I used to dismiss fiction as useless…
“I need information,” was my battle cry. I would constantly scour websites and books for knowledge to improve myself with.
Then one day, I heard Tim Ferriss talk about how fiction changed his life. If you aren’t familiar with him, Tim Ferriss an author and entrepreneur who is well known for optimizing all aspects of life.
So hearing it from him piqued my attention. Because, at that point in my life, I NEEDED everything in my life to be optimized. It was delusional, but that’s another tangent.
The point is that a simple reference opened me up to reading fiction. So I started reading some novels, and I instantly had this realization…
Fiction is actually more powerful and profound than nonfiction.
Human culture is based on stories and metaphors. And these stories are our operating systems for decoding and interacting with reality.
And if that’s not enough, fiction has the benefit of delivering messages to people when their analytical mind is offline.
This means that normally people block out most things, even if its good for them. This is one of the reasons why fiction can impact people on a level that textbook information simply can’t.
Those are just some reasons why I started writing fiction. I think it’s one of the best ways to have a positive impact on the world.
Since I began writing fiction about 3 years ago, it’s been absolutely transformative.
And now, to celebrate the release of my novel Sozwik, here are some profound quotes about the power of fiction.
10 Quotes About Fiction That Will Blow Your Mind
1. “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
2. “That’s what fiction is for. It’s for getting at the truth when the truth isn’t sufficient for the truth.”
― Tim O’Brien
3. “Fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth.”
― Albert Camus
4. “Writing fiction is the act of weaving a series of lies to arrive at a greater truth.”
― Khaled Hosseini
5. “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.”
– Stephen King
6. “Imagination and fiction make up more than three quarters of our real life.”
– Simone Weil
7. “Science and fiction both begin with similar questions: What if? Why? How does it all work? But they focus on different areas of life on earth.”
– Margaret Atwood
8. “Individual science fiction stories may seem as trivial as ever to the blinder critics and philosophers of today – but the core of science fiction, its essence has become crucial to our salvation if we are to be saved at all.”
– Isaac Asimov
9.“The child intuitively comprehends that although these stories are unreal, they are not untrue.”
― Bruno Bettelheim
10. “There are people who think that things that happen in fiction do not really happen. These people are wrong.”
― Neil Gaiman
Have any a-ha moments reading those quotes? I know I did when I first came across these.
Reading List
- Short Story: My Heaven On Earth
- Short Story: What’s My Purpose?
- Novel: Sozwik (see the book cover below)
If you want a unique, mind-blowing experience through fiction, check out Sozwik by clicking the image below…
Much love.
– Stephen Parato
