Theophilus London Quotes

My advice would be to write what is most personal and specific to your experience or your life. And your voice will emerge and because of its specificity, it will be universal.

What I see, what I went through, what a friend of mine may have went through, whatever - I rap about it.

I'm a songwriter, and people will tell you the greatest stories about their lives, whether you want to hear it or not.

I think I'm attracted to writers who tell us something about ourselves.

I think most of my songs are based on an emotion and in every song I write, there's at least a partial truth.

They say, 'Write what you know.' What I know isn't cheerleader; it has a little bit of teeth to it.

I'll write about myself, or people I know, or archetypal characters, but the goal is to get at some truth, not to necessarily convey my own experience as an individual to the world.

I never sit down to write anything personal unless I know the subject is going to go beyond my own experience and address something larger and more universal.

The words of the songs speak for themselves.

When I write I try as far as possible to forget I'm writing it at all. I tell it down onto the page, as if I'm telling it to one person only, my best friend.

The blues is nothing but a story... The verses which are sung in the blues is a true story, what people are doing... what they all went through. It's not just a song, see?

Whether I'm acting, writing, or directing, I want to tell the truth about human beings, especially my folk.

Tell the story that's in your heart, and don't hold back. Write a book the reader will want to melt into.

I like the purity of telling stories now because not a lot of people are telling stories in their music. I wanna tell my specific story: what I see right now.

We've always written from personal experiences.

You just have to tell your authentic stories, and hopefully, it resonates. Whatever your story is, you just have to tell it authentically.

I've talked with friends about this: when you write about yourself, that's what people connect to. When you write a sermon or a lesson, that may not reach people. I've learned a lot from people who have been writing about themselves.

If you listen to my music, you know who I'm talking to, what I'm talking about, and exactly what my message is.

My goal is, no matter what genre or story, I'll find a personal angle. It doesn't have to be autobiographical, or specifically Asian-American. It has to explore a burning question that I have.

You do your best to tell your own story, in the most specific way, and then you hope that that travels well, when it's done with heart and honesty.

I don't think I could write about something I've never experienced or felt; all my songs are about things I've been through.

Novels are about other people and poems are about yourself.

I think being a singer-songwriter... your job is to tell a story that other people can't really tell themselves.

All I've ever done since I was 17 is tell stories. You know, I'm a storyteller. And that's what I'm going to keep on doing, especially now, kind of embracing and making sure that we tell immigration.

When you write down your life, every page should contain something no one has ever heard about.