---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I write what I want to read. If I were to…"
description: "\"“I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I know, I'd be staring at a blank page forever.”\" — R.J. Dennis"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg"
---

#  I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I…

![“I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I know, I'd be staring at a blank page forever.” quote by R.J. Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg)

> ““I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I know, I'd be staring at a blank page forever.””

R.J. Dennis

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Advocates writing for personal desire rather than knowledge, suggesting authenticity over expertise.

**In simple terms:** Write what you want to read.

Key Takeaway

Write for personal desire.

Themes

creativity authenticity writing

Mood

playful insightful

Type

creative reflective

When to use this quote

- personal journaling
- fiction writing
- blogging

Key Concepts

self‑expression creative freedom

Questions to Reflect On

- What topics ignite your writing passion?
- How does writing for yourself affect your style?

A Different Perspective

May lack technical depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/)

## Related quotes

> [Staring at the blank page before you, open up a dirty window. Let the sun illuminate the words that you cannot find. Reaching for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-a-dirty-window-let-the/)

[Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/)

> [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/)

[Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/)

> [“I spent days and nights staring at the blank page, searching the deepest corners of my mind: who have I been, what have I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-eriksson/i-spent-days-and-nights-staring-at-the-blank-page-searching-the/)

[Charlotte Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-eriksson/)

> [“Staring at the blank page before you open up the dirty window let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find. Today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the-2/)

[Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/)

> [At some point if you're a professional writer, no matter what, it always comes down to you staring at the blank page by yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-guggenheim/at-some-point-if-you-re-a-professional-writer-no-matter-what-it/)

[Marc Guggenheim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-guggenheim/)

> [I write not only what I want to read...I write all the things I should have been able to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-write-not-only-what-i-want-to-read-i-write-all-the-things-i-should/)

[Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/)

> [Whatever struggle happened between brothers, let us forget about it and turn the page forever and live united.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muqtada-al-sadr/whatever-struggle-happened-between-brothers-let-us-forget-about-it/)

[Muqtada al Sadr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muqtada-al-sadr/)

> [The strange thing with Wikipedia is that the first article that ever gets written about you will define your Wikipedia page forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-burnham/the-strange-thing-with-wikipedia-is-that-the-first-article-that-ever/)

[Bo Burnham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-burnham/)

> [One could go on revising a prose page forever whereas there is a point in a poem when one knows it is done forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/one-could-go-on-revising-a-prose-page-forever-whereas-there-is-a/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [“I write because, as wonderful as life is - and it is truly wonderful - it isn't enough. It does not, for example, contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laini-taylor/i-write-because-as-wonderful-as-life-is-and-it-is-truly-wonderful-it/)

[Laini Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laini-taylor/)

> [“I feign knowledge of writing: that I know something about it, that I should have learned something after all these years, that I might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chila-woychik/i-feign-knowledge-of-writing-that-i-know-something-about-it-that-i/)

[Chila Woychik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chila-woychik/)

> [“To strive in life; we must either read or write a story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/to-strive-in-life-we-must-either-read-or-write-a-story/)

[Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/)

> [Sitting all alone and you don't know why, Looking out the window watching the world pass by. You better calm down and catch up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-jessop/sitting-all-alone-and-you-don-t-know-why-looking-out-the-window/)

[Rebecca Jessop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-jessop/)

> [“How many, then? How many of those staring, blank faces hid minds that had, somewhere along the line, fully awakened to the world around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-t-nicholas/how-many-then-how-many-of-those-staring-blank-faces-hid-minds-that/)

J.T. Nicholas

> [I have moments like that alot, when my brain falls asleep or something, and the next thing I know I've missed something, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/i-have-moments-like-that-alot-when-my-brain-falls-asleep-or-something/)

[Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/)

## More by R.J. Dennis

> [“I really hate it when people want to kill me. It makes me think they don't want to be friends. - Raven from Blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-dennis/i-really-hate-it-when-people-want-to-kill-me-it-makes-me-think-they/)

R.J. Dennis

Explore all 2 R.J. Dennis quotes

## More Blank page quotes

> [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/)

[Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/)

> [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/)

[Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/)

> [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/)

[Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/)

> [“You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/you-can-always-edit-a-bad-page-you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/)

[Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/)

> [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [“One of the vital things for a writer who’s writing a book, which is a lengthy project and is going to take about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roald-dahl/one-of-the-vital-things-for-a-writer-who-s-writing-a-book-which-is-a/)

[Roald Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roald-dahl/)

> [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/)

[Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/)

> [“If you're a lumberjack, you know what to do. You see trees, and you still have a job! If you're a writer, you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-re-a-lumberjack-you-know-what-to-do-you-see-trees-and-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For years, when I was popular, I would face the blank page to write, and I couldn't think of anything that I thought was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-russell/for-years-when-i-was-popular-i-would-face-the-blank-page-to-write-and/)

[Leon Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-russell/)

> [You can fix anything but a blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-fix-anything-but-a-blank-page/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

> [Writer's block.. when one curses the blinking cursor on the blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/writer-s-block-when-one-curses-the-blinking-cursor-on-the-blank-page/)

[Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/)

> [“Why didn’t I become an architect? Answer: Because I thought the sheets of paper on which I was to pour my dreams were blank.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iain-borden/why-didn-t-i-become-an-architect-answer-because-i-thought-the-sheets/)

Iain Borden

> [“The hours spent forming a written work can make one obsessive, distracted, compulsive, and neurotic even, especially when it comes to those rare, precious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/the-hours-spent-forming-a-written-work-can-make-one-obsessive/)

[Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/)

> [Tomorrow is the blank page.Be author of your own fortune &amp; portrait every moment of tomorrow with eliminating negative thoughts &amp; inculting innovative thoughts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/tomorrow-is-the-blank-page-be-author-of-your-own-fortune-portrait/)

[DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/)

> [“Well,that was fun," she said lightly as he maneuvered out of the lot. "I'm really glad you talked me into going out. My day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/well-that-was-fun-she-said-lightly-as-he-maneuvered-out-of-the-lot-i/)

[Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/)

[Browse all 254 Blank page quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I know, I'd be staring at a blank page forever.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "R.J. Dennis"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-dennis/i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to-write-what-i-know-i-d-be/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Blank page"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-dennis/i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to-write-what-i-know-i-d-be/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d88/r-j-dennis-90008_blank-page_i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to_2313100.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I write what I want to read. If I were to write what I know, I'd be staring at a blank page forever.” — R.J. Dennis",
                "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": "R.J. Dennis",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-dennis/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“I write what I want to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-dennis/i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to-write-what-i-know-i-d-be/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-dennis/i-write-what-i-want-to-read-if-i-were-to-write-what-i-know-i-d-be/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
