--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actually, who hasn't been through the…" description: "\"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 ahead, let's..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/amos-oz-1478_blank_actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-gha_62884.png" --- # Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience… ![“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 ahead, let's see you lay a finger on me? A blank page is actually a whitewashed wall with no door and no window. Beginning to tell a story is like making a…” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/amos-oz-1478_blank_actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-gha_62884.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/amos-oz-1478_blank_actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-gha_62884.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/173/amos-oz-1478_blank_actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-gha_62884.png) > “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 ahead, let's see you lay a finger on me? A blank page is actually a whitewashed wall with no door and no window. Beginning to tell a story is like making a pass at a total stranger in a restaurant.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote captures the anxiety of confronting a blank page, likening it to a hostile, featureless barrier that must be breached to start a story. **In simple terms:** Blank page as a daunting obstacle. Key Takeaway Overcoming initial creative block is essential. Themes creativity fear beginning storytelling confidence Mood anticipation determination apprehension Type metaphor advice observation When to use this quote - starting a novel - drafting a speech - planning a presentation - beginning a blog post - commencing a script Key Concepts blank page writer's block initiative vulnerability Practical Applications - writing workshops - creative coaching Questions to Reflect On - What mental tricks can turn a blank page into an invitation? - How does confronting fear shape a writer’s voice? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Blank pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-pages/) [Crafts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crafts/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stranger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stranger/) [Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wall/) ## Related quotes > [Being an actor all of my life is kind of a collaborative, social form of interpretive art. 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If we can’t laugh at ourselves, and at one another, in good spirit and without malice, then what fun can be left?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-takei/good-grief-if-we-can-t-laugh-at-ourselves-and-at-one-another-in-good/) [George Takei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-takei/) > [Move over Lucifer, I'm more ruthless, leave you toothless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/move-over-lucifer-i-m-more-ruthless-leave-you-toothless/) [The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/) > [If a good person does you wrong, act as though you had not noticed it. If we practice and eye for an eye and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/if-a-good-person-does-you-wrong-act-as-though-you-had-not-noticed-it/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Do you know, Mother, that Haj Salem was buried alive in his home? Does he tell you stories in heaven now? 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He was 13 years old, toothless, blind and had the worst breath this side of Jabba the Hut. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlee-matlin/we-had-a-dog-apples-he-was-13-years-old-toothless-blind-and-had-the/) [Marlee Matlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlee-matlin/) > [Passing beauties are only the fugitive reflections of the eternal. All beauty alters and all life melts away; in short, everything passes with marvelous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/passing-beauties-are-only-the-fugitive-reflections-of-the-eternal-all/) [Eliphas Levi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/) > [When I started this song I was still thirty-three The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free Keats and Shelley too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/when-i-started-this-song-i-was-still-thirty-three-the-age-that-mozart/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [In my case, when I am trying to be "kind" I often default in a sort of toothless loving-all stance that is, actually, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/in-my-case-when-i-am-trying-to-be-kind-i-often-default-in-a-sort-of/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. 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It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. He is a teenager craving unconditional, endless love from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/trump-is-many-things-he-is-pampered-he-is-an-immature-man-he-is-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-only-way-to-keep-a-dream-any-dream-at-all-to-keep-a-dream-perfect/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Judaism and Christianity, and Islam too, all drip honeyed words of love and mercy so long as they do not have access to handcuffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/judaism-and-christianity-and-islam-too-all-drip-honeyed-words-of-love/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Never cut loose from your longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/never-cut-loose-from-your-longings/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Democracy in many parts of the world is undergoing a very deep crisis. Politics is becoming a branch of the entertainment industry. People vote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/democracy-in-many-parts-of-the-world-is-undergoing-a-very-deep-crisis/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Explore all 223 Amos Oz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More Blank quotes > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But that quickly faded, and he frowned. "You're bleeding," he said. "What happened?" Claire sighed and held up her wrist to show him the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-caine/but-that-quickly-faded-and-he-frowned-you-re-bleeding-he-said-what/) [Rachel Caine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-caine/) > [I've always been a very restless person. 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G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [“There isn’t any way to be. I will meet you where you’ve gone. The cards are blank; the cards are empty there. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-notley/there-isn-t-any-way-to-be-i-will-meet-you-where-you-ve-gone-the-cards/) [Alice Notley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-notley/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) Browse all 832 Blank quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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 ahead, let's see you lay a finger on me? 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