--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing I can tell you is this, that I…" description: "\"One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a methodical writer.\" — Wole Soyinka" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg" --- # One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a… ![“One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a methodical writer.” quote by Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg) > “One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a methodical writer.” [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admits a lack of systematic writing, highlighting spontaneity over strict method. **In simple terms:** I write without a strict plan. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility in creative work. Themes creativity spontaneity process Mood thoughtful introspective Type literary personal When to use this quote - journaling - fiction - improvisational poetry Key Concepts writing artistic freedom self‑acceptance Questions to Reflect On - How does spontaneity affect your output quality? - Can structure improve your ideas? A Different Perspective Lack of method may lead to inconsistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a very methodical writer. Before computers, I used reams of paper and stacks of index cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-peretti/i-m-a-very-methodical-writer-before-computers-i-used-reams-of-paper/) [Frank Peretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-peretti/) > [I am saying what comes out, because I'm really not a methodical writer. I'm not a good building writer, where you are like "well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-fitzsimmons/i-am-saying-what-comes-out-because-i-m-really-not-a-methodical-writer/) [William Fitzsimmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-fitzsimmons/) > [One thing I could tell you is that I'm all over the place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-uzi-vert/one-thing-i-could-tell-you-is-that-i-m-all-over-the-place/) [Lil Uzi Vert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-uzi-vert/) > [The worst thing you can tell me is to relax.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/the-worst-thing-you-can-tell-me-is-to-relax/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [1 thing 2 tell u, 3 words 4 you . . . I LOVE YOU](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shivam-shukla/1-thing-2-tell-u-3-words-4-you-i-love-you/) Shivam Shukla > [What my thing is, I tell most of the time the truth, and sometimes it's good for me, sometimes it's bad. But, it's true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hunt/what-my-thing-is-i-tell-most-of-the-time-the-truth-and-sometimes-it-s/) [Mark Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hunt/) > [The thing for me is to always tell the truth. Not to preach, but to tell the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-waithe/the-thing-for-me-is-to-always-tell-the-truth-not-to-preach-but-to/) [Lena Waithe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-waithe/) > [“The thing is, if you can’t tell how a person feels about you, then you probably don’t want to know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-reid/the-thing-is-if-you-can-t-tell-how-a-person-feels-about-you-then-you/) [Penny Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-reid/) > [“The only thing I can tell you is when it's there, you know it. And when it ain't, no amount of wishful thinking will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginny-baird/the-only-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-when-it-s-there-you-know-it-and-when/) Ginny Baird > [The thing we tell of can never be found be seeking, yet only seekers find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayazid-bastami/the-thing-we-tell-of-can-never-be-found-be-seeking-yet-only-seekers/) [Bayazid Bastami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayazid-bastami/) > [Here's the thing: When you tell somebody, 'I love you. I have always loved your work, and I want to show people a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/here-s-the-thing-when-you-tell-somebody-i-love-you-i-have-always/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [The most frustrating thing to me is when I tell people I work on 'Friday Night Lights,' they'll say, 'Oh, I hear that's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-katims/the-most-frustrating-thing-to-me-is-when-i-tell-people-i-work-on/) [Jason Katims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-katims/) > [For me, the first thing is to tell a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/for-me-the-first-thing-is-to-tell-a-good-story/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [“It's not an easy thing to tell a true story.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-morris-jones/it-s-not-an-easy-thing-to-tell-a-true-story/) Allen Morris Jones > [It is one thing to tell people in theory that you can be whatever you want to be, but it is another thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-kingston/it-is-one-thing-to-tell-people-in-theory-that-you-can-be-whatever-you/) [Kofi Kingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-kingston/) ## More by Wole Soyinka > [Writers and intellectuals have a duty to humanity. It is to insist that the human entity remains the primary asset in overall development; thus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/writers-and-intellectuals-have-a-duty-to-humanity-it-is-to-insist/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [When I tried to create a new political party, which I stressed that this is not my party. I believe very much that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/when-i-tried-to-create-a-new-political-party-which-i-stressed-that/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Each time I think I've created time for myself, along comes a throwback to disrupt my private space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/each-time-i-think-i-ve-created-time-for-myself-along-comes-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I began writing early - very, very early... I was already writing short stories for the radio and selling poems to poetry and art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-began-writing-early-very-very-early-i-was-already-writing-short/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [My horizon on humanity is enlarged by reading the writers of poems, seeing a painting, listening to some music, some opera, which has nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/my-horizon-on-humanity-is-enlarged-by-reading-the-writers-of-poems/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [Under a dictatorship, a nation ceases to exist. All that remains is a fiefdom, a planet of slaves regimented by aliens from outer-space.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/under-a-dictatorship-a-nation-ceases-to-exist-all-that-remains-is-a/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The phenomenon of creativity, we know, is closely related to the ability to yoke together separate, and even seemingly incompatible, matrices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-phenomenon-of-creativity-we-know-is-closely-related-to-the/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One, a mass movement from within, which, as you know, is constantly being put down brutally but which, again, regroups and moves forward as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-a-mass-movement-from-within-which-as-you-know-is-constantly-being/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One has to confront history honestly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-has-to-confront-history-honestly/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [We wasted a lot of creative energy in that immediate post colonial era, when there was a struggle between, you know, the Cold War…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/we-wasted-a-lot-of-creative-energy-in-that-immediate-post-colonial/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I have a kind of magnetic attraction to situations of violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-have-a-kind-of-magnetic-attraction-to-situations-of-violence/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The Egba kingdom was one of the very last to be ceded to the British protectorate. It remained almost an independent entity within what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-egba-kingdom-was-one-of-the-very-last-to-be-ceded-to-the-british/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [One's own self-worth is tied to the worth of the community to which one belongs, which is intimately connected to humanity in general. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-s-own-self-worth-is-tied-to-the-worth-of-the-community-to-which/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [I was born into a Christian household, in a parsonage in fact, so I grew up in sort of a missionary atmosphere but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/i-was-born-into-a-christian-household-in-a-parsonage-in-fact-so-i/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) > [The problem with literature, with writing, is that it works sometimes in terms of correction of social ills. Other times, it just does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/the-problem-with-literature-with-writing-is-that-it-works-sometimes/) [Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) [Explore all 225 Wole Soyinka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/) ## More I can quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [My team mates are fundamental for my characteristics, if they send in crosses I can play inside the area.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/filippo-inzaghi/my-team-mates-are-fundamental-for-my-characteristics-if-they-send-in/) [Filippo Inzaghi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/filippo-inzaghi/) > [I can skate beautifully. While performing on ice I always try to please the audience and to win as well. Being artistic is very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeni-plushenko/i-can-skate-beautifully-while-performing-on-ice-i-always-try-to/) [Evgeni Plushenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeni-plushenko/) > [I love playing for my country, getting the support. Especially for the kids and everybody, showing my example of what I can achieve so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-sharapova/i-love-playing-for-my-country-getting-the-support-especially-for-the/) [Maria Sharapova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-sharapova/) > [I always step on the plane with my right foot and touch the outside of the plane with my left hand. 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/) > [From as long as I can remember, I was always fond of drawing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/from-as-long-as-i-can-remember-i-was-always-fond-of-drawing/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [I don't want to be famous famous. I'm happy on the second tier, where I have autonomy on a professional level but I can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-reece/i-don-t-want-to-be-famous-famous-i-m-happy-on-the-second-tier-where-i/) [Gabrielle Reece](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-reece/) > [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. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [From my experience of having served for 3000 days, I can say that anything can be achieved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/from-my-experience-of-having-served-for-3000-days-i-can-say-that/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [I take the responsibility of playing another ethnicity very, very seriously, and I promise myself and those people that I will represent them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-curtis/i-take-the-responsibility-of-playing-another-ethnicity-very-very/) [Cliff Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-curtis/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I'm Catholic and I can't commit suicide, but I plan to drink myself to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/i-m-catholic-and-i-can-t-commit-suicide-but-i-plan-to-drink-myself-to/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I remember my friend Johnny von Neumann used to say, 'with four parameters I can fit an elephant and with five I can make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrico-fermi/i-remember-my-friend-johnny-von-neumann-used-to-say-with-four/) [Enrico Fermi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrico-fermi/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) Browse all 24,836 I can quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a methodical writer.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wole Soyinka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i-am-not-a-methodical-writer/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "I can" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i-am-not-a-methodical-writer/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1fc/wole-soyinka-1587_i-can_one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i_185326.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One thing I can tell you is this, that I am not a methodical writer.” — Wole Soyinka", "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": "Wole Soyinka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One thing I can tell you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i-am-not-a-methodical-writer/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/one-thing-i-can-tell-you-is-this-that-i-am-not-a-methodical-writer/#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 } } ] } ```