--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm just writing what I know. I've never…" description: "\"I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.\" — Sarah Dessen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/sarah-dessen-110_books_i-m-just-writing-what-i-know-i-ve-never_2770386.png" --- # I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a… ![“I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.” quote by Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/sarah-dessen-110_books_i-m-just-writing-what-i-know-i-ve-never_2770386.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/sarah-dessen-110_books_i-m-just-writing-what-i-know-i-ve-never_2770386.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/sarah-dessen-110_books_i-m-just-writing-what-i-know-i-ve-never_2770386.png) > “I'm just writing what I know. I've never been much of a reader of fantasy, and I think you write what you, personally, enjoy reading.” [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing should reflect personal passion and reading preferences, not genre expectations. **In simple terms:** Write what you love, not what you think you should. Key Takeaway Follow your own reading taste. Themes authorship personal taste genre creativity Mood reflective inspired Type advice personal When to use this quote - writing a novel - choosing reading material - teaching creative writing Key Concepts self‑expression authenticity Questions to Reflect On - Do you write for yourself or for readers? - How does personal taste shape your stories? A Different Perspective May limit audience reach if niche. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Enjoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy/) [Enjoy reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoy-reading/) [Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy/) [Fantasy Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fantasy-think-246045/) [Just Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-writing/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Reader Fantasy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader-fantasy-3237111/) [Reading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reading/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It's easier for me to write certain character types because of my own life experiences, but I find it too artistically limiting to only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/it-s-easier-for-me-to-write-certain-character-types-because-of-my-own/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [I come from musical theater, and a lot of musical theater is about accepting fantasy. 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That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-of-our-difficulties-our-hopes-and-our-worries-are-empty/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have always loved fantasy; I think probably stepping through the wardrobe with Lucy in C.S. Lewis's 'Narnia Chronicles' was my first exposure when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-carey/i-have-always-loved-fantasy-i-think-probably-stepping-through-the/) [Jacqueline Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-carey/) > [With fantasy, one often has to think of a well-loved series before narrowing the selection to a favourite book. So it is with Zelazny.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-asher/with-fantasy-one-often-has-to-think-of-a-well-loved-series-before/) [Neal Asher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-asher/) > [I do believe that sometimes you get a gut instinct on someone, a read. 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Sometimes you’re the only thing that my typewriter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moriah-pearson/no-i-am-just-writing-this-because-sometimes-you-re-still-all-i-have/) [Moriah Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moriah-pearson/) > [I throw ideas out into the open when I really should just be writing them down in a journal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-deacon/i-throw-ideas-out-into-the-open-when-i-really-should-just-be-writing/) [Dan Deacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-deacon/) ## More by Sarah Dessen > [Sometimes a question can hurt more than an answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/sometimes-a-question-can-hurt-more-than-an-answer/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“if i were a book i would be so open”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/if-i-were-a-book-i-would-be-so-open/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“At times, I found myself questioning his very existence, even though I knew I had, in fact, spotted him, with my own eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/at-times-i-found-myself-questioning-his-very-existence-even-though-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [You don't have to say it out loud. 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And eventually, if you were lucky, you did it well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/when-you-had-to-do-something-you-had-to-do-it-and-eventually-if-you/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [the truth about forever is that it is happening right now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/the-truth-about-forever-is-that-it-is-happening-right-now/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I jammed my hand in my jacket pocket, bracing myself fo the next hit, and fel something. Something grainy and samll, sticking to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-jammed-my-hand-in-my-jacket-pocket-bracing-myself-fo-the-next-hit/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I had no illusions about love anymore. It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-had-no-illusions-about-love-anymore-it-came-it-went-it-left/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“But maybe that isn't so bad. You can't love anyone that way more than once in a lifetime. It's too hard and it hurts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-maybe-that-isn-t-so-bad-you-can-t-love-anyone-that-way-more-than/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [This was just one night, one chance to vary and see where it took me. The fireflies were probably already out: maybe it wasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/this-was-just-one-night-one-chance-to-vary-and-see-where-it-took-me/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [“For me, however, it was a mix of the two, this constant push and pull. I loved it here. But I'd been in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/for-me-however-it-was-a-mix-of-the-two-this-constant-push-and-pull-i/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [I think whenever a writer is really enjoying themselves and liking what they are doing, that shows on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/i-think-whenever-a-writer-is-really-enjoying-themselves-and-liking/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) [Explore all 1,251 Sarah Dessen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [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/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) [Markus Herz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-herz/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm just writing what I know. 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