--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are just long gaps where I can't…" description: "\"There are just long gaps where I can't find a point of insertion, I can't find a good opening line, I can't find a mood that I want to write into. But ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/billy-collins-3004_air_there-are-just-long-gaps-where-i-can-t-f_536146.png" --- # There are just long gaps where I can't find a point of… ![“There are just long gaps where I can't find a point of insertion, I can't find a good opening line, I can't find a mood that I want to write into. But once I do, once a line falls out of the air, or I get a little inkling of a subject and I recognize that, it's like the sense that a game has…” quote by Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/billy-collins-3004_air_there-are-just-long-gaps-where-i-can-t-f_536146.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/billy-collins-3004_air_there-are-just-long-gaps-where-i-can-t-f_536146.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/433/billy-collins-3004_air_there-are-just-long-gaps-where-i-can-t-f_536146.png) > “There are just long gaps where I can't find a point of insertion, I can't find a good opening line, I can't find a mood that I want to write into. But once I do, once a line falls out of the air, or I get a little inkling of a subject and I recognize that, it's like the sense that a game has started.” [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative blocks feel like empty spaces, yet when inspiration strikes, writing flows naturally. **In simple terms:** Blocks hinder writing; inspiration unlocks it. Key Takeaway Embrace pauses as part of the creative process. Themes creativity inspiration writing process blocks Mood thoughtful inspirational Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - writing workshops - daily journaling - mindful observation Key Concepts flow state creative spark artistic emergence Questions to Reflect On - How can you cultivate conditions for inspiration? - What routines help overcome creative blocks? A Different Perspective Not all writers experience sudden clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Games](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/games/) [Mood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mood/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [In my case, the long gaps between my books have got quite a lot to do with lack of confidence. A lot of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-cope/in-my-case-the-long-gaps-between-my-books-have-got-quite-a-lot-to-do/) [Wendy Cope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-cope/) > [“An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/an-opening-line-should-invite-the-reader-to-begin-the-story-it-should/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I am a hands-on mother, so I take long gaps between films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/farah-khan/i-am-a-hands-on-mother-so-i-take-long-gaps-between-films/) [Farah Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/farah-khan/) > [But there's one thing I'm sure about. An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-there-s-one-thing-i-m-sure-about-an-opening-line-should-invite/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“It's the opening line of a football game returned for a touchdown. Or fumbled. It's what orange juice is to breakfast, the first minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-fisher/it-s-the-opening-line-of-a-football-game-returned-for-a-touchdown-or/) [Lionel Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-fisher/) > [“Jeff: You know, you don't have to do this. Walter: Yeah, I could get a real job. Jeff: What would you do? Walter: I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-dunham/jeff-you-know-you-don-t-have-to-do-this-walter-yeah-i-could-get-a/) [Jeff Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-dunham/) > [“I am on warp-speed headed directly for the sun; I am Icarus." (opening line of 'Girl on a Bar Stool', new / CreateSpace version)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roux/i-am-on-warp-speed-headed-directly-for-the-sun-i-am-icarus-opening/) [Tim Roux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roux/) > [The opening line from a journal can be the beginning of a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/the-opening-line-from-a-journal-can-be-the-beginning-of-a-song/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [“ Three Ways to Start a Conversation It’s a lot easier than you think. Over the years, countless clients have said to me, “But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/three-ways-to-start-a-conversation-it-s-a-lot-easier-than-you-think/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) > [There are all sorts of theories and ideas about what constitutes a good opening line. It's tricky thing, and tough to talk about because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-all-sorts-of-theories-and-ideas-about-what-constitutes-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [To be creative means to connect. It's to abolish the gap between the body, the mind and the soul, between science and art, between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nawal-el-saadawi/to-be-creative-means-to-connect-it-s-to-abolish-the-gap-between-the/) [Nawal El Saadawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nawal-el-saadawi/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [I honestly don't like Photoshop. 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It takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-aldridge/i-honestly-don-t-like-photoshop-i-think-when-people-photoshop-things/) [Lily Aldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-aldridge/) > [No matter how strong the storm, how hard the rain and how vicious the wind there is always a gap in the clouds for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-greenhalgh/no-matter-how-strong-the-storm-how-hard-the-rain-and-how-vicious-the/) Ben Greenhalgh > [“A word is not filling in the gaps, but the fertilization of silence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/a-word-is-not-filling-in-the-gaps-but-the-fertilization-of-silence/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) ## More by Billy Collins > [“The whole idea of it makes me feel Like I’m coming down with something, Something worse than any stomach ache Or the headaches I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/the-whole-idea-of-it-makes-me-feel-like-i-m-coming-down-with/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I think clarity is the real risk in poetry because you are exposed. You're out in the open field. You're actually saying things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-think-clarity-is-the-real-risk-in-poetry-because-you-are-exposed/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [...pleasure, of course, is a slippery word… Our pleasures ultimately belong to us, not to the pleasure's so](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/pleasure-of-course-is-a-slippery-word-our-pleasures-ultimately-belong/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [I stared up at the ebbing quarter moon and the stars scattered like a handful of salt across the faraway sky...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/i-stared-up-at-the-ebbing-quarter-moon-and-the-stars-scattered-like-a/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Death is what makes life fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/death-is-what-makes-life-fun/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [A trouble with poetry is the presence of presumptuousness in poetry, the sense you get in a poem that the poet takes for granted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/a-trouble-with-poetry-is-the-presence-of-presumptuousness-in-poetry/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. 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