--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's probably a form of childish…" description: "\"It's probably a form of childish curiosity that keeps me going as a fiction writer. I ... want to open everybody's bureau drawers and see what they kee..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/margaret-atwood-40_curiosity_it-s-probably-a-form-of-childish-curiosi_3023274.jpg" --- # It's probably a form of childish curiosity that keeps me… ![“It's probably a form of childish curiosity that keeps me going as a fiction writer. I ... want to open everybody's bureau drawers and see what they keep in there. I'm nosy.” quote by Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/margaret-atwood-40_curiosity_it-s-probably-a-form-of-childish-curiosi_3023274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/margaret-atwood-40_curiosity_it-s-probably-a-form-of-childish-curiosi_3023274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ac0/margaret-atwood-40_curiosity_it-s-probably-a-form-of-childish-curiosi_3023274.jpg) > “It's probably a form of childish curiosity that keeps me going as a fiction writer. I ... want to open everybody's bureau drawers and see what they keep in there. I'm nosy.” [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Childish curiosity drives his fiction, exploring hidden personal secrets **In simple terms:** Curiosity fuels storytelling about private lives Key Takeaway Embrace curiosity to deepen narrative Themes creativity privacy exploration Mood inquisitive reflective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - journalism - psychotherapy - family dynamics Key Concepts Psychology literary analysis Questions to Reflect On - When is curiosity invasive? - How to balance intrigue with respect? A Different Perspective Intrusion may breach ethics ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Curiosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writers/) [Nosy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nosy/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Curiosity keeps me alive.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-burle-marx/curiosity-keeps-me-alive/) [Roberto Burle Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-burle-marx/) > [Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/curiosity-keeps-leading-us-down-new-paths/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Around here, we don't look back for very long. We keep moving forward. Opening up new doors, and doing new things because we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany/around-here-we-don-t-look-back-for-very-long-we-keep-moving-forward/) [Brittany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany/) > [“Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney-company/around-here-however-we-don-t-look-backwards-for-very-long-we-keep/) [Walt Disney Company](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney-company/) > [If we had known everything in this universe, we would have had to find another universe to feed our curiosity, because what keeps alive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-we-had-known-everything-in-this-universe-we-would-have-had-to-find/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [We keep on moving forward, opening new doors and doing new things because we are curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/we-keep-on-moving-forward-opening-new-doors-and-doing-new-things/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity is what keeps me open to a sense of hope. It staves off negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/curiosity-is-what-keeps-me-open-to-a-sense-of-hope-it-staves-off/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [Dont look back & ask why, move forward & say why not as curiosity keeps moving ,opening new door of hope & accomplishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/dont-look-back-ask-why-move-forward-say-why-not-as-curiosity-keeps/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [I'm just super nosy, I love trying to understand what's going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-coles/i-m-just-super-nosy-i-love-trying-to-understand-what-s-going-on/) [Joanna Coles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-coles/) > [You may encounter a very nosy person today, Gemini. This person wants to know everything about you - perhaps even the most personal stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/06-july-2013/you-may-encounter-a-very-nosy-person-today-gemini-this-person-wants/) 06 July 2013 > [Be careful who you open up to. Only few people actually care. The rest are just nosy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/be-careful-who-you-open-up-to-only-few-people-actually-care-the-rest/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I'll go on being nosy. Are you going to come clean with me about Taylor?" Trevor grimaced faintly. He stared at nothing in particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-robbins/i-ll-go-on-being-nosy-are-you-going-to-come-clean-with-me-about/) Kay Robbins > [Whenever I would get too nosy as a child, my grandmother would say, "When you learn someone else's secret, your own secrets aren't safe.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-addison-allen/whenever-i-would-get-too-nosy-as-a-child-my-grandmother-would-say/) [Sarah Addison Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-addison-allen/) > [I grew a reputation for always asking questions and being nosy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamron-hall/i-grew-a-reputation-for-always-asking-questions-and-being-nosy/) [Tamron Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamron-hall/) > [“Nosy people find out things they’d rather not know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinah-jefferies/nosy-people-find-out-things-they-d-rather-not-know/) [Dinah Jefferies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinah-jefferies/) ## More by Margaret Atwood > [“I'm fine," said Pilar, "for the moment. And the moment is the only time we can be fine in.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-m-fine-said-pilar-for-the-moment-and-the-moment-is-the-only-time-we/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [And yet it disturbs me to learn I have hurt someone unintentionally. I want all my hurts to be intentional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/and-yet-it-disturbs-me-to-learn-i-have-hurt-someone-unintentionally-i/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Mary: Some call this "Eve's curse," but I think that is stupid because the real curse of Eve was having to put up with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/mary-some-call-this-eve-s-curse-but-i-think-that-is-stupid-because/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The birds were singing around me, but I reflected that the very birds were strangers to me, for I did not even know their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-birds-were-singing-around-me-but-i-reflected-that-the-very-birds/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Strange how we decorate pain. These ribbons, for instance, and the small hard teardrops of blood. Who are they for? Do we think the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/strange-how-we-decorate-pain-these-ribbons-for-instance-and-the-small/) [margaret atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [I wanted to forget the past, but it refused to forget me; it waited for sleep, then cornered me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/i-wanted-to-forget-the-past-but-it-refused-to-forget-me-it-waited-for/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Back at home they drew the curtains and read, with disapproval, with relish, with avidity and glee - even the ones who'd never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/back-at-home-they-drew-the-curtains-and-read-with-disapproval-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“It's my fault. I am forgetting too much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/it-s-my-fault-i-am-forgetting-too-much/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Simon walks back to the house alone. The night is clear and warm, with a moon, almost full, enclosed in a nimbus of mist;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/simon-walks-back-to-the-house-alone-the-night-is-clear-and-warm-with/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“There is indeed something delightful about being able to combine obedience and disobedience in the same act.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/there-is-indeed-something-delightful-about-being-able-to-combine/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“Every time the women appear, Snowman is astonished all over again. They're every known colour from the deepest black to whitest white, they're various…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/every-time-the-women-appear-snowman-is-astonished-all-over-again-they/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“The more difficult it was to love the particular man beside us, the more we believed in Love, abstract and total. We were waiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/the-more-difficult-it-was-to-love-the-particular-man-beside-us-the/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [“She knows she's deceiving herself about that, but she prefers to deceive herself. She desperately needs to believe such pure joy is still possible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/she-knows-she-s-deceiving-herself-about-that-but-she-prefers-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) [Explore all 2,072 Margaret Atwood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) ## More Curiosity quotes > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“Metal makes everything magical. Just ask a unicorn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sybrina-durant/metal-makes-everything-magical-just-ask-a-unicorn/) [Sybrina Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sybrina-durant/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The four Cs of making dreams come true: Curiosity, Courage, Consistency, Confidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-disney/the-four-cs-of-making-dreams-come-true-curiosity-courage-consistency/) [Walt Disney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-disney/) > [Curiosity Can Kill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anison/curiosity-can-kill/) [Anison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anison/) > [“So curious you must be. Like little calves poking their heads through the fence with big eyes and a headful of curiosity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carew-papritz/so-curious-you-must-be-like-little-calves-poking-their-heads-through/) [Carew Papritz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carew-papritz/) > [ “\[T\]he question "What is everything?" has no meaning, even though it seems to be profound. \[...\] The point is, perhaps, that I am not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/t-he-question-what-is-everything-has-no-meaning-even-though-it-seems/) [Alan W. Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-w-watts/) > [ By profession a biologist, \[Thomas Henry Huxley\] covered in fact the whole field of the exact sciences, and then bulged through its four fences.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/by-profession-a-biologist-thomas-henry-huxley-covered-in-fact-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [Be curious not judge mental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/unknow/be-curious-not-judge-mental/) Unknow > [There is nothing so carking as the pangs of unsatisfied curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-atherton/there-is-nothing-so-carking-as-the-pangs-of-unsatisfied-curiosity/) [Gertrude Atherton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-atherton/) > [Curiosity is the essence of human existence. 'Who are we? Where are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?'... I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/curiosity-is-the-essence-of-human-existence-who-are-we-where-are-we/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Sometimes curiosity is a poison, not only for those who drink it but for everyone around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-norman-lippert/sometimes-curiosity-is-a-poison-not-only-for-those-who-drink-it-but/) [G. Norman Lippert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-norman-lippert/) > [As long as your curiosity is greater than your fear, you will move forward!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/as-long-as-your-curiosity-is-greater-than-your-fear-you-will-move/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it sure has earned a lot of people graduate degrees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robyn-irving/curiosity-may-have-killed-the-cat-but-it-sure-has-earned-a-lot-of/) Robyn Irving [Browse all 2,721 Curiosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curiosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's probably a form of childish curiosity that keeps me going as a fiction writer. I ... want to open everybody's bureau drawers and see what they keep in there. 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