--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing novels means being plural, being…" description: "\"“Writing novels means being plural, being divided among your creatures and suffering with them.”\" — Siri Hustvedt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg" --- # Writing novels means being plural, being divided among… ![“Writing novels means being plural, being divided among your creatures and suffering with them.” quote by Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg) > ““Writing novels means being plural, being divided among your creatures and suffering with them.”” [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing splits the author into many voices, sharing suffering with characters. **In simple terms:** Writing creates many voices. Key Takeaway Share characters' suffering. Themes identity plurality empathy Mood introspective empathetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - therapy - creative writing - teaching Key Concepts psychology literary theory narrative structure Questions to Reflect On - How does division affect your writing? - What does suffering teach you? A Different Perspective Multiple voices may dilute authorial clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Novels describe what it means to be alive at a given moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amitava-kumar/novels-describe-what-it-means-to-be-alive-at-a-given-moment/) [Amitava Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amitava-kumar/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I obviously prefer writing novels but I take my journalism very seriously, and I enjoy doing it between novels. It gives me an opportunity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordecai-richler/i-obviously-prefer-writing-novels-but-i-take-my-journalism-very/) [Mordecai Richler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordecai-richler/) > [“In writing short stories—as in writing novels—take one thing at a time. (For some writers, this advice I'm giving may apply best to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gardner/in-writing-short-stories-as-in-writing-novels-take-one-thing-at-a/) [John Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gardner/) > [If I really considered myself a writer, I wouldn't be writing screenplays. I'd be writing novels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/if-i-really-considered-myself-a-writer-i-wouldn-t-be-writing/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [I looked at the world of books and just went, Oh my gosh, if I'm writing novels, I'm on the same shelves as Jane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/i-looked-at-the-world-of-books-and-just-went-oh-my-gosh-if-i-m/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I'd probably still be a financial journalist now if it weren't for writing novels. Mmm. Fun! I'm much happier writing novels!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/i-d-probably-still-be-a-financial-journalist-now-if-it-weren-t-for/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Writing novels is the hardest thing I've ever done, including digging irrigation ditches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/writing-novels-is-the-hardest-thing-i-ve-ever-done-including-digging/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [Freedom to tell any story I want, with all the imaginary tools of my trade, is why I love writing novels. I love taking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/freedom-to-tell-any-story-i-want-with-all-the-imaginary-tools-of-my/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [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/) > [One of the things that I love about writing novels is that it really doesn't matter what next step you take as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/one-of-the-things-that-i-love-about-writing-novels-is-that-it-really/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [I've got a particular way of writing novels, and that carries over into the way I write comics and games, too. I'm a news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/i-ve-got-a-particular-way-of-writing-novels-and-that-carries-over/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [“The whole world's writing novels, but nobody's reading them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-galbraith/the-whole-world-s-writing-novels-but-nobody-s-reading-them/) [Robert Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-galbraith/) > [I was writing novels in high school and apprenticed myself in a way both to Faulkner and to Hemingway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-was-writing-novels-in-high-school-and-apprenticed-myself-in-a-way/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I really enjoy writing novels. It's like the ocean. You can just build a boat and take off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-johnson/i-really-enjoy-writing-novels-it-s-like-the-ocean-you-can-just-build/) [Denis Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-johnson/) ## More by Siri Hustvedt > [I am married to a writer, and this - writing - is an odd enterprise. It's something we both support very strongly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-married-to-a-writer-and-this-writing-is-an-odd-enterprise-it-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [With almost no exceptions, art by men is much more expensive than art by women. Even great women artists, like Louise Bourgeois and Lee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/with-almost-no-exceptions-art-by-men-is-much-more-expensive-than-art/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I watched 'Holiday' in college, and that was when I had my first fantasy of being Katharine Hepburn, standing at the top of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-watched-holiday-in-college-and-that-was-when-i-had-my-first-fantasy/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“the impersonal and the personal are always connected.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-impersonal-and-the-personal-are-always-connected/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I don't get enough sleep, I am cranky, vulnerable to headaches, and my concentration is poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-don-t-get-enough-sleep-i-am-cranky-vulnerable-to-headaches-and/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Transformation of the self are related to where you are, and identity Is dependent on others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/transformation-of-the-self-are-related-to-where-you-are-and-identity/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [There's a phenomenology of being sick, one that depends on temperament, personal history, and the culture which we live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/there-s-a-phenomenology-of-being-sick-one-that-depends-on-temperament/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [The faculty of memory cannot be separated from the imagination. They go hand in hand. To one degree or another, we all invent our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-faculty-of-memory-cannot-be-separated-from-the-imagination-they/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“Looking is part of love, but what you see when you look is anybody's guess.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/looking-is-part-of-love-but-what-you-see-when-you-look-is-anybody-s/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [Every sickness has an alien quality, a feeling of invasion and loss of control that is evident in the language we use about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/every-sickness-has-an-alien-quality-a-feeling-of-invasion-and-loss-of/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I have a tendency to face my bad fantasies in my books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-have-a-tendency-to-face-my-bad-fantasies-in-my-books/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [“The outside also becomes us. A human being is born an unfinished organism and as the person develops experience with others becomes a physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/the-outside-also-becomes-us-a-human-being-is-born-an-unfinished/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I am an American, but a sense of otherness was part of my growing up. I spoke Norwegian before I spoke English. My mother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-am-an-american-but-a-sense-of-otherness-was-part-of-my-growing-up-i/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [When I was an impoverished graduate student, I would sometimes spend $20 or $30 on a T-shirt or accessory I didn't need or even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/when-i-was-an-impoverished-graduate-student-i-would-sometimes-spend/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) [Explore all 330 Siri Hustvedt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) ## 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! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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": "“Writing novels means being plural, being divided among your creatures and suffering with them.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siri Hustvedt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/writing-novels-means-being-plural-being-divided-among-your-creatures/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/writing-novels-means-being-plural-being-divided-among-your-creatures/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91f/siri-hustvedt-860_books_writing-novels-means-being-plural-being_669176.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Writing novels means being plural, being divided among your creatures and suffering with them.” — Siri Hustvedt", "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": "Siri Hustvedt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Writing novels means being plural, being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/writing-novels-means-being-plural-being-divided-among-your-creatures/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/writing-novels-means-being-plural-being-divided-among-your-creatures/#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 } } ] } ```