--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If the novelist shares his or her…" description: "\"If the novelist shares his or her problems with the characters, he or she is able to study his personal unconscious.\" — Manuel Puig" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/manuel-puig-9471_able_if-the-novelist-shares-his-or-her-proble_2554450.jpg" --- # If the novelist shares his or her problems with the… ![“If the novelist shares his or her problems with the characters, he or she is able to study his personal unconscious.” quote by Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/manuel-puig-9471_able_if-the-novelist-shares-his-or-her-proble_2554450.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/manuel-puig-9471_able_if-the-novelist-shares-his-or-her-proble_2554450.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a8c/manuel-puig-9471_able_if-the-novelist-shares-his-or-her-proble_2554450.jpg) > “If the novelist shares his or her problems with the characters, he or she is able to study his personal unconscious.” [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An author projects personal issues onto characters to explore his unconscious mind. **In simple terms:** Writers can study themselves through their characters. Key Takeaway Write characters that mirror personal conflicts. Themes self‑exploration writing psychology Mood introspective analytical Type literary psychological When to use this quote - creative writing - therapy - journaling Key Concepts unconscious literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - What personal themes emerge in your writing? - How does this help self‑understanding? A Different Perspective May blur line between fiction and personal truth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Novelist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelist/) [Novelists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novelists/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. 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If the book is any good it has got to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/any-writer-is-inevitably-going-to-work-with-his-own-anxieties-and/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [ “Our personal shadow is the “hidden unconscious aspects of \[ourselves\], both good and bad, which the ego has either repressed or never recognized.” It… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-schoen/our-personal-shadow-is-the-hidden-unconscious-aspects-of-ourselves/) David Schoen > [“Some processes are unconscious because of deliberate dissociation. In other words, an unpleasant thought or emotion may be dissociated from consciousness not because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-g-shobris/some-processes-are-unconscious-because-of-deliberate-dissociation-in/) [John G. Shobris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-g-shobris/) > [The fact is that in this day and age I don't think any novelist can assume that a book will get attention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/the-fact-is-that-in-this-day-and-age-i-don-t-think-any-novelist-can/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [Whether he be an original or a plagiarist, man is the novelist of himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/whether-he-be-an-original-or-a-plagiarist-man-is-the-novelist-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [A novelist should make you realize nothing is stable. If you don't believe anything with robustness, you're doing something more radical than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-jacobson/a-novelist-should-make-you-realize-nothing-is-stable-if-you-don-t/) [Howard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-jacobson/) > [As an historical novelist – there are few jobs more retrospective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/as-an-historical-novelist-there-are-few-jobs-more-retrospective/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist-- I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not be missed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/and-that-singular-anomaly-the-lady-novelist-i-don-t-think-she-d-be/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [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 > [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/) [A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“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 Manuel Puig > [I think cinema is closer to allegories than to reality. It's closer to our dreams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-think-cinema-is-closer-to-allegories-than-to-reality-it-s-closer-to/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [If it's great stuff, the people who consume it are nourished. It's a positive force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/if-it-s-great-stuff-the-people-who-consume-it-are-nourished-it-s-a/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [What's better, a poetic intuition or an intellectual work? I think they complement each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/what-s-better-a-poetic-intuition-or-an-intellectual-work-i-think-they/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Modern American cinema seems to me superficial. The intention is to understand a certain reality, and the result is nothing but a photographing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/modern-american-cinema-seems-to-me-superficial-the-intention-is-to/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Contrary to what Kafka does, I always like to refer all of my fictions to the level of reality, He, on the other hand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/contrary-to-what-kafka-does-i-always-like-to-refer-all-of-my-fictions/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [I've always wondered why there isn't a great French novel about the German occupation. The nouveau roman authors weren't interested in telling that sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-ve-always-wondered-why-there-isn-t-a-great-french-novel-about-the/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [I do believe that reading can help you understand what you're writing and see what others are doing. But sometimes the desire for more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-do-believe-that-reading-can-help-you-understand-what-you-re-writing/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Writers are not meant for action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/writers-are-not-meant-for-action/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [I don't have traceable literary models because I haven't had great literary influences in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-don-t-have-traceable-literary-models-because-i-haven-t-had-great/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [For someone who writes fiction, in order to activate the imagination and the unconscious, it's essential to be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/for-someone-who-writes-fiction-in-order-to-activate-the-imagination/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [If a spectator with a philosophical mind, somebody accustomed to reading books, gets the same kind of information in a movie, he might not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/if-a-spectator-with-a-philosophical-mind-somebody-accustomed-to/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [What better model of a synthesis than a nocturnal dream? Dreams simplify, don't they?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/what-better-model-of-a-synthesis-than-a-nocturnal-dream-dreams/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Hitchcock makes it very clear to us. There's an objective and a subjective camera, like there's a third- and a first-person narrator in literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/hitchcock-makes-it-very-clear-to-us-there-s-an-objective-and-a/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [Whenever I write, I'm always thinking of the reader.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/whenever-i-write-i-m-always-thinking-of-the-reader/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) > [I only understand realism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manuel-puig/i-only-understand-realism/) [Manuel Puig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) [Explore all 66 Manuel Puig quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manuel-puig/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. 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