--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't write about what I know: I write…" description: "\"I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.\" — Patricia Hampl" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png" --- # I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find… ![“I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.” quote by Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png) > “I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.” [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing serves as a tool for discovery, allowing the writer to uncover unknown truths. **In simple terms:** Write to learn what you don’t know. Key Takeaway Write to explore ideas. Themes creativity knowledge process Mood curious introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - research - journaling Key Concepts epistemology self-discovery Questions to Reflect On - What questions do you ask while writing? - How does uncertainty fuel creativity? A Different Perspective May lead to misinformation if not reflective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“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 > [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/) > [“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 > [“Screw write what you know, write what you dream and then do your research :) ~Pavarti K Tyler~”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/screw-write-what-you-know-write-what-you-dream-and-then-do-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Write what you know. Write what you can't forget. 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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. 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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/) > [“Don't Write What You Know; Write What You Care About -- Passionately!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-hightshoe/don-t-write-what-you-know-write-what-you-care-about-passionately/) Carol Hightshoe ## More by Patricia Hampl > [Writing was the soul of everything else ... Wanting to be a writer was wanting to be a person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/writing-was-the-soul-of-everything-else-wanting-to-be-a-writer-was/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [People come and go in life, but they never leave your dreams. Once they're in your subconscious, they are immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/people-come-and-go-in-life-but-they-never-leave-your-dreams-once-they/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [We store in memory only images of value. The value may be lost over the passage of time, but that's the implacable judgment of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/we-store-in-memory-only-images-of-value-the-value-may-be-lost-over/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [Memory is, first, a captivating mystery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/memory-is-first-a-captivating-mystery/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) > [“We carry our wounds and perhaps even worse, our capacity to wound, forward with us. 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Utopias hardly have the meat on their bones to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/the-future-is-here-now-and-the-past-is-full-of-actual-deeds-real/) [Patricia Hampl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) [Explore all 56 Patricia Hampl quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/) ## More Know quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [“To know someone, to be known. That matters more than he'd ever thought it would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianna-baggott/to-know-someone-to-be-known-that-matters-more-than-he-d-ever-thought/) [Julianna Baggott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianna-baggott/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [If we will not interfere with our thought, but will act entirely, or see how the thing stands in God, we know the particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-we-will-not-interfere-with-our-thought-but-will-act-entirely-or/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. 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I coulda played a great street urchin or ragamuffin. Or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-lyonne/i-would-have-done-well-as-a-gypsy-child-i-think-a-circus-baby-i/) [Natasha Lyonne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-lyonne/) > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [I have always been a big meta guy because I think the way journalism is practiced in Washington, and the way everyone sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/i-have-always-been-a-big-meta-guy-because-i-think-the-way-journalism/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [“Take your time to find and understand what you don’t know and in the end, you shall know that it is not all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/take-your-time-to-find-and-understand-what-you-don-t-know-and-in-the/) [Ernest Agyemang Yeboah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-agyemang-yeboah/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) Browse all 22,299 Know quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Patricia Hampl" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write-in-order-to-find-out-what-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Know" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write-in-order-to-find-out-what-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f7/patricia-hampl-12061_know_i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write_1790318.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't write about what I know: I write in order to find out what I know.” — Patricia Hampl", "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": "Patricia Hampl", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-hampl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't write about what I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write-in-order-to-find-out-what-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-hampl/i-don-t-write-about-what-i-know-i-write-in-order-to-find-out-what-i/#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 } } ] } ```