--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I feel really strongly about not wanting…" description: "\"I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader to know for themselves..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/nicole-krauss-920_ask-questions_i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting_23898.jpg" --- # I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide… ![“I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader to know for themselves and not to need too much. You have your own imagination, your own experiences, your own feelings, and a novel wants ultimately to ask questions…” quote by Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/nicole-krauss-920_ask-questions_i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting_23898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/nicole-krauss-920_ask-questions_i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting_23898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/089/nicole-krauss-920_ask-questions_i-feel-really-strongly-about-not-wanting_23898.jpg) > “I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader to know for themselves and not to need too much. You have your own imagination, your own experiences, your own feelings, and a novel wants ultimately to ask questions. It doesn't assert anything, or shouldn't, I think.” [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author advocates for literary restraint, letting readers interpret and derive meaning without heavy authorial direction. **In simple terms:** Encourages reader autonomy Key Takeaway Let readers think for themselves Themes authorial restraint reader agency interpretive openness literary humility question-driven narrative Mood thoughtful respectful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective didactic When to use this quote - creative writing workshops - literary criticism - book clubs - author interviews - creative nonfiction Key Concepts imagination experience emotions questioning Practical Applications - Designing open-ended curricula - Developing reader-centered marketing Questions to Reflect On - How does a writer balance guidance and openness? - What effect does minimal authorial assertion have on reader engagement? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ask questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-questions/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Feelings Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings-novel-405732/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-wants-405731/) [Reader Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-know-405733/) [Reader Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-think-405730/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Want u](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-u/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [Not every novel that wants to be a tragedy gets to be one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-smiley/not-every-novel-that-wants-to-be-a-tragedy-gets-to-be-one/) [Jane Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-smiley/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-3/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The gentle reader will never, never know what a consummate ass he can become until he goes abroad. I speak now, of course, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-gentle-reader-will-never-never-know-what-a-consummate-ass-he-can-2/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I think of my life as a cheap novel. Part of you wants it to go on forever, and part of you wants to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-bean/i-think-of-my-life-as-a-cheap-novel-part-of-you-wants-it-to-go-on/) [Orson Bean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-bean/) > [The rules seem to be these: If you have written a successful novel, everyone invites you to write short stories. If you have written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-michener/the-rules-seem-to-be-these-if-you-have-written-a-successful-novel/) [James A. Michener](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-michener/) > [I want the reader to know what's going on. So there's never a mystery in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/i-want-the-reader-to-know-what-s-going-on-so-there-s-never-a-mystery/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [“The visitor from outer space made a serious study of Christianity, to learn, if he could, why Christians found it so easy to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-visitor-from-outer-space-made-a-serious-study-of-christianity-to-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [The central question is, is this guy right? Or is he mad? What do you, the reader, think about this? Which struck me as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/the-central-question-is-is-this-guy-right-or-is-he-mad-what-do-you/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [The poem is not, as someone put it, deflective of entry. 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I would never want to forget that! That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-cameron/i-would-not-want-to-forget-the-first-time-i-read-the-lord-of-the/) [Sharon Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-cameron/) > [The only pressure I feel is to write good books. And to not replicate the previous book. Whether you have a thousand readers or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/the-only-pressure-i-feel-is-to-write-good-books-and-to-not-replicate/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Show the reader what the character thinks about, and then the reader will think about it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-v-higgins/show-the-reader-what-the-character-thinks-about-and-then-the-reader/) [George V. Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-v-higgins/) > [Make (the reader) think the evil, make him think it for himself, and you are released from weak specifications. My values are positively all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-james/make-the-reader-think-the-evil-make-him-think-it-for-himself-and-you/) [Henry James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-james/) ## More by Nicole Krauss > [“Narrative cannot sustain formlessness any more than light can sustain darkness - it is the antithesis of formlessness, and so it can never truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/narrative-cannot-sustain-formlessness-any-more-than-light-can-sustain/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [I think of novels as houses. You live in them over the course of a long period, both as a reader and as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-think-of-novels-as-houses-you-live-in-them-over-the-course-of-a/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [When we went into the ocean, I watched his body as he dove into the waves, and it gave me a feeling in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/when-we-went-into-the-ocean-i-watched-his-body-as-he-dove-into-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“There are times when the kindness of strangers only makes matter worse because one realizes how badly one is in need of kindness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/there-are-times-when-the-kindness-of-strangers-only-makes-matter/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [She was gone, and all that was left was the space where you'd grown around her, like a tree that grows around a fence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-was-gone-and-all-that-was-left-was-the-space-where-you-d-grown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. 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And as one gets older, some of those feelings kind of drift away. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/in-one-s-youth-one-has-tremendous-access-to-one-s-feelings-and-as-one/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Obviously I've been reading Kafka for a long long time, since I was really young, and even before I ever read him I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/obviously-i-ve-been-reading-kafka-for-a-long-long-time-since-i-was/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“She's kept her love for him as alive as the summer they first met. In order to do this, she's turned life away. Sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/she-s-kept-her-love-for-him-as-alive-as-the-summer-they-first-met-in/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [Sometimes no length of string is long enough to say the thing that needs to be said. In such cases all the string can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/sometimes-no-length-of-string-is-long-enough-to-say-the-thing-that/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Doesn’t part of the awe that fills us when we confront the unknown come from understanding that, should it at last flood into us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/doesn-t-part-of-the-awe-that-fills-us-when-we-confront-the-unknown/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“I knew how to raise my own child, what did he think it was, a game of Scrabble or Monopoly, there are no rules,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-knew-how-to-raise-my-own-child-what-did-he-think-it-was-a-game-of/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“By heart, this is not an expression I use lightly. My heart is weak and unreliable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/by-heart-this-is-not-an-expression-i-use-lightly-my-heart-is-weak-and/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) [Explore all 323 Nicole Krauss quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More Ask questions quotes > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) > [I was allowed to believe things that weren't true and I would ask questions about them and talk about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-taylor-greene/i-was-allowed-to-believe-things-that-weren-t-true-and-i-would-ask/) [Marjorie Taylor Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-taylor-greene/) > [We in US need active intelligence: people being on the streets, people being able to stop and ask questions of individuals that they suspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberly-guilfoyle/we-in-us-need-active-intelligence-people-being-on-the-streets-people/) [Kimberly Guilfoyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberly-guilfoyle/) > [“Love first; ask questions later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-courtney/love-first-ask-questions-later/) [Jeremy Courtney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-courtney/) > [What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions, a consequence of our sophisticated spoken language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/what-makes-us-human-i-think-is-an-ability-to-ask-questions-a/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“you do that all the time you know. you ask me questions when you know the answer will piss you off. ask me a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-marchetta/you-do-that-all-the-time-you-know-you-ask-me-questions-when-you-know/) [Melina Marchetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-marchetta/) > [For the most part, if somebody approaches me and says, 'I'd like to interview you,' who am I to say no, when I spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-roach/for-the-most-part-if-somebody-approaches-me-and-says-i-d-like-to/) [Mary Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-roach/) > [...all the answers are but waiting for us while we, poor fools, ask questions and wait for the secrets of God to open themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/all-the-answers-are-but-waiting-for-us-while-we-poor-fools-ask/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) > [“It’s funny how the devout pretend like they want people to ask questions, but really they only want you to ask the questions that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tal-m-klein/it-s-funny-how-the-devout-pretend-like-they-want-people-to-ask/) [Tal M. 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You're going to take over the world, and change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophia-amoruso/you-ask-questions-you-take-your-life-seriously-but-you-don-t-take/) [Sophia Amoruso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophia-amoruso/) > [The most subversive people are those who ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-most-subversive-people-are-those-who-ask-questions/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [Rules for texting a girl: 1. Don't take 40 minutes to reply. 2. Use good grammar. 3. Ask Questions. 4. Use the :) face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rules-for-texting-a-girl-1-don-t-take-40-minutes-to-reply-2-use-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I could give my younger self some advice at that time, I'd tell her to enjoy the ride and don't be afraid to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-valletta/if-i-could-give-my-younger-self-some-advice-at-that-time-i-d-tell-her/) [Amber Valletta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-valletta/) [Browse all 828 Ask questions quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ask-questions/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I feel really strongly about not wanting to overly guide the reader about what he or she should think. I really trust the reader to know for themselves and not to need too much. You have your own imagination, your own experiences, your own feelings, and a novel wants ultimately to ask questions. 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