---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Writing a novel is easier than writing a…"
description: "\"Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.\" — Steve Bisley"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg"
---

#  Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are…

![“Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.” quote by Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg)

> “Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.”

[Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

## About This Quote

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

Writing fiction allows creative freedom without factual constraints, making it less demanding than memoirs.

**In simple terms:** Fiction is freer than memoir.

Key Takeaway

Embrace creative liberty.

Themes

creativity fiction truth writing

Mood

reflective thoughtful

Type

literary inspirational

When to use this quote

- novel writing
- creative workshops
- storytelling
- personal reflection

Key Concepts

Narrative freedom authorial voice

Questions to Reflect On

- Do you prefer truth or imagination?
- How does freedom affect responsibility?

A Different Perspective

Memoir demands factual accuracy and emotional vulnerability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Constrained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constrained/) [Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier/) [Easier Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/easier-writing-406436/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Novel Easier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel-easier-3611569/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-memoir-868555/) [Writing Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-novel/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/)

## Related quotes

> [I think the path to becoming a writer has become more through the novel. It's easier to get a novel published than a book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-think-the-path-to-becoming-a-writer-has-become-more-through-the/)

[Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/)

> [You write fiction, you're writing memoir, and when you're writing memoir, you're writing fiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/you-write-fiction-you-re-writing-memoir-and-when-you-re-writing/)

[Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/)

> [I you're writing memoir, but it even comes up in fiction. People just assume that you're writing thinly veiled autobiography. And particularly, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faith-adiele/i-you-re-writing-memoir-but-it-even-comes-up-in-fiction-people-just/)

[Faith Adiele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faith-adiele/)

> [When I was writing the memoir, every page was a battle with myself because I knew I had to tell the truth. That's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/when-i-was-writing-the-memoir-every-page-was-a-battle-with-myself/)

[Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/)

> [When I first got sick, they told me I had a year to live, and I was writing my memoir really fast. There were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lurie/when-i-first-got-sick-they-told-me-i-had-a-year-to-live-and-i-was/)

[John Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lurie/)

> [Writing your memoir is inherently narcissistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-jane-grace/writing-your-memoir-is-inherently-narcissistic/)

[Laura Jane Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-jane-grace/)

> [Usually, with a novel, you start with no idea what to do because your job is to create convincing characters and then they just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/usually-with-a-novel-you-start-with-no-idea-what-to-do-because-your/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [ I'd say, \[writing memoir\] not so much a model, but maybe to provide an insight, here or there, to help somebody come to terms… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-d-say-writing-memoir-not-so-much-a-model-but-maybe-to-provide-an/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [ Writing a memoir isn't particularly interesting to me. I'm not like Ellen \[DeGeneres\], where I can write, 'Water bottles--they're crazy!' and it's funny. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-graham/writing-a-memoir-isn-t-particularly-interesting-to-me-i-m-not-like/)

[Lauren Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-graham/)

> [I had a very high-grade publisher tell me I was incapable of writing a memoir.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/i-had-a-very-high-grade-publisher-tell-me-i-was-incapable-of-writing/)

[Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/)

> [The act of writing means you wish to communicate. Whether you're writing a memoir for yourself you put in a drawer, or you write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/the-act-of-writing-means-you-wish-to-communicate-whether-you-re/)

[Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/)

> [That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It's just the same enemy - blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-you-get-distracted-a-lot/)

[Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/)

> [Acting is easier - writing is more creative. The lazy man vies with the industrious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/acting-is-easier-writing-is-more-creative-the-lazy-man-vies-with-the/)

[William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/)

> [It's an easier task to imagine someone's interior world when you feel quite distanced from them. In the same way that I find writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evie-wyld/it-s-an-easier-task-to-imagine-someone-s-interior-world-when-you-feel/)

[Evie Wyld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evie-wyld/)

> [ Acting is fun; it's easier than writing, and if you get on a \[TV\] show, it draws people to your stand-up. That's ultimately what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/acting-is-fun-it-s-easier-than-writing-and-if-you-get-on-a-tv-show-it/)

[Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/)

## More by Steve Bisley

> [I've got a good memory. Sometimes it's a curse. I remember what the light was like in the room the first time I heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/i-ve-got-a-good-memory-sometimes-it-s-a-curse-i-remember-what-the/)

[Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

> [I am a great observer of things, and I do it all the time. I store stuff; I use it as an actor; that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/i-am-a-great-observer-of-things-and-i-do-it-all-the-time-i-store/)

[Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

> [As an actor, the thing I want to do to an audience is always be ahead of them and always be surprising in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/as-an-actor-the-thing-i-want-to-do-to-an-audience-is-always-be-ahead/)

[Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

> [I think if you hold your nerve and don't sell out and become something that you're not, you can go anywhere. You know, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/i-think-if-you-hold-your-nerve-and-don-t-sell-out-and-become/)

[Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

[Explore all 5 Steve Bisley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/)

## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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 a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Steve Bisley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a-memoir-you-are-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Books"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a-memoir-you-are-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/steve-bisley-59596_books_writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a_3179280.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.” — Steve Bisley",
                "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": "Steve Bisley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Writing a novel is easier than...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a-memoir-you-are-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a-memoir-you-are-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
