--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Novels seem to exist because of this need…" description: "\"Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity.\" — Michael Helm" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg" --- # Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and… ![“Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity.” quote by Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg) > “Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity.” [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Stories arise from the need to understand and connect, giving them urgency. **In simple terms:** Stories fulfill a need to know and connect. Key Takeaway Value narratives for their essential role. Themes storytelling connection necessity Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - therapy - marketing campaigns Key Concepts literary theory psychology Questions to Reflect On - Why do we crave stories? - How do stories influence decisions? A Different Perspective May ignore non‑narrative communication. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Necessity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessity/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [I'm sorry I only exist when you need when you need something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/i-m-sorry-i-only-exist-when-you-need-when-you-need-something/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [I suppose what I aspire to do is to make it easy for the audience to connect with a story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tiffany/i-suppose-what-i-aspire-to-do-is-to-make-it-easy-for-the-audience-to/) [John Tiffany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tiffany/) > [What an ideology is is a conceptual framework with the way people deal with reality. Everyone has one. 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You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-shea/creativity-is-seeing-something-that-doesn-t-exist-already-you-need-to/) Michelle Shea > [Some people connect with a story and may find between the lines something that might be useful to him or her, but that's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/some-people-connect-with-a-story-and-may-find-between-the-lines/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [Sometimes I want to do something that's really funny and other times I read an indie script that is going to be made for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittany-snow/sometimes-i-want-to-do-something-that-s-really-funny-and-other-times/) [Brittany Snow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittany-snow/) > [The historical novel gives us perspective on our modern lives and helps us connect with the story, which we are continuing ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pope-osborne/the-historical-novel-gives-us-perspective-on-our-modern-lives-and/) [Mary Pope Osborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pope-osborne/) > [I know a lot of people connect with my story. 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It's the day-to-day consistency…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-howes/having-a-story-is-what-people-connect-with-but-the-story-alone-doesn/) [Lewis Howes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-howes/) > [No amount of data will tell you if a feature should be in the product, because it doesn't exist. You need to have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-fadell/no-amount-of-data-will-tell-you-if-a-feature-should-be-in-the-product/) [Tony Fadell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-fadell/) > [I seem always to have two or three novels going at once. It takes me a long time to finish one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-seem-always-to-have-two-or-three-novels-going-at-once-it-takes-me-a/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) ## More by Michael Helm > [I seem always to have two or three novels going at once. It takes me a long time to finish one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-seem-always-to-have-two-or-three-novels-going-at-once-it-takes-me-a/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [“I have no talents but reading. I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-have-no-talents-but-reading-i/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [We want to know that we're not alone with our loneliness or loss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/we-want-to-know-that-we-re-not-alone-with-our-loneliness-or-loss/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [I'm not even sure if empathy is an act, it could be a disposition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-m-not-even-sure-if-empathy-is-an-act-it-could-be-a-disposition/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [The novel's not the best form for disposing ideas, though that's one thing it can do. It likely is the best form, though, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/the-novel-s-not-the-best-form-for-disposing-ideas-though-that-s-one/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [We can't write a serious novel in the 21st century without acknowledging the inescapable self-awareness we're stuck with. The idea we're surrounded by falsehoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/we-can-t-write-a-serious-novel-in-the-21st-century-without/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [Many of the concepts we once thought belonged to speculation or science fiction are now part of our understood reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/many-of-the-concepts-we-once-thought-belonged-to-speculation-or/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [I just write what I want to read, and sometimes keeping it interesting means adding one more element that ends up adding another year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-just-write-what-i-want-to-read-and-sometimes-keeping-it-interesting/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [We're getting used to reality and fantasy passing into each other. Much of the border between them has been erased.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/we-re-getting-used-to-reality-and-fantasy-passing-into-each-other/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [The real past can traumatize us, but so can the real future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/the-real-past-can-traumatize-us-but-so-can-the-real-future/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [Paranoia can be a sign of a sanity in some circumstances, in some places and times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/paranoia-can-be-a-sign-of-a-sanity-in-some-circumstances-in-some/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [Trauma, and certain important experiences, can imprint on us at a genetic level.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/trauma-and-certain-important-experiences-can-imprint-on-us-at-a/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [It's fiction's job to express how it feels to be living now, and it's a complex feeling, full of contradiction. To me it often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/it-s-fiction-s-job-to-express-how-it-feels-to-be-living-now-and-it-s/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [Toronto is hard to capture in a few strokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/toronto-is-hard-to-capture-in-a-few-strokes/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) > [I like a great degree of compression. I like to mix lateral steps with forward ones. I don't want the prose ever to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/i-like-a-great-degree-of-compression-i-like-to-mix-lateral-steps-with/) [Michael Helm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) [Explore all 21 Michael Helm quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/) ## 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": "Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michael Helm" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-need-to-know-and-connect-and-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-need-to-know-and-connect-and-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/michael-helm-27221_books_novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-nee_2262608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Novels seem to exist because of this need to know and connect, and so story becomes charged with necessity.” — Michael Helm", "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": "Michael Helm", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-helm/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Novels seem to exist because of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-need-to-know-and-connect-and-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-helm/novels-seem-to-exist-because-of-this-need-to-know-and-connect-and-so/#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 } } ] } ```