--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A novelist's sense that he or she is…" description: "\"A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain genre mainly comes out of the notion that the genre is somehow a debased version of his or her p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png" --- # A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain… ![“A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain genre mainly comes out of the notion that the genre is somehow a debased version of his or her preferred form.” quote by Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png) > “A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain genre mainly comes out of the notion that the genre is somehow a debased version of his or her preferred form.” [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authors may feel superior to a genre because they view it as inferior to their preferred form, revealing bias. **In simple terms:** Writers think some genres are lower status. Key Takeaway Challenge genre hierarchies. Themes literary criticism authorial bias genre perception Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - publishing decisions - writing workshops - genre blending Key Concepts cultural hierarchy self‑esteem creative freedom Questions to Reflect On - Why do we rank artistic forms? - Can a genre be both popular and profound? A Different Perspective Genre bias can limit creative exploration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain-genre-2056201/) [Genre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) [Genre Debased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre-debased-5614671/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Her](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/her/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelist Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist-sense-5614670/) [Sense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense/) [She](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/she/) ## Related quotes > [When I was a kid, you listened to a certain genre. Now it's like, "I love indie rock, I love hip-hop, jazz, funk." Also,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rhys-meyers/when-i-was-a-kid-you-listened-to-a-certain-genre-now-it-s-like-i-love/) [Jonathan Rhys Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rhys-meyers/) > [Coldplay doesn't have to stay within a certain genre; they just go where they go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kygo/coldplay-doesn-t-have-to-stay-within-a-certain-genre-they-just-go/) [Kygo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kygo/) > [My favourite genre lies inside myself, and as I follow my favourite stories, characters and images, it sums up to a certain genre. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bong-joon-ho/my-favourite-genre-lies-inside-myself-and-as-i-follow-my-favourite/) [Bong Joon-ho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bong-joon-ho/) > [I think movies should illuminate and teach, but that's for a certain genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordana-brewster/i-think-movies-should-illuminate-and-teach-but-that-s-for-a-certain/) [Jordana Brewster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordana-brewster/) > [I don't have a checklist. Whatever material excites me, they'll call for a certain genre or combination of genres. It'll come naturally and I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ang-lee/i-don-t-have-a-checklist-whatever-material-excites-me-they-ll-call/) [Ang Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ang-lee/) > [With 'Stick Season' we went into it thinking we didn't want to be defined by a certain genre. Obviously, it leans more folk, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-kahan/with-stick-season-we-went-into-it-thinking-we-didn-t-want-to-be/) [Noah Kahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-kahan/) > [Playing with different genres and perspectives and ways of telling stories is one of the perks of being a novelist, but at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linn-ullmann/playing-with-different-genres-and-perspectives-and-ways-of-telling/) [Linn Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linn-ullmann/) > [“As a historical novelist, there is very little I like more than spending time sorting through boxes of old letters, diaries, maps, trinkets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-a-historical-novelist-there-is-very-little-i-like-more-than/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Not writing is never an option. This is not words of advice. It just literally never an option!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-r-melendez/not-writing-is-never-an-option-this-is-not-words-of-advice-it-just/) [Lillian R. Melendez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-r-melendez/) > [Crime is a very hard genre to feminise. If you have a female protagonist she is going to be looking after her mum when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-mina/crime-is-a-very-hard-genre-to-feminise-if-you-have-a-female/) [Denise Mina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-mina/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“I have from the first felt sure that the writer, when he sits down to commence his novel, should do so, not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/i-have-from-the-first-felt-sure-that-the-writer-when-he-sits-down-to/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [“I love you so much. Our love is eternal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santonu-kumar-dhar/i-love-you-so-much-our-love-is-eternal/) [Santonu Kumar Dhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santonu-kumar-dhar/) > [“The novelist is like a scout commissioned to go and see what is happening in the depth of the soul. He comes back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/the-novelist-is-like-a-scout-commissioned-to-go-and-see-what-is/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“She'll be an excellent novelist: a monster of self-absorption.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lan-samantha-chang/she-ll-be-an-excellent-novelist-a-monster-of-self-absorption/) [Lan Samantha Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lan-samantha-chang/) ## More by Lynn Coady > [“Then there are the other days, when nothing is enough. The poem grins. It grins because it knows it is a terrible poem. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/then-there-are-the-other-days-when-nothing-is-enough-the-poem-grins/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [A dominant misconception among believers is that their atheist brethren are a slavering pack of hell-bound debauchees, gleefully wining and wenching their way through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-dominant-misconception-among-believers-is-that-their-atheist/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Ever since 'Strange Heaven,' I haven't really reread my old work. Not so much because I don't like the writer I was, or because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/ever-since-strange-heaven-i-haven-t-really-reread-my-old-work-not-so/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [There are people out there who genuinely love literature, who genuinely love to read and read widely, who will never like, or even necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/there-are-people-out-there-who-genuinely-love-literature-who/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Here's the thing about lingerie: The only time we see it outside our own bedrooms, it is on women who are gloriously freakish in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/here-s-the-thing-about-lingerie-the-only-time-we-see-it-outside-our/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [The one thing I've always done as an author is talk to my publicists. Because they have all the best stories - and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/the-one-thing-i-ve-always-done-as-an-author-is-talk-to-my-publicists/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Literary readings aren't going to shake their reputation as the added-fibre of our entertainment diet until the people who organize and participate in them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/literary-readings-aren-t-going-to-shake-their-reputation-as-the-added/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I really do think of it in moral terms. I think that we can't kid ourselves that the storytelling impulse is innocent and does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/i-really-do-think-of-it-in-moral-terms-i-think-that-we-can-t-kid/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [One does not become an atheist out of a desire for hassle-free Sunday mornings. People come to atheism because they have a problem with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/one-does-not-become-an-atheist-out-of-a-desire-for-hassle-free-sunday/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Atheism is a moral position - a rather rigid one, if you've ever read the opinions of its highest-profile espousers, Christopher Hitchens and Richard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/atheism-is-a-moral-position-a-rather-rigid-one-if-you-ve-ever-read/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Filtering can be a very good thing when it comes to human relationships and familial harmony. Yeah, filtering is often an absolute necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/filtering-can-be-a-very-good-thing-when-it-comes-to-human/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I don't even like to cry in private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/i-don-t-even-like-to-cry-in-private/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [I know what the Giller nominee effect is, but we'll see what the next level is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/i-know-what-the-giller-nominee-effect-is-but-we-ll-see-what-the-next/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [Dating, like almost every other male-female interaction in present-day society, is based on outmoded and unequal social roles and expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/dating-like-almost-every-other-male-female-interaction-in-present-day/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) > [It's the typical mid-life crisis kind of thing, where you just stop and wonder, 'Should I go back to university and get a law…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/it-s-the-typical-mid-life-crisis-kind-of-thing-where-you-just-stop/) [Lynn Coady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) [Explore all 103 Lynn Coady quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/) ## More Genre quotes > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [ He \[ the son\]'s grown up listening to all types of music, and the natural form of rebellion is to find the one genre… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-knowles/he-the-son-s-grown-up-listening-to-all-types-of-music-and-the-natural/) [Solange Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-knowles/) > [I don't really think in terms of genre, I think in terms of story and character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rudd/i-don-t-really-think-in-terms-of-genre-i-think-in-terms-of-story-and/) [Paul Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rudd/) > [I've just always loved really good projects. The things that draw me into a new project have very little to do with genre and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel-staite/i-ve-just-always-loved-really-good-projects-the-things-that-draw-me/) [Jewel Staite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel-staite/) > [As a rule, I don't worry about genre. I just want to tell a good story, with characters that interest me and my readers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-rule-i-don-t-worry-about-genre-i-just-want-to-tell-a-good-story/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) [Michael Brecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brecker/) > [Gothic in its purest sense is actually a very powerful, twisted genre, but the way it was being used by by journalists - 'goff'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siouxsie-sioux/gothic-in-its-purest-sense-is-actually-a-very-powerful-twisted-genre/) [Siouxsie Sioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siouxsie-sioux/) > [The great thing about the arts, and especially popular music, is that it really does cut across genres and races and classes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/the-great-thing-about-the-arts-and-especially-popular-music-is-that/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I knew what kind of genre 'Casa de mi Padre' was going for. But my character, specifically, I think is very real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/genesis-rodriguez/i-knew-what-kind-of-genre-casa-de-mi-padre-was-going-for-but-my/) [Genesis Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/genesis-rodriguez/) > [In television, women can really run anything. It can be a comedy, it can be a drama, it can be genre, it can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-michelle-gellar/in-television-women-can-really-run-anything-it-can-be-a-comedy-it-can/) [Sarah Michelle Gellar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-michelle-gellar/) > [I'm not a fan of any genre but am a fan of movies that are intelligent and/or funny. That goes across all genres: a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-a-fan-of-any-genre-but-am-a-fan-of-movies-that-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The excellence of this important contribution to genre literature CANNOT be overstated A masterwork.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-nolan/the-excellence-of-this-important-contribution-to-genre-literature/) [William F. Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-nolan/) > [I have finally become my own genre, and now that's what publishers want. I have a wonderful publisher now, Mulholland, very innovated, very fine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-r-lansdale/i-have-finally-become-my-own-genre-and-now-that-s-what-publishers/) [Joe R. Lansdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-r-lansdale/) > [There is a real problem with the lack of diversity, specifically in genre films and the superheroes our kids grow up watching and emulating,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/djimon-hounsou/there-is-a-real-problem-with-the-lack-of-diversity-specifically-in/) [Djimon Hounsou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/djimon-hounsou/) [Browse all 2,187 Genre quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genre/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain genre mainly comes out of the notion that the genre is somehow a debased version of his or her preferred form.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lynn Coady" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-above-a-certain-genre-mainly/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Genre" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-above-a-certain-genre-mainly/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7e7/lynn-coady-5173_genre_a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-abo_3143851.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A novelist's sense that he or she is 'above' a certain genre mainly comes out of the notion that the genre…” — Lynn Coady", "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": "Lynn Coady", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-coady/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A novelist's sense that he or...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-above-a-certain-genre-mainly/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-coady/a-novelist-s-sense-that-he-or-she-is-above-a-certain-genre-mainly/#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 } } ] } ```