Daniel Woodrell Quotes

To live with courage, purpose, and connection - to be the person whom we long to be - we must again be vulnerable. We must ... show up, and let ourselves be seen.

There was a while when I got really bad stage fright and I basically felt...I was incredibly angry. I felt like everything had been taken away from me and it was at that point that I realized how much doing stand up reminds me of my self love and curiosity about myself and love of other people because I don't go on stage to dominate.

When we close ourselves off, we're not just closing ourselves off to other people, we're closing ourselves off from ourselves and impeding ourselves. When you open up, you allow yourself to be who you are.

I think the most important thing is authenticity, just being as real as I can be. But also flexible and open to change and other ideas and thought processes. Back when you and I last talked, I was at a turning point in my life, and I was having a tough time. I was hiding it, but I had a really hard time just being me. So now it's important that I'm just me.

I think that ties in with issues of identity as well - that sometimes there are parts of us we want to hide, and then there's other times we say, "You know what? Nope. Done hiding that part."

I think that, for a lot of us, the closer we get to showing people who we really are, that's where we feel the most uncomfortable, the most vulnerable. But it's also where the healthiest growth comes from. Like when I can really open myself up to someone and show someone who I really am, it's amazing when it happens.

I resent limitations. I'm going to be this way for a while, and then the funny side of me is going to come out. Slowly, people are going to realize they're seeing a completely honest evolution of human life.

The first audience that you have when writing a book is you.

Over and over again, I'm trying to express or communicate these big and small struggles to the world, and really to myself.

My act has always reflected what's going on in my life.

I think a novel has to be about where you are at a given moment in time. I think it really needs to represent some specific pain you're going through. it's not just a story.

I'm very free with all my emotions, whether it's happy, sad, mad, glad, whatever.

I think, for me as an artist, there are no boundaries. As long as I'm creating in a way that isn't trying to re-traumatize any wounds that I do have.

I want to continue to be me and share with people.

Wear your heart on your skin in this life.

Everything I've written has been personal and touched on things that I needed to deal with in my personal life. So I just feel that writing is great therapy, and the best writing comes from truth, and so I mine my life constantly for that.

Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.

The more you're writing absolutely honestly, and absolutely bare of intention - even if it feels absolutely personal and small because it's at your own scale - other people relate to it much more.

Am I now supposed to go on Oprah and cry and tell you my deepest, darkest secrets because you want to know?

It's cool to express myself, but I've had to learn that doing interviews isn't completely therapy - spilling everything about yourself isn't healthy all the time. But I've been through things that have made me a stronger person, and if I can help some people, I will.

If you want to end your isolation, you must be honest about what you want at a core level and decide to go after it.

My life is an open pamphlet.

All these songs honestly explore the ups and downs of my reality.

I have shared my whole life. My private and my show business life. It helps me actually to feel my songs and to go on with my dreams.

I thought it would be really cool to show the world the inner life of someone like me, who doesn't have a huge personality, who deals with some personal demons and is a little bit shy and a little awkward when you first get to know me.