--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always liked the fact that fiction…" description: "\"I've always liked the fact that fiction takes all these pretty unquantifiable human feelings and experiences and projects them onto the page in ways th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/scott-bradfield-25651_believable_i-ve-always-liked-the-fact-that-fiction_2116202.jpg" --- # I've always liked the fact that fiction takes all these… ![“I've always liked the fact that fiction takes all these pretty unquantifiable human feelings and experiences and projects them onto the page in ways that make interior human sense, even when they aren't entirely believable...” quote by Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/scott-bradfield-25651_believable_i-ve-always-liked-the-fact-that-fiction_2116202.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/scott-bradfield-25651_believable_i-ve-always-liked-the-fact-that-fiction_2116202.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/935/scott-bradfield-25651_believable_i-ve-always-liked-the-fact-that-fiction_2116202.jpg) > “I've always liked the fact that fiction takes all these pretty unquantifiable human feelings and experiences and projects them onto the page in ways that make interior human sense, even when they aren't entirely believable...” [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction captures complex, intangible emotions and translates them into relatable narratives, even when not wholly realistic. **In simple terms:** Stories turn vague feelings into clear pictures. Key Takeaway Use fiction to explore hidden emotions. Themes creativity storytelling human experience Mood thoughtful inspired Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - reading clubs - therapy through literature Key Concepts narrative psychology subjectivity Questions to Reflect On - What emotions do you find hardest to express? - How can stories help you process them? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify or misrepresent reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feelings/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) ## Related quotes > [“... but some say that reality is what happens inside a writer's head, and it is fiction which takes place outside it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-a-whittingham/but-some-say-that-reality-is-what-happens-inside-a-writer-s-head-and/) Barry A. Whittingham > [“Day after day, week after week; writing great fiction takes time, emotion, skill and effort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amaya-ellman/day-after-day-week-after-week-writing-great-fiction-takes-time/) [Amaya Ellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amaya-ellman/) > [The making of fiction takes literally what is suggested by our imagination.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/the-making-of-fiction-takes-literally-what-is-suggested-by-our/) [Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/) > [When Truman Capote wrote from the perspective of condemned murderers from a lower economic class than his own, he had some gall. But writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/when-truman-capote-wrote-from-the-perspective-of-condemned-murderers/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Against the sustained tick of a watch, fiction takes the measure of a life, a season, a look exchanged, the turning point, desire as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mavis-gallant/against-the-sustained-tick-of-a-watch-fiction-takes-the-measure-of-a/) [Mavis Gallant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mavis-gallant/) > [Everything a writer learns about the art or craft of fiction takes just a little away from his need or desire to write at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/everything-a-writer-learns-about-the-art-or-craft-of-fiction-takes/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) > [Fiction takes us to places that we would never otherwise go, and puts us behind eyes that are not our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/fiction-takes-us-to-places-that-we-would-never-otherwise-go-and-puts/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I've always been a fan of books that create an interesting blend of fact and fiction - whether it's Norman Mailer, or 'The Short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-boal/i-ve-always-been-a-fan-of-books-that-create-an-interesting-blend-of/) [Mark Boal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-boal/) > [“There is no fact or fiction, only imagined truths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-piper/there-is-no-fact-or-fiction-only-imagined-truths/) Mark Piper > [In writing biography, fact and fiction shouldn't be mixed. And if they are, the fictional points should be printed in red ink, the facts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-drinker-bowen/in-writing-biography-fact-and-fiction-shouldn-t-be-mixed-and-if-they/) [Catherine Drinker Bowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-drinker-bowen/) > [A blend of fact and fiction has been used in various forms since the dawn of creative writing, starting with sagas and epic poems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/a-blend-of-fact-and-fiction-has-been-used-in-various-forms-since-the/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [The blurring of fact and fiction has great commercial potential, which is bound to be corrupting in historical terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/the-blurring-of-fact-and-fiction-has-great-commercial-potential-which/) [Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/) > [In a brilliant fusion of fact and fiction, Jayne Anne Phillips has written the novel of the year. It's the story of a serial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-a-brilliant-fusion-of-fact-and-fiction-jayne-anne-phillips-has/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I feel that entertainment happens when fact and fiction is balanced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahadh-faasil/i-feel-that-entertainment-happens-when-fact-and-fiction-is-balanced/) [Fahadh Faasil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahadh-faasil/) > [Max Allan Collins blends fact and fiction like no other writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-vachss/max-allan-collins-blends-fact-and-fiction-like-no-other-writer/) [Andrew Vachss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-vachss/) ## More by Scott Bradfield > [“I try to tell the teacher, you know. I don't give a fuck about geometry or English. Like I'm probably going to drive a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-try-to-tell-the-teacher-you-know-i-don-t-give-a-fuck-about-geometry/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [I am not especially good at remembering the actualities of the world I inhabit, but I have pretty strong associative memories of how it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-am-not-especially-good-at-remembering-the-actualities-of-the-world/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [We all make terrible mistakes in our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/we-all-make-terrible-mistakes-in-our-lives/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“The body, I have often thought, is like a promise. You keep things in it. Those things are covert, immediate, yours. There is something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/the-body-i-have-often-thought-is-like-a-promise-you-keep-things-in-it/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“I descended to the ocean floor and encountered bloated, symmetrical creatures with pumping white hearts and translucent skin. Collapsed blue civilizations lived down there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-descended-to-the-ocean-floor-and-encountered-bloated-symmetrical/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [I've published several virtually invisible novels and several dozen even more invisible short stories over the years, all of which give me joy -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-ve-published-several-virtually-invisible-novels-and-several-dozen/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [For years (decades even), I genuinely believed that world would beat a path to my books and stories, but eventually, as everything I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/for-years-decades-even-i-genuinely-believed-that-world-would-beat-a/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“We all like to think we'll grow up,' Beatrice said. 'History's the one dream we all try and dream together.' I don't want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/we-all-like-to-think-we-ll-grow-up-beatrice-said-history-s-the-one/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“Ghosts often exist even in the bodies of people we love.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/ghosts-often-exist-even-in-the-bodies-of-people-we-love/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“take words and make them useful,' she told me. 'drain them of all the crappy meanings they used to mean and make them mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/take-words-and-make-them-useful-she-told-me-drain-them-of-all-the/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [Every time I start off a book or a story I feel like I'm developing a new style or approach for that individual story…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/every-time-i-start-off-a-book-or-a-story-i-feel-like-i-m-developing-a/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“Life is a sweet mistake that happened when the world wasn't looking.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/life-is-a-sweet-mistake-that-happened-when-the-world-wasn-t-looking/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [“...we're what you call heterogenous. That means we're everywhere, everybody at once. We're both good and bad, right and wrong. We're the great resolvers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/we-re-what-you-call-heterogenous-that-means-we-re-everywhere/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [I enjoy entering the viewpoint of characters who are as different from myself as I can get - children, elderly women, animals, a sexy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-enjoy-entering-the-viewpoint-of-characters-who-are-as-different/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) > [I can’t think of a more philosophical time in a person’s life than when they are children. It’s the one time when ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-bradfield/i-can-t-think-of-a-more-philosophical-time-in-a-person-s-life-than/) [Scott Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) [Explore all 22 Scott Bradfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-bradfield/) ## More Believable quotes > [Kids, if anything, are harder to write for because they are a more discerning audience. They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Making the unbelievable believable is different on a set with 'Fantastic Four,' where it's like, 'Wind machines! Because the airship is coming in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-washington/making-the-unbelievable-believable-is-different-on-a-set-with/) [Kerry Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-washington/) > ['The Avengers' made it more believable that I could have been a major in the U.S. Army.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cobie-smulders/the-avengers-made-it-more-believable-that-i-could-have-been-a-major/) [Cobie Smulders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cobie-smulders/) > [In creating the strange milieu in which your story takes place, you must first understand as well as you possibly can the familiar milieu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/in-creating-the-strange-milieu-in-which-your-story-takes-place-you/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Good fiction makes the truth believable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarrant-smith/good-fiction-makes-the-truth-believable/) Tarrant Smith > [As an actor, I like my films to be believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-kay-menon/as-an-actor-i-like-my-films-to-be-believable/) [Kay Kay Menon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-kay-menon/) > [Mostly it's lies, writing novels. You set out to tell an untrue story and you try to make it believable, even to yourself. Which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-tyler/mostly-it-s-lies-writing-novels-you-set-out-to-tell-an-untrue-story/) [Anne Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-tyler/) > [American traditions and the American ethic require us to be truthful, but the most important reason is that truth is the best propaganda and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-r-murrow/american-traditions-and-the-american-ethic-require-us-to-be-truthful/) [Edward R. Murrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-r-murrow/) > [Why am I an atheist? The short answer is that I cannot accept any of the alternatives. I simply don't find them believable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-smoker/why-am-i-an-atheist-the-short-answer-is-that-i-cannot-accept-any-of/) [Barbara Smoker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-smoker/) > [I don't understand that, because I think that what people like most about the show is that they recognize themselves in the characters and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-richardson/i-don-t-understand-that-because-i-think-that-what-people-like-most/) [Patricia Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-richardson/) > [An idea has no worth at all without believable characters to implement it; a plot without characters is like a tennis court without players.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-jones/an-idea-has-no-worth-at-all-without-believable-characters-to/) [Chuck Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-jones/) > [What is most important to me is that my narrator's voice is believable, and that, though it is clearly an absolute fiction, it has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bohjalian/what-is-most-important-to-me-is-that-my-narrator-s-voice-is/) [Chris Bohjalian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bohjalian/) > [I'm straight, but the character was too important to me to muddle his world with my private life. As a nobody, I got away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/i-m-straight-but-the-character-was-too-important-to-me-to-muddle-his/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [When I originally came from 'Cheetah Girls,' I was making music that was real to me but not believable. I think there was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-bailon/when-i-originally-came-from-cheetah-girls-i-was-making-music-that-was/) [Adrienne Bailon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-bailon/) > [You have to create characters - certainly in series TV - who people engage with. 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