--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You write from what you know but you…" description: "\"“You write from what you know but you write into what you don't know.”\" — Grace Paley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png" --- # You write from what you know but you write into what you… ![“You write from what you know but you write into what you don't know.” quote by Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png) > ““You write from what you know but you write into what you don't know.”” [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing draws from experience but expands into unknown territories, fostering growth. **In simple terms:** Write from experience, explore the unknown. Key Takeaway Explore beyond familiar knowledge. Themes creativity learning exploration Mood reflective encouraging Type inspirational educational When to use this quote - authorial development - education - personal growth Key Concepts knowledge expansion writing process curiosity Questions to Reflect On - What unknowns do you wish to explore through writing? - How does stepping into the unknown enhance creativity? A Different Perspective Writing may risk misunderstanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Don Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-know/) [Know Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-write/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Write Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-don-397638/) [Write Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-know/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Most of my work is, I get an idea, and, with the help of Wikipedia, I can write. I don't have to leave my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/most-of-my-work-is-i-get-an-idea-and-with-the-help-of-wikipedia-i-can/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [“You don't write what you know you write to find out what you don't know”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hemphall/you-don-t-write-what-you-know-you-write-to-find-out-what-you-don-t/) [Patricia Hemphall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hemphall/) > [“Write what you know. Write what you can't forget. Write to give yourself courage and others hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-rosen/write-what-you-know-write-what-you-can-t-forget-write-to-give/) [Nikki Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-rosen/) > [“I do not believe that I should only write about what I know but that I should write also of the other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felisberto-hernandez/i-do-not-believe-that-i-should-only-write-about-what-i-know-but-that/) [Felisberto Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felisberto-hernandez/) > [“Definitely. You cannot write about what you do not know, nor can you write for people you do not understand. You’ll need to know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-le-carre/definitely-you-cannot-write-about-what-you-do-not-know-nor-can-you/) [Georgia Le Carre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-le-carre/) > [People say to write about what you know. I'm here to tell you, no one wants to read that, cos you don't know anything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/people-say-to-write-about-what-you-know-i-m-here-to-tell-you-no-one/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [I write about what I know; and I write about things that are new to me, and that I didn't know before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/i-write-about-what-i-know-and-i-write-about-things-that-are-new-to-me/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) > [“You can’t always write what you know—not exactly what you know. You can, however, write what you see.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/you-can-t-always-write-what-you-know-not-exactly-what-you-know-you/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [The best thing to do is to write about what you know, and if you write about what you know you can always pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ice-cube/the-best-thing-to-do-is-to-write-about-what-you-know-and-if-you-write/) [Ice Cube](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ice-cube/) > [We don't write what we know. We write what we wonder about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-peck/we-don-t-write-what-we-know-we-write-what-we-wonder-about/) [Richard Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-peck/) > [The best advice is not to write what you know, it's to write what you like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-kleon/the-best-advice-is-not-to-write-what-you-know-it-s-to-write-what-you-2/) [Austin Kleon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-kleon/) > [Write what you know. Write what you want to know more about. Write what you're afraid to write about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecil-murphey/write-what-you-know-write-what-you-want-to-know-more-about-write-what/) [Cecil Murphey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecil-murphey/) > [To know whom to write for is to know how to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-know-whom-to-write-for-is-to-know-how-to-write/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“To be a great Writer, Write what you know & Write what other writers wouldn't write about.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryann-gestwicki/to-be-a-great-writer-write-what-you-know-write-what-other-writers/) [Maryann Gestwicki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryann-gestwicki/) > [I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write-in-order-to-find-out-what-i/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) ## More by Grace Paley > [The only recognizable feature of hope is action.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-only-recognizable-feature-of-hope-is-action/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Near home I ran through our park, where I had aired my children on weekends and late-summer afternoons. I stopped at the northeast playground,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/near-home-i-ran-through-our-park-where-i-had-aired-my-children-on/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Old age is not a good thing. It can be really hard, and those of us who have it a little easier should keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/old-age-is-not-a-good-thing-it-can-be-really-hard-and-those-of-us-who/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Well, by now you must know yourself, honey, whatever you do, life don't stop. It only sits a minute and dreams a dream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/well-by-now-you-must-know-yourself-honey-whatever-you-do-life-don-t/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“Who cares?' said Judy, who didn't care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/who-cares-said-judy-who-didn-t-care/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [The women's movement was coming, but I didn't know it in 1956-1957, when I began to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/the-women-s-movement-was-coming-but-i-didn-t-know-it-in-1956-1957/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [A joke is necessary at this time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/a-joke-is-necessary-at-this-time/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [Sometimes, walking with a friend, I forget the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/sometimes-walking-with-a-friend-i-forget-the-world/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [It wasn't until I lived in the countryside that I began to understand the life of the countryside and the people in it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/it-wasn-t-until-i-lived-in-the-countryside-that-i-began-to-understand/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I've started many novels, and they all ended on page seven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-ve-started-many-novels-and-they-all-ended-on-page-seven/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > […I go through a story for lies. I might discover the lie of trying to show off. Sometimes they’re lies of character. Sometimes they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-go-through-a-story-for-lies-i-might-discover-the-lie-of-trying-to/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [I didn't intend. The word "intend" is the wrong word for what I do. It's just that it's something you do, and you can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/i-didn-t-intend-the-word-intend-is-the-wrong-word-for-what-i-do-it-s/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [“... plot, the absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/plot-the-absolute-line-between-two-points-which-i-ve-always-despised/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [You come to doing what you do by not being able to do something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-come-to-doing-what-you-do-by-not-being-able-to-do-something/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) > [When I was about twenty-one, I published a few poems. Maybe I wrote a couple of stories before, but I really began to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/when-i-was-about-twenty-one-i-published-a-few-poems-maybe-i-wrote-a/) [Grace Paley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) [Explore all 135 Grace Paley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/) ## More Write quotes > [I feel like the future is unwritten. So many of the things that we write now haven't been about educating people on the environment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flansburgh/i-feel-like-the-future-is-unwritten-so-many-of-the-things-that-we/) [John Flansburgh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flansburgh/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [I might, by chance, write something just as shoddy; But then I wouldn't show it to everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moliere/i-might-by-chance-write-something-just-as-shoddy-but-then-i-wouldn-t/) [Moliere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moliere/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [It's a shame that when you've actually lived some life and have something to write about, they're saying you're too old to come out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/it-s-a-shame-that-when-you-ve-actually-lived-some-life-and-have/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Everything I write is highly personal, but put in such a way that it's not dropping everything in someone's lap. Although sometimes I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-siberry/everything-i-write-is-highly-personal-but-put-in-such-a-way-that-it-s/) [Jane Siberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-siberry/) > [You make me want to write bad poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-make-me-want-to-write-bad-poetry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I wish that I had known back then that a mastery of process would lead to a product. Then I probably wouldn't have found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-george/i-wish-that-i-had-known-back-then-that-a-mastery-of-process-would/) [Elizabeth George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-george/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [I write my story in my books, It show that your name filled in my books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-write-my-story-in-my-books-it-show-that-your-name-filled-in-my-books/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The midwest is great because it hasn't been entirely claimed. There's more room to write about it; it's harder to write about New York,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/the-midwest-is-great-because-it-hasn-t-been-entirely-claimed-there-s/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) [Browse all 9,848 Write quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“You write from what you know but you write into what you don't know.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Grace Paley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-write-into-what-you-don-t-know/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Write" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-write-into-what-you-don-t-know/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e0/grace-paley-3243_write_you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-wri_2922264.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You write from what you know but you write into what you don't know.” — Grace Paley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Grace Paley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-paley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“You write from what you know...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-write-into-what-you-don-t-know/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-paley/you-write-from-what-you-know-but-you-write-into-what-you-don-t-know/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```