--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't think there's such a thing as…" description: "\"I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical fiction. If I say it happened, it happened, even if only in my mind.\" — Maya Angelou" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/maya-angelou-104_autobiographical_i-don-t-think-there-s-such-a-thing-as-au_410455.png" --- # I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical… ![“I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical fiction. If I say it happened, it happened, even if only in my mind.” quote by Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/maya-angelou-104_autobiographical_i-don-t-think-there-s-such-a-thing-as-au_410455.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/maya-angelou-104_autobiographical_i-don-t-think-there-s-such-a-thing-as-au_410455.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb6/maya-angelou-104_autobiographical_i-don-t-think-there-s-such-a-thing-as-au_410455.png) > “I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical fiction. If I say it happened, it happened, even if only in my mind.” [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She asserts that personal truth is defined by one's own perception, not external validation. **In simple terms:** Personal truth is what you believe happened. Key Takeaway Trust your own experience. Themes truth subjectivity memory Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - writing memoirs - therapy - creative writing - historical recounting Key Concepts autobiography fiction perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you distinguish memory from imagination? - Can others' perspectives alter your narrative? A Different Perspective Subjectivity can blur objective facts, leading to disputes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autobiographical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiographical/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Reading the several thousand pages of Christopher Isherwood's complete journals is an instructive corrective to the prissiness of reading fiction. Isherwood had faults that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-white/reading-the-several-thousand-pages-of-christopher-isherwood-s/) [Edmund White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-white/) > [Everything is autobiographical, and nothing is autobiographical. That's fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-unger/everything-is-autobiographical-and-nothing-is-autobiographical-that-s/) [Lisa Unger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-unger/) > [As a gay writer and someone who began by writing autobiographical fiction, it's hard to get away from chatter of "You're just a narcissist,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-a-martin/as-a-gay-writer-and-someone-who-began-by-writing-autobiographical/) [Douglas A. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-a-martin/) > [I don't view my memory as accurate or static - and, in autobiographical fiction, my focus is still on creating an effect, not on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/i-don-t-view-my-memory-as-accurate-or-static-and-in-autobiographical/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It is so common to write autobiographical fiction in which your own experience is thinly disguised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leavitt/it-is-so-common-to-write-autobiographical-fiction-in-which-your-own/) [David Leavitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leavitt/) > [“It's always difficult when people compare me unfavorably with other contemporary writers. It's much easier when they use examples from earlier eras of fiction.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/it-s-always-difficult-when-people-compare-me-unfavorably-with-other/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [The world is a very complex and interesting place and that is what I really want my fiction to say: wake up to how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/the-world-is-a-very-complex-and-interesting-place-and-that-is-what-i/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [It allows you to say things that sound very dramatic and get away with it. If you had characters in modern fiction say the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/it-allows-you-to-say-things-that-sound-very-dramatic-and-get-away/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [I have to do more close research and fact checking for the science fiction. This is not however to say that writing good fantasy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-zettel/i-have-to-do-more-close-research-and-fact-checking-for-the-science/) [Sarah Zettel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-zettel/) > [I meet a number of people as a writer of fiction who say "Oh, I don't read much fiction," as if the history of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/i-meet-a-number-of-people-as-a-writer-of-fiction-who-say-oh-i-don-t/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [And I am pretty sure that's the point of reading fiction -- so someone else can say in a way you never would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/and-i-am-pretty-sure-that-s-the-point-of-reading-fiction-so-someone/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [I think fiction can help us find everything. You know, I think that in fiction you can say things and in a way be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-m-homes/i-think-fiction-can-help-us-find-everything-you-know-i-think-that-in/) [A.M. Homes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-m-homes/) > [I was in my senior year of high school when I read 'Notes From Underground' by Dostoyevsky, and it was an exhilarating discovery. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/i-was-in-my-senior-year-of-high-school-when-i-read-notes-from/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [“Perhaps for many Japanese, autobiographical fiction writing is life. We are a people expected to complement, to harmonize, to anticipate one another's needs. All…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-minatoya/perhaps-for-many-japanese-autobiographical-fiction-writing-is-life-we/) [Lydia Minatoya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-minatoya/) > [The feeling of being an outsider, and the identity theme, are hardwired into me. If there's anything really autobiographical in my fiction, it's that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-chaon/the-feeling-of-being-an-outsider-and-the-identity-theme-are-hardwired/) [Dan Chaon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-chaon/) ## More by Maya Angelou > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [If we accept being talked to any kind of a way, then we are telling ourselves we are not quite worth the best. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/if-we-accept-being-talked-to-any-kind-of-a-way-then-we-are-telling/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You are very kind and very intelligent and those elements are not always found together. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-are-very-kind-and-very-intelligent-and-those-elements-are-not/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [You want me to do something... tell me I can't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-want-me-to-do-something-tell-me-i-can-t-do-it/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Intelligence is a separate gift, for the benefit of students, so that they may think of themselves as intellectual and not very intelligent, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/intelligence-is-a-separate-gift-for-the-benefit-of-students-so-that/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life is going to give you just what you put in it. Put your whole heart in everything you do, and pray, then you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-is-going-to-give-you-just-what-you-put-in-it-put-your-whole/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [“You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may tread me in the very dirt But still, like dust,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-may-write-me-down-in-history-with-your-bitter-twisted-lies-you/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/the-more-you-know-of-your-history-the-more-liberated-you-are/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Life offers us tickets to places which we have not knowingly asked for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/life-offers-us-tickets-to-places-which-we-have-not-knowingly-asked-for/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/every-person-needs-to-take-one-day-away-a-day-in-which-one/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [I'm working at trying to be a Christian, and that's serious business. It's like trying to be a good Jew, a good Muslim, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-m-working-at-trying-to-be-a-christian-and-that-s-serious-business/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Nathaniel Hawthorne once said that easy reading is damn hard writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/nathaniel-hawthorne-once-said-that-easy-reading-is-damn-hard-writing/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Sunday, if I'm lucky, I'll go to church or listen to some good spiritual advice on the television or on the radio. I take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/sunday-if-i-m-lucky-i-ll-go-to-church-or-listen-to-some-good/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) [Explore all 1,313 Maya Angelou quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) ## More Autobiographical quotes > [“I am not and autobiographical writer--one can't be without a solid and explicable self--and read all autobiographical writers with the same curiosity. What kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yiyun-li/i-am-not-and-autobiographical-writer-one-can-t-be-without-a-solid-and/) [Yiyun Li](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yiyun-li/) > [I'm always saying that my books are not autobiographical because they're not. I can't choose any one scene and say, 'Oh, this is exactly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-von-ziegesar/i-m-always-saying-that-my-books-are-not-autobiographical-because-they/) [Cecily von Ziegesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-von-ziegesar/) > [Race as a subject only comes about because of what I look like. If I say something truthfully, people say "Oh, she's so angry."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamaica-kincaid/race-as-a-subject-only-comes-about-because-of-what-i-look-like-if-i/) [Jamaica Kincaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamaica-kincaid/) > [Of necessity, the autobiographical self is not just about one individual but about all the others that an individual interacts with. Of necessity, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/of-necessity-the-autobiographical-self-is-not-just-about-one/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Because of the wonderfully positive response to 'Life's That Way,' I am considering writing some more autobiographical stuff - maybe another book. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-beaver/because-of-the-wonderfully-positive-response-to-life-s-that-way-i-am/) [Jim Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-beaver/) > [I occasionally experience the discomfort of people assuming my work is autobiographical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/i-occasionally-experience-the-discomfort-of-people-assuming-my-work/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [Autobiographical comics, I love them. I love them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-bechdel/autobiographical-comics-i-love-them-i-love-them/) [Alison Bechdel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-bechdel/) > [It's actually easier to do autobiographical stories. The story is already there. It's a matter of carving away what doesn't fit rather than building…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-thompson/it-s-actually-easier-to-do-autobiographical-stories-the-story-is/) [Craig Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-thompson/) > [My books aren't autobiographical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/my-books-aren-t-autobiographical/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [“Attempting to express a person’s objective reality and subjective state of mind with the written word is an endless task because writing alters our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kilroy-j-oldster/attempting-to-express-a-person-s-objective-reality-and-subjective/) [Kilroy J. Oldster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kilroy-j-oldster/) > [Memoir is actually the most egoless genre, even though it might seem ostensibly so much ego-driven. In order for it to succeed, you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-flynn/memoir-is-actually-the-most-egoless-genre-even-though-it-might-seem/) [Nick Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-flynn/) > [I'm not an autobiographical writer, but I am a writer who deals with human emotion on all levels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-an-autobiographical-writer-but-i-am-a-writer-who-deals-with/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“is a little remarkable, that—though disinclined to talk overmuch of myself and my affairs at the fireside, and to my personal friends—an autobiographical impulse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/is-a-little-remarkable-that-though-disinclined-to-talk-overmuch-of/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There certainly is no secret in that there are plenty of people who don't like plenty of my movies. Each one of my films…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-reitman/there-certainly-is-no-secret-in-that-there-are-plenty-of-people-who/) [Jason Reitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-reitman/) > ['Normal' is not clinical, it's not autobiographical, and I don't claim to be objective. It's strictly my perceptions and thoughts about the people that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/normal-is-not-clinical-it-s-not-autobiographical-and-i-don-t-claim-to/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) [Browse all 202 Autobiographical quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autobiographical/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't think there's such a thing as autobiographical fiction. 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