Michael Hastings Quotes

I need you to do more than survive. As writers, as revolutionaries, tell the truth, your truth in your own way. Do not buy into their system of censorship, imagining that if you drop this character or hide that emotion, you can slide through their blockades. Do not eat your heart out in the hope of pleasing them.

If you dont [sic] say what you want, what's the sense of writing?

I'm not scared about saying what I think.

I almost envy people who say whatever they want.

I always try to write from a genuine standpoint.

If you're going to be transparent, you're going to have to let the music come that wants to come.

Write a true, careless, slovenly impulsive, honest diary every day of your life.

Fiction writing feels more honest to me.

I don't try to stop myself from becoming too personal. I just put it all out there. If anything, I try to remind myself to be as honest as possible all the time. Why hold back?

If you're going to write a memoir, try to be as honest and open as you can.

The only way you can write the truth is to assume that what you set down will never be read.

What's the point of a song if you can't be honest?

Music to me is about being honest, and it's what I've always pictured music as. I don't see the point of expressing yourself if you are going to be cryptic about it.

I've come to realize that the more I censor myself, the less people relate to me.

I say whatever I think and whatever is on my mind, and I just hope that it comes out good. I just try to have a lot of fun.

The only problems I've ever had with being honest is telling people how I feel about them or saying how I feel about other people.

Write your story as it needs to be written. Write it honestly, and tell it as best you can. I'm not sure that there are any other rules. Not ones that matter.

I can say whatever it is that I feel.

It is always easier to write from the heart and deal with things in the present.

I don't feel like I need to tell any lies. You get to an age where you get tired of hiding behind whatever people think is correct. You just say what you have to say, and if they don't like it, it's OK.

There is something about boldness and fearlessness and being free enough to speak what is on one's mind that warrants freedom.

I've never been interested or particularly good at censoring my experience.

I'm a writer. My job is to speak what - that which I think is true. If that bridges the gap, that's good. If it doesn't, that's too bad.

I try to really say what I think is happening, and I'm pretty forthright. I obviously hold back some things. But pretty much, what I see and feel, I say on the air.

I don't have any sense of inhibition, so I'm able to lead my life with a lot of honesty.