--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The writer must face the fact that…" description: "\"The writer must face the fact that ordinary lives are what most people live most of the time, and that the novel as a narration of the fantastic and th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d35/john-updike-396_adventurous_the-writer-must-face-the-fact-that-ordin_2819532.jpg" --- # The writer must face the fact that ordinary lives are what… ![“The writer must face the fact that ordinary lives are what most people live most of the time, and that the novel as a narration of the fantastic and the adventurous is really an escapist plot; that aesthetically, the ordinary, the banal, is what you must deal with.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d35/john-updike-396_adventurous_the-writer-must-face-the-fact-that-ordin_2819532.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d35/john-updike-396_adventurous_the-writer-must-face-the-fact-that-ordin_2819532.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d35/john-updike-396_adventurous_the-writer-must-face-the-fact-that-ordin_2819532.jpg) > “The writer must face the fact that ordinary lives are what most people live most of the time, and that the novel as a narration of the fantastic and the adventurous is really an escapist plot; that aesthetically, the ordinary, the banal, is what you must deal with.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Novels should reflect everyday life rather than escapist fantasy, focusing on the mundane as artistic material. **In simple terms:** Focus on ordinary life in fiction. Key Takeaway Write about everyday experiences. Themes realism ordinary life fiction artistic integrity Mood thoughtful serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - literary criticism - teaching writing Key Concepts mundane aesthetics social commentary authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How to make the ordinary compelling? - What value does realism bring? A Different Perspective Readers may seek escapism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Adventurous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/adventurous/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Escapist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/escapist/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“This is what Crazy Horse's life tells us - our ordinary lives matter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trish-hermanson/this-is-what-crazy-horse-s-life-tells-us-our-ordinary-lives-matter/) Trish Hermanson > [There are no ordinary lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-no-ordinary-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“As he drove away, I began to think that what kept us together was perhaps not even our romance with an imaginary France. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-aciman/as-he-drove-away-i-began-to-think-that-what-kept-us-together-was/) [André Aciman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-aciman/) > [I'll stick to finding the funny in the ordinary because my life is pretty ordinary and so are the lives of my friends -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/i-ll-stick-to-finding-the-funny-in-the-ordinary-because-my-life-is/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [“What simple and ordinary lives we live, underneath the shadows of projection screen artists”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/volatalistic-phil/what-simple-and-ordinary-lives-we-live-underneath-the-shadows-of/) [Volatalistic Phil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/volatalistic-phil/) > [We live very ordinary lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mortimer/we-live-very-ordinary-lives/) [Bob Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mortimer/) > [“None of us are ordinary – we just settle into ordinary lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-hardy/none-of-us-are-ordinary-we-just-settle-into-ordinary-lives/) [Dianna Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-hardy/) > [“The plainest of ordinary lives conceals the possibility of something fabulous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boccaccio/the-plainest-of-ordinary-lives-conceals-the-possibility-of-something/) Boccaccio > [People often think that people like me don't have ordinary lives. I have the greatest pleasure, and in fact, the greatest success in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-shipley/people-often-think-that-people-like-me-don-t-have-ordinary-lives-i/) [Jenny Shipley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-shipley/) > [If I have a rare Saturday night when I can go out to see a movie, I look at the paper and I go,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-mostow/if-i-have-a-rare-saturday-night-when-i-can-go-out-to-see-a-movie-i/) [Jonathan Mostow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-mostow/) > [I know that keeping aloof is not a wise thing but since I have nothing to prove, please don't depict me as an escapist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suresh-gopi/i-know-that-keeping-aloof-is-not-a-wise-thing-but-since-i-have/) [Suresh Gopi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suresh-gopi/) > [I like big escapist films. It's odd because the type of comedian I am and the things I do when I'm writing and directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/i-like-big-escapist-films-it-s-odd-because-the-type-of-comedian-i-am/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [ “\[We let\] the universality of fantasy, of once upon a time, allow escapist fiction to be more than just that - to also bring… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/we-let-the-universality-of-fantasy-of-once-upon-a-time-allow-escapist/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [I've always been an escapist, I guess, and I spend so much time on the internet absorbing ideas and processing the horrors of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindy-west/i-ve-always-been-an-escapist-i-guess-and-i-spend-so-much-time-on-the/) [Lindy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindy-west/) > [We immerse ourselves in escapist mass entertainment, such as 'reality T.V.' programs. We support fanatical politicians and preachers. Our politicians, in turn, support dictators…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-myers/we-immerse-ourselves-in-escapist-mass-entertainment-such-as-reality-t/) [Brendan Myers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-myers/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. Only when the mind moves unwatched and becomes absorbed in images that tug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-mind-cannot-fall-asleep-as-long-as-it-watches-itself-only-when/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“it was somehow wonderful of her to be, in every detail, herself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/it-was-somehow-wonderful-of-her-to-be-in-every-detail-herself/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [In fiction, imaginary people become realer to us than any named celebrity glimpsed in a series of rumored events, whose causes and subtler ramifications…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/in-fiction-imaginary-people-become-realer-to-us-than-any-named/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Her hair had been going gray as long as he could remember; she bundled it behind in a bun held with hairpins that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/her-hair-had-been-going-gray-as-long-as-he-could-remember-she-bundled/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Possession diminishes perception of value, immediately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/possession-diminishes-perception-of-value-immediately/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I can't bear to finish things, beyond a certain point they get heavy. There's something so dead about a finished painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-can-t-bear-to-finish-things-beyond-a-certain-point-they-get-heavy/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“Some people find fall depressing, others hate spring. I've always been a spring person myself. All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Adventurous quotes > [I am not an adventurous person but I am gutsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-vaidya/i-am-not-an-adventurous-person-but-i-am-gutsy/) [Rahul Vaidya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-vaidya/) > [“Life is adventurous and exciting because you never know where you will be in a few minutes or so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debasish-mridha/life-is-adventurous-and-exciting-because-you-never-know-where-you/) [Debasish Mridha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debasish-mridha/) > [ I wanted to play in New York when I was in my prime and I was young, fierce, lock-down \[defender\]. Madison Square Garden, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-wanted-to-play-in-new-york-when-i-was-in-my-prime-and-i-was-young/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [“To an adventurous spirit any place is an unexplored land”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-montgomery-fate/to-an-adventurous-spirit-any-place-is-an-unexplored-land/) Tom Montgomery Fate > [The chef has kids complaining to their parents the food they get in school is better than what they get at home. He's turned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-nestle/the-chef-has-kids-complaining-to-their-parents-the-food-they-get-in/) [Marion Nestle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-nestle/) > [We have a family holiday once a year, usually abroad, but that's it. I feel I should have holidays for my family's sake, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-webb/we-have-a-family-holiday-once-a-year-usually-abroad-but-that-s-it-i/) [Robert Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-webb/) > [“A silenced leader's gaze stifles the oppressor”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-i-svikiro/a-silenced-leader-s-gaze-stifles-the-oppressor/) Andy I. Svikiro > [Archaeology, I found, comprehended all manner of excitement and achievement. Adventure is coupled with bookish toil. Romantic excursions go hand in hand with scholarly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/archaeology-i-found-comprehended-all-manner-of-excitement-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Create your environment from your best innate tenacity. Always embrace the abundance of an inspirational mentality. Eliminate distractions, clutter, and work from a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-s-spence-sr/create-your-environment-from-your-best-innate-tenacity-always-embrace/) [Joseph S. Spence Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-s-spence-sr/) > [I've noticed that the more adventurous and in that mode that I am, it seems that the more the audience really likes it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chick-corea/i-ve-noticed-that-the-more-adventurous-and-in-that-mode-that-i-am-it/) [Chick Corea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chick-corea/) > [Don't you think now is the time to be adventurous, while we're still young?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/don-t-you-think-now-is-the-time-to-be-adventurous-while-we-re-still/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mccandless/so-many-people-live-within-unhappy-circumstances-and-yet-will-not-3/) [Christopher McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mccandless/) > [The adventurous state of mind is a high house... The joy of adventure is unaccountable. This is the attractiveness of artwork. 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