--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd been writing fiction for 50 years…" description: "\"I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And when you write fiction, it becomes a way of thinking: there's always a novel around. The str..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg" --- # I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And… ![“I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And when you write fiction, it becomes a way of thinking: there's always a novel around. The strange thing was that after 'Remember Me,' there wasn't.” quote by Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg) > “I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And when you write fiction, it becomes a way of thinking: there's always a novel around. The strange thing was that after 'Remember Me,' there wasn't.” [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing fiction shapes thought; without stories, imagination stalls. **In simple terms:** Fiction fuels thinking. Key Takeaway Write to expand mind. Themes creativity writing imagination growth Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - author workshops - creative writing - personal development Key Concepts Narrative cognition habit formation Questions to Reflect On - How does fiction influence daily decisions? - What stories shape your worldview? A Different Perspective Not everyone can sustain a novel habit. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Way of thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-of-thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-fiction/) ## Related quotes > [“If you're a writer, the problem is that, when you try to call a halt to thinking about your novel-in-progress, your imagination still keeps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/if-you-re-a-writer-the-problem-is-that-when-you-try-to-call-a-halt-to/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Usually, I start thinking about my next novel soon after completing the latest, and it can take anywhere from a month to 6 months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/usually-i-start-thinking-about-my-next-novel-soon-after-completing/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Anybody who sits down to write, and they think 'thriller,' maybe shouldn't be thinking that way. Maybe we should be thinking 'novel,' maybe 'thriller'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morrell/anybody-who-sits-down-to-write-and-they-think-thriller-maybe-shouldn/) [David Morrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morrell/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [You write fiction, you're writing memoir, and when you're writing memoir, you're writing fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-write-fiction-you-re-writing-memoir-and-when-you-re-writing/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [I'm so deeply interested in what it feels like to be other people that I get to operate under the illusion when I'm writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/i-m-so-deeply-interested-in-what-it-feels-like-to-be-other-people/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [“Tengo did not know for certain whether he wanted to be a professional novelist, nor was he sure he had the talent to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/tengo-did-not-know-for-certain-whether-he-wanted-to-be-a-professional/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I began to write fiction on the assumption that the true enemies of the novel were plot, character, setting and theme, and having once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hawkes/i-began-to-write-fiction-on-the-assumption-that-the-true-enemies-of-2/) [John Hawkes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hawkes/) > [Fiction is lies; we're writing about people who never existed and events that never happened when we write fiction, whether its science fiction or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/fiction-is-lies-we-re-writing-about-people-who-never-existed-and/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [If I write nothing but fiction for some time I begin to get stupid, and to feel rather as if it had been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mary-yonge/if-i-write-nothing-but-fiction-for-some-time-i-begin-to-get-stupid/) [Charlotte Mary Yonge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mary-yonge/) > [Wanted to write fiction since I was 11, since I first read 'In Our Time' by Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/wanted-to-write-fiction-since-i-was-11-since-i-first-read-in-our-time/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [“Write non-fiction like fiction, so the reader is constantly turning the page to find out what happens next, and write fiction like non-fiction, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-robinson/write-non-fiction-like-fiction-so-the-reader-is-constantly-turning/) [Jeffrey Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-robinson/) > [I remember reading an interview with a writer who said that in nonfiction if you have one lie it sort of messes it up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwidge-danticat/i-remember-reading-an-interview-with-a-writer-who-said-that-in/) [Edwidge Danticat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwidge-danticat/) > [Because I write fiction, I don't write autobiography, and to me they are very different things. The first-person narrative is a very intimate thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/because-i-write-fiction-i-don-t-write-autobiography-and-to-me-they/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [I thought I was going to write fiction but I fell backwards into non-fiction. It started when I got locked out of two apartments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/i-thought-i-was-going-to-write-fiction-but-i-fell-backwards-into-non/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) ## More by Melvyn Bragg > [The success of the arts has come through a mix of public subsidy, substantial private support, and good box-office receipts, but central to Labour's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/the-success-of-the-arts-has-come-through-a-mix-of-public-subsidy/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [“We shall fight on the beaches,” said Churchill in 1940, “we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/we-shall-fight-on-the-beaches-said-churchill-in-1940-we-shall-fight/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [Too old at 72? Careful. Ageism is out. We'll have the law on you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/too-old-at-72-careful-ageism-is-out-we-ll-have-the-law-on-you/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [The class barricades have been stormed by the forces of a broad culture, which is made up of clusters of individuals who have decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/the-class-barricades-have-been-stormed-by-the-forces-of-a-broad/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [“It is impossible to get enough books, don't you find? But where are we without them? Just words on the wind... Not words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/it-is-impossible-to-get-enough-books-don-t-you-find-but-where-are-we/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [I don't believe in a personal God, no. And I don't believe in resurrection as it is in the New Testament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-don-t-believe-in-a-personal-god-no-and-i-don-t-believe-in/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [As the 20th century unspooled, a cultural warming melted down many frozen class characteristics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/as-the-20th-century-unspooled-a-cultural-warming-melted-down-many/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [I'm a Labour party supporter, but I'm also a democrat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-m-a-labour-party-supporter-but-i-m-also-a-democrat/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [When anybody tells you something about writing, somebody will tell you something completely different and they will also be right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/when-anybody-tells-you-something-about-writing-somebody-will-tell-you/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [A lot of the novels I admire are 'admirably provincial.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/a-lot-of-the-novels-i-admire-are-admirably-provincial/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [My memory seems to be holding on quite well. There is no reason why it shouldn't if you keep training it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/my-memory-seems-to-be-holding-on-quite-well-there-is-no-reason-why-it/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [I'll never forget my interview with Barry Humphries - one of the oddest I've ever done. He insisted that for half the time he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-ll-never-forget-my-interview-with-barry-humphries-one-of-the-oddest/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [In the 40 or so years I've known David Puttnam, not only has he pursued an outstanding career in films and now politics, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/in-the-40-or-so-years-i-ve-known-david-puttnam-not-only-has-he/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [We were working class, and you don't lose that. Later on, I bolted on media middle class... and now people like me are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/we-were-working-class-and-you-don-t-lose-that-later-on-i-bolted-on/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) > [Dame Barbara Cartland was an endearing eccentric, and when I interviewed her, she wanted me to listen to her dictating to her secretary one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/dame-barbara-cartland-was-an-endearing-eccentric-and-when-i/) [Melvyn Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) [Explore all 75 Melvyn Bragg quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And when you write fiction, it becomes a way of thinking: there's always a novel around. The strange thing was that after 'Remember Me,' there wasn't.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Melvyn Bragg" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-since-i-was-19-and-when-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-since-i-was-19-and-when-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9a/melvyn-bragg-9049_books_i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-si_1183901.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd been writing fiction for 50 years, since I was 19. And when you write fiction, it becomes a way of…” — Melvyn Bragg", "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": "Melvyn Bragg", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melvyn-bragg/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd been writing fiction for 50...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-since-i-was-19-and-when-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melvyn-bragg/i-d-been-writing-fiction-for-50-years-since-i-was-19-and-when-you/#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 } } ] } ```