--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels usually evolve out of 'character.'…" description: "\"Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coher..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/joyce-carol-oates-344_aesthetic_novels-usually-evolve-out-of-character-c_2990630.jpg" --- # Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters… ![“Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.” quote by Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/joyce-carol-oates-344_aesthetic_novels-usually-evolve-out-of-character-c_2990630.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/joyce-carol-oates-344_aesthetic_novels-usually-evolve-out-of-character-c_2990630.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ce1/joyce-carol-oates-344_aesthetic_novels-usually-evolve-out-of-character-c_2990630.jpg) > “Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' Characters generate stories, and the shape of a novel is entirely imagined but should have an aesthetic coherence.” [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shows novels grow from characters, requiring aesthetic unity and imagined structure **In simple terms:** Novels stem from characters and need cohesive design Key Takeaway Cultivate strong characters for compelling stories Themes writing character development structure Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel planning - character workshops - editing phases Key Concepts literary theory narrative design Questions to Reflect On - How do characters shape plot direction? - What ensures aesthetic coherence in a novel? A Different Perspective Characters alone may not guarantee plot coherence ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aesthetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Coherence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coherence/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Shapes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shapes/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [With the novels, I usually start from something in my own life that I can't resolve, so I turn it into a metaphor and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/with-the-novels-i-usually-start-from-something-in-my-own-life-that-i/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [When I do a novel, I don't really use the script, I use the book; when I did Apocalypse Now, I used Heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-ford-coppola/when-i-do-a-novel-i-don-t-really-use-the-script-i-use-the-book-when-i/) [Francis Ford Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-ford-coppola/) > [I always think I know the way a novel will go. I write maps on oversized art pads like the kind I carried around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-always-think-i-know-the-way-a-novel-will-go-i-write-maps-on/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [I like shape very much. A novel has to have shape, and life doesn't have any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/i-like-shape-very-much-a-novel-has-to-have-shape-and-life-doesn-t/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [I was very influenced by The Magic Mountain. It's a book that had a huge impact on me. I loved that as a shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-was-very-influenced-by-the-magic-mountain-it-s-a-book-that-had-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“The natural, proper, fitting shape of the novel might be that of a sack, a bag. A book holds words. Words hold things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/the-natural-proper-fitting-shape-of-the-novel-might-be-that-of-a-sack/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [“There was a girl, and her uncle sold her. Put like that it seems so simple. No man, proclaimed Donne, is an island, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/there-was-a-girl-and-her-uncle-sold-her-put-like-that-it-seems-so/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are people. There are stories. The people think they shape the stories, but the reverse if often closer to the truth. Stories shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/there-are-people-there-are-stories-the-people-think-they-shape-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [“Change comes from letting stories shape us. In finding the thread that connects us, scaling the walls that separate us, and standing together with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saskia-wishart/change-comes-from-letting-stories-shape-us-in-finding-the-thread-that/) Saskia Wishart > [When you watch a lot of movies as a kid, the stories do shape a little bit how you view the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/when-you-watch-a-lot-of-movies-as-a-kid-the-stories-do-shape-a-little/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [“Rooting arguments in evidence and respecting scholarly norms, historians must craft stories that shape the future as well as the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-lansing/rooting-arguments-in-evidence-and-respecting-scholarly-norms/) Michael J. Lansing > [I think of my books now as suspense novels, usually with a love story incorporated. They're absolutely a lot harder to write than romances.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-brown/i-think-of-my-books-now-as-suspense-novels-usually-with-a-love-story/) [Sandra Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-brown/) > [There's a perception that novels can't usually allow for your kind of absolute attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/there-s-a-perception-that-novels-can-t-usually-allow-for-your-kind-of/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [Maybe it goes without saying that if you want to become a famous writer before you’re dead, you’ll have to write something. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ariel-gore/maybe-it-goes-without-saying-that-if-you-want-to-become-a-famous/) [Ariel Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ariel-gore/) > [“The agent sighed. „Mr. Little, do you know why horror novels usually revolve around the protagonist and his family?“ Ben didn't encourage him. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-jacob-knight/the-agent-sighed-mr-little-do-you-know-why-horror-novels-usually/) [David Jacob Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-jacob-knight/) ## More by Joyce Carol Oates > [“A woman who has lost her husband is invalid, thus an invalid. In”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-woman-who-has-lost-her-husband-is-invalid-thus-an-invalid-in/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/running-if-there-s-any-activity-happier-more-exhilarating-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [You need so much energy and encouragement to write that if someone says something negative, some of that energy goes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/you-need-so-much-energy-and-encouragement-to-write-that-if-someone/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I learned long ago that being Lewis Carroll was infinitely more exciting than being Alice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-learned-long-ago-that-being-lewis-carroll-was-infinitely-more/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Paradox: how do we know what we have failed to see because we have no language to express it, thus we cannot know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/paradox-how-do-we-know-what-we-have-failed-to-see-because-we-have-no/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [At all crucial moments in our lives we want to speak without knowing what to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/at-all-crucial-moments-in-our-lives-we-want-to-speak-without-knowing/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [A writer’s life is in his work, and that is the place to find him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/a-writer-s-life-is-in-his-work-and-that-is-the-place-to-find-him/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The challenge is to resist circumstances. Any idiot can be happy in a happy place, but moral courage is required to be happy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-challenge-is-to-resist-circumstances-any-idiot-can-be-happy-in-a/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [The first sentence cant be written until the final sentence is written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-first-sentence-cant-be-written-until-the-final-sentence-is-written/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“Did you know, Marianne: how by breaking the code that day, you broke it forever? For us all?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/did-you-know-marianne-how-by-breaking-the-code-that-day-you-broke-it/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > ['The Accursed' is very much a novel about social injustice as the consequence of the terrible, tragic division of classes - the exploitation not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/the-accursed-is-very-much-a-novel-about-social-injustice-as-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Keep a light, hopeful heart. But expect the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/keep-a-light-hopeful-heart-but-expect-the-worst/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/and-this-is-the-forbidden-truth-the-unspeakable-taboo-that-evil-is/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I don't think that writer's block exists really. I think that when you're trying to do something prematurely, it just won't come. Certain subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-think-that-writer-s-block-exists-really-i-think-that-when-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [... such speculation is like staring into the hot white sun. you know the sun is there but you can't see a thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/such-speculation-is-like-staring-into-the-hot-white-sun-you-know-the/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) [Explore all 658 Joyce Carol Oates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) ## More Aesthetic quotes > [You feed yourself. Make sure you have all the information, whether it's aesthetic, scientific, mathematical, I don't care what it is. Then you walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/you-feed-yourself-make-sure-you-have-all-the-information-whether-it-s/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Beauty in the European sense has always had a premeditated quality to it. We've always had an aesthetic intention and a long-range plan. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/beauty-in-the-european-sense-has-always-had-a-premeditated-quality-to/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [Design certainly has a cosmetic, aesthetic aim. It always aims at making things beautiful. But relevance is just as important. I often say, 'If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-behar/design-certainly-has-a-cosmetic-aesthetic-aim-it-always-aims-at/) [Yves Behar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-behar/) > [I don't think I was ever thinking critically about my aesthetic, I think it's enough when you're little just to understand that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavi-gevinson/i-don-t-think-i-was-ever-thinking-critically-about-my-aesthetic-i/) [Tavi Gevinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavi-gevinson/) > [I'm kind of still down with Virg Woolf on this one: "women must kill the aesthetic ideal through which they themselves have been 'killed'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lidia-yuknavitch/i-m-kind-of-still-down-with-virg-woolf-on-this-one-women-must-kill/) [Lidia Yuknavitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lidia-yuknavitch/) > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in trying to imagine the unimaginable and failing, if you are a reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/there-is-a-certain-aesthetic-pleasure-in-trying-to-imagine-the/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I try to get the hip-hop aesthetic, most times without an MC. I don't use a rapper or a DJ to give it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-try-to-get-the-hip-hop-aesthetic-most-times-without-an-mc-i-don-t/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [It's so important what you're doing in your life. It's tremendously important to the work, and no aesthetic theories take that into account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maus/it-s-so-important-what-you-re-doing-in-your-life-it-s-tremendously/) [John Maus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maus/) > [It is not necessary to have an extravagant food budget in order to serve things with variety and tastefully cooked. It is not necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-schaeffer/it-is-not-necessary-to-have-an-extravagant-food-budget-in-order-to/) [Edith Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-schaeffer/) > [In reality no food is valued solely for its nutritive power and no garment or house solely for the protection it affords against cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-reality-no-food-is-valued-solely-for-its-nutritive-power-and-no/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Art is realistic when it strives to express an ethical ideal. Realism is striving for truth, and truth is always beautiful. Here the aesthetic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrei-tarkovsky/art-is-realistic-when-it-strives-to-express-an-ethical-ideal-realism/) [Andrei Tarkovsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrei-tarkovsky/) > [I had always wanted to expand to beauty, but I knew I wanted to be able to translate my design aesthetic in an authentic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-ronson/i-had-always-wanted-to-expand-to-beauty-but-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be/) [Charlotte Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-ronson/) > [I wanted the press to become something of a movement. Not a movement committed to a particular 'ism', but a gathering together of writers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-metcalf/i-wanted-the-press-to-become-something-of-a-movement-not-a-movement/) John Metcalf [Browse all 953 Aesthetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aesthetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Novels usually evolve out of 'character.' 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