--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, fiction's great gift - to writer…" description: "\"For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike - is freedom.\" — Norman Lock" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg" --- # For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike… ![“For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike - is freedom.” quote by Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg) > “For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike - is freedom.” [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction provides freedom for both writer and reader to explore ideas beyond reality. **In simple terms:** Fiction grants creative freedom. Key Takeaway Read or write fiction to expand imagination. Themes creativity freedom literature Mood inspired thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - therapy - entertainment Key Concepts imaginative expression storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How does fiction influence your worldview? - What freedoms does writing give you? A Different Perspective May detach from practical concerns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Great gifts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-gifts/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm just attracted to the action element of science fiction. It's great to sit in the editing room with the director and sound engineers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-anne-hurd/i-m-just-attracted-to-the-action-element-of-science-fiction-it-s/) [Gale Anne Hurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-anne-hurd/) > [People whose lives are upside down often read fiction. 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Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [“Fiction is the great liar that tells the truth about how the world really lives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/fiction-is-the-great-liar-that-tells-the-truth-about-how-the-world/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I've always been drawn to the extremes of human behavior, and crime fiction is a great way to explore the lives and stories of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-petrie/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-extremes-of-human-behavior-and-crime/) [Nick Petrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-petrie/) > [Science fiction is a great way to pretend you are writing about the future when in reality you are attacking the recent past and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/science-fiction-is-a-great-way-to-pretend-you-are-writing-about-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Science Fiction, is the last great escape.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-merrydew/science-fiction-is-the-last-great-escape/) [A.R. Merrydew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-merrydew/) > [I'm such a huge fan of fan fiction, to me it's a great way for readers to become writers. It's like putting the training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-howey/i-m-such-a-huge-fan-of-fan-fiction-to-me-it-s-a-great-way-for-readers/) [Hugh Howey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-howey/) > [fiction is the great lie that tells the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/fiction-is-the-great-lie-that-tells-the-truth/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [I think crime fiction is a great way to talk about social issues, whether 'To Kill A Mockingbird' or 'The Lovely Bones;' violence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-think-crime-fiction-is-a-great-way-to-talk-about-social-issues/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [It can be hard to write a skillfully entertaining fiction, but a great book wants to be more, and wants more from us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-gavriel-kay/it-can-be-hard-to-write-a-skillfully-entertaining-fiction-but-a-great/) [Guy Gavriel Kay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-gavriel-kay/) > [Fiction is the great repository of the moral sense. The wicked get punished.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-brookner/fiction-is-the-great-repository-of-the-moral-sense-the-wicked-get/) [Anita Brookner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-brookner/) > [“Fiction is a great combination between experience and imagination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desi-puspitasari/fiction-is-a-great-combination-between-experience-and-imagination/) [Desi Puspitasari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desi-puspitasari/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I find it only natural for a storyteller to be interested in storytelling and, for anyone who spends the better part of his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-find-it-only-natural-for-a-storyteller-to-be-interested-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## More by Norman Lock > [I admitted that I did not understand life. What I meant was that I am bewildered by human hearts and motivations, including my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-admitted-that-i-did-not-understand-life-what-i-meant-was-that-i-am/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I had hoped to be a poet, and for a long time I tried to write poetry. My first published pieces were poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-had-hoped-to-be-a-poet-and-for-a-long-time-i-tried-to-write-poetry/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I find it only natural for a storyteller to be interested in storytelling and, for anyone who spends the better part of his or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-find-it-only-natural-for-a-storyteller-to-be-interested-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Each piece of writing I undertake, whether a story, novel, play, or poem, begins with an image.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/each-piece-of-writing-i-undertake-whether-a-story-novel-play-or-poem/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. Shaping my fictions as monologues - by introducing the "I" - allows me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-very-much-like-the-idea-of-the-unreliable-narrator-shaping-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I do seem to favor a deathbed confession as the occasion for my dramatic monologues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-seem-to-favor-a-deathbed-confession-as-the-occasion-for-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I do believe we are actors in our own dramas, which, moment by moment, we ourselves write; that we are characters in our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-do-believe-we-are-actors-in-our-own-dramas-which-moment-by-moment/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [The critique of social inequality, which is very much a part of my story, came about naturally from my recollection of Huck and Tom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/the-critique-of-social-inequality-which-is-very-much-a-part-of-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Theatre aside, my penchant for the extended monologue began with my reading of Browning's dramatic monologues, in high school. My inclination to adopt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/theatre-aside-my-penchant-for-the-extended-monologue-began-with-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [In nearly everything I write, I am like a ventriloquist, throwing my voice into my characters, animating them by the slightest twitch as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/in-nearly-everything-i-write-i-am-like-a-ventriloquist-throwing-my/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [It may be old hat, but I see no reason to close off what is for me a fruitful subject of inquiry, especially so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/it-may-be-old-hat-but-i-see-no-reason-to-close-off-what-is-for-me-a/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Emotional, physical, and spiritual estrangement and ontological and religious doubt inform my personality, my thoughts, and my characters, which are, more often than not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/emotional-physical-and-spiritual-estrangement-and-ontological-and/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [Many of my short fictions use theatre as a metaphor for situations in which characters find themselves estranged from the larger, uncontrollable world that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/many-of-my-short-fictions-use-theatre-as-a-metaphor-for-situations-in/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I used to teach writing in a federal prison, and for my students' benefit, I would liken the narrative use of this highly personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-used-to-teach-writing-in-a-federal-prison-and-for-my-students/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) > [I haven't the stature to critique one of our literature's great novels, Tobias; and I'm not one of those who believe The Adventures of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/i-haven-t-the-stature-to-critique-one-of-our-literature-s-great/) [Norman Lock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) [Explore all 29 Norman Lock quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/) ## 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! 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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": "For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike - is freedom.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman Lock" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-and-reader-alike-is-freedom/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-and-reader-alike-is-freedom/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fdc/norman-lock-21222_books_for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-an_1765047.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“For me, fiction's great gift - to writer and reader, alike - is freedom.” — Norman Lock", "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": "Norman Lock", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-lock/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "For me, fiction's great gift -...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-and-reader-alike-is-freedom/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-lock/for-me-fiction-s-great-gift-to-writer-and-reader-alike-is-freedom/#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 } } ] } ```