Jamaica Kincaid Quotes

Whether the story reflects the facts is obviously a different matter.

Writers don't have to keep themselves honest. They have to keep themselves accurate.

Nonfiction means that our stories are as true and accurate as possible. Readers expect - demand - diligence.

Obviously, I like to write stories that are page-turners. But I always try my very, very hardest to be as factually true as possible.

I never fantasized or invented a thing, not one thing. I knew every single thing I ever wrote about.

Truth is quite constricting, in a way. You endlessly see at the start of a film 'This is a true story'.

In nonfiction, you have that limitation, that constraint, of telling the truth.

Working as a journalist, I was always tempted to lie. I felt I could do dialogue better than the person I was interviewing. I felt I could lie better than Nixon and be more concise than some random person I was covering.

There are events which are so great that if a writer has participated in them his obligation is to write truly rather than assume the presumption of altering them with invention.

Lies are beginning to be solidified and made into historical fact…. The truth is all I want for history.

What is truth? What is a true story? Who is telling the truth, and what is truth in this world today?

Facts are facts, and fiction is fiction, and a lie doesn't become truth just because it appears on the front page of the newspaper.

Every fact in my films is true. And yet how often do I have to read over and over again about supposed falsehoods?

Sometimes the facts can get in the way of the telling of a good story. But they don't get in the way of the truth.

Whenever you're telling a story about true-life events and about real people, there's a tremendous responsibility-slash-burden to get it right.

I try to write about things that actually happened so that I know it's real before I put it down on paper.

Just because something is beautifully written does not mean it is true.

It gets embarrassing to say something untrue because you put it online and everyone knows about it, so it's better to tell the truth.

I think people have a responsibility, if they write a letter, to make sure that they saw it themselves and it's not hearsay.

In my career, I do not stop for news when it's not true.

I am no historian but have tried to stick tight to the facts.

When you are working on a real story it is your responsibility to get everything right and stay as true and authentic as possible.

I don't give false claims any due.

If something is presented as a fact, it has to be correct.

We like non-fiction because we live in fictitious times.