--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best fiction is far more true than…" description: "\"The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.\" — William Faulkner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png" --- # The best fiction is far more true than any journalism. ![“The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.” quote by William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png) > “The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.” [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fiction captures deeper human truths than factual reporting. **In simple terms:** Stories reveal truths that facts miss. Key Takeaway Value narrative insight over mere data. Themes truth fiction journalism perception Mood reflective analytical Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - reading novels - creative writing - media analysis - teaching literature Key Concepts literature subjectivity human experience Questions to Reflect On - How does narrative shape your understanding of reality? - When might factual reporting be more reliable? A Different Perspective Fiction can be biased or romanticized, limiting objectivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-fiction-581081/) [Far True](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/far-true-685291/) [Fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction/) [Fiction Far](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiction-far-685290/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Newspapers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspapers/) [True Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-journalism-685289/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [“The best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-kind-of-journalism/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Just as some things are too strange for fiction, others are too true for journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/just-as-some-things-are-too-strange-for-fiction-others-are-too-true/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“It’s true that journalism in reality is not the journalism that we learnt in the university. It is far from it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nilantha-ilangamuwa/it-s-true-that-journalism-in-reality-is-not-the-journalism-that-we/) [Nilantha Ilangamuwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nilantha-ilangamuwa/) > [Women sometimes go too far, it's true. But it's only when you go too far that others listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/indira-gandhi/women-sometimes-go-too-far-it-s-true-but-it-s-only-when-you-go-too/) [Indira Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/indira-gandhi/) > [“I explained that most great works of the imagination were meant to make you feel like a stranger in your own home. The best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/i-explained-that-most-great-works-of-the-imagination-were-meant-to/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [We're so much more likely to feel sympathy for an animal than another person; thus, the best fiction uses animals to define truly humane…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-re-so-much-more-likely-to-feel-sympathy-for-an-animal-than-another/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [I saw that my best work was my most personal work, which is odd, because my fiction is very far afield and has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-saw-that-my-best-work-was-my-most-personal-work-which-is-odd/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I always wanted to write fiction. Always. As far back as I can remember it's been integral to my sense of myself - everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-always-wanted-to-write-fiction-always-as-far-back-as-i-can-remember/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [“Thus it had come about that she had read far more fiction, and far more poetry, those two sanctuaries of the lonely, than most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/thus-it-had-come-about-that-she-had-read-far-more-fiction-and-far/) [John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/) > [“Science fiction could now be made far more convincing by science fact.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-c-clarke/science-fiction-could-now-be-made-far-more-convincing-by-science-fact/) [Arthur C. Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-c-clarke/) > [When you're writing non-fiction, you go as far as you can go, and then ethically you have to stop. You can't go. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/when-you-re-writing-non-fiction-you-go-as-far-as-you-can-go-and-then/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [“The best fiction is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinky-friedman/the-best-fiction-is-true/) [Kinky Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinky-friedman/) > [“The best fiction is often how we interpret our own lives and what we see as our common due. It is created usually as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-edwards/the-best-fiction-is-often-how-we-interpret-our-own-lives-and-what-we/) [Anne Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-edwards/) > [Biographies never feel as real as the best fiction. There is such a discontinuity between the narrative and the material it comes from, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/biographies-never-feel-as-real-as-the-best-fiction-there-is-such-a/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The best fiction is geared towards conflict. We learn most about our characters through tension, when they are put up against insurmountable obstacles. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/the-best-fiction-is-geared-towards-conflict-we-learn-most-about-our/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) ## More by William Faulkner > [“The river itself is not a hundred yards across, and pa and Vernon and Vardaman and Dewey Dell are the only things in sight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-river-itself-is-not-a-hundred-yards-across-and-pa-and-vernon-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [The quality an artist must have is objectivity in judging his work, plus the honesty and courage not to kid himself about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-quality-an-artist-must-have-is-objectivity-in-judging-his-work/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Luster returned, wearing a stiff new straw hat with a colored band and carrying a cloth cap. 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He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-believe-that-man-will-not-merely-endure-he-will-prevail-he-is/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/never-be-afraid-to-raise-your-voice-for-honesty-and-truth-and/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“What modren ideas?” pap said. “I didn’t know there was but one idea about work—until it is done, it ain’t done, and when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/what-modren-ideas-pap-said-i-didn-t-know-there-was-but-one-idea-about/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was only as he put his hand on the door that he became aware of complete silence beyond it, a silence which he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-only-as-he-put-his-hand-on-the-door-that-he-became-aware-of/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“She has no mother because fatherblood hates with love and pride, but motherblood with hate loves and cohabits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/she-has-no-mother-because-fatherblood-hates-with-love-and-pride-but/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Byron listened quietly, thinking to himself how people everywhere are about the same, but that it did seem that in a small town, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/byron-listened-quietly-thinking-to-himself-how-people-everywhere-are/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“It was too late. Maybe yesterday, while I was still a child, but not now. I knew too much, had seen too much, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/it-was-too-late-maybe-yesterday-while-i-was-still-a-child-but-not-now/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) [Explore all 673 William Faulkner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) ## 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": "The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Faulkner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-journalism/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-journalism/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/158/william-faulkner-306_fiction_the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-a_845081.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The best fiction is far more true than any journalism.” — William Faulkner", "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": "William Faulkner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The best fiction is far more...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-journalism/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/the-best-fiction-is-far-more-true-than-any-journalism/#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 } } ] } ```