--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My experience is, the writer I was when I…" description: "\"My experience is, the writer I was when I began was only a fraction of what I feel capable of doing now. Don't stand on that threshold saying, 'I'm unc..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/anthony-mccarten-16426_experience_my-experience-is-the-writer-i-was-when-i_415777.jpg" --- # My experience is, the writer I was when I began was only a… ![“My experience is, the writer I was when I began was only a fraction of what I feel capable of doing now. Don't stand on that threshold saying, 'I'm uncertain about my talent.' You can grow that part of yourself.” quote by Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/anthony-mccarten-16426_experience_my-experience-is-the-writer-i-was-when-i_415777.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/anthony-mccarten-16426_experience_my-experience-is-the-writer-i-was-when-i_415777.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/anthony-mccarten-16426_experience_my-experience-is-the-writer-i-was-when-i_415777.jpg) > “My experience is, the writer I was when I began was only a fraction of what I feel capable of doing now. Don't stand on that threshold saying, 'I'm uncertain about my talent.' You can grow that part of yourself.” [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Recognize that early abilities are only a small part of your potential, and you can expand them with effort. **In simple terms:** Early skill is just a fraction of what you can become. Key Takeaway Embrace growth beyond initial limits. Themes self‑development confidence potential Mood reflective encouraging Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - career advancement - creative projects - skill learning Key Concepts growth mindset self‑efficacy Questions to Reflect On - What part of yourself will you nurture today? - How can you measure growth beyond early talent? A Different Perspective Overconfidence can blind you to needed practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talent/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [If I don't die in a plane crash or something, this country has a rare opportunity to watch a great talent grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/if-i-don-t-die-in-a-plane-crash-or-something-this-country-has-a-rare/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [There's nothing like watching incredible talent grow, blossom, and become even MORE remarkable. It's an indescribable joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-abdul/there-s-nothing-like-watching-incredible-talent-grow-blossom-and/) [Paula Abdul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-abdul/) > [Puerto Rico's relationship with music is everything. It's an island full of talent and if you grow up there, you grow up living and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bad-bunny/puerto-rico-s-relationship-with-music-is-everything-it-s-an-island/) [Bad Bunny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bad-bunny/) > [“I have so little control over the act of writing that it's all I can do to remain conscious. Actual formal considerations are almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-have-so-little-control-over-the-act-of-writing-that-it-s-all-i-can/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [My very identities as a reader and a writer began at the Walt Whitman branch library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-spencer/my-very-identities-as-a-reader-and-a-writer-began-at-the-walt-whitman/) Paula Spencer > [I'm a practised writer now. But when I began, I had no idea what this was going to be. I just knew that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-m-a-practised-writer-now-but-when-i-began-i-had-no-idea-what-this/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“Where is the writer,” he began, “who is unstained by any habits of the human, who is the ideal of everything alien to living,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/where-is-the-writer-he-began-who-is-unstained-by-any-habits-of-the/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [Before I sat down and became a writer, before I began to do it habitually and for my living, there was a decades-long stretch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/before-i-sat-down-and-became-a-writer-before-i-began-to-do-it/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [I think once I began to trust myself as a writer, I began to be seen as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-rothwell/i-think-once-i-began-to-trust-myself-as-a-writer-i-began-to-be-seen/) [Natasha Rothwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-rothwell/) > [There's not much you can do about time - it just keeps on passing. But experience? Don't tell me that. I'm not proud of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-much-you-can-do-about-time-it-just-keeps-on-passing-but/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [I think a lot of things are written from experience, but then you become a writer and talk about other people's experience and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-vedder/i-think-a-lot-of-things-are-written-from-experience-but-then-you/) [Eddie Vedder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-vedder/) > [My experience as a writer is that you really do write seven and eight pages to find the paragraph you were after all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/my-experience-as-a-writer-is-that-you-really-do-write-seven-and-eight/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [My best experience as a writer was working with Michael Ondaatje. He let me dismantle his novel, reimagine it, and still had dinner with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony/my-best-experience-as-a-writer-was-working-with-michael-ondaatje-he/) [Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony/) > [“When you start writing, your incredulity at the childish, incompetent, graceless thing you've done is shattering. One of the advantages of having experience as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-eisenberg/when-you-start-writing-your-incredulity-at-the-childish-incompetent/) [Deborah Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-eisenberg/) > [I've had one experience of writer's block in my life, and it was living hell. It was a terror for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/athol-fugard/i-ve-had-one-experience-of-writer-s-block-in-my-life-and-it-was/) [Athol Fugard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/athol-fugard/) ## More by Anthony McCarten > [One of the great things about Churchill is that he had the guts to say the unpalatable, to level with the people, even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/one-of-the-great-things-about-churchill-is-that-he-had-the-guts-to/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [At 17, I wanted to be a rock star.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/at-17-i-wanted-to-be-a-rock-star/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [Reading is essential to human life. When the last reader dies, humanity will be at an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/reading-is-essential-to-human-life-when-the-last-reader-dies-humanity/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [There's a really fine line between artistic license and artistic licentiousness. And history is a lousy filmmaker. It doesn't give you all the ingredients…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/there-s-a-really-fine-line-between-artistic-license-and-artistic/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [If we did not have the impulse and ability to believe in the impossible, we would not have religion, democracy, or marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/if-we-did-not-have-the-impulse-and-ability-to-believe-in-the/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [My routine is to create activities for myself unrelated to writing that allow little time for writing. This means that when I do get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/my-routine-is-to-create-activities-for-myself-unrelated-to-writing/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [I was born to a very large family, one of 7 kids. I grew up with carnivals and chaos all around me, so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/i-was-born-to-a-very-large-family-one-of-7-kids-i-grew-up-with/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [Truth is seldom appreciated and never understood, whereas a flattering lie is always appreciated and instantly understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/truth-is-seldom-appreciated-and-never-understood-whereas-a-flattering/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [Since my student days, I'd been a fan of those books with titles like 'Great Speeches that Changed the World,' as I loved the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/since-my-student-days-i-d-been-a-fan-of-those-books-with-titles-like/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [“Finally, it's not the lies we tell others that do the most damage, it's those we tell ourselves. From this all troubles rise.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/finally-it-s-not-the-lies-we-tell-others-that-do-the-most-damage-it-s/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [We're living in extraordinary times, all the time. The issues that assail us are perennial. They haven't changed since the Greeks picked up a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/we-re-living-in-extraordinary-times-all-the-time-the-issues-that/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [It's impossible to make a living in the arts unless you make a fortune. There's almost no in-between. Writers are either broke or rolling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/it-s-impossible-to-make-a-living-in-the-arts-unless-you-make-a/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [I still present myself as a New Zealander, answering people's questions about New Zealand and contributing in my own unlikely way to the global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/i-still-present-myself-as-a-new-zealander-answering-people-s/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [I have three favorite cities: London, Wellington, and Los Angeles. What makes them so good? The friends who live there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/i-have-three-favorite-cities-london-wellington-and-los-angeles-what/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) > [Most writers live in self-imposed exile, even when they don't leave their country. They prefer the undiscovered country inside their own heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-mccarten/most-writers-live-in-self-imposed-exile-even-when-they-don-t-leave/) [Anthony McCarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) [Explore all 40 Anthony McCarten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-mccarten/) ## More Experience quotes > [Experience makes a lesson to us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/experience-makes-a-lesson-to-us/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The Derby experience had not been good for me and the way it finished left a very bad taste in my mouth so I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-pearson/the-derby-experience-had-not-been-good-for-me-and-the-way-it-finished/) [Nigel Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-pearson/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. Growing up in the segregated South, it was a very painful experience for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cybill-shepherd/well-i-ve-been-politically-involved-for-a-really-long-time-growing-up/) [Cybill Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cybill-shepherd/) > [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/) > [My favorite job is the next one. Its such a gratifying experience getting to creatively keep trying something new and push things in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-craig-smith/my-favorite-job-is-the-next-one-its-such-a-gratifying-experience/) [Roger Craig Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-craig-smith/) > [I happen to think it's the politics that makes you electable, but the reason for that is politicians sometimes talk about electability as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-happen-to-think-it-s-the-politics-that-makes-you-electable-but-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [Iranians hate Arabs. They're a fairly well-educated population and they have centuries of experience with self-government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ledeen/iranians-hate-arabs-they-re-a-fairly-well-educated-population-and/) [Michael Ledeen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ledeen/) > [Education is a lifelong experience. Experience is a lifelong education. Education plus experience equals expertise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bugeja/education-is-a-lifelong-experience-experience-is-a-lifelong-education/) Michael Bugeja > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [Experience is a thorough teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-jane-holmes/experience-is-a-thorough-teacher/) [Mary Jane Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-jane-holmes/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) > [I've had a great experience with pretty much everybody I've worked with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-ve-had-a-great-experience-with-pretty-much-everybody-i-ve-worked/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [It wasn't a mistake, it was a fun learning experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-wasn-t-a-mistake-it-was-a-fun-learning-experience/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I worked a lot in Chicago's theater scene as a fight choreographer. And so I do have a lot of experience in stage combat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/i-worked-a-lot-in-chicago-s-theater-scene-as-a-fight-choreographer/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) [Browse all 11,792 Experience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My experience is, the writer I was when I began was only a fraction of what I feel capable of doing now. Don't stand on that threshold saying, 'I'm uncertain about my talent.' 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