--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think it's possible to be just a…" description: "\"I think it's possible to be just a fiction writer, and I don't think that it's a luxury. Oftentimes, what fiction does is approach the problems of the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/torrey-peters-6000_luxury_i-think-it-s-possible-to-be-just-a-ficti_1004350.jpg" --- # I think it's possible to be just a fiction writer, and I… ![“I think it's possible to be just a fiction writer, and I don't think that it's a luxury. Oftentimes, what fiction does is approach the problems of the moment from the side.” quote by Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/torrey-peters-6000_luxury_i-think-it-s-possible-to-be-just-a-ficti_1004350.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/torrey-peters-6000_luxury_i-think-it-s-possible-to-be-just-a-ficti_1004350.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/torrey-peters-6000_luxury_i-think-it-s-possible-to-be-just-a-ficti_1004350.jpg) > “I think it's possible to be just a fiction writer, and I don't think that it's a luxury. Oftentimes, what fiction does is approach the problems of the moment from the side.” [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction can serve as a lens to explore contemporary issues, offering insight without claiming factual authority. **In simple terms:** Fiction explores current problems. Key Takeaway Use stories to examine issues. Themes literature social commentary empathy Mood inspirational analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - public discourse - education - activism Key Concepts narrative theory cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - How can fiction responsibly address real-world problems? - What limits does storytelling have in shaping opinion? A Different Perspective Fiction may oversimplify complex realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Does](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-does-351059/) [Fiction writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-writer/) [Just Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-fiction-304393/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moment/) [Oftentimes Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oftentimes-fiction-2141276/) [Possible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possible/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Just because it's fiction doesn't mean it's any less true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/just-because-it-s-fiction-doesn-t-mean-it-s-any-less-true/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [The memoirs I love are all very intense. If you're going to do a memoir and protect yourself, what the hell's the point? Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/the-memoirs-i-love-are-all-very-intense-if-you-re-going-to-do-a/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“The idea that people can be improved by being offended will finally have to meet the idea (espoused some of the time by some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-idea-that-people-can-be-improved-by-being-offended-will-finally/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“Fact is just fiction with different storytellers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-slovin/fact-is-just-fiction-with-different-storytellers/) [Abby Slovin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-slovin/) > [“The principle that characters do not want to change applies to more than just fiction.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/the-principle-that-characters-do-not-want-to-change-applies-to-more/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [Fiction is just that-fiction. Yes, it is serious business, but it should also be taken for face value. It's entertainment. It's escapism. It's 365…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/fiction-is-just-that-fiction-yes-it-is-serious-business-but-it-should/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ One of the things \[fiction\] does is lead you to recognize what you did not know before. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/one-of-the-things-fiction-does-is-lead-you-to-recognize-what-you-did/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Successful fiction does not need to be validated by 'real life'; I cringe whenever a writer is asked how much of a novel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/successful-fiction-does-not-need-to-be-validated-by-real-life-i/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [“Sometimes science fiction does become scientific discovery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brockman/sometimes-science-fiction-does-become-scientific-discovery/) [John Brockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brockman/) > ['No Sweetness Here' is the kind of old-fashioned social realism I have always been drawn to in fiction, and it does what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/no-sweetness-here-is-the-kind-of-old-fashioned-social-realism-i-have/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Many persons read and like fiction. It does not tax the intelligence and the intelligence of most of us can so ill afford taxation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/many-persons-read-and-like-fiction-it-does-not-tax-the-intelligence/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [The proper stuff of fiction' does not exist; everything is the proper stuff of fiction, every feeling, every thought; every quality of brain and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-proper-stuff-of-fiction-does-not-exist-everything-is-the-proper/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The art of fiction does not begin until the novelist thinks of his story as a matter to be shown, to be so exhibited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-lubbock/the-art-of-fiction-does-not-begin-until-the-novelist-thinks-of-his/) [Percy Lubbock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-lubbock/) > [Fiction does not invent out of a vacuum, but it invents; and what it invents is, first, the fabric and cadence of language, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/fiction-does-not-invent-out-of-a-vacuum-but-it-invents-and-what-it/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [If people ever look down upon you for crying for fictional characters, you should give them a gentle, pitying look and feel bad for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/if-people-ever-look-down-upon-you-for-crying-for-fictional-characters/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Torrey Peters > [The premise of any discussion I have is not to debate my humanity. I refuse to engage on that level. It makes for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/the-premise-of-any-discussion-i-have-is-not-to-debate-my-humanity-i/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [People don't care about facts anyway; in my country, we have 'alternative facts.' But if you can make somebody feel something - and oftentimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/people-don-t-care-about-facts-anyway-in-my-country-we-have/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [The fact that someone like me can exist terrifies some people. Because: 'What if you had control of your body and you got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/the-fact-that-someone-like-me-can-exist-terrifies-some-people-because/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [Certainly, not all trans people like my writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/certainly-not-all-trans-people-like-my-writing/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [Karl Ove Knausgaard is one of my literary heroes. This distresses many of my female, queer, and trans friends: Torrey, you have every woman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/karl-ove-knausgaard-is-one-of-my-literary-heroes-this-distresses-many/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I have a lot of sympathy for people who detransition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-have-a-lot-of-sympathy-for-people-who-detransition/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I think hanging out is the best incubation for cultural creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-think-hanging-out-is-the-best-incubation-for-cultural-creation/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [At certain moments in my life, I have stumbled upon a beauty so extreme, I have stepped back in alarm. There are some people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/at-certain-moments-in-my-life-i-have-stumbled-upon-a-beauty-so/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I'm obsessed with this book 'Independent People,' by Halldor Laxness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-m-obsessed-with-this-book-independent-people-by-halldor-laxness/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [It's not just unexpected for other people. It's very unexpected for myself. But I think that's like a really good place to write from,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/it-s-not-just-unexpected-for-other-people-it-s-very-unexpected-for/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [When I'm open to beauty's true power, I believe it changes me for the better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/when-i-m-open-to-beauty-s-true-power-i-believe-it-changes-me-for-the/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [People are going to make mistakes no matter what because that's what being human is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/people-are-going-to-make-mistakes-no-matter-what-because-that-s-what/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I mean, I don't relate to characters who are perfect. If someone offers up somebody as a role model, I'm going to be like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-mean-i-don-t-relate-to-characters-who-are-perfect-if-someone-offers/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [At the time that 'Detransition, Baby' came out, I was really resistant to having anybody say that I was representing trans women. Because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/at-the-time-that-detransition-baby-came-out-i-was-really-resistant-to/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) > [I'm from the Midwest, and I was raised a boy. If you told my 17-year-old self that when you turn 40, you're going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torrey-peters/i-m-from-the-midwest-and-i-was-raised-a-boy-if-you-told-my-17-year/) [Torrey Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) [Explore all 100 Torrey Peters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torrey-peters/) ## 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": "I think it's possible to be just a fiction writer, and I don't think that it's a luxury. 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