--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A writer writes what he knows, in ways…" description: "\"A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.\" — Mo Yan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png" --- # A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to… ![“A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.” quote by Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png) > “A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.” [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers should draw from personal experience and authentic style to create genuine work. **In simple terms:** Write from personal experience with natural style. Key Takeaway Write authentically from what you know. Themes authenticity experience craft Mood reflective inspirational Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - fiction writing - journalism - teaching writing Key Concepts literature self‑reflection storytelling Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal knowledge with imagination? - When should you step outside your comfort zone? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on personal experience can limit imagination. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Knows Ways](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows-ways-3989757/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Ways Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ways-natural-3989758/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Writes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-writes/) [Writes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writes/) [Writes Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writes-knows-953040/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Well, as anyone who actually writes knows, if you sit down and are prepared, then the ideas come. There's a lot of different ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cave/well-as-anyone-who-actually-writes-knows-if-you-sit-down-and-are/) [Nick Cave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cave/) > [I always say that I'm a writer who writes more from place than race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katori-hall/i-always-say-that-i-m-a-writer-who-writes-more-from-place-than-race/) [Katori Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katori-hall/) > [You just play what a writer writes, in terms of what a character chooses to do and how a character chooses to deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/you-just-play-what-a-writer-writes-in-terms-of-what-a-character/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [The writer writes about what happened in order to make it make sense, to put it in perspective, to turn it into art; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-major/the-writer-writes-about-what-happened-in-order-to-make-it-make-sense/) [Clarence Major](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-major/) > [A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/a-writer-writes-if-you-want-to-be-a-writer-write/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [The only thing that's authentic about what a writer writes is his work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-courtenay/the-only-thing-that-s-authentic-about-what-a-writer-writes-is-his-work/) [Bryce Courtenay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-courtenay/) > [No one put a gun to your head and ordered you to become a writer. One writes out of his own choice and must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-ellin/no-one-put-a-gun-to-your-head-and-ordered-you-to-become-a-writer-one/) [Stanley Ellin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-ellin/) > [You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-see-in-my-view-a-writer-is-a-writer-not-because-she-writes-well/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [A writer always writes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-roff/a-writer-always-writes/) [Don Roff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-roff/) > [“A writer writes to a great extent to be read (let's admire those who say they don't, but not believe them).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/a-writer-writes-to-a-great-extent-to-be-read-let-s-admire-those-who/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I'm not a writer that writes every day. I just kind of have ideas. I jot them down when I have them, and when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-rees/i-m-not-a-writer-that-writes-every-day-i-just-kind-of-have-ideas-i/) [Dee Rees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-rees/) > [“So it is that a writer writes many books. In each book, he intended several urgent and vivid points, many of which he sacrificed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-dillard/so-it-is-that-a-writer-writes-many-books-in-each-book-he-intended/) [Annie Dillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-dillard/) > [Sometimes a writer writes scenes for people who just say 'Hi' to indicate they're in love. I play those scenes very well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-macmurray/sometimes-a-writer-writes-scenes-for-people-who-just-say-hi-to/) [Fred MacMurray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-macmurray/) > [“A writer writes. There are no exceptions to this reality. No excuses. Stop wasting time talking about your stories and get them on paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-hall/a-writer-writes-there-are-no-exceptions-to-this-reality-no-excuses/) [Christy Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-hall/) > [A writer writes. Period. No matter if someone is buying your work or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-wein/a-writer-writes-period-no-matter-if-someone-is-buying-your-work-or-not/) [Len Wein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-wein/) ## More by Mo Yan > [The sun, a red wheel, was sinking slowly in the west. Besides being spectacularly beautiful, the early-summer sunset was exceedingly soft and gentle: black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-sun-a-red-wheel-was-sinking-slowly-in-the-west-besides-being/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“Finally, she mused that human existence is as brief as the life of autumn grass, so what was there to fear from taking chances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/finally-she-mused-that-human-existence-is-as-brief-as-the-life-of/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I'll continue on the path I've been taking, feet on the ground, describing people's lives, describing people's emotions, writing from the standpoint of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/i-ll-continue-on-the-path-i-ve-been-taking-feet-on-the-ground/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“Strong winds eventually cease, unhappy families return to peace”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/strong-winds-eventually-cease-unhappy-families-return-to-peace/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I think writers write for their consciences, they write for their own true audiences, for their souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/i-think-writers-write-for-their-consciences-they-write-for-their-own/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I have always been independent. I like it that way. When someone forces me to do something, I don't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/i-have-always-been-independent-i-like-it-that-way-when-someone-forces/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“A stable, peaceful society is the training ground for humanity, just as caged animals, removed from the violent unpredictability of the wild, are influenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/a-stable-peaceful-society-is-the-training-ground-for-humanity-just-as/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [For a country boy, poor as I was, whose constant worry was to be able to have enough to eat, the Army guaranteed one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/for-a-country-boy-poor-as-i-was-whose-constant-worry-was-to-be-able/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“The cliche that sea dry up and rocks rot away, but the heart never changes is nothing but a beautiful fantasy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-cliche-that-sea-dry-up-and-rocks-rot-away-but-the-heart-never/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“There are people who walk mules and people walk horses, but I never thought there were people who walk cops.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/there-are-people-who-walk-mules-and-people-walk-horses-but-i-never/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“The young must not scoff at the old, for flowers don’t bloom forever”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/the-young-must-not-scoff-at-the-old-for-flowers-don-t-bloom-forever/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“run, run, you can’t get away, the monk can run but the temple will never get away!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/run-run-you-can-t-get-away-the-monk-can-run-but-the-temple-will-never/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [When someone forces me to do something I don't do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/when-someone-forces-me-to-do-something-i-don-t-do-it/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [I think that China has many outstanding authors, and their great works should also be recognised by the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/i-think-that-china-has-many-outstanding-authors-and-their-great-works/) [Mo Yan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/) > [“I sometimes think that there is a link between the decline in humanity and the increase in prosperity and comfort. 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Sometimes you know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hope-davis/i-always-step-on-the-plane-with-my-right-foot-and-touch-the-outside/) [Hope Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hope-davis/) > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [It is natural that our minds replay old stories, because that is our own mechanism for trying to work out unresolved problems. Yet rerunning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/it-is-natural-that-our-minds-replay-old-stories-because-that-is-our/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-i-packer/we-need-to-discover-all-over-again-that-worship-is-natural-to-the/) [J. I. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-i-packer/) > [... informed ignorance provides the natural state of mind for research scientists at the ever-shifting frontiers of knowledge. People who believe themselves ignorant of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/informed-ignorance-provides-the-natural-state-of-mind-for-research/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [The financial crisis we are facing today arises from the fact that there is almost no more social, cultural, natural, and spiritual capital left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-eisenstein/the-financial-crisis-we-are-facing-today-arises-from-the-fact-that/) [Charles Eisenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-eisenstein/) > [... the unnatural ways we substitute for the natural prove not enough and soon there must be more and more unnaturalness, more and more violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-freeman/the-unnatural-ways-we-substitute-for-the-natural-prove-not-enough-and/) [Lucy Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-freeman/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [ He \[ the son\]'s grown up listening to all types of music, and the natural form of rebellion is to find the one genre… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solange-knowles/he-the-son-s-grown-up-listening-to-all-types-of-music-and-the-natural/) [Solange Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solange-knowles/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Teaching children about the natural world should be seen as one of the most important events in their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-berry/teaching-children-about-the-natural-world-should-be-seen-as-one-of/) [Thomas Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-berry/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But that quickly faded, and he frowned. "You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?" Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/but-that-quickly-faded-and-he-frowned-you-re-bleeding-he-said-what/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [I honestly don't like Photoshop. I think when people Photoshop things, all of a sudden you're like, 'That's not even me anymore.' It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-aldridge/i-honestly-don-t-like-photoshop-i-think-when-people-photoshop-things/) [Lily Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-aldridge/) [Browse all 9,287 Natural quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mo Yan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-that-are-natural-to-him/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Natural" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-that-are-natural-to-him/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/773/mo-yan-11698_natural_a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-th_2880429.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A writer writes what he knows, in ways that are natural to him.” — Mo Yan", "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": "Mo Yan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-yan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A writer writes what he knows,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-that-are-natural-to-him/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-yan/a-writer-writes-what-he-knows-in-ways-that-are-natural-to-him/#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 } } ] } ```