---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...sense of reality is important in any…"
description: "\"“...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...”\" — Stephen King"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg"
---

#  ...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...

![“...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg)

> ““...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...””

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Fiction must stay grounded in reality to resonate, yet imaginative elements can stretch believability.

**In simple terms:** Reality anchors fiction.

Key Takeaway

Blend realistic details with creative ideas.

Themes

writing fiction reality

Mood

inspirational analytical

Type

literary educational

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- screenwriting
- storytelling
- teaching writing

Key Concepts

narrative structure creative imagination credibility

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance truth and imagination?
- What realistic details enhance your story?

A Different Perspective

Too much realism may stifle creativity.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Important work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/important-work/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Reality Important](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality-important-783716/) [Sense Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sense-reality/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/)

## Related quotes

> [Homemaking is surely in reality the most important work in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis/homemaking-is-surely-in-reality-the-most-important-work-in-the-world/)

[C. S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis/)

> [“I think I can understand that feeling about a housewife’s work being like that of Sisyphus (who was the stone rolling gentleman). But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/i-think-i-can-understand-that-feeling-about-a-housewife-s-work-being/)

[C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/)

> [“It was a sense that reality was thin. I think it is thin, you know, thin as lake ice after a thaw, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-was-a-sense-that-reality-was-thin-i-think-it-is-thin-you-know-thin/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [What constitutes - where are we when we sleep? What is our sense of reality at that moment? It's, you know, science now suggests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-milch/what-constitutes-where-are-we-when-we-sleep-what-is-our-sense-of/)

[David Milch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-milch/)

> [It's my parents' attitudes to situations that gives me a sense of reality about what's worth worrying about, and what's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-madeley/it-s-my-parents-attitudes-to-situations-that-gives-me-a-sense-of/)

[Chloe Madeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chloe-madeley/)

> [“How you react to reality is more important than the reality to which you react.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-r-hobbs/how-you-react-to-reality-is-more-important-than-the-reality-to-which/)

[W.R. Hobbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-r-hobbs/)

> [In reality, the most important things happen when you don't look for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-donahue/in-reality-the-most-important-things-happen-when-you-don-t-look-for/)

[Phil Donahue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-donahue/)

> [That is my reality. It's that important to nurture and foster my own creativity. There are plenty of birthday parties I haven't been able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-paulson/that-is-my-reality-it-s-that-important-to-nurture-and-foster-my-own/)

[Sarah Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-paulson/)

> [I think one of the major things a director has to do is to know his subject matter, the subject matter of his script,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wise/i-think-one-of-the-major-things-a-director-has-to-do-is-to-know-his/)

[Robert Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wise/)

> [Be an artist of consciousness. Your picture of reality is your most important creation. Make it powerfully profoundly beautiful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-grey/be-an-artist-of-consciousness-your-picture-of-reality-is-your-most/)

[Alex Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-grey/)

> [It is not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, the feeling for the things themselves, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/it-is-not-the-language-of-painters-but-the-language-of-nature-which/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

> [In a world where celebrity equals talent, and where make-believe is called reality, it is most important to have real love, truth and stability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-brillstein/in-a-world-where-celebrity-equals-talent-and-where-make-believe-is/)

[Bernie Brillstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-brillstein/)

> [But she’d managed to find her way into our reality, perhaps because she had an important mission here, perhaps because she was here to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/but-she-d-managed-to-find-her-way-into-our-reality-perhaps-because/)

[Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/)

> [Trying to ground everything in reality was the most important thing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sanders/trying-to-ground-everything-in-reality-was-the-most-important-thing/)

[Rupert Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sanders/)

> [“It's not the language of painters but the language of nature which one should listen to, for reality is more important than the feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/it-s-not-the-language-of-painters-but-the-language-of-nature-which/)

[Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/)

## More by Stephen King

> [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

[Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

## More Fiction quotes

> [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/)

[Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/)

> [The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavia-butler/the-thing-about-science-fiction-is-that-it-s-totally-wide-open-but-it/)

[Octavia Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavia-butler/)

> [I do think that theater is a great venue for science fiction, and not just adaptations but also original work. I also think some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-einhorn/i-do-think-that-theater-is-a-great-venue-for-science-fiction-and-not/)

[Edward Einhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-einhorn/)

> [Fiction is a way of exploring possibilities present but undreamt of in the living of a single life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/fiction-is-a-way-of-exploring-possibilities-present-but-undreamt-of/)

[Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/)

> [I love writing fiction and can do it anywhere - I once even missed a flight because I was so engrossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/i-love-writing-fiction-and-can-do-it-anywhere-i-once-even-missed-a/)

[Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/)

> [“The fiction will seek the real.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coheed-and-cambria/the-fiction-will-seek-the-real/)

[Coheed and Cambria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coheed-and-cambria/)

> [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/)

[Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/)

> [The danger that may really threaten (crime fiction) is that soon there will be more writers than readers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-barzun/the-danger-that-may-really-threaten-crime-fiction-is-that-soon-there/)

[Jacques Barzun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-barzun/)

> [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/)

[L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/)

> [Inspiration comes from so many sources. Music, other fiction, the non-fiction I read, TV shows, films, news reports, people I know, stories I hear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trudi-canavan/inspiration-comes-from-so-many-sources-music-other-fiction-the-non/)

[Trudi Canavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trudi-canavan/)

> [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/)

[Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/)

> [“His hands on my waist he gently pulled me n embrace. I could feel his breath on my face our lips were about to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-eglinger/his-hands-on-my-waist-he-gently-pulled-me-n-embrace-i-could-feel-his/)

[Nicole Eglinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-eglinger/)

> [In early drafts, one of the trickiest things for me to do was to realize that the techniques and devices that make readable and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-rooney/in-early-drafts-one-of-the-trickiest-things-for-me-to-do-was-to/)

[Kathleen Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-rooney/)

> [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/)

[Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/)

> [Metafiction says something. It has to do with taking a large fiction itself and writing within it; that kind of self-reflecting writing that emerges…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-coover/metafiction-says-something-it-has-to-do-with-taking-a-large-fiction/)

[Robert Coover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-coover/)

[Browse all 7,410 Fiction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Stephen King"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-work-of-fiction/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Fiction"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-work-of-fiction/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/54b/stephen-king-13_fiction_sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-wor_2261649.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“...sense of reality is important in any work of fiction...” — Stephen King",
                "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": "Stephen King",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“...sense of reality is important in...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-work-of-fiction/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/sense-of-reality-is-important-in-any-work-of-fiction/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
