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A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.
Anthony Burgess
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Interpretation

What this quote means

A work of fiction represents the author's exploration of new ideas and experiences, revealing the challenges faced during this creative process.

In this quote, Anthony Burgess emphasizes that creating a fictional work is akin to embarking on an exploration of uncharted territory. The narrative should reflect the struggles and complexities encountered by the author as they navigate through their imaginative journey, thereby enhancing the authenticity and depth of the story.

Themes

FictionJourneyAuthorCreativityChallenges

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a writer's workshop to inspire participants to embrace the unknown in their writing.

More from Anthony Burgess

Translation is not a matter of words only: it is a matter of making intelligible a whole culture.
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There is a satisfactory boniness about grammar which the flesh of sheer vocabulary requires before it can become a vertebrate and walk the earth.
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There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and Dim, Dim being really dim, and we sat in the Korova Milkbar making up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening.
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Violence among young people is an aspect of their desire to create. They don't know how to use their energy creatively so they do the opposite and destroy.
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Only in England is the perversion of language regarded as a victory for democracy.
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You needn't take it any further, sir. You've proved to me that all this ultraviolence and killing is wrong, wrong, and terribly wrong. I've learned me lesson, sir. I've seen now what I've never seen before. I'm cured! Praise Bog! I'm cured!
Anthony BurgessRead

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