--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing fiction is not a profession that…" description: "\"Writing fiction is not a profession that leaves one well-disposed toward reading fiction. One starts out loving books and stories, and then one becomes..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/neil-gaiman-29_book_writing-fiction-is-not-a-profession-that_490999.jpg" --- # Writing fiction is not a profession that leaves one… ![“Writing fiction is not a profession that leaves one well-disposed toward reading fiction. One starts out loving books and stories, and then one becomes jaded and increasingly hard to please. I read less and less fiction these days, finding the buzz and the joy I used to get from fiction in ever…” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/neil-gaiman-29_book_writing-fiction-is-not-a-profession-that_490999.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/neil-gaiman-29_book_writing-fiction-is-not-a-profession-that_490999.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd9/neil-gaiman-29_book_writing-fiction-is-not-a-profession-that_490999.jpg) > “Writing fiction is not a profession that leaves one well-disposed toward reading fiction. One starts out loving books and stories, and then one becomes jaded and increasingly hard to please. I read less and less fiction these days, finding the buzz and the joy I used to get from fiction in ever stranger works of non-fiction, or poetry.” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reading fiction fuels imagination, but overexposure can breed cynicism; balancing genres keeps creative spark alive. **In simple terms:** Balance reading to stay inspired. Key Takeaway Mix fiction with other genres. Themes reading creativity balance genre Mood thoughtful encouraging Type advice reflective When to use this quote - book clubs - writing workshops - personal reading plans - genre exploration Key Concepts Literature cognitive fatigue inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How does genre switching affect your writing? - What habits keep your reading fresh? A Different Perspective Too much variety may dilute focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Profession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profession/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Reading fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading-fiction/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [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 > [...Don't let me ever hear you say, 'I can't read fiction. I only have time for the truth.' Fiction is the truth, fool! Ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-waters/don-t-let-me-ever-hear-you-say-i-can-t-read-fiction-i-only-have-time/) [John Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-waters/) > [“Lots of women read fiction. Most men don't. Women read fiction written by women and by men. Most men don't. If a man opens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/lots-of-women-read-fiction-most-men-don-t-women-read-fiction-written/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Writing fiction, like reading fiction, is a practice in empathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-haigh/writing-fiction-like-reading-fiction-is-a-practice-in-empathy/) [Jennifer Haigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-haigh/) > [It puzzles me when writers say they can't read fiction when they're writing fiction because they don't want to be influenced. 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Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [One of the more depressing things about reading your fiction 25 years later, or 10 years later, is you realize the only things going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-r-delany/one-of-the-more-depressing-things-about-reading-your-fiction-25-years/) [Samuel R. Delany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-r-delany/) > [Dad always said that he had enough trouble sorting the fiction out of so-called facts, without reading fiction. He always said that science was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/dad-always-said-that-he-had-enough-trouble-sorting-the-fiction-out-of/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [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/) > [Reading fiction not only develops our imagination and creativity, it gives us the skills to be alone. It gives us the ability to feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/reading-fiction-not-only-develops-our-imagination-and-creativity-it/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. 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If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Book 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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. 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