--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One of the great things about fiction is…" description: "\"One of the great things about fiction is you can use an issue and describe it in human terms.\" — Michael Connelly" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/michael-connelly-1004_fiction_one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is_3182701.jpg" --- # One of the great things about fiction is you can use an… ![“One of the great things about fiction is you can use an issue and describe it in human terms.” quote by Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/michael-connelly-1004_fiction_one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is_3182701.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/michael-connelly-1004_fiction_one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is_3182701.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/michael-connelly-1004_fiction_one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is_3182701.jpg) > “One of the great things about fiction is you can use an issue and describe it in human terms.” [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction lets writers translate complex social issues into relatable human stories, making them understandable and impactful. **In simple terms:** Stories make issues relatable. Key Takeaway Use narrative to explain problems. Themes storytelling empathy social commentary Mood inspirational thoughtful Type educational motivational When to use this quote - education - policy advocacy - media - community outreach Key Concepts literature communication Questions to Reflect On - What issue could you humanize through a story? - How does character empathy change perception? A Different Perspective Narratives can oversimplify nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Great things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-things/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I was thinking one of the great things about fiction is we, as a race, only get to look out of our own eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-was-thinking-one-of-the-great-things-about-fiction-is-we-as-a-race/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Yes, I'm happy, in human terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-i-m-happy-in-human-terms/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [The issue of human rights is one of the most fundamental human issues and also one of the most sensitive and controversial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-khamenei/the-issue-of-human-rights-is-one-of-the-most-fundamental-human-issues/) [Ali Khamenei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-khamenei/) > [Take the life issue. This issue requires a president and an administration leading our nation to understand the importance of life. This whole faith-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/take-the-life-issue-this-issue-requires-a-president-and-an/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The issue of poverty is not a statistical issue. It is a human issue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-wolfensohn/the-issue-of-poverty-is-not-a-statistical-issue-it-is-a-human-issue/) [James Wolfensohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-wolfensohn/) > [This is what I think is fun about fiction - you get to use as much history as you want as scaffolding and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-sloan/this-is-what-i-think-is-fun-about-fiction-you-get-to-use-as-much/) [Robin Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-sloan/) > [That's the miracle of fiction. I use it to spray on certain moments or places from my youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-modiano/that-s-the-miracle-of-fiction-i-use-it-to-spray-on-certain-moments-or/) [Patrick Modiano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-modiano/) > [As a novelist, I mined my history, my family and my memory, but in a very specific way. Writing fiction, I never made use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-waldman/as-a-novelist-i-mined-my-history-my-family-and-my-memory-but-in-a/) [Ayelet Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-waldman/) > [In a sense, fantasy is a freer play of the imagination. 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And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-really-need-to-know-where-i-m-going-with-fiction-to-write-it-in-a/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [“Poetry is a way of coming to know the realness of things; fiction is a way of coming to know the world of relationships;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-cherry/poetry-is-a-way-of-coming-to-know-the-realness-of-things-fiction-is-a/) Kelly Cherry ## More by Michael Connelly > [It's about being fair. It's about Black Lives Matter. Yes, they matter. Everybody counts or nobody counts, and I think if more cops had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/it-s-about-being-fair-it-s-about-black-lives-matter-yes-they-matter/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“Someone’s coming.” Terry McCaleb looked at his wife and then followed her eyes down to the winding road below. He could see the golf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/someone-s-coming-terry-mccaleb-looked-at-his-wife-and-then-followed/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I love movies. Movies have influenced me as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-love-movies-movies-have-influenced-me-as-a-writer/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“There is no end of things in the heart. Somebody once told me that. 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It was here that textile worker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/at-the-bottom-of-the-hill-after-boston-college-the-route-passes-st/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“He said no. He said, in very fine English, ‘I buy, I don’t sell.’ Then he escorted me out. But I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/he-said-no-he-said-in-very-fine-english-i-buy-i-don-t-sell-then-he/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“Living in L.A. sometimes felt like you were riding shotgun with the devil to the apocalypse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/living-in-l-a-sometimes-felt-like-you-were-riding-shotgun-with-the/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“The paying jobs were few and she was often taken advantage of by the leeches who were part of the entertainment industry. But she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/the-paying-jobs-were-few-and-she-was-often-taken-advantage-of-by-the/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [“Lean in, invade that foot and a half that is all theirs, their own space. Lean back when you get what you want. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/lean-in-invade-that-foot-and-a-half-that-is-all-theirs-their-own/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I have a large collection of biographies about jazz musicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-have-a-large-collection-of-biographies-about-jazz-musicians/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I was fired as an actor on 'Bosch.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-was-fired-as-an-actor-on-bosch/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [Maybe it has something to do with being a reporter for a long time that I don't look to newspapers and television and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/maybe-it-has-something-to-do-with-being-a-reporter-for-a-long-time/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I was enamored of detectives as a teenager. I liked what they did - piecing things together, thinking about situations. But to get there?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/i-was-enamored-of-detectives-as-a-teenager-i-liked-what-they-did/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) [Explore all 306 Michael Connelly quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) ## More Fiction quotes > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) Phil Hogan > [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/) [Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/) > [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/) Edward Einhorn > [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) > [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/) Coheed and Cambria > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/) [Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/) [Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/) [Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/) > [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/) [Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/) > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Metafiction says something. 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