--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you…" description: "\"To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.\" — Rainbow Rowell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg" --- # To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer… ![“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” quote by Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg) > “To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She defines nerdiness as preferring fictional worlds over reality, exploring escapism and identity. **In simple terms:** Nerds love fictional worlds more than real life. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination over mundane reality. Themes identity escapism culture Mood thoughtful nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading - role‑playing games - fan conventions - creative writing Key Concepts fictional immersion self‑definition Questions to Reflect On - Why do you seek fictional worlds? - How can imagination enrich real life? A Different Perspective Escapism may hinder real‑world engagement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fictional worlds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fictional-worlds/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nerd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nerd/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“To really be a nerdshe'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds over the real one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/to-really-be-a-nerdshe-d-decided-you-had-to-prefer-fictional-worlds/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [I was never really a nerd. I'm not really into comic books or Dungeons and Dragons or any of that kind of stuff. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-mintz-plasse/i-was-never-really-a-nerd-i-m-not-really-into-comic-books-or-dungeons/) [Christopher Mintz-Plasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-mintz-plasse/) > [I read a book every night. 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Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [It's so much harder than it looks - to conjure a fictional world that some passing wolf of skepticism can't just blow down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-finnegan/it-s-so-much-harder-than-it-looks-to-conjure-a-fictional-world-that/) [William Finnegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-finnegan/) > [Comics is all about making it believable and helping people to get completely lost in a fictional world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-gibbons/comics-is-all-about-making-it-believable-and-helping-people-to-get/) [Dave Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-gibbons/) > [“Fiction is usually seen as escapist entertainment...But it's hard to reconcile the escapist theory of fiction with the deep patterns we find in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/fiction-is-usually-seen-as-escapist-entertainment-but-it-s-hard-to/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [Reading was not an escape for her, any more than it is for me. It was an aspect of direct experience. She distinguished, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jincy-willett/reading-was-not-an-escape-for-her-any-more-than-it-is-for-me-it-was/) [Jincy Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jincy-willett/) > [Perhaps every writer who thoroughly creates a fictional world will inevitably create a mirror of his own time and yet also create a world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/perhaps-every-writer-who-thoroughly-creates-a-fictional-world-will/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [It is perhaps both a blessing and a curse that fictional worlds spring into my mind nearly fully formed and it takes quite a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/it-is-perhaps-both-a-blessing-and-a-curse-that-fictional-worlds/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [What writers of fantasy, science fiction, and much historical fiction do for a living is different from what writers of so-called literary or other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-stephenson/what-writers-of-fantasy-science-fiction-and-much-historical-fiction/) [Neal Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-stephenson/) > [I'm a writer who never writes about sex. It's so far from my own fictional world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/i-m-a-writer-who-never-writes-about-sex-it-s-so-far-from-my-own/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [It's not fiction's job to be photographically representative of reality. If I want to make a fictional world where there's no kindness, this doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/it-s-not-fiction-s-job-to-be-photographically-representative-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“Fictional worlds are a great place to indulge in unspoken fantasies. . . like writing the dad you never had. . . but desperately wanted growing up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jc-morrows/fictional-worlds-are-a-great-place-to-indulge-in-unspoken-fantasies/) Jc Morrows > [I love the idea of fictional worlds kind of all cohering in some way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-brashares/i-love-the-idea-of-fictional-worlds-kind-of-all-cohering-in-some-way/) [Ann Brashares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-brashares/) ## More by Rainbow Rowell > [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reagan-was-sitting-up-at-cath-s-desk-when-cath-woke-up-are-you-awake/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Are you awake?” “Have you been watching me sleep?” “Yes, Bella. Are you awake?” “No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/are-you-awake-have-you-been-watching-me-sleep-yes-bella-are-you-awake/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Someone was knocking on her windshield. Georgie lifted her head off the steering wheel. It was Kendrick. She couldn’t really hear what he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/someone-was-knocking-on-her-windshield-georgie-lifted-her-head-off/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her. That would be awesome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/maybe-park-had-paralyzed-her-with-his-ninja-magic-his-vulcan-handhold/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“She wouldn't pick up a fight him just because she was bored.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-wouldn-t-pick-up-a-fight-him-just-because-she-was-bored/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“That person thought that wearing an ugly dress on the happiest day of someone else's life was just the beginning-the line you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/that-person-thought-that-wearing-an-ugly-dress-on-the-happiest-day-of/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Is this where you tell me that I'm a scoundrel, and I say that I think you like me because I'm a scoundrel? 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Like the villain in a Don Bluth movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/he-looked-exactly-like-a-rat-like-the-human-being-version-of-a-rat/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Tell me more about the mountains, Georgie said, because she wasn't really sure what to ask. Because ' tell me where I went wrong'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/tell-me-more-about-the-mountains-georgie-said-because-she-wasn-t/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [God, his chin. She wanted to make an honest woman of his chin. She wanted to lock it down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/god-his-chin-she-wanted-to-make-an-honest-woman-of-his-chin-she/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Wait, I really do need your help with this." He turned his computer monitor toward her and pointed. "Is this funny? It's a Snoopy/Snoop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/wait-i-really-do-need-your-help-with-this-he-turned-his-computer/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“You need to cool down first.” “I’m cool.” “Simon. You’re never cool.” “That hurts, Penny.” “It shouldn’t. It’s one of the reasons I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/you-need-to-cool-down-first-i-m-cool-simon-you-re-never-cool-that/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“She'd get out of the shower the next morning, and it would be written in the steam on the mirror. Dance. Dress. Try a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/she-d-get-out-of-the-shower-the-next-morning-and-it-would-be-written/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) [Explore all 1,108 Rainbow Rowell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) ## More Fictional quotes > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [There are things you can say in the voice of a fictional character that you could not explore any other way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/contrapoints/there-are-things-you-can-say-in-the-voice-of-a-fictional-character/) ContraPoints > [“When you “lose yourself” inside the world of a fictional character while reading a story, you may actually end up changing your own behavior…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-marselle/when-you-lose-yourself-inside-the-world-of-a-fictional-character/) [Terry Marselle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-marselle/) > [“Grayson: Fiction is just a lie anyway. Brianna: But it's not - it's a different kind of truth - it would be your truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/grayson-fiction-is-just-a-lie-anyway-brianna-but-it-s-not-it-s-a/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [The best part of being a writer for me is immersing myself in a fictional world, which is the opposite of being on social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-sittenfeld/the-best-part-of-being-a-writer-for-me-is-immersing-myself-in-a/) [Curtis Sittenfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-sittenfeld/) > [Mostly we are addicted to television shows for two reasons; whether it's because we get to connect with the story-line as somewhat similar is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sudha-chandran/mostly-we-are-addicted-to-television-shows-for-two-reasons-whether-it/) [Sudha Chandran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sudha-chandran/) > [Unlike the actual, the fictional explains itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/unlike-the-actual-the-fictional-explains-itself/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [“She smiled sinisterly. Light mist started to slowly swirl around us. All I could see was her, the tall rocks and the white wall.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/she-smiled-sinisterly-light-mist-started-to-slowly-swirl-around-us/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) > [I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-want-to-write-about-people-i-love-and-put-them-into-a-fictional/) [Philip K. 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The second you make a script out of the story of your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjane-satrapi/i-don-t-like-the-word-autobiography-i-rather-like-the-term/) [Marjane Satrapi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjane-satrapi/) > [“I told you; I am Arianna, the Siren, your Guardian, and how is a Guardian supposed to do her job if she is clueless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-sehyun-song/i-told-you-i-am-arianna-the-siren-your-guardian-and-how-is-a-guardian/) [Erica Sehyun Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-sehyun-song/) Browse all 322 Fictional quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Rainbow Rowell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-had-to-prefer-fictional-worlds/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fictional" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-had-to-prefer-fictional-worlds/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a7/rainbow-rowell-135_fictional_to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-ha_413296.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” — Rainbow Rowell", "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": "Rainbow Rowell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To really be a nerd, she'd...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-had-to-prefer-fictional-worlds/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/to-really-be-a-nerd-she-d-decided-you-had-to-prefer-fictional-worlds/#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 } } ] } ```