--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: According to my mother, I was a fiction…" description: "\"“According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd written any ficton, by wich she meant not only that I invented things, or made things up, bu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png" --- # According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd… ![“According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd written any ficton, by wich she meant not only that I invented things, or made things up, but that I prefered this kind of fantasising or pure imagining to what other people generally liked - she meant reality, of course.” quote by John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png) > ““According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd written any ficton, by wich she meant not only that I invented things, or made things up, but that I prefered this kind of fantasising or pure imagining to what other people generally liked - she meant reality, of course.”” [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mother recognized his imaginative talent before he wrote, emphasizing fantasy over realism. **In simple terms:** Imagination precedes written work. Key Takeaway Cultivate creative thinking early. Themes imagination writing parental insight Mood inspirational reflective Type interview literary When to use this quote - education - writing workshops - parental encouragement Key Concepts creative development literary identity Questions to Reflect On - How does early imagination shape a writer? - What balance between fantasy and reality is healthy? A Different Perspective May overlook discipline needed for craft. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writer/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I value mothers and motherhood enormously. For every inattentive or abusive mother in my fiction I think you'll find a dozen or so who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-trevor/i-value-mothers-and-motherhood-enormously-for-every-inattentive-or/) [William Trevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-trevor/) > [What is meant by reality? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable - now to be found in a dusty road,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-to-be-something-very-erratic/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“Doubt was a luxury, according to her mother, and it was always better to act, however unsure you might be.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-moore/doubt-was-a-luxury-according-to-her-mother-and-it-was-always-better/) [Lisa Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-moore/) > [No woman was good enough for me, according to my mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sven-goran-eriksson/no-woman-was-good-enough-for-me-according-to-my-mother/) [Sven-Goran Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sven-goran-eriksson/) > [“What is meant by 'reality'? It would seem something very erratic, very undependable-now to be found in a dusty road, now in a scrap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-something-very-erratic-very/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“I have a fleeting fantasy of telling her that procreation isn't a contest, any more than SAT scores and making the cheerleading squad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/i-have-a-fleeting-fantasy-of-telling-her-that-procreation-isn-t-a/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“What is meant by “reality”? It would seem to be something very erratic, very undependable—now to be found in a dusty road, now in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-is-meant-by-reality-it-would-seem-to-be-something-very-erratic-2/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I wasn’t meant for reality, but life came and found me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/i-wasn-t-meant-for-reality-but-life-came-and-found-me/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [Plus, according to my mother, memories change like people do, especially if there's enough alcohol involved-Aphrodite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/plus-according-to-my-mother-memories-change-like-people-do-especially/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“God did not intend for Irish kids to play in the sun, according to my mother.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/god-did-not-intend-for-irish-kids-to-play-in-the-sun-according-to-my/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Some dreams are just never meant to become reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/some-dreams-are-just-never-meant-to-become-reality/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“That was when Angel Wells became a fiction writer, whether he knew it or not. That's when he learned how to make the make-believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/that-was-when-angel-wells-became-a-fiction-writer-whether-he-knew-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I don't think I've had a very interesting life, and I feel that is a great liberation. That gives me great freedom as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-don-t-think-i-ve-had-a-very-interesting-life-and-i-feel-that-is-a/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Bill is a fiction writer, but he writes in the first-person voice in a style that is tell-all confessional; in fact, his fiction sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/bill-is-a-fiction-writer-but-he-writes-in-the-first-person-voice-in-a/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Imagining something is better than remembering something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/imagining-something-is-better-than-remembering-something/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More by John Irving > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our memory is a monster; you forget it - it does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/our-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-it-does-not/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Watch out for people who call themselves religious; make sure you know what they mean––make sure they know what they mean!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/watch-out-for-people-who-call-themselves-religious-make-sure-you-know/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The desire to never leave your side, the desire to never see you again. The desire to see your face asleep on the pillow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/the-desire-to-never-leave-your-side-the-desire-to-never-see-you-again/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [I had been a student in Vienna, and one of the neat little things I had found out was about that zoo. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-had-been-a-student-in-vienna-and-one-of-the-neat-little-things-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“God, I think I just hit a high E-flat - and I really held it!" Esmeralda said, after one of her more prolonged orgasms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/god-i-think-i-just-hit-a-high-e-flat-and-i-really-held-it-esmeralda/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Nostalgia!" Miss Frost cried. "You´re nostalgic!" She repeated. "Just how old are you, William?" She asked. "Seventeen, " I told her. "Seventeen!" Miss Frost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/nostalgia-miss-frost-cried-you-re-nostalgic-she-repeated-just-how-old/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [ “JUST BECAUSE A BUNCH OF ATHEISTS ARE BETTER WRITERS THAN THE GUYS WHO WROTE THE BIBLE DOESN'T NECESSARILY MAKE THEM RIGHT!" \[Owen Meany\] said… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/just-because-a-bunch-of-atheists-are-better-writers-than-the-guys-who/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is much easier to be flexible about where a story begins than it ever was for me to change my mind about where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-is-much-easier-to-be-flexible-about-where-a-story-begins-than-it/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Only the chicken-lover will understand me. He will give me a kindly look, maybe mildly desirous. His eyes will tell me: You might look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/only-the-chicken-lover-will-understand-me-he-will-give-me-a-kindly/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You're nice,' Cushie told him, squeezing his hand. 'And you're my oldest friend.' But they both must have known that you can know someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-re-nice-cushie-told-him-squeezing-his-hand-and-you-re-my-oldest/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Because of A Prayer for Owen Meany, many of my readers assume I am “religious.” I go to church only occasionally—like a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/because-of-a-prayer-for-owen-meany-many-of-my-readers-assume-i-am/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“Did anyone who was in love and was unsatisfied with how he was loved in return ever feel saved?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/did-anyone-who-was-in-love-and-was-unsatisfied-with-how-he-was-loved/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“I TRUST THAT GOD WILL HELP ME, BECAUSE WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO LOOKS VERY HARD.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-trust-that-god-will-help-me-because-what-i-m-supposed-to-do-looks/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) [Explore all 641 John Irving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) ## More Fiction writer quotes > [My only obligation as a fiction writer is to the story, to make it good, so good the busy reader doesn't feel that flipping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-pietrzyk/my-only-obligation-as-a-fiction-writer-is-to-the-story-to-make-it/) [Leslie Pietrzyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-pietrzyk/) > [“For the fiction writer himself the whole story is the meaning, because it is an experience, not an abstraction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/for-the-fiction-writer-himself-the-whole-story-is-the-meaning-because/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [By his very profession, a serious fiction writer is a vendor of the sensuous particulars of life, a perceiver and handler of things. His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stegner/by-his-very-profession-a-serious-fiction-writer-is-a-vendor-of-the/) [Wallace Stegner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stegner/) > [By the time I wrote my memoir, 'Men We Reaped,' I had been running from writing it for a long time. When the events…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/by-the-time-i-wrote-my-memoir-men-we-reaped-i-had-been-running-from/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [“I'm a fiction writer not by choice, but by necessity. It's the only way I can say what I want without having to admit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-tate/i-m-a-fiction-writer-not-by-choice-but-by-necessity-it-s-the-only-way/) [Jack Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-tate/) > [And then I met Jerry and he's such a creative fiction writer, and I don't know if there's ever been a team put together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/and-then-i-met-jerry-and-he-s-such-a-creative-fiction-writer-and-i/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [An intelligent person can rationalize anything, a wise person doesn't try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-knox/an-intelligent-person-can-rationalize-anything-a-wise-person-doesn-t/) Jen Knox > [The beginning of human knowledge is through the senses, and the fiction writer begins where the human perception begins. He appeals through the senses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/the-beginning-of-human-knowledge-is-through-the-senses-and-the/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [“Bill is a fiction writer, but he writes in the first-person voice in a style that is tell-all confessional; in fact, his fiction sounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/bill-is-a-fiction-writer-but-he-writes-in-the-first-person-voice-in-a/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [The fiction writer in me likes gaps in stories because I can jump into that gap and try to suggest something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-james/the-fiction-writer-in-me-likes-gaps-in-stories-because-i-can-jump/) [Marlon James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-james/) > [The fiction writer has a lot of balls to juggle. Setting, pacing, dialogue, and so on. And let's not forget: plot. That was always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-marvin/the-fiction-writer-has-a-lot-of-balls-to-juggle-setting-pacing/) [Cate Marvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-marvin/) > [I don't think the function of writing, at least for me as a fiction writer, is to say to people, "Here's the answer." It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-don-t-think-the-function-of-writing-at-least-for-me-as-a-fiction/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I've read science fiction my whole life. I never really dreamed that I'd be a published science fiction writer myself, but a short story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/i-ve-read-science-fiction-my-whole-life-i-never-really-dreamed-that-i/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [I was listening to this interview with fiction writer George Saunders the other day, and he said something about how the role of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-was-listening-to-this-interview-with-fiction-writer-george-saunders/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [The training of a journalist, of working with words for thousands of hours, is extraordinarily useful for a fiction writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/the-training-of-a-journalist-of-working-with-words-for-thousands-of/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) [Browse all 117 Fiction writer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd written any ficton, by wich she meant not only that I invented things, or made things up, but that I prefered this kind of fantasising or pure imagining to what other people generally liked - she meant reality, of course.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Irving" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-writer-before-i-d-written-any/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction writer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-writer-before-i-d-written-any/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd7/john-irving-337_fiction-writer_according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-w_2555606.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“According to my mother, I was a fiction writer before I'd written any ficton, by wich she meant not only…” — John Irving", "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 Irving", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“According to my mother, I was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-writer-before-i-d-written-any/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/according-to-my-mother-i-was-a-fiction-writer-before-i-d-written-any/#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 } } ] } ```