--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Lately I've been thinking about the idea…" description: "\"Lately I've been thinking about the idea that all novels are, at least in some way, about the process of writing a novel - that the construction of the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/lucas-mann-50072_book_lately-i-ve-been-thinking-about-the-idea_1056574.jpg" --- # Lately I've been thinking about the idea that all novels… ![“Lately I've been thinking about the idea that all novels are, at least in some way, about the process of writing a novel - that the construction of the book and the lineage of people constructing novels are always part of the story the author is telling. I think the equivalent for memoir should be…” quote by Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/lucas-mann-50072_book_lately-i-ve-been-thinking-about-the-idea_1056574.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/lucas-mann-50072_book_lately-i-ve-been-thinking-about-the-idea_1056574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c0/lucas-mann-50072_book_lately-i-ve-been-thinking-about-the-idea_1056574.jpg) > “Lately I've been thinking about the idea that all novels are, at least in some way, about the process of writing a novel - that the construction of the book and the lineage of people constructing novels are always part of the story the author is telling. I think the equivalent for memoir should be that all memoirs are, in some way, about the process of memory. Memoirs are made out of a confusing, flawed act of creation.” [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Novels and memoirs often turn inward, exploring their own creation and the act of remembering as part of the story they tell. **In simple terms:** Stories about storytelling. Key Takeaway Consider how your work reflects its own making. Themes meta‑narrative self‑reflection creative process memory identity Mood introspective thoughtful analytical Type literary philosophical educational When to use this quote - writing workshops - literary analysis - personal journaling - creative therapy Key Concepts Narrative theory autobiographical paradox literary self‑reference Questions to Reflect On - In what ways does your writing reveal its own construction? - Can a story be both about its subject and its making? A Different Perspective Self‑referential focus can become overly abstract, alienating readers seeking straightforward narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Confusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusing/) [Constructing Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructing-novels-2557358/) [Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/construction/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Flawed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flawed/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Memoir Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir-memoirs-2557359/) [Memoirs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoirs/) [Memoirs Confusing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoirs-confusing-2557357/) [Memories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memories/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Memoirs are going to be problematic sells for a while, though, because even if memoir means "based in memory," right now, in the collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-monroe/memoirs-are-going-to-be-problematic-sells-for-a-while-though-because/) [Debra Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-monroe/) > [Whatever shall we do in that remote spot? Well, we will write our memoirs. Work is the scythe of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/whatever-shall-we-do-in-that-remote-spot-well-we-will-write-our/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [“There is a cost to loving anything, or anyone. No one tells you that when you are young.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shuly-x-chitl-cawood/there-is-a-cost-to-loving-anything-or-anyone-no-one-tells-you-that/) [Shuly Xóchitl Cawood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shuly-x-chitl-cawood/) > [“We have a racially based justice system that overpunishes, fails to rehabilitate, and doesn't make us safer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piper-kerman/we-have-a-racially-based-justice-system-that-overpunishes-fails-to/) [Piper Kerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piper-kerman/) > [The memoir industry is, what's the word? Under regulated. I think it needs to be pruned. If there are too many books right now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/the-memoir-industry-is-what-s-the-word-under-regulated-i-think-it/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) > [My memoirs are full of humor, I had to change jokes because it was a little too dark.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/my-memoirs-are-full-of-humor-i-had-to-change-jokes-because-it-was-a/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [I think the secret of memoirs is keeping those parts of yourself off the page, which makes what you do share more valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-barr/i-think-the-secret-of-memoirs-is-keeping-those-parts-of-yourself-off/) [Damian Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-barr/) > [ “They \[his readers, whom he asks to be his friends\] will find that I have always loved truth so passionately that I have often… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casanova/they-his-readers-whom-he-asks-to-be-his-friends-will-find-that-i-have/) [Casanova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casanova/) > [We have so many great memoirs from women in front of the camera, from Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, and Amy Schumer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nell-scovell/we-have-so-many-great-memoirs-from-women-in-front-of-the-camera-from/) [Nell Scovell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nell-scovell/) > [“Oh I'm sure you're right," Auntie said. "Probably she's just as you say. But she looks to me like a very clever girl, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/oh-i-m-sure-you-re-right-auntie-said-probably-she-s-just-as-you-say/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) > [The memoirs of the Grand Duchess Olga are an entertaining record for anyone interested in the imperial family's home life during the last years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sebag-montefiore/the-memoirs-of-the-grand-duchess-olga-are-an-entertaining-record-for/) [Simon Sebag Montefiore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sebag-montefiore/) > [I put off writing the first Left Behind book for a year because I got invited to assist Billy Graham in his memoirs, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-b-jenkins/i-put-off-writing-the-first-left-behind-book-for-a-year-because-i-got/) [Jerry B. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-b-jenkins/) > [“My China Diary and Walking With Lions, were memoirs of his diplomatic and political experiences. The”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/my-china-diary-and-walking-with-lions-were-memoirs-of-his-diplomatic/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [“...what draws us into a story and keeps us there is the firing of our dopamine neurons, signaling that intriguing information is on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-cron/what-draws-us-into-a-story-and-keeps-us-there-is-the-firing-of-our/) [Lisa Cron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-cron/) > [“I knew even then that she was right. An en is a karmic bond lasting a lifetime. Nowadays many people seem to believe their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-golden/i-knew-even-then-that-she-was-right-an-en-is-a-karmic-bond-lasting-a/) [Arthur Golden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-golden/) ## More by Lucas Mann > [That idea of not being exactly who you write as is so crucial. Even looking at those words as I type them, it feels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-mann/that-idea-of-not-being-exactly-who-you-write-as-is-so-crucial-even/) [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) > [There is something more important than the place being left. It's that swell of crushing emptiness that makes the insignificant seem anything but.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-mann/there-is-something-more-important-than-the-place-being-left-it-s-that/) [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) > [After writing anything, there's always that postpartum feeling of, "What do I do now?" - I think particularly for nonfiction writers. I feel myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-mann/after-writing-anything-there-s-always-that-postpartum-feeling-of-what/) [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) > [For better or worse, I seem to gravitate toward writing about something or someone else, then have my own self shove its way into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-mann/for-better-or-worse-i-seem-to-gravitate-toward-writing-about/) [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) > [Walter Benjamin talks about art losing its original "aura" in an age of mechanical reproduction. 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My first book was journalism, and it was so frustrating to me, while I was writing it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-mann/i-came-to-nonfiction-through-journalism-my-first-book-was-journalism/) [Lucas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) [Explore all 7 Lucas Mann quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-mann/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Lately I've been thinking about the idea that all novels are, at least in some way, about the process of writing a novel - that the construction of the book and the lineage of people constructing novels are always part of the story the author is telling. 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