If it's fiction, then it better be true.
Interpretation
Fiction should reflect deeper truths about life.
Sherman Alexie's quote suggests that even in the realm of fiction, there should be an underlying authenticity or truth that resonates with readers. It implies that a story, while not factual, should convey genuine emotions, experiences, or insights that speak to the human condition and our understanding of reality.
In practice
During a creative writing workshop, a teacher might use this quote to inspire students to seek truth in their fictional narratives.
Gordie, the white boy genius, gave me this book by a Russian dude named Tolstoy, who wrote, 'Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.' Well, I hate to argue with a Russian genius, but Tolstoy didn't know Indians, and he didn't know that all Indian families are unhappy for the same exact reasons: the frikkin' booze.
My wife was the first romantic partner who understood both American and native parts of me - not so much the positive stuff, but the damage.
I draw because words are too unpredictable. I draw because words are too limited. If you speak and write in English, or Spanish, or Chinese, or any other language, then only a certain percentage of human beings will get your meaning. But when you draw a picture everybody can understand it. If I draw a cartoon of a flower, then every man, woman, and child in the world can look at it and say, "That's a flower.
We all have to find our own ways to say good-bye.
I write books for teenagers because I vividly remember what it felt like to be a teen facing everyday and epic dangers. I don't write to protect them. It's far too late for that. I write to give them weapons-in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.
A lot of people have no idea that right now Y.A. (young adult). is the Garden of Eden of literature.
No man can have a right to impose an unchosen obligation , an unrewarded duty or an involuntary servitude on another man. There can be no such thing as " the right to enslave .
I think my mission, if I could call it that, as a storyteller is to try and find ways to show how similar we are and not how different we are.
A gentleman is ashamed to let his words outrun his deeds.
We Americans are the peculiar, chosen people - the Israel of our time; we bear the ark of the liberties of the world.
To Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness.
Cities can be places that represent the best of our ideals: where Americans of all different backgrounds can come together and, through their interactions, and even through their unity, spawn true American greatness.
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