--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I write a fantastic story, I'm not…" description: "\"If I write a fantastic story, I'm not writing something willful. On the contrary, I am writing something that stands for my feelings, or for my thought..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/jorge-luis-borges-275_circumstances_if-i-write-a-fantastic-story-i-m-not-wri_726397.jpg" --- # If I write a fantastic story, I'm not writing something… ![“If I write a fantastic story, I'm not writing something willful. On the contrary, I am writing something that stands for my feelings, or for my thoughts. So that, in a sense, a fantastic story is as real and perhaps more real than a mere circumstantial story. Because after all, circumstances come…” quote by Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/jorge-luis-borges-275_circumstances_if-i-write-a-fantastic-story-i-m-not-wri_726397.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/jorge-luis-borges-275_circumstances_if-i-write-a-fantastic-story-i-m-not-wri_726397.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/551/jorge-luis-borges-275_circumstances_if-i-write-a-fantastic-story-i-m-not-wri_726397.jpg) > “If I write a fantastic story, I'm not writing something willful. On the contrary, I am writing something that stands for my feelings, or for my thoughts. So that, in a sense, a fantastic story is as real and perhaps more real than a mere circumstantial story. Because after all, circumstances come and go, and symbols remain.” [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A powerful story conveys deep emotions and ideas, making it more enduring than a story tied only to fleeting circumstances. **In simple terms:** Great stories express lasting truths. Key Takeaway Craft narratives that embody universal feelings and thoughts. Themes storytelling truth symbolism fiction Mood contemplative inspirational Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - teaching literature - personal reflection - creative workshops Key Concepts literary theory psychology semiotics Questions to Reflect On - What symbols in your life feel permanent? - How do emotions shape narrative truth? A Different Perspective Stories grounded in specific events can also achieve timelessness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Comes and goes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comes-and-goes/) [Fantastic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantastic/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Story writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story-writing/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Of course all children's literature is not fantastic, so all fantastic books need not be children's books. It is still possible, even in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/of-course-all-children-s-literature-is-not-fantastic-so-all-fantastic/) [C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/) > [When you tell people you're a playwright, their eyes sort of glaze over. But when you say you write the 'Fantastic Four' or 'Spider-Man,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/when-you-tell-people-you-re-a-playwright-their-eyes-sort-of-glaze/) [Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-aguirre-sacasa/) > [“Everything you’re telling me was just a story, and now it’s real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bryson/everything-you-re-telling-me-was-just-a-story-and-now-it-s-real/) [Kathy Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bryson/) > [“What, you thought that one story was somehow more real than all the others, just because it’s the one that has the most people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/what-you-thought-that-one-story-was-somehow-more-real-than-all-the/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [“I don't want to lose you over tedious genealogy and history that must be very dim to you. This is a story of real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-behrens/i-don-t-want-to-lose-you-over-tedious-genealogy-and-history-that-must/) [Peter Behrens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-behrens/) > [There's the story, then there's the real story, then there's the story of how the story came to be told. Then there's what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-s-the-story-then-there-s-the-real-story-then-there-s-the-story/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Violet. I want Violet, and I’ll do whatever it takes to have her. Period. End of story. And that is who I am. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-leighton/violet-i-want-violet-and-i-ll-do-whatever-it-takes-to-have-her-period/) [M. Leighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-leighton/) > [How long has it been since you wrote a story where your real love or your real hatred somehow got onto the paper? When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/how-long-has-it-been-since-you-wrote-a-story-where-your-real-love-or/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“That's what's so great about the story. It's real. What I mean is, even if it didn't actually happen-and there's debate about the Legends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/that-s-what-s-so-great-about-the-story-it-s-real-what-i-mean-is-even/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [It is never, never too late, in a story or in real life, to correct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-thayer/it-is-never-never-too-late-in-a-story-or-in-real-life-to-correct/) [Nancy Thayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-thayer/) > [In a story, nothing is real until it is acted upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-kittredge/in-a-story-nothing-is-real-until-it-is-acted-upon/) [William Kittredge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-kittredge/) > [So many of my songs are based on things that either happened to me or to someone I know, but there are also ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-mendes/so-many-of-my-songs-are-based-on-things-that-either-happened-to-me-or/) [Shawn Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-mendes/) > [What's compelling about the story and what's very honest about the story is that it's very real and it's happening. There are 200,000 women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-monaghan/what-s-compelling-about-the-story-and-what-s-very-honest-about-the/) [Michelle Monaghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-monaghan/) > [“Every story is made up. Even the real ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-reid/every-story-is-made-up-even-the-real-ones/) [Iain Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iain-reid/) > ['Emily Rose' was based on a real story, and the real girl died, and there were surviving members of the family, so I took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-derrickson/emily-rose-was-based-on-a-real-story-and-the-real-girl-died-and-there/) [Scott Derrickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-derrickson/) ## More by Jorge Luis Borges > [“No hables a menos que puedas mejorar el silencio.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/no-hables-a-menos-que-puedas-mejorar-el-silencio/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The execution was set for the 29th of March, at nine in the morning. This delay was due to a desire on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-execution-was-set-for-the-29th-of-march-at-nine-in-the-morning/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Like all writers, he measured the achievements of others by what they had accomplished, asking of them that they measure him by what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/like-all-writers-he-measured-the-achievements-of-others-by-what-they/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [How can we manage to illuminate the pathos of our lives?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/how-can-we-manage-to-illuminate-the-pathos-of-our-lives/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Loneliness does not worry me; life is difficult enough, putting up with yourself and with your own habits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/loneliness-does-not-worry-me-life-is-difficult-enough-putting-up-with/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The fact is that all writers create their precursors. Their work modifies our conception of the past, just as it is bound to modify…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-fact-is-that-all-writers-create-their-precursors-their-work/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I don't think we're capable of knowledge, but I like to keep an open mind. So if you ask me whether I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-don-t-think-we-re-capable-of-knowledge-but-i-like-to-keep-an-open/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The web of time - the strands of which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect, or ignore each other through the centuries - embraces "every"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-web-of-time-the-strands-of-which-approach-one-another-bifurcate/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“My memory, sir, is like a garbage disposal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/my-memory-sir-is-like-a-garbage-disposal/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [When I write, I do it urged by an intimate necessity. I don't have in mind an exclusive public, or a public of multitudes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/when-i-write-i-do-it-urged-by-an-intimate-necessity-i-don-t-have-in/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [The mind was dreaming. The world was its dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/the-mind-was-dreaming-the-world-was-its-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [I foresee that man will resign himself each day to new abominations, and soon that only bandits and soldiers will be left.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/i-foresee-that-man-will-resign-himself-each-day-to-new-abominations/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [“If I could live again - I will travel light, If I could live again - I'll try to work bare feet at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/if-i-could-live-again-i-will-travel-light-if-i-could-live-again-i-ll/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Every man should be capable of all ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/every-man-should-be-capable-of-all-ideas/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) > [Writing is only a guided dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorge-luis-borges/writing-is-only-a-guided-dream/) [Jorge Luis Borges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) [Explore all 558 Jorge Luis Borges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorge-luis-borges/) ## More Circumstances quotes > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Trust is about keeping commitments, but in many instances, circumstances change and organizations therefore shed commitments, things such as retiree medical benefits, pension obligations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/trust-is-about-keeping-commitments-but-in-many-instances/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [The fortunate circumstances of our lives are generally found, at last, to be of our own producing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-goldsmith/the-fortunate-circumstances-of-our-lives-are-generally-found-at-last/) [Oliver Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-goldsmith/) > [“The set of circumstances that justifies the use of deadly force is a situation of immediate danger of death or great bodily harm to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massad-ayoob/the-set-of-circumstances-that-justifies-the-use-of-deadly-force-is-a/) [Massad Ayoob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massad-ayoob/) > [My sister-in-law works for a group that supports orphanages in Cairo. She and her colleagues take care of children left behind by circumstances beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/my-sister-in-law-works-for-a-group-that-supports-orphanages-in-cairo/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) > [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/) [Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/) > [Being positive helps you to keep away negative thoughts. And helps you to stand in adverse circumstances with the hope that in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/being-positive-helps-you-to-keep-away-negative-thoughts-and-helps-you/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [It seemed to me that the human beings I met reacted pretty much the same to the same stimuli. Different idioms,yes. Circumstances and conditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/it-seemed-to-me-that-the-human-beings-i-met-reacted-pretty-much-the/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [I don't think you would have missed that putt, but in these circumstances, I would never give you the opportunity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/i-don-t-think-you-would-have-missed-that-putt-but-in-these/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [I used to think I could shape the circumstances around me, but now I know Jesus uses circumstances to shape me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-goff/i-used-to-think-i-could-shape-the-circumstances-around-me-but-now-i/) [Bob Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-goff/) > [Instead of complaining about your circumstances, get busy creating new ones. You either suffer the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-complaining-about-your-circumstances-get-busy-creating-new/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 4,560 Circumstances quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I write a fantastic story, I'm not writing something willful. On the contrary, I am writing something that stands for my feelings, or for my thoughts. So that, in a sense, a fantastic story is as real and perhaps more real than a mere circumstantial story. 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