--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I use things, I steal things from my life…" description: "\"I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to, when I need to, or when it seems appropriate. But most of the stuff in my novels is entirely ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg" --- # I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to… ![“I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to, when I need to, or when it seems appropriate. But most of the stuff in my novels is entirely invented, ninety-five percent. And even when I do borrow something, it becomes fictionalized.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg) > “I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to, when I need to, or when it seems appropriate. But most of the stuff in my novels is entirely invented, ninety-five percent. And even when I do borrow something, it becomes fictionalized.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authors blend personal experience with imagination, using real life as a springboard while transforming it into fiction. **In simple terms:** Writers mix real life and imagination in books. Key Takeaway Balance truth and invention creatively. Themes creativity fiction autobiography Mood reflective introspective Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - personal essays - teaching writing Key Concepts narrative technique memory invented detail Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to fictionalize? - What role does truth play in your stories? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on personal experience can limit imaginative scope. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [The 'stuff' in novels touches on every aspect of the world and people's lives. That's what makes it so remarkable just how little there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/the-stuff-in-novels-touches-on-every-aspect-of-the-world-and-people-s/) [John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/) > [Unfortunately, I don't get to read nearly as much as I want because I'm always working on my own stuff, either the novels or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hiaasen/unfortunately-i-don-t-get-to-read-nearly-as-much-as-i-want-because-i/) [Carl Hiaasen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hiaasen/) > [“This was the stuff of novels with -- yeah -- men like him on the cover.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-kellison/this-was-the-stuff-of-novels-with-yeah-men-like-him-on-the-cover/) [Erin Kellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-kellison/) > [Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/steal-from-anywhere-that-resonates-with-inspiration-or-fuels-your-2/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/select-only-things-to-steal-from-that-speak-directly-to-your-soul/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [“Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new film, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-jarmusch/steal-from-anywhere-that-resonates-with-inspiration-or-fuels-your/) [Jim Jarmusch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-jarmusch/) > [When it comes to letting kids out into dark alleys, we understand that they have things to steal. We need to understand that in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/when-it-comes-to-letting-kids-out-into-dark-alleys-we-understand-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [“We all convince ourselves of things like this- not necessarily about Say Anything, but about any fictionalized portrayals of romance that happen to hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/we-all-convince-ourselves-of-things-like-this-not-necessarily-about/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [“If you fictionalized my character, I could live a bit longer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-cooley/if-you-fictionalized-my-character-i-could-live-a-bit-longer/) Aaron Cooley > [“Sometimes I feel as if I've lived about six lifetimes...all fictionalized in my six books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-rain-snow/sometimes-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-lived-about-six-lifetimes-all/) Laurel-Rain Snow > [Playing a real-life character is definitely a lot more responsibility than one that is fictionalized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lacey-chabert/playing-a-real-life-character-is-definitely-a-lot-more-responsibility/) [Lacey Chabert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lacey-chabert/) > [Mom and I are playing fictionalized characters of ourselves in 'Masaba Masaba.' The series is a slice of our lives, and reliving key moments,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaba-gupta/mom-and-i-are-playing-fictionalized-characters-of-ourselves-in-masaba/) [Masaba Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaba-gupta/) > [All my cousins steal things. They're just a bunch of thieves. My whole family is like that. You put something down for a second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/all-my-cousins-steal-things-they-re-just-a-bunch-of-thieves-my-whole/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [I steal things from people, characteristics, and I just stock them in my head like a library to use for characters in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-mably/i-steal-things-from-people-characteristics-and-i-just-stock-them-in/) Luke Mably > [I am giving my best to have a quiet life but sometimes it doesn't depend on myself because people just want to come into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-lovren/i-am-giving-my-best-to-have-a-quiet-life-but-sometimes-it-doesn-t/) [Dejan Lovren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-lovren/) ## More by Paul Auster > [“On his best walks, he was able to feel that he was nowhere. And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. It eludes me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-m-not-a-man-deeply-interested-in-technology-it-eludes-me/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The joke is the purest, most essential form of storytelling. Every word has to count.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-joke-is-the-purest-most-essential-form-of-storytelling-every-word/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“What people saw when he appeared before them, then, was not really him, but a person he had invented, an artificial creature he could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/what-people-saw-when-he-appeared-before-them-then-was-not-really-him/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I had made an empirical discovery and it carried all the weight of a mathematical proof.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-had-made-an-empirical-discovery-and-it-carried-all-the-weight-of-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [As long as there's one person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/as-long-as-there-s-one-person-to-believe-it-there-s-no-story-that-can/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Writing has always had a tactile quality for me. It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. It's just some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/the-ideal-reader-s-the-same-and-i-suppose-this-person-has-never-had-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“Most lives vanish. A person dies, and little by little all traces of that life disappear. An inventor survives in his inventions, an architect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/most-lives-vanish-a-person-dies-and-little-by-little-all-traces-of/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“and cut down many trees. When the Humans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/and-cut-down-many-trees-when-the-humans/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) [Explore all 582 Paul Auster quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## More Appropriate quotes > [“Appropriate is overrated.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-w-kohlhagen/appropriate-is-overrated/) Steven W. Kohlhagen > [I was for many years myself a journalist and it is not appropriate to say a programme should not be broadcast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-monckton/i-was-for-many-years-myself-a-journalist-and-it-is-not-appropriate-to/) [Christopher Monckton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-monckton/) > [I don't think 'This Means War' is an appropriate picture to do in 3-D.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mcg/i-don-t-think-this-means-war-is-an-appropriate-picture-to-do-in-3-d/) [McG](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mcg/) > [There is no single best kind of death. A good death is one that is "appropriate" for that person. It is a death in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-s-shneidman/there-is-no-single-best-kind-of-death-a-good-death-is-one-that-is/) [Edwin S. Shneidman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-s-shneidman/) > [Persons who have cleansed themselves of any transgression and who have shown their ability to deal with homosexual inclinations and put them in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dallin-h-oaks/persons-who-have-cleansed-themselves-of-any-transgression-and-who/) [Dallin H. Oaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dallin-h-oaks/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [I would not, under any circumstances, try to impose my personal faith and belief on the rest of the country. I don't think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edwards/i-would-not-under-any-circumstances-try-to-impose-my-personal-faith/) [John Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edwards/) > [I have no policy, for or against: only a personal style. Which is to say, I use them when I think it's appropriate to;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/i-have-no-policy-for-or-against-only-a-personal-style-which-is-to-say/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [While the intelligence profession oftentimes demands secrecy, it is critically important that there be a full and open discourse on intelligence matters with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-brennan/while-the-intelligence-profession-oftentimes-demands-secrecy-it-is/) [John O. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-brennan/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) Alfred Aho > [For Father's Day, my kids always give me a bottle of cologne called English Leather. It's appropriate! To them I always smell like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/for-father-s-day-my-kids-always-give-me-a-bottle-of-cologne-called/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [As Mayor, I will fully support my Arts Commission and its professional selection committees so that they can commission a full range of public…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gavin-newsom/as-mayor-i-will-fully-support-my-arts-commission-and-its-professional/) [Gavin Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gavin-newsom/) > [I'm very sensitive in real life. I cannot not cry if someone around me is crying. I will start to cry if someone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-chastain/i-m-very-sensitive-in-real-life-i-cannot-not-cry-if-someone-around-me/) [Jessica Chastain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-chastain/) > [Hate demands existence, and he who hates has to show his hate in appropriate actions and behaviors; in a sense, he has to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/hate-demands-existence-and-he-who-hates-has-to-show-his-hate-in/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [A reader does not suddenly comprehend what is being read or studied, in a snap, miraculously. Comprehension needs to be worked forged, by those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/a-reader-does-not-suddenly-comprehend-what-is-being-read-or-studied/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) Browse all 1,130 Appropriate quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to, when I need to, or when it seems appropriate. But most of the stuff in my novels is entirely invented, ninety-five percent. And even when I do borrow something, it becomes fictionalized.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Auster" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life-when-i-want-to-when-i-need/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Appropriate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life-when-i-want-to-when-i-need/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c9d/paul-auster-351_appropriate_i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life_1613213.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I use things, I steal things from my life when I want to, when I need to, or when it seems appropriate. But…” — Paul Auster", "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": "Paul Auster", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I use things, I steal things...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life-when-i-want-to-when-i-need/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-use-things-i-steal-things-from-my-life-when-i-want-to-when-i-need/#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 } } ] } ```