Tyndale Fiction’s Thoughts On: Great Inspirational Quotes

Afternoon, all! It’s funny that despite how immersed we are on a daily basis in words and phrases, there are still some outliers that stay with us long after spoken or read. No matter the genre—from inspirational stories to historical fiction to police dramas—an eloquent phrase will burrow into my mind and resonate. One of the most beautiful aspects of fiction books is their ability to speak profound truths in a quiet way that leaves you in awe.

With that in mind, some folks from Tyndale Fiction’s editorial team are on the blog today to share a few of their most memorable quotes from authors and books.

Please leave a comment below with the quotes that have stuck with you! 

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Jeremy Taylor, Asst. Editorial Director/Team Leader

“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” —Mark Twain

“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” —Stephen King

“Truth is so hard to tell, it sometimes needs fiction to make it plausible.” —Francis Bacon

I think the six most wonderful words in the English language are “Let me tell you a story.” All these quotes are memorable because they help describe why fiction is important. At Tyndale, we like to say that nonfiction reaches the mind, but fiction reaches the heart. This is partly because fiction—storytelling—represents an age-old part of human experience. But it’s also because there’s something in us that innately realizes that fiction is powerful precisely because it represents truth. And truth—truth we can be shown, not just told about—is what our hearts long for.

Kathy Olson, Senior Editor

  For the introverted book lover or editor:
“Ah! there is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” —Jane Austen, Emma

For the proofreader in all of us:
“A trifling matter, and fussy of me, but we all have our little ways.” —Eeyore, in The House at Pooh Corner

My goal as an editor:
“A problem well stated is a problem half solved.” —Charles F. Kettering

“Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counsellors, and the most patient of teachers.” —Charles W. Eliot 

Sarah Mason, Editor

  The most succinct way I’ve found to explain the value of fiction:
“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love the image of God as storyteller, and it’s a good reminder of where my story-crafting role ends:
“Life is God’s novel. Let him write it.” —Isaac Bashevis Singer

This captures the dynamics of loving books so well—it’s both mysterious and cozy:
“I believe that each of us, no matter how gregarious, or open-hearted, or secure we might be nonetheless holds deep inside ourselves a private place, a personal sacristy, where almost nothing is allowed to enter. But I think certain books we come across in our lifetimes do enter there. They enter and they pull up a chair and slip off their shoes and say, ‘I’m right here if you need me.’” —Elizabeth Berg 

Danika King, Assistant Editor

This is such an encouraging alternative to both envy and self-deprecation, and I’d never thought of it like this until I read Lewis’s words:
“[God] wants to bring the man to a state of mind in which he could design the best cathedral in the world, and know it to be the best, and rejoice in the fact, without being any more (or less) or otherwise glad at having done it than he would be if it had been done by another. [God] wants him, in the end, to be so free from any bias in his own favour that he can rejoice in his own talents as frankly and gratefully as in his neighbour’s talents.” —C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

It’s reassuring that even people who spoke this way sometimes felt this way:
“Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.” —Shakespeare, Macbeth

This song describes God’s sovereignty so beautifully:

“This is my Father’s world/Oh, let me never forget/that though the wrong seems oft so strong/God is the ruler yet.” —“This Is My Father’s World”

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What about you? Has a line in literature ever grabbed you and held on? Leave the quote in the comments!

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As always, happy reading (and happy Friday)!