--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a writer is always trying to keep a…" description: "\"If a writer is always trying to keep a narrator emitting a tone of complete knowingness, it can become false.\" — Rachel Kushner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/rachel-kushner-3631_always_if-a-writer-is-always-trying-to-keep-a-n_1497246.png" --- # If a writer is always trying to keep a narrator emitting a… ![“If a writer is always trying to keep a narrator emitting a tone of complete knowingness, it can become false.” quote by Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/rachel-kushner-3631_always_if-a-writer-is-always-trying-to-keep-a-n_1497246.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/rachel-kushner-3631_always_if-a-writer-is-always-trying-to-keep-a-n_1497246.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/37a/rachel-kushner-3631_always_if-a-writer-is-always-trying-to-keep-a-n_1497246.png) > “If a writer is always trying to keep a narrator emitting a tone of complete knowingness, it can become false.” [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Overemphasizing an omniscient narrator can make a story feel artificial and undermine authenticity. **In simple terms:** Too much narrator knowledge feels fake. Key Takeaway Use limited perspective for realism. Themes writing authenticity narrative voice literary technique Mood critical analytical thoughtful Type literary instructional When to use this quote - novel writing - screenwriting - teaching creative writing Key Concepts omniscience voice reliability reader engagement Questions to Reflect On - How does narrator knowledge affect reader trust? - When is omniscience appropriate? A Different Perspective Readers may miss subtlety if the narrator knows too much. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false/) [Keep](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/keep/) [Knowingness False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowingness-false-5480622/) [Narrator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrator/) [Narrator Emitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrator-emitting-5480623/) [Tone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tone/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Narrator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-narrator-5480621/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The journalistic 'I' is an overreliable narrator, a functionary to whom crucial tasks of narration and argument and tone have been entrusted, an ad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/the-journalistic-i-is-an-overreliable-narrator-a-functionary-to-whom/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [One of the strategies for doing first-person is to make the narrator very knowing, so that the reader is with somebody who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/one-of-the-strategies-for-doing-first-person-is-to-make-the-narrator/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Hats off to Tavia Gilbert who made Bones alive for me. 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(spoken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-russell/at-ten-i-couldn-t-articulate-much-but-i-got-the-message-to-be-a-true/) [Karen Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-russell/) > [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I very much like the idea of the unreliable narrator. 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Move on to the next question.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/leave-with-no-answer-move-on-to-the-next-question/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [Motorcycles aren't about gaining agency, I don't think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/motorcycles-aren-t-about-gaining-agency-i-don-t-think/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Gloria was still talking, something about how shooting people was in a sense safer than making art, in terms of avoiding serious lapses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-kushner/gloria-was-still-talking-something-about-how-shooting-people-was-in-a/) [Rachel Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-kushner/) > [“Because I didn't move here to fall in love. 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