--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't write fiction but I do write…" description: "\"I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write memoirs that I treat like stories, so whenever I'm using somebody I actually know as a model, I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png" --- # I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write… ![“I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write memoirs that I treat like stories, so whenever I'm using somebody I actually know as a model, I am submitting them to the agenda of a storyteller, and I feel free to do what I want.” quote by Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png) > “I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write memoirs that I treat like stories, so whenever I'm using somebody I actually know as a model, I am submitting them to the agenda of a storyteller, and I feel free to do what I want.” [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author treats real people as narrative devices, shaping their stories to serve a broader artistic purpose. **In simple terms:** She uses real lives like story material. Key Takeaway Embrace creative freedom with ethical awareness. Themes storytelling ethics memoir creativity Mood reflective introspective Type literary personal ethical When to use this quote - Writing memoirs - documentary filmmaking - journalistic profiles - personal essays Key Concepts Narrative agency subjectivity authorial intent Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance truth and artistic license? - What responsibilities do you have to real people you portray? A Different Perspective Risk of exploiting subjects without consent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agendas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Memoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memoir/) [Narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narrative/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Storyteller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storyteller/) [Storytelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storytelling/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“Some times, you write fiction stories. Others, you use fiction to write your story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-usher-evans/some-times-you-write-fiction-stories-others-you-use-fiction-to-write/) S. Usher Evans > [“We all write fiction when we write about the past.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-all-write-fiction-when-we-write-about-the-past/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [In my mind, there's usually a fairly definitive kind of narrative when I write. But I don't want to enforce that on other people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-flynn/in-my-mind-there-s-usually-a-fairly-definitive-kind-of-narrative-when/) [Johnny Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-flynn/) > [It makes more sense to write one big book - a novel or nonfiction narrative - than to write many stories or essays. Into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/it-makes-more-sense-to-write-one-big-book-a-novel-or-nonfiction/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [I write in reverse: Rather than come up with a narrative and write jokes for that narrative, I write jokes independently of the narrative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-kinney/i-write-in-reverse-rather-than-come-up-with-a-narrative-and-write/) [Jeff Kinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-kinney/) > [Some write a narrative of wars and feats, Of heroes little known, and call the rant A history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/some-write-a-narrative-of-wars-and-feats-of-heroes-little-known-and/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [I do think the challenge, in a way for me, is to write a narrative film and when you finish watching it you feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-black/i-do-think-the-challenge-in-a-way-for-me-is-to-write-a-narrative-film-2/) [Shane Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-black/) > [My priority is my books, at least at this point. What I have to do is write the narrative of this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/my-priority-is-my-books-at-least-at-this-point-what-i-have-to-do-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I don't know if anything I write will endure, but I do try to write it as a narrative that will not only challenge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-kozol/i-don-t-know-if-anything-i-write-will-endure-but-i-do-try-to-write-it/) [Jonathan Kozol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-kozol/) > [You write your own narrative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-kelce/you-write-your-own-narrative/) [Jason Kelce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-kelce/) > [I certainly believe you can write a narrative lyric or a lyrical narrative - why not a nyric or a larrative?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthea-harvey/i-certainly-believe-you-can-write-a-narrative-lyric-or-a-lyrical/) [Matthea Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthea-harvey/) > [Please write Narrative Report abut >> An aciedcnt ?please I need it now and it should be 10 lines and be nice please I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james/please-write-narrative-report-abut-an-aciedcnt-please-i-need-it-now/) [James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james/) > [I've never been able to write narrative as a character, really. Jenny Lewis, I love her stuff, I love that she can weave these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-mayberry/i-ve-never-been-able-to-write-narrative-as-a-character-really-jenny/) [Lauren Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-mayberry/) > [I was born in the era of the novel. I've written many, as well as collections of poetry, and essays for mouthing off. I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/i-was-born-in-the-era-of-the-novel-i-ve-written-many-as-well-as/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [The trouble with science fiction is that you can write about everything: time, space, all the future, all the past, all of the universe,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-j-klass/the-trouble-with-science-fiction-is-that-you-can-write-about/) Philip J. Klass ## More by Vivian Gornick > [Research is the live heart of the scientific life ... Greatness of position, respect for past accomplishments, the Nobel Prize itself -- none of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/research-is-the-live-heart-of-the-scientific-life-greatness-of/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“Suddenly, literature, politics, and analysis came together, and I began to think more inclusively about the emotional imprisonment of mind and spirit to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/suddenly-literature-politics-and-analysis-came-together-and-i-began/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [When I work I feel more alive than under any other circumstances. There's not an 'I love you' in the world that can match…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/when-i-work-i-feel-more-alive-than-under-any-other-circumstances/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“All I had to do was get old enough and New York would be mine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/all-i-had-to-do-was-get-old-enough-and-new-york-would-be-mine/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“And I—the girl growing in their midst, being made in their image—I absorbed them as I would chloroform on a cloth laid against my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/and-i-the-girl-growing-in-their-midst-being-made-in-their-image-i/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [Before I knew that I was Jewish or a girl I knew that I was a member of the working class. At a time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/before-i-knew-that-i-was-jewish-or-a-girl-i-knew-that-i-was-a-member/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [When the whole world is writing letters, it's easy to lap into the quiet within, tell the story of an hour, keep alive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/when-the-whole-world-is-writing-letters-it-s-easy-to-lap-into-the/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“The live, warm presence of my mother had disappeared. In its place stood this remoteness posing as Mama. Her anxiety was unbearable to me.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-live-warm-presence-of-my-mother-had-disappeared-in-its-place/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [What you feel when you're writing is the relief of thinking: if you write the sentence correctly, you're clarifying. If you write the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/what-you-feel-when-you-re-writing-is-the-relief-of-thinking-if-you/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [No man worth his salt does not wish to be a husband and father; yet no man is raised to be a husband and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/no-man-worth-his-salt-does-not-wish-to-be-a-husband-and-father-yet-no/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [Psychoanalysis showed me that I might be neurotic because I was a girl but, as Chekhov might have put it, I alone had to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/psychoanalysis-showed-me-that-i-might-be-neurotic-because-i-was-a/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“I had an affair with a downtown playwright. Two things about this man: He was an ex-alcoholic, and he was phobic about leaving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-had-an-affair-with-a-downtown-playwright-two-things-about-this-man/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [The desire for narration keeps on reasserting itself, so that since modernism and fiction brought narration to an end, it is sought in memoirs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-desire-for-narration-keeps-on-reasserting-itself-so-that-since/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [The point of women's liberation is not to stand at the door of the male world, beating our fists, and crying, 'Let me in,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/the-point-of-women-s-liberation-is-not-to-stand-at-the-door-of-the/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) > [“Una mujer sabe si ama a un hombre", decía. "Si no está segura, es que no lo ama”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/una-mujer-sabe-si-ama-a-un-hombre-dec-a-si-no-est-segura-es-que-no-lo/) [Vivian Gornick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) [Explore all 77 Vivian Gornick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/) ## More Agendas quotes > [There's a dishonest tyranny in the liberal/progressive/socialist agenda that comes down and says 'we are here because we care about you; we want what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-west/there-s-a-dishonest-tyranny-in-the-liberal-progressive-socialist/) [Allen West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-west/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [At home we didnt talk about religion. So gradually the question faded away by itself and disappeared from the agenda. When I was nineteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-prokofiev/at-home-we-didnt-talk-about-religion-so-gradually-the-question-faded/) [Sergei Prokofiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-prokofiev/) > [We have Internet now and people are not stupid. But it seems that some people are trying to push the same agenda of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/we-have-internet-now-and-people-are-not-stupid-but-it-seems-that-some/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [The next thing you do today will be the most important thing on your agenda, because, after all, you're doing it next. Well, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/the-next-thing-you-do-today-will-be-the-most-important-thing-on-your/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [In our system of government, the judicial and legislative branches have different roles. Judges are not politicians. Judges must decide cases, not champion causes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orrin-hatch/in-our-system-of-government-the-judicial-and-legislative-branches/) [Orrin Hatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orrin-hatch/) > [It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alanis-morissette/it-s-when-someone-has-an-agenda-of-their-own-for-the-record-that-it/) [Alanis Morissette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alanis-morissette/) > [The problem with merely writing so that you can be understood is that the wrong people, in advancing their agendas, are only too ready…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-a-dembski/the-problem-with-merely-writing-so-that-you-can-be-understood-is-that/) [William A. Dembski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-a-dembski/) > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We have to consider who is going to be the best prime minister to take on a "one nation" agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/we-have-to-consider-who-is-going-to-be-the-best-prime-minister-to/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [There certainly are situations where I feel not empowered or uninspired. Particularly when the person's agenda is to intimidate through abusing their position or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tori-amos/there-certainly-are-situations-where-i-feel-not-empowered-or/) [Tori Amos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tori-amos/) > [Strong states and blocs of strong states are the only source of power and legitimacy capable of driving an international agenda in today's world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bremmer/strong-states-and-blocs-of-strong-states-are-the-only-source-of-power/) [Ian Bremmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bremmer/) > [He felt safe with her. He'd never been safe with another human being, not since he'd been taken as a child from his home.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/he-felt-safe-with-her-he-d-never-been-safe-with-another-human-being/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [I sometimes find that my family's emphasis on stories, characters, and art that appeals directly to children rather than over their heads to adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-berenstain/i-sometimes-find-that-my-family-s-emphasis-on-stories-characters-and/) [Mike Berenstain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-berenstain/) > [The forces of immorality and Marxism and evil count on one thing: Us not showing up. And often, they're justified in that. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-shea/the-forces-of-immorality-and-marxism-and-evil-count-on-one-thing-us/) [Matt Shea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-shea/) [Browse all 985 Agendas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agendas/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write memoirs that I treat like stories, so whenever I'm using somebody I actually know as a model, I am submitting them to the agenda of a storyteller, and I feel free to do what I want.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Vivian Gornick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-narrative-i-write-memoirs-that-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Agendas" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-narrative-i-write-memoirs-that-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f3f/vivian-gornick-8241_agendas_i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-nar_896906.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't write fiction but I do write narrative; I write memoirs that I treat like stories, so whenever I'm…” — Vivian Gornick", "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": "Vivian Gornick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-gornick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't write fiction but I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-narrative-i-write-memoirs-that-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-gornick/i-don-t-write-fiction-but-i-do-write-narrative-i-write-memoirs-that-i/#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 } } ] } ```