Business Quote by Ursula K. Le Guin
“Predictions are uttered by prophets (free of charge); by clairvoyants (who usually charge a fee, and are therefore more honored in their day than prophets); and by futurologists (salaried). Prediction is the business of prophets, clairvoyants, and futurologists. It is not the business of novelists. A novelist's business is lying.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Art of Fiction, 1990
Novelists create fiction, not predictions; forecasting belongs to prophets, clairvoyants, and futurologists.
In simple terms: Writers lie, not predict.
Key Takeaway
Recognize fiction’s purpose separate from forecasting.
Themes
literature
truth
fiction
prediction
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
philosophical
literary
When to use this quote
- writing workshops
- literary criticism
- media literacy
Key Concepts
creative storytelling
epistemology
genre boundaries
Questions to Reflect On
- How does fiction influence belief in truth?
- What responsibilities do writers have about factual accuracy?
A Different Perspective
Fiction may blur reality for readers.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)