An author in his book must be like God in the universe, present everywhere and visible nowhere.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- An author should influence a work from everywhere without ever being visible as a character.
- In plain terms
- Writers should be everywhere but seen nowhere in their work.
- What can you take from it?
- Maintain distance when writing fiction.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much of yourself goes into your writing?
- Do you want to be seen or invisible?
Another view
Some modern fiction benefits from a visible narrator.
More from Gustave Flaubert
One becomes a critic when one cannot be an artist, just as a man becomes a stool pigeon when he cannot be a soldier.
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