"I would, however, start writing fiction about 10 years before I actually did, because it's such great fun to do, many times more creative than nonfiction"
About this Quote
Krantz turns regret into a sly flex: she didn’t “switch” to fiction so much as belatedly give herself permission to enjoy the part of writing that feels like play. The line hinges on that qualifying “however,” a small pivot that suggests she’s answering some implied piety about paying dues in nonfiction, journalism, or “serious” work. Yes, that background mattered. Still: if she could rewrite her own timeline, she’d cheat the clock and get to the fun sooner.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke of the cultural hierarchy that treats nonfiction as responsible and fiction as indulgent. Krantz, who built a brand on glossy, high-society sagas and unapologetic page-turning, frames creativity as abundance, not virtue. “Many times more creative” isn’t just a claim about imagination versus reporting; it’s a defense of invention as labor, craft, and risk. Nonfiction often borrows authority from facts. Fiction has to manufacture authority from voice, scene, desire - and then keep a reader inside it.
Context matters: Krantz came to fame relatively late, after years in magazine work, and her blockbuster novels were frequently dismissed as “commercial.” This sentence snaps back at that condescension. She’s not pleading for legitimacy; she’s declaring a better reward system. The intent is practical and liberating: start earlier, not because you’ll be purer or more important, but because you’ll be freer - and because pleasure, in art, is a serious engine.
The subtext is a quiet rebuke of the cultural hierarchy that treats nonfiction as responsible and fiction as indulgent. Krantz, who built a brand on glossy, high-society sagas and unapologetic page-turning, frames creativity as abundance, not virtue. “Many times more creative” isn’t just a claim about imagination versus reporting; it’s a defense of invention as labor, craft, and risk. Nonfiction often borrows authority from facts. Fiction has to manufacture authority from voice, scene, desire - and then keep a reader inside it.
Context matters: Krantz came to fame relatively late, after years in magazine work, and her blockbuster novels were frequently dismissed as “commercial.” This sentence snaps back at that condescension. She’s not pleading for legitimacy; she’s declaring a better reward system. The intent is practical and liberating: start earlier, not because you’ll be purer or more important, but because you’ll be freer - and because pleasure, in art, is a serious engine.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|
More Quotes by Judith
Add to List
