--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Life is a very orderly thing, but in…" description: "\"Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. There's nothing that says I can't write a pa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg" --- # Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a… ![“Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. There's nothing that says I can't write a page of full stops. There is no 'should' involved, although you wouldn't know that from literary reviews and critics.” quote by Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg) > “Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. There's nothing that says I can't write a page of full stops. There is no 'should' involved, although you wouldn't know that from literary reviews and critics.” [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction allows writers to break rules and explore freedom beyond everyday order. **In simple terms:** Stories let writers ignore normal constraints. Key Takeaway Embrace creative freedom in writing. Themes creativity freedom fiction order Mood reflective liberated Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - writing a novel - experimental poetry - breaking genre conventions - personal journaling Key Concepts literary theory authorial autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How does breaking rules affect reader engagement? - When is structure essential? A Different Perspective May alienate readers expecting conventional structure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Although](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/although/) [Critics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/critics/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-huge-2058357/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Full](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/full/) [Huge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Involved](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involved/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Liberation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberation/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life is a](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is-a/) [Life Orderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-orderly-2058356/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary/) [Nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nothing/) [Orderly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orderly/) [Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page/) [Reviews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reviews/) [Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says/) [Says Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/says-write-650557/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Stops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stops/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [Those who every morning plan the transactions of the day and follow out that plan carry a thread that will guide them through the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/those-who-every-morning-plan-the-transactions-of-the-day-and-follow/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [...one of the reasons I like classes and structured learning is that they encourage -and contribute to-the belief that life is orderly, that things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-roby/one-of-the-reasons-i-like-classes-and-structured-learning-is-that/) [James Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-roby/) > [“Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. It's what they've chosen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/life-here-is-so-orderly-so-predictable-so-painless-it-s-what-they-ve/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/life-is-not-orderly-no-matter-how-we-try-to-make-life-so-right-in-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Life is not an orderly progression, self-contained like a musical scale or a quadratic equation... If one is to record one's life truthfully, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/life-is-not-an-orderly-progression-self-contained-like-a-musical/) [Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/) > [Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make life so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/life-is-not-orderly-no-matter-how-we-try-to-make-life-so-right-in-the-2/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make it so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-goldberg/life-is-not-orderly-no-matter-how-we-try-to-make-it-so-right-in-the/) [Natalie Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-goldberg/) > [“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little-2/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [The closest you will ever come in this life to an orderly universe is a good library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashleigh-brilliant/the-closest-you-will-ever-come-in-this-life-to-an-orderly-universe-is/) [Ashleigh Brilliant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashleigh-brilliant/) > [“How is it that one day life is orderly and you are content, a little cynical perhaps but on the whole just so, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/how-is-it-that-one-day-life-is-orderly-and-you-are-content-a-little/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [It's not in my place to comment on what the media says. You can write whatever you want to write. I'd just rather it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-green/it-s-not-in-my-place-to-comment-on-what-the-media-says-you-can-write/) [Jeff Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-green/) > [If u know what this says write back the song it is out of](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/destiny-meador/if-u-know-what-this-says-write-back-the-song-it-is-out-of/) [Destiny Meador](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/destiny-meador/) > [“Life says: " Write down your experiences in a notebook, not on a blackboard. Don't start with a clean slate, but with a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveed-nawab-ali/life-says-write-down-your-experiences-in-a-notebook-not-on-a/) [Naveed Nawab Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveed-nawab-ali/) > [With every script, I write a note to my collaborator that says: 'I write full script. But see it as a guide. You take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-michael-bendis/with-every-script-i-write-a-note-to-my-collaborator-that-says-i-write/) [Brian Michael Bendis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-michael-bendis/) > [In 2011, I announced that I was going to retire, and my agent panicked. So she says: 'No, no, no. You have to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/in-2011-i-announced-that-i-was-going-to-retire-and-my-agent-panicked/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) ## More by Kate Atkinson > [“Sweet sixteen," Hugh said, kissing her affectionately. "Happy birthday, little bear. Your future's all ahead of you." Ursula still harbored the feeling that some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/sweet-sixteen-hugh-said-kissing-her-affectionately-happy-birthday/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“He had made a vow, a private promise to the world in the long dark watches of the night, that if he did survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/he-had-made-a-vow-a-private-promise-to-the-world-in-the-long-dark/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“When she was little they had lived in an old farmhouse too, in the middle of nothing of but landscape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-she-was-little-they-had-lived-in-an-old-farmhouse-too-in-the/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“Do you keep time in the same place that you save it? If so why is it always so difficult to find? It must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/do-you-keep-time-in-the-same-place-that-you-save-it-if-so-why-is-it/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I was on the verge of something numinous and profound and in one more second the universe was going to crack open and arcana…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-was-on-the-verge-of-something-numinous-and-profound-and-in-one-more/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I feel as if I’m waiting for something dreadful to happen, and then I realize it already has.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-feel-as-if-i-m-waiting-for-something-dreadful-to-happen-and-then-i/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“If she had been in charge of designing the human race she would have gone about things differently. (A golden shaft of light through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/if-she-had-been-in-charge-of-designing-the-human-race-she-would-have/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [The beginning is the word and the end is silence. And in between are all the stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-beginning-is-the-word-and-the-end-is-silence-and-in-between-are/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“The only way to stop the tears was to keep drinking the whisky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/the-only-way-to-stop-the-tears-was-to-keep-drinking-the-whisky/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I don't want to spoil the magic, but it's a very curious thing that honestly baffles me. It's the nearest we'll ever get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/i-don-t-want-to-spoil-the-magic-but-it-s-a-very-curious-thing-that/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“What did science ever do for the world, apart from make better ways of killing people?” Sylvie said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/what-did-science-ever-do-for-the-world-apart-from-make-better-ways-of/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“she could see Sylvie and her friends on the lawn below, their dresses fluttering like moths in the encroaching dusk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/she-could-see-sylvie-and-her-friends-on-the-lawn-below-their-dresses/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [“misquote Edmund Burke rather than Milton. All that is necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/misquote-edmund-burke-rather-than-milton-all-that-is-necessary-for/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) [Explore all 261 Kate Atkinson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) ## More Although quotes > [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) > [There are some things that I like, like education, wine, and I'd like to be a good cook, although I'm a pretty good eater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-wagoner/there-are-some-things-that-i-like-like-education-wine-and-i-d-like-to/) [Rick Wagoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-wagoner/) > [When Apple introduced its game-changing iPhone in 2007, Nokia was caught sleeping on the job. Although it had actually developed an iPhone-style device -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noreena-hertz/when-apple-introduced-its-game-changing-iphone-in-2007-nokia-was/) [Noreena Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noreena-hertz/) > [You can't do every movie - although I do a lot of them - and the thing I'm longing to do is... it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-henriksen/you-can-t-do-every-movie-although-i-do-a-lot-of-them-and-the-thing-i/) [Lance Henriksen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-henriksen/) > [Although I'm perceived as very optimistic and upbeat, it comes out of being the opposite of that - feeling isolated or lonely, looking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mcgonigal/although-i-m-perceived-as-very-optimistic-and-upbeat-it-comes-out-of/) [Jane McGonigal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mcgonigal/) > [I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1969, in a time and place where no one was saying, 'Look how far we've come,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-was-born-in-jackson-mississippi-in-1969-in-a-time-and-place-where/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [Although we might settle for less, Heavenly Father won't, for he sees us as the glorious beings we are capable of becoming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-b-wirthlin/although-we-might-settle-for-less-heavenly-father-won-t-for-he-sees/) [Joseph B. Wirthlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-b-wirthlin/) > [Although it is still important to develop an HIV vaccine, we have significant tools already at our disposal that can make a major impact…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/although-it-is-still-important-to-develop-an-hiv-vaccine-we-have/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [All trembling, I reached the Falls of Niagara, and oh, what a scene! My blood shudders still, although I am not a coward, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-james-audubon/all-trembling-i-reached-the-falls-of-niagara-and-oh-what-a-scene-my/) [John James Audubon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-james-audubon/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I knew from very early on that I wanted kids. I wasn't one of those women who goes, 'Well, if it happens, it happens.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-knew-from-very-early-on-that-i-wanted-kids-i-wasn-t-one-of-those/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I definitely hand myself over to the hair and makeup gods of 'Girls.' Our look on the show is very specific, and it's different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-williams/i-definitely-hand-myself-over-to-the-hair-and-makeup-gods-of-girls/) [Allison Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-williams/) > [I'm not very well known. However, the more well known you get, the more people are going to have expectations of you. Although that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-hawkins/i-m-not-very-well-known-however-the-more-well-known-you-get-the-more/) [Sally Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sally-hawkins/) > [I would spend hours absorbing every intonation, every inflection - how the singer would convey a sentiment and how it would sound coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-edmonson/i-would-spend-hours-absorbing-every-intonation-every-inflection-how/) [Kat Edmonson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-edmonson/) [Browse all 578 Although quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/although/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like. There's nothing that says I can't write a page of full stops. There is no 'should' involved, although you wouldn't know that from literary reviews and critics.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kate Atkinson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fiction-there-is-a-huge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Although" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fiction-there-is-a-huge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/kate-atkinson-1265_although_life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fict_994529.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Life is a very orderly thing, but in fiction there is a huge liberation and freedom. I can do what I like…” — Kate Atkinson", "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": "Kate Atkinson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Life is a very orderly thing,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fiction-there-is-a-huge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/life-is-a-very-orderly-thing-but-in-fiction-there-is-a-huge/#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 } } ] } ```