Emily Kinney Quotes

Any real piece of writing is an act of courage.

You have to be quite brave to write about something that you honestly feel and think.

I think that, when you're writing your songs, there's always a debate about whether, is that you in the song? Is it not you in the song?

Songwriting is the most terrifying thing to me, because you are really laying your heart out there.

You can be whoever you want to be when you are writing songs.

I've learned by experience that, if I get too clever with lyrics, or if I'm not totally embodying my own wants and needs in the songs, I can't remember them.

The people I'm inspired by and I listen to are all ballsy, and I feel like I'm closer to an artist when they're open and honest.

In my opinion, trying to guess what readers want is the wrong approach. You have to tell your story as best you can and as true to yourself as possible. You have to be honest and fair and vulnerable and foolish and brave, and not care what anyone thinks of it.

There are certainly a lot of people - and I won't name names - who are getting by simply on expression. And I guess that's valuable in some sense. But songs are not better just because they're emotionally honest. To write a song well, you have to put some work into it and grind it out.

Music is infinite and personal. I don't want to put myself in a box. I want to try everything and I'm trying everything. I'm really trying to write what's in my heart and what I feel without a lot of help in that department. It's about being brave.

Be brave enough to live creatively . . . what you'll discover will be wonderful: yourself.

So release yourself from that. Don't be strategic or coy. Strategic and coy are for jackasses. Be brave. Be authentic. Practice saying the word 'love' to the people you love so when it matters the most to say it, you will.

I write songs about my own experiences. You can't lie to yourself. You can't pose to yourself.

That's another way of writing a song, of course. Just talking to somebody that ain't there. That's the best way. That's the truest way. Then it just becomes a question of how heroic your speech is. To me, it's something to strive after.

[There's] this idea of "I want to take care of myself," but at the same time I want to be brave, daring, and expressive.

Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.

When I stopped hiding who I am, I started writing hits.

If you really want to tell stories, do it and don't be dissuaded.

This is what I believe about performing: There is no reason to be on stage - there is no reason to be there - if you're not going to put all your baggage somewhere else and just be honest. Whatever you're doing - screw it up, do great - just be there, and be honest. That's the most important thing.

The people at my label are always endorsing what I say. They say, 'You see the truth, so speak it.' They believe in me. They respect my opinion. At least I have an opinion, and I'm not trying to play it safe. I don't go around saying, 'I think everyone is great, and the world is fantastic.' Everyone has opinions. They just don't say it.

The writer, when he is also an artist, is someone who admits what others don't dare reveal.

I can be bolder on the page, as a character. I can gnash my teeth, I can scream and yell, in a way that I'm perhaps too timid to do in real life.

Preaching is the most original thing I've ever done. There's nothing familiar about it. You have to be brave.

I write from my imagination, not from what I've read in books or seen on TV or to make money. I wrote from an idea I was passionate about.

I feel like my secret magic trick that separates me from a lot of my peers is the bravery to be vulnerable and truthful and honest.