--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For feel-good fiction to work, there has…" description: "\"For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element of darkness.\" — Marian Keyes" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png" --- # For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element… ![“For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element of darkness.” quote by Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png) > “For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element of darkness.” [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Good stories need darkness to create depth and tension. **In simple terms:** Darkness adds depth to feel‑good stories. Key Takeaway Blend light and shadow for impact. Themes storytelling balance contrast Mood thoughtful creative Type creative analytical When to use this quote - writing workshops - novel planning - screenwriting Key Concepts narrative theory emotional resonance Questions to Reflect On - How much darkness is optimal? - What balance engages readers best? A Different Perspective Too much darkness can alienate readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I use non-fiction work written by Whites in my research. It's indispensable. That wasn't the problem. 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And I myself am a work of fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-keep-losing-and-regaining-my-equilibrium-which-is-the-basic-plot-of/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [It is simply much easier to infuse life, feeling, and higher truth into a novel than a non-fiction work, to find the license to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/it-is-simply-much-easier-to-infuse-life-feeling-and-higher-truth-into/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [It is a misrepresentation to call my works fiction; the work loses something when categorized this way. I realize that the stories are somewhat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-magid/it-is-a-misrepresentation-to-call-my-works-fiction-the-work-loses/) [Jill Magid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-magid/) > [I lay off a lot modern fiction and only rely on living writers for non-fiction work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-lay-off-a-lot-modern-fiction-and-only-rely-on-living-writers-for/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [There is certainly a part of my filmmaking that harkens to a more simpler commercial kind of taste, but then with this theres certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-chandor/there-is-certainly-a-part-of-my-filmmaking-that-harkens-to-a-more/) [J. C. Chandor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-chandor/) > [I lived for 10 years in Los Angeles, and the one element that surpasses everything else - that you are very conscious of -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lee/i-lived-for-10-years-in-los-angeles-and-the-one-element-that/) [Christopher Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lee/) > [In every character you play, as much as you hate to admit it as an actor, but there's an element of you that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-montgomery/in-every-character-you-play-as-much-as-you-hate-to-admit-it-as-an/) [Janet Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-montgomery/) > [There is no realism without an element of idealism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/there-is-no-realism-without-an-element-of-idealism/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [Contentment with our lot is an element of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop/contentment-with-our-lot-is-an-element-of-happiness/) [Aesop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop/) > [“Your potentials contain local elements that can react with your passion to produce global compounds for the solution of the world’s problems. Go and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/your-potentials-contain-local-elements-that-can-react-with-your/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [It's always fun messing around with costumes and stuff. You know there is an element of acting that you've got to dress-up; that's part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-bellman/it-s-always-fun-messing-around-with-costumes-and-stuff-you-know-there/) [Gina Bellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-bellman/) > [Love is an element which though physically unseen is as real as air or water. It is an acting, living, moving force... it moves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prentice-mulford/love-is-an-element-which-though-physically-unseen-is-as-real-as-air/) [Prentice Mulford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prentice-mulford/) ## More by Marian Keyes > [“As they say in New York, Get over it and, if you can't get over it, Get over talking about it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-they-say-in-new-york-get-over-it-and-if-you-can-t-get-over-it-get/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I rang my mother to thank her for giving birth to me and she said, "What choice had I? You were in there, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-rang-my-mother-to-thank-her-for-giving-birth-to-me-and-she-said/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I should have learned mindfulness, and it’s too late now because it’s no good learning it when you’re already in crisis: you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-should-have-learned-mindfulness-and-it-s-too-late-now-because-it-s/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“The last time I’d been unwell, suicidally depressed, whatever you want to call it, the reactions of my friends and family had fallen into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/the-last-time-i-d-been-unwell-suicidally-depressed-whatever-you-want/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I'm not looking for pity, I'm really not, but I'm constantly uneasy and every day it is pretty much like getting up and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-m-not-looking-for-pity-i-m-really-not-but-i-m-constantly-uneasy-and/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Some think love can be measured by the amount of butterflies in their tummy. Others think love can be measured in bunches of flowers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/some-think-love-can-be-measured-by-the-amount-of-butterflies-in-their/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“Guilt is a self-indulgence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/guilt-is-a-self-indulgence/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I awake. I don’t mean to but clearly I have not appeased the Sleep Gods with enough offerings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-awake-i-don-t-mean-to-but-clearly-i-have-not-appeased-the-sleep/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [It was only when the salt water of my tears ran into my cuts and made them sting that I discovered I was crying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/it-was-only-when-the-salt-water-of-my-tears-ran-into-my-cuts-and-made/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I wished there was some kind of switch on my brain. That I could turn it off in the same way that I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-wished-there-was-some-kind-of-switch-on-my-brain-that-i-could-turn/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“I click to buy it and I’m furious to discover that it’s not available in Ireland and they won’t post it from abroad and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-click-to-buy-it-and-i-m-furious-to-discover-that-it-s-not-available/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [I've never made a secret of the fact that I'd have loved to have children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/i-ve-never-made-a-secret-of-the-fact-that-i-d-have-loved-to-have/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“As if, within their high-pitched cries and songs, there are coded threats.     ‘Sometimes you get what you want and sometimes you get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/as-if-within-their-high-pitched-cries-and-songs-there-are-coded/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [“If it don't come back, it was never yours. If it comes back, it's yours to keep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/if-it-don-t-come-back-it-was-never-yours-if-it-comes-back-it-s-yours/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) > [Failed relationships can be described as so much wasted makeup. Forget the laughs, forget the fights, forget the sex, forget the jealousy. But take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/failed-relationships-can-be-described-as-so-much-wasted-makeup-forget/) [Marian Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) [Explore all 190 Marian Keyes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/) ## More Darkness quotes > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Wait here, wait here!" he cried and jumped up and began to run for help toward a cluster of lights he saw in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/wait-here-wait-here-he-cried-and-jumped-up-and-began-to-run-for-help/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Clear moments are so short. There is much more darkness. More ocean than terra firma. More shadow than form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-zagajewski/clear-moments-are-so-short-there-is-much-more-darkness-more-ocean/) [Adam Zagajewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-zagajewski/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > [I guess he'll have to figure out someday that he is supposed to have this dark side, that it is part of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-guess-he-ll-have-to-figure-out-someday-that-he-is-supposed-to-have/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“I promise to respect and protect your aloneness, knowing that everything created must have its period of darkness: child and bulb, poem and personality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-morrow-lindbergh/i-promise-to-respect-and-protect-your-aloneness-knowing-that/) [anne morrow lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-morrow-lindbergh/) > [The beauty of darkness is how it lets you see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/the-beauty-of-darkness-is-how-it-lets-you-see/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [“Even in darkness your lips taste of sunshine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/even-in-darkness-your-lips-taste-of-sunshine/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [“Defy me not for gleam can only shine in my existence" said Darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/defy-me-not-for-gleam-can-only-shine-in-my-existence-said-darkness/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“What does he look like? The question was soft- tentative. I knew who he meant. I interlaced my fingers through Rhysand's and squeezed tightly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-maas/what-does-he-look-like-the-question-was-soft-tentative-i-knew-who-he/) [Sarah J. Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-maas/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [“Life is like coffee, the darker it gets, the more it energizes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ankita-singhal/life-is-like-coffee-the-darker-it-gets-the-more-it-energizes/) [Ankita Singhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ankita-singhal/) > [Twinking tears in a sea of black. Soft light in a world of darkness. Tiny wishes in a place of dreams. Do you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-gentile/twinking-tears-in-a-sea-of-black-soft-light-in-a-world-of-darkness/) Nicole Gentile [Browse all 8,219 Darkness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element of darkness.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Marian Keyes" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has-to-be-an-element-of-darkness/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Darkness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has-to-be-an-element-of-darkness/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/772/marian-keyes-1999_darkness_for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has_1309938.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For feel-good fiction to work, there has to be an element of darkness.” — Marian Keyes", "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": "Marian Keyes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marian-keyes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For feel-good fiction to work, there...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has-to-be-an-element-of-darkness/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marian-keyes/for-feel-good-fiction-to-work-there-has-to-be-an-element-of-darkness/#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 } } ] } ```