--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The thing for someone just starting off…" description: "\"The thing for someone just starting off [in writing] is to write. You need to have limber fingers, whether you write with your fingers or you type on y..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg" --- # The thing for someone just starting off \[in writing\] is to… ![“The thing for someone just starting off [in writing] is to write. You need to have limber fingers, whether you write with your fingers or you type on your laptop, but you need to have a limber mind and you need to be able to write without judging what you've written, at least right away, and…” quote by Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg) > “The thing for someone just starting off \[in writing\] is to write. You need to have limber fingers, whether you write with your fingers or you type on your laptop, but you need to have a limber mind and you need to be able to write without judging what you've written, at least right away, and without editing right away.” [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing requires fluidity of mind and body, free from immediate judgment. **In simple terms:** Write freely, edit later. Key Takeaway Cultivate unfiltered writing habit. Themes creativity discipline self‑acceptance Mood inspirational practical Type literary self‑help When to use this quote - daily writing - free‑writing exercises - creative workshops Key Concepts writing process mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - How does delaying editing affect creativity? - What rituals help maintain a limber mind? A Different Perspective May produce lower‑quality drafts initially. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Editing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editing/) [Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers/) [Fingers Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers-write-629437/) [Judging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judging/) [Laptops](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laptops/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Starting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting/) [Starting Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-writing-679145/) [Type](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/type/) [Write Fingers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-fingers-1122948/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-write/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) ## Related quotes > [ “You better \[start writing\] now because you know how to write, and you have fingers, and you have this one life, and during this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-eggers/you-better-start-writing-now-because-you-know-how-to-write-and-you/) [Dave Eggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-eggers/) > [“Write until your fingers break. It may be the cure for everything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/write-until-your-fingers-break-it-may-be-the-cure-for-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For it would seem - her case proved it - that we write, not with the fingers, but with the whole person. The nerve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-it-would-seem-her-case-proved-it-that-we-write-not-with-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“As I write, My fingers tap tap the keys the way Ravi Shankar's fingers pluck and strum the strings of his sitar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-westover/as-i-write-my-fingers-tap-tap-the-keys-the-way-ravi-shankar-s-fingers/) [Christina Westover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-westover/) > [“If Stalin or Hitler arrested me and tossed me into one of those camps, I would carve words with my fingernails. If they cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-wesselhoeft/if-stalin-or-hitler-arrested-me-and-tossed-me-into-one-of-those-camps/) [Conrad Wesselhoeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-wesselhoeft/) > [“As much as there are many arms and drugs in the streets, so too are brains and fingers that can write" -Jay McIsrael, 2013…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justice-israel/as-much-as-there-are-many-arms-and-drugs-in-the-streets-so-too-are/) [Justice Israel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justice-israel/) > [I don't really sit at the computer from scratch. I prefer to get my ideas in my fingers and I write longhand first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ann-hoberman/i-don-t-really-sit-at-the-computer-from-scratch-i-prefer-to-get-my/) [Mary Ann Hoberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ann-hoberman/) > [If you have nobody to talk, sit aside with paper and pen, you can see your fingers will write the worlds most beautiful words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhargavi/if-you-have-nobody-to-talk-sit-aside-with-paper-and-pen-you-can-see/) [Bhargavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhargavi/) > [I starting writing when I was about 13 or 14 years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelsea-ballerini/i-starting-writing-when-i-was-about-13-or-14-years-old/) [Kelsea Ballerini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelsea-ballerini/) > [Starting writing is stressful and scary and hard, but also, it's just like going to the gym. You're just stiff and weird, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-jenkins/starting-writing-is-stressful-and-scary-and-hard-but-also-it-s-just/) [Tamara Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-jenkins/) > [I started quite late. I only discovered that I could write a song when I was, like, 17... some musicians, they're starting out, writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-merton/i-started-quite-late-i-only-discovered-that-i-could-write-a-song-when/) [Alice Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-merton/) > [I don't have problems starting writing. I have problems stopping. I'm one of the last dads to arrive at school to collect the kids,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/i-don-t-have-problems-starting-writing-i-have-problems-stopping-i-m/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [ I worked more intensively hour after hour when I was starting out \[writing\]. More laboriously. I'd say quantity is important as well as quality,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-davis/i-worked-more-intensively-hour-after-hour-when-i-was-starting-out/) [Lydia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-davis/) > [Photography is an individual passion of mine. I don't get paid to do it, although people offer me money. I do it because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-sixx/photography-is-an-individual-passion-of-mine-i-don-t-get-paid-to-do/) [Nikki Sixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-sixx/) > [“No thinking – that comes later. You write your first draft with your heart. You rewrite with your head. The first key to writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/no-thinking-that-comes-later-you-write-your-first-draft-with-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Augusten Burroughs > [There is nothing about myself that I wouldn't reveal or write about. I don't care how horrendous or ridiculous I may appear in person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/there-is-nothing-about-myself-that-i-wouldn-t-reveal-or-write-about-i/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“We were alone together, we were an us.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/we-were-alone-together-we-were-an-us/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Like every child, I adored her. Until I formed a brain and got to know her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/like-every-child-i-adored-her-until-i-formed-a-brain-and-got-to-know/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“You must hang onto the scraps of the bucking moment as if your sanity and life depended on it - because actually they do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/you-must-hang-onto-the-scraps-of-the-bucking-moment-as-if-your-sanity/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Real optimism is not the pep talk you give yourself. It is earned through the labor involved in emotional housekeeping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/real-optimism-is-not-the-pep-talk-you-give-yourself-it-is-earned/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [If you hate your life, you haven't' seen enough of it. If you hate your life, it's because your life is too small and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/if-you-hate-your-life-you-haven-t-seen-enough-of-it-if-you-hate-your/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think writers tend to be experience junkies, and I think they also tend to want to be on the outside looking in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-writers-tend-to-be-experience-junkies-and-i-think-they-also/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I think part of the reason I'm attracted to Foster is because he's such a mess. I mean, the people I have loved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-think-part-of-the-reason-i-m-attracted-to-foster-is-because-he-s/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“On typical days, (dust) is simply irritating. On Roid Rage days, it made me want to stomp down to the highway, pull drivers out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/on-typical-days-dust-is-simply-irritating-on-roid-rage-days-it-made/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [I'm like the guy who prepares your taxes or a dentist. I'm very conservative and boring in a lot of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/i-m-like-the-guy-who-prepares-your-taxes-or-a-dentist-i-m-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Nothing surprises me now," I tell him. I am stoic. I am Joan of Arc, with liver damage and an unused penis.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/nothing-surprises-me-now-i-tell-him-i-am-stoic-i-am-joan-of-arc-with/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“It's not that I was an outright nitwit of a child.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/it-s-not-that-i-was-an-outright-nitwit-of-a-child/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [What I really want is to sit next to someone under an L.L. bean blanket on the beach in the fall and drink coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/what-i-really-want-is-to-sit-next-to-someone-under-an-l-l-bean/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“My worth depended on where exactly the decimal was placed among the zeroes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/my-worth-depended-on-where-exactly-the-decimal-was-placed-among-the/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [“Bookman isn't a stable man. He has a lot of problems that run very, very deep." But he was really good at giving head.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/bookman-isn-t-a-stable-man-he-has-a-lot-of-problems-that-run-very/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) [Explore all 448 Augusten Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The thing for someone just starting off [in writing] is to write. You need to have limber fingers, whether you write with your fingers or you type on your laptop, but you need to have a limber mind and you need to be able to write without judging what you've written, at least right away, and without editing right away.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Augusten Burroughs" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off-in-writing-is-to-write-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off-in-writing-is-to-write-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/augusten-burroughs-603_able_the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off_2135014.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The thing for someone just starting off [in writing] is to write. You need to have limber fingers, whether…” — Augusten Burroughs", "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": "Augusten Burroughs", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The thing for someone just starting...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off-in-writing-is-to-write-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/the-thing-for-someone-just-starting-off-in-writing-is-to-write-you/#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 } } ] } ```