I never paid you a compliment, Rachel, in my life. Successful love may sometimes use the language of flattery, I admit. But hopeless love, dearest, always speaks the truth.
Wilkie CollinsRead
I have always held the old-fashioned opinion that the primary object of work of fiction should be to tell a story.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Fiction's main purpose is to narrate a story rather than serve other functions.
Wilkie Collins emphasizes the traditional belief that the essence of fiction should revolve around storytelling. In an age where narratives could be obscured by experiments in form or style, Collins reminds us that the central aim of a work of fiction is to engage the reader with a compelling story that resonates and entertains.
Themes
FictionStorytellingNarrativeArtLiterature
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a writing workshop to inspire aspiring authors to focus on narrative.
More from Wilkie Collins
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Paul StrandRead
I remember a conversation with my parents about who the people on the TV were, and learning they were actors and they acted out this story and just thinking that was the most fantastic notion, and that's what I want to do.
David TennantRead
A woman drew her long black hair out tight, And fiddled whisper music on those strings, And bats with baby faces in the violet light Whistled, and beat their wings, And crawled head downward down a blackened wall.
T. S. EliotRead
I'm fairly certain when I die that the obituary will say, 'Author of 'Angels in America' dies.' Unless I'm completely forgotten, and then it won't say anything at all.
Tony KushnerRead