Writing Quotes

Since day one, since the first time I touched the pen, I wanted to be the best at what I do.

My passion is bringing storylines around and constructing a full body of work rather than just a 16-bar verse.

A songwriter writes songs all the time, whereas just writing a song can be done by anyone, anytime.

Social media is a giant distraction to the ultimate aim, which is honing your craft as a songwriter. There are people who are exceptional at it, however, and if you can do both things, then that's fantastic, but if you are a writer, the time is better spent on a clever lyric than a clever tweet.

When you start putting pen to paper, you see a side of your personal truth that doesn't otherwise reveal itself in conversation or thought.

When you're at odds with yourself, it's hard to create. Sometimes the writing process is as easy as opening up the window and letting in the breeze. And sometimes it's like chiseling away at a block of granite with a pencil.

But with writers, there's nothing wrong with melancholy. It's an important color in writing.

I think people who create and write, it actually does flow-just flows from into their head, into their hand, and they write it down. It's simple.

It's also not unusual for writers to look backward. Because that's your pool of resources.

John could write a mean song. He had a lot of venom in him. Whereas I had a happy childhood.

The writing process, the way I go about it is I do whatever the beat feels like, whatever the beat is telling me to do. Usually when the beat comes on, I think of a hook or the subject I want to rap about almost instantly. Within four, eight bars of it playing I'm just like, 'Oh, OK. This is what I wanna do'.

I feel like a spoilt rapper. I get to pick and choose everything.

I used to write random little stupid things when I was five, but then the first song I really wrote was one called 'Fingers Crossed,' which is on SoundCloud.

When I was four, I wrote a song about falling into a black hole.

I don't write songs about a specific, elusive thing. I write about love, and everyone knows what it is like to have your heart broken.

I am never writing a breakup record again, by the way. I'm done with being a bitter witch.

I'm very shy really. I spend a lot of time in my room alone reading or writing or watching television.

It's like a novelist writing far out things. If it makes a point and makes sense, then people like to read that. But if it's off in left field and goes over the edge, you lose it. The same with musical talent, I think.

Writing for other artists helped me figure out that magic you have to capture to make everyone connect with a song.

In my songs, I'm not saying something that's never been said before. The have lyrics aren't going to blow people away. It's the emotion and the melody that drive it home.