--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In general-like not just in fiction but…" description: "\"In general-like not just in fiction but in life-it doesn't work out well when someone imagines someone else as a manic pixie dream girl or an Edward Cu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/john-green-12_always-running_in-general-like-not-just-in-fiction-but_2160292.jpg" --- # In general-like not just in fiction but in life-it doesn't… ![“In general-like not just in fiction but in life-it doesn't work out well when someone imagines someone else as a manic pixie dream girl or an Edward Cullen or anything other than a full, complex human being. That said, while I've tried to reflect that in my books, I don't think I've always…” quote by John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/john-green-12_always-running_in-general-like-not-just-in-fiction-but_2160292.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/john-green-12_always-running_in-general-like-not-just-in-fiction-but_2160292.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/443/john-green-12_always-running_in-general-like-not-just-in-fiction-but_2160292.jpg) > “In general-like not just in fiction but in life-it doesn't work out well when someone imagines someone else as a manic pixie dream girl or an Edward Cullen or anything other than a full, complex human being. That said, while I've tried to reflect that in my books, I don't think I've always succeeded, because I am always running up against my own insufficiencies and biases etc.” [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining people as simplistic archetypes ignores their full humanity, leading to shallow relationships and narratives. **In simple terms:** People are complex, not just idealized characters. Key Takeaway Treat others as whole individuals. Themes relationships character development bias humanity Mood reflective cautious Type analytical insightful When to use this quote - writing - dating - friendship - teamwork Key Concepts psychology stereotyping empathy Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure depth in your portrayals? - What biases influence your expectations of others? A Different Perspective Idealizing can cause disappointment and misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always-running/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Complexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complexes/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dream girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream-girl/) [Etc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/etc/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-life-433480/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagines-256753/) [Imagines Manic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagines-manic-4581598/) [Insufficiency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insufficiency/) [Manic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic/) [Manic Pixie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manic-pixie-4581599/) [My own](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-own/) [Pixies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pixies/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [“The smart and funny write Nathan Rabin coined the term Manic Pixie Dream Girl to describe a version of this archetype after seeing Kristen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/the-smart-and-funny-write-nathan-rabin-coined-the-term-manic-pixie/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [“I can’t be your manic pixie dream girl. I can’t be the girl who teaches you how to open your heart and embrace life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/i-can-t-be-your-manic-pixie-dream-girl-i-can-t-be-the-girl-who/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [“For every manic pixie dream girl who helps a twenty-something white guy find his way off Zoloft, I write two women who fix their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-trout/for-every-manic-pixie-dream-girl-who-helps-a-twenty-something-white/) [Jenny Trout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-trout/) > [Snow is like a manic pixie dream girl: fun and whimsical when you encounter it only through the barrier of a movie screen -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-petri/snow-is-like-a-manic-pixie-dream-girl-fun-and-whimsical-when-you/) [Alexandra Petri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-petri/) > [If I've got one thing that I really believe about fiction and life, it's that there are no minor characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-gardam/if-i-ve-got-one-thing-that-i-really-believe-about-fiction-and-life-it/) [Jane Gardam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-gardam/) > [It's fun to tease people about where fiction and life intersect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/it-s-fun-to-tease-people-about-where-fiction-and-life-intersect/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Everything is fiction. You only have your own life to work with in the way that a biographer only has the letters and journals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/everything-is-fiction-you-only-have-your-own-life-to-work-with-in-the/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It's never too late-in fiction or in life-to revise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-thayer/it-s-never-too-late-in-fiction-or-in-life-to-revise/) [Nancy Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-thayer/) > [“Truth is not a saga of alarming episodes; it is a detail, usually a small one, that gives a fiction life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/truth-is-not-a-saga-of-alarming-episodes-it-is-a-detail-usually-a/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Imbuing fiction with a life that extends beyond the last word is in some ways the goal: the ending that goes beyond the ending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/imbuing-fiction-with-a-life-that-extends-beyond-the-last-word-is-in/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“Fiction is life by design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kittredge/fiction-is-life-by-design/) [Mary Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kittredge/) > [There's more fiction in my life than in books, so I don't bother with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-harris/there-s-more-fiction-in-my-life-than-in-books-so-i-don-t-bother-with/) [Richard Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-harris/) > [One of the things that writing has taught me is that fiction has a life of its own. Fictional places are sometimes more real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/one-of-the-things-that-writing-has-taught-me-is-that-fiction-has-a/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [without fiction, either life would be insufficient or the winds from the north would blow too cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-bowen/without-fiction-either-life-would-be-insufficient-or-the-winds-from/) [Elizabeth Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-bowen/) > [I've always loved to write, and I wrote fiction all my life. That's what I thought I was going to do in my life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-shears/i-ve-always-loved-to-write-and-i-wrote-fiction-all-my-life-that-s/) [Jake Shears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-shears/) ## More by John Green > [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“I just want to stay away from people and read books and think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-just-want-to-stay-away-from-people-and-read-books-and-think/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [She smiled with all the delight of a kid on Christmas morning and said, "Y'all smoke to enjoy it. I smoke to die." -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/she-smiled-with-all-the-delight-of-a-kid-on-christmas-morning-and/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [A Margo for each of us--and each more mirror than window.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/a-margo-for-each-of-us-and-each-more-mirror-than-window/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/no-one-ever-says-good-bye-unless-they-want-to-see-you-again/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Neither novels or their readers benefit from any attempts to divine whether any facts hide inside a story. Such efforts attack the very idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/neither-novels-or-their-readers-benefit-from-any-attempts-to-divine/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/traffic-s-not-too-bad-on-sheridan-and-i-m-cornering-the-car-like-it-s/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“Praise God for good nurses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/praise-god-for-good-nurses/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [So I was ugly. I was never fat, really, and I never wore headgear or had zits or anything. But I was ugly. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/so-i-was-ugly-i-was-never-fat-really-and-i-never-wore-headgear-or-had/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Nothing has ever looked like that ever in all of human history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/nothing-has-ever-looked-like-that-ever-in-all-of-human-history/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“said to him quietly, as if I couldn’t hear or something. Dad was about to respond but I interrupted.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/said-to-him-quietly-as-if-i-couldn-t-hear-or-something-dad-was-about/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I believe humans have souls, and I believe in the conservation of souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-believe-humans-have-souls-and-i-believe-in-the-conservation-of-souls/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [“He was hot. A nonhotboy stares at you relentlessly and it is, at best, awkward and, at worst, a form of assault. But a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/he-was-hot-a-nonhotboy-stares-at-you-relentlessly-and-it-is-at-best/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I think if you keep the box closed long enough you do kill the cat, actually.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-think-if-you-keep-the-box-closed-long-enough-you-do-kill-the-cat/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. (...) You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you'll escape it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/imagining-the-future-is-a-kind-of-nostalgia-you-spend-your-whole-life/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) [Explore all 3,614 John Green quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) ## More Always running quotes > [The individual who has been liberated by reason is always running head-on into a world, a society, whose past in the shape of 'prejudices'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/the-individual-who-has-been-liberated-by-reason-is-always-running/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Human beings are afraid of dying. They are always running after something: money, honor, and pleasure. But if you had to die now, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taisen-deshimaru/human-beings-are-afraid-of-dying-they-are-always-running-after/) [Taisen Deshimaru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taisen-deshimaru/) > [Margaret Meade is always running around saying that marijuana's just like bread and water! Well, bread and water are poison, and marijuana's a poison.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purdy/margaret-meade-is-always-running-around-saying-that-marijuana-s-just/) [James Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purdy/) > [Nobody even mentioned the word losing, losing games. We know we've been a losing franchise. He just wanted to say something back like he's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-crawford/nobody-even-mentioned-the-word-losing-losing-games-we-know-we-ve-been/) [Carl Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-crawford/) > [I was always restless, always a roving spirit. When I was a little child I was always running away. I never got very far,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-anne-porter/i-was-always-restless-always-a-roving-spirit-when-i-was-a-little/) [Katherine Anne Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-anne-porter/) > [Failure is what we're all running from, we're always running toward success with failure at our back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/failure-is-what-we-re-all-running-from-we-re-always-running-toward/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [You're always running into people's unconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/you-re-always-running-into-people-s-unconscious/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [I take my dog, Fideo, out for a hike in Runyon Canyon three times a week. It's about 45 minutes round-trip with a variation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-ortiz/i-take-my-dog-fideo-out-for-a-hike-in-runyon-canyon-three-times-a/) [Ana Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-ortiz/) > [The Secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free. Be grateful for everything you have, stay away from people who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fauja-singh/the-secret-to-a-long-and-healthy-life-is-to-be-stress-free-be/) [Fauja Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fauja-singh/) > [I am like the lover of Roland Barthes "who's always running in his head". I'm always searching, and "eating" everything from my life, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-rykiel/i-am-like-the-lover-of-roland-barthes-who-s-always-running-in-his/) [Sonia Rykiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-rykiel/) > [For me, as for so many runners, there really are no finish lines. Runs end; running doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-karnazes/for-me-as-for-so-many-runners-there-really-are-no-finish-lines-runs/) [Dean Karnazes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-karnazes/) > [Make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-s-patton/make-the-mind-run-the-body-never-let-the-body-tell-the-mind-what-to/) [George S. Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-s-patton/) > [If you think that peace and happiness are somewhere else and you run after them, you will never arrive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/if-you-think-that-peace-and-happiness-are-somewhere-else-and-you-run/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) > [A strong theme is always running through a well-told story,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-stanton/a-strong-theme-is-always-running-through-a-well-told-story/) [Andrew Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-stanton/) > [We are always running, and it has become a habit. We struggle all the time, even during our sleep. We are at war with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nhat-hanh/we-are-always-running-and-it-has-become-a-habit-we-struggle-all-the/) [Nhat Hanh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nhat-hanh/) [Browse all 30 Always running quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always-running/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In general-like not just in fiction but in life-it doesn't work out well when someone imagines someone else as a manic pixie dream girl or an Edward Cullen or anything other than a full, complex human being. 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