--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Among its many other obligations, fiction…" description: "\"Among its many other obligations, fiction always has to be believable. Life does not have to suffer such constraint, and much of what takes place is be..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/john-mcgahern-11742_believable_among-its-many-other-obligations-fiction_1817937.jpg" --- # Among its many other obligations, fiction always has to be… ![“Among its many other obligations, fiction always has to be believable. Life does not have to suffer such constraint, and much of what takes place is believable only because it happens.” quote by John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/john-mcgahern-11742_believable_among-its-many-other-obligations-fiction_1817937.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/john-mcgahern-11742_believable_among-its-many-other-obligations-fiction_1817937.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b63/john-mcgahern-11742_believable_among-its-many-other-obligations-fiction_1817937.jpg) > “Among its many other obligations, fiction always has to be believable. Life does not have to suffer such constraint, and much of what takes place is believable only because it happens.” [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction must maintain plausibility, whereas life can be less constrained and still be compelling. **In simple terms:** Stories need believability; life can be less so. Key Takeaway Balance realism with imagination. Themes storytelling believability creativity Mood analytical inquisitive Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing - film - teaching Key Concepts narrative structure realism fantasy Questions to Reflect On - How do you make real events feel believable? - When does realism hinder storytelling? A Different Perspective Life’s chaos may resist narrative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Believable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believable/) [Believable Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believable-happens-2169453/) [Believable Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believable-life-2169452/) [Constraints](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constraints/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Believable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-believable-2169451/) [Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happens/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Obligation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligation/) [Obligations Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obligations-fiction-2169454/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Ironically, in today's marketplace successful nonfiction has to be unbelievable, while successful fiction must be believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/ironically-in-today-s-marketplace-successful-nonfiction-has-to-be/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [When I originally came from 'Cheetah Girls,' I was making music that was real to me but not believable. I think there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-bailon/when-i-originally-came-from-cheetah-girls-i-was-making-music-that-was/) [Adrienne Bailon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-bailon/) > [I'm straight, but the character was too important to me to muddle his world with my private life. As a nobody, I got away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/i-m-straight-but-the-character-was-too-important-to-me-to-muddle-his/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/what-is-most-important-to-me-is-that-my-narrator-s-voice-is/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [I don't understand that, because I think that what people like most about the show is that they recognize themselves in the characters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/i-don-t-understand-that-because-i-think-that-what-people-like-most/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [Why am I an atheist? 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Because the airship is coming in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/making-the-unbelievable-believable-is-different-on-a-set-with/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) ## More by John McGahern > [“They'd listen silenty, with grave faces: but once they'd turn to each other they'd smile cruelly. He couldn't have it both ways. He'd put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/they-d-listen-silenty-with-grave-faces-but-once-they-d-turn-to-each/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…But all life turns away from its own eventual hopelessness, leaving insomnia and its night to lovers and the dying.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/but-all-life-turns-away-from-its-own-eventual-hopelessness-leaving/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Yes, but also one of the problems for a novelist in Ireland is the fact that there are no formal manners. 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It was to see if I could bring that private world to life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/when-i-start-to-write-words-have-become-physical-presence-it-was-to/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [Without the book business it would be difficult or impossible for true books to find their true readers and without that solitary (and potentially…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/without-the-book-business-it-would-be-difficult-or-impossible-for/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [I suppose . . . in writing you can't have regrets. I mean, you just get it down the way it was . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/i-suppose-in-writing-you-can-t-have-regrets-i-mean-you-just-get-it/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) > [“…only then did I wake out of the book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcgahern/only-then-did-i-wake-out-of-the-book/) [John McGahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) [Explore all 58 John McGahern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcgahern/) ## More Believable quotes > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Making the unbelievable believable is different on a set with 'Fantastic Four,' where it's like, 'Wind machines! Because the airship is coming in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/making-the-unbelievable-believable-is-different-on-a-set-with/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > ['The Avengers' made it more believable that I could have been a major in the U.S. Army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/the-avengers-made-it-more-believable-that-i-could-have-been-a-major/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [In creating the strange milieu in which your story takes place, you must first understand as well as you possibly can the familiar milieu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-creating-the-strange-milieu-in-which-your-story-takes-place-you/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Good fiction makes the truth believable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarrant-smith/good-fiction-makes-the-truth-believable/) [Tarrant Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarrant-smith/) > [As an actor, I like my films to be believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/as-an-actor-i-like-my-films-to-be-believable/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [Mostly it's lies, writing novels. 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I simply don't find them believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-smoker/why-am-i-an-atheist-the-short-answer-is-that-i-cannot-accept-any-of/) [Barbara Smoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-smoker/) > [I don't understand that, because I think that what people like most about the show is that they recognize themselves in the characters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/i-don-t-understand-that-because-i-think-that-what-people-like-most/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/what-is-most-important-to-me-is-that-my-narrator-s-voice-is/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [I'm straight, but the character was too important to me to muddle his world with my private life. As a nobody, I got away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/i-m-straight-but-the-character-was-too-important-to-me-to-muddle-his/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [When I originally came from 'Cheetah Girls,' I was making music that was real to me but not believable. I think there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-bailon/when-i-originally-came-from-cheetah-girls-i-was-making-music-that-was/) [Adrienne Bailon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-bailon/) > [You have to create characters - certainly in series TV - who people engage with. They don't have to be nice; you don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hirst/you-have-to-create-characters-certainly-in-series-tv-who-people/) [Michael Hirst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hirst/) [Browse all 230 Believable quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believable/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Among its many other obligations, fiction always has to be believable. 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