Quote

As a writer of fiction, lying is the central thing to all books.

— Jesse Ball

Sentiment: POSITIVE

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✓Similar Perspectives

One of the questions writers bump up against in their work, whether they know it or not, is about lying. Because fiction is a form of deceit, and one's abilities are measured by how convincingly one can persuade readers that these events really happened.

— Damon Galgut

Fiction is a lie that is told in the service of truth.

— Tim O'Brien

Fiction is the truth inside the lie.

— Stephen King

An autobiography can distort; facts can be realigned. But fiction never lies: it reveals the writer totally.

— V. S. Naipaul

Fiction is a piece of truth that turns lies to meaning.

— Dorothy Allison

The kind of fiction I'm trying to write is about telling the truth.

— Paul Auster

I think novels are profoundly autobiographical. If writers deny that, they are lying. Or if it's really true, then I think it's a mistake.

— Amity Gaige

The best liars lie with their eyes rather than with their words. This might put writers at a disadvantage.

— Joanna Scott

✗Opposing Perspectives

Contrary to all those times you've heard a writer confess at a reading that he writes fiction because he is a pathological liar, fiction writing is all about telling the truth.

— Paul Harding

Novel-writing is a bit like deception. You lie as little as you possibly can. That's the way I do it, anyway.

— Joseph O'Neill