [Gossip People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gossip-people/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [All animals communicate. What's special about gossip is that it's not about the here and now. You don't gossip about lions. You don't gossip…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/all-animals-communicate-what-s-special-about-gossip-is-that-it-s-not/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [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 don't know whats more pathetic, people who gossip or people who listen to gossip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-vanderwaal/i-don-t-know-whats-more-pathetic-people-who-gossip-or-people-who/) Mona Vanderwaal > [“I mean, all this stuff you're involved in, it's all gossip. It's people talking about each other behind their backs. That's the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/i-mean-all-this-stuff-you-re-involved-in-it-s-all-gossip-it-s-people/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [We have to train our kids better and really enforce in them that no matter what mainstream media and pop culture and all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barrett-wilbert-weed/we-have-to-train-our-kids-better-and-really-enforce-in-them-that-no/) [Barrett Wilbert Weed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barrett-wilbert-weed/) > [My mom cautioned me not to become a gossip! I was always up in people's business. People told me stuff... even when I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harris-faulkner/my-mom-cautioned-me-not-to-become-a-gossip-i-was-always-up-in-people/) [Harris Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harris-faulkner/) > [We all know what it feels like to be an outcast or a loner or to fall between the cracks. To be the target…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krysten-ritter/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-be-an-outcast-or-a-loner-or-to-fall/) [Krysten Ritter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krysten-ritter/) > [People like to gossip about people who are successful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carole-radziwill/people-like-to-gossip-about-people-who-are-successful/) [Carole Radziwill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carole-radziwill/) > [People gossip. People are insecure, so they talk about other people so that they won't be talked about. They point out flaws in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/people-gossip-people-are-insecure-so-they-talk-about-other-people-so-2/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [Don't indulge in gossip. ... People who throw mudballs always manage to end up getting a little on themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-landers/don-t-indulge-in-gossip-people-who-throw-mudballs-always-manage-to/) [Ann Landers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-landers/) > [People gossip. People are insecure, so they talk about other people so that they won't be talked about. They point out flaws in other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-lively/people-gossip-people-are-insecure-so-they-talk-about-other-people-so/) [Blake Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-lively/) > [I won't live in L.A. again, hell no, my friends tell me s\*\*t when they come over I don't want to hear. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsay-lohan/i-won-t-live-in-l-a-again-hell-no-my-friends-tell-me-s-t-when-they/) [Lindsay Lohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsay-lohan/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) ## More by John Dufresne > [You lose a wallet or keys or something and you notice in a second, but your life can go missing and you don't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-lose-a-wallet-or-keys-or-something-and-you-notice-in-a-second-but/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“At 9:15 on Thursday morning, June 4, while Jordan Delreese was bludgeoning his two young children to death, I was sitting in Dr. Hamburger's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/at-9-15-on-thursday-morning-june-4-while-jordan-delreese-was/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [We all sleep with the corpses of our dead lovers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/we-all-sleep-with-the-corpses-of-our-dead-lovers/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I learned to love stories by listening to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-learned-to-love-stories-by-listening-to-them/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [You will feel discouraged; you will lose confidence in your abilities; you will be bored with the characters–and the only way to overcome these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/you-will-feel-discouraged-you-will-lose-confidence-in-your-abilities/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [There were the fairy tales my father told to me at bedtime. All the standards. I thought my father invented wolves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/there-were-the-fairy-tales-my-father-told-to-me-at-bedtime-all-the/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I revise like crazy. I start revising before the pen hits the paper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-revise-like-crazy-i-start-revising-before-the-pen-hits-the-paper/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I loved her for what I couldn't understand about her. Love searches for the mystery in the beloved, seeks the unknowable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-loved-her-for-what-i-couldn-t-understand-about-her-love-searches/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [“I told her how I thought you could always revise your life, how you could work and work on it, finesse the details, see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-told-her-how-i-thought-you-could-always-revise-your-life-how-you/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [A lack of narrative structure, as you know, will cause anxiety.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/a-lack-of-narrative-structure-as-you-know-will-cause-anxiety/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [I write with a fountain pen. And then revise word by word and line by line so that the first draft of a scene…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/i-write-with-a-fountain-pen-and-then-revise-word-by-word-and-line-by/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [With each draft, the work gets better, and usually that means tighter. It means getting the precise word, not the approximate word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/with-each-draft-the-work-gets-better-and-usually-that-means-tighter/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [Novels are written, not wished into existence. You have to sit your ass in the chair or nothing gets done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/novels-are-written-not-wished-into-existence-you-have-to-sit-your-ass/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [In revision, your imagination becomes deeply engaged with your material. It's when you come to know your characters and begin to perceive their motivations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/in-revision-your-imagination-becomes-deeply-engaged-with-your/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) > [Writing a story, you understand, is not done by consensus. But we do learn from each other, and we remind ourselves how important this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/writing-a-story-you-understand-is-not-done-by-consensus-but-we-do/) [John Dufresne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) [Explore all 57 John Dufresne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/) [Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/) [Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Dufresne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a67/john-dufresne-11991_fiction_if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing_437628.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you think about it, fiction is nothing more than gossip about the people you've made up.” — John Dufresne", "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 Dufresne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dufresne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you think about it, fiction...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dufresne/if-you-think-about-it-fiction-is-nothing-more-than-gossip-about-the/#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 } } ] } ```