Issa Rae Quotes

You write about what you know.

Do not copy my style! The first rule of writing is write about what you know, not what you think you know. So, think about what you've done in your life and write about that.

Don't imitate. Write what you know about, that has to be your goal.

You need to write about something that you really know about or you deeply connect with. Don't fake it.

You can only really sing about what you know; at least, I can.

If I could say anything to anybody out there thinking of creating their own content is to always, always, come from a place of authenticity.

Write about what you know, that's what I say.

There's always things that you know about that nobody else, because everybody's life is different. So you write about what you know. That's number one.

Write about what you know, and what do you know better than your own secrets?

No man's knowledge here can go beyond his experience.

Experience is a dim lamp, which only lights the one who bears it.

You can't write about stuff you don't know about. You have to live it. You have to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Live life to be a good songwriter.

I've got research, I have my own life experience I can apply, and I have my imagination.

So if we have anything original to offer, it's to speak from our own life about the society we're in.

Genius is a potential that lives within you and every other human being. You have many moments of genius in your lifetime. These are the times when you have a uniquely brilliant idea and implement it even if only you are aware of how fantastic it is.

Knowledge comes from the past, so it's safe. It is also out of date. It's the opposite of originality... Experience is the opposite of being creative.

I have no personal experience in the military. All I know about it is what I've seen in movies and read in books and watched on television. My knowledge is probably no more or no less than the average person's. 'A Brief Encounter with the Enemy' was created by taking bits and pieces from here and there, and then putting my own spin on them.

I write about what I know.

If a man writes a book, let him set down only what he knows. I have guesses enough of my own.

I'm of the school 'Write what you know.' You can educate yourself, but the best writing usually comes from the heart.

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.

Acting requires a lot of discipline to go with the obsession. It's a path of knowledge, and of self-knowledge. Sometimes you get lost on the path. And then you find yourself again.

My poems - I don't even like the sound of that, in a way. Not that anyone else wrote them. But we know that only people who are really close to us care about our personal experience.

I don't write anything that I haven't lived. In terms of integrity, you have to write what you live. And if you write beyond what you live, it is theory. And theory is not helpful. It is just not.

I think I'm a good writer. I think I have my own voice, which is unique to everyone - everyone has their own voice; if they would just write from a vulnerable embarrassing place, it's going to be universal, and it's going to be entertaining. Because everyone is the same, and everyone is unique.