--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I shall start at the beginning. Though of…" description: "\"“I shall start at the beginning. Though of course, the beginning is never where you think it is.”\" — Diane Setterfield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/diane-setterfield-1008_beginning_i-shall-start-at-the-beginning-though-of_2859245.png" --- # I shall start at the beginning. Though of course, the… ![“I shall start at the beginning. Though of course, the beginning is never where you think it is.” quote by Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/diane-setterfield-1008_beginning_i-shall-start-at-the-beginning-though-of_2859245.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/diane-setterfield-1008_beginning_i-shall-start-at-the-beginning-though-of_2859245.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/170/diane-setterfield-1008_beginning_i-shall-start-at-the-beginning-though-of_2859245.png) > ““I shall start at the beginning. Though of course, the beginning is never where you think it is.”” [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker plans to begin a story, acknowledging that true beginnings are often unexpected. **In simple terms:** Start at the beginning, though beginnings are rarely obvious. Key Takeaway Begin without waiting for perfect timing. Themes storytelling beginnings uncertainty creativity Mood inspirational thoughtful Type literary creative When to use this quote - writing workshops - creative retreats - planning sessions Key Concepts narrative structure self‑discovery literature Questions to Reflect On - What does “beginning” mean to you? - How do you handle unexpected starts? A Different Perspective May ignore practical constraints. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Birth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birth/) ## Related quotes > [“But I know that in order to get to the end of a thing, one must start at the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-zink/but-i-know-that-in-order-to-get-to-the-end-of-a-thing-one-must-start/) [Michelle Zink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-zink/) > [“Just start somewhere," Dr. Marshall had said to me as I ground a banana-pineapple one to bits between my teeth. "It doesn't have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/just-start-somewhere-dr-marshall-had-said-to-me-as-i-ground-a-banana/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [Most fiction series are written so that the reader can come in at any point and not feel lost, but if you can start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-quinn/most-fiction-series-are-written-so-that-the-reader-can-come-in-at-any/) [Julia Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-quinn/) > [But where was I to start? The world is so vast, I shall start with the country I knew best, my own. But my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/but-where-was-i-to-start-the-world-is-so-vast-i-shall-start-with-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“But where shall I start? The world is so vast, I shall start with the country I know best, my own. But my country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/but-where-shall-i-start-the-world-is-so-vast-i-shall-start-with-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I shall start at the beginning. Though of coarse, the beginning is never where you think it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-shall-start-at-the-beginning-though-of-coarse-the-beginning-is/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“no longer remember which was our beginning. I know that not we start at the beginning. Was already love before being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucilene-machado/no-longer-remember-which-was-our-beginning-i-know-that-not-we-start/) Lucilene Machado > [“Because sometimes you need to start at the beginning in order to make sense of the end. \*”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-green/because-sometimes-you-need-to-start-at-the-beginning-in-order-to-make/) [Linda Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-green/) > [“All good stories usually start at the beginning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-fifth-estate/all-good-stories-usually-start-at-the-beginning/) The Fifth Estate > [I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-don-t-necessarily-start-with-the-beginning-of-the-book-i-just-start/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [“I didn't like what I was beginning to think. I didn't like it one bit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-kaufman/i-didn-t-like-what-i-was-beginning-to-think-i-didn-t-like-it-one-bit/) Karin Kaufman > [KITSIS: What you see at the beginning and think you know is absolutely not what you're going to know at the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kitsis/kitsis-what-you-see-at-the-beginning-and-think-you-know-is-absolutely/) [Edward Kitsis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kitsis/) > [Beginning to think is beginning to be undermined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/beginning-to-think-is-beginning-to-be-undermined/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“I'm beginning to think that you aren't with child. You've simply become fat after reading too many recipes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meljean-brook/i-m-beginning-to-think-that-you-aren-t-with-child-you-ve-simply/) [Meljean Brook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meljean-brook/) > [Try to keep your soul young and quivering right up to old age, and to imagine right up to the brink of death that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-sand/try-to-keep-your-soul-young-and-quivering-right-up-to-old-age-and-to/) [George Sand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-sand/) ## More by Diane Setterfield > [“They are more real than the books on the shelves, books that are sketched with the barest hint of a line here and there,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/they-are-more-real-than-the-books-on-the-shelves-books-that-are/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Margaret Lea.” “The biographer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/margaret-lea-the-biographer/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He was the first of my ghosts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-was-the-first-of-my-ghosts/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“It was like living entirely inside a book.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/it-was-like-living-entirely-inside-a-book/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Then something rang a bell in his mind. What”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/then-something-rang-a-bell-in-his-mind-what/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [What better way to get to know someone than through her choice and treatment of books?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/what-better-way-to-get-to-know-someone-than-through-her-choice-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“I have always been a reader; I have read at every stage of my life, and there has never been a time when reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-have-always-been-a-reader-i-have-read-at-every-stage-of-my-life-and/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“Yesterday or the day before, while I had been going about my business, quietly and in private, some unknown person—some stranger—had gone to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/yesterday-or-the-day-before-while-i-had-been-going-about-my-business/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“the Missus stood like a ghost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/the-missus-stood-like-a-ghost/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“But perhaps the answer is to stop writing altogether, for when I do write, even now as I write this very sentence, this very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/but-perhaps-the-answer-is-to-stop-writing-altogether-for-when-i-do/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Our clients' faces, with the customary outward paleness and inner glow of the book lover.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/our-clients-faces-with-the-customary-outward-paleness-and-inner-glow/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [“He felt something move in his chest, as though an organ had been removed and something unfamiliar left in its place. A sentiment he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/he-felt-something-move-in-his-chest-as-though-an-organ-had-been/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter. (I never read without making sure I am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/still-in-my-coat-and-hat-i-sank-onto-the-stair-to-read-the-letter-i/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [I still believe in stories. I still forget myself when I am in the middle of a good book. Books are for me, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/i-still-believe-in-stories-i-still-forget-myself-when-i-am-in-the/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) > [Of course I loved books more than people. Of course I valued "Jane Eyre" over the anonymous stranger...Of course all of Shakespeare was worth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-setterfield/of-course-i-loved-books-more-than-people-of-course-i-valued-jane-eyre/) [Diane Setterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) [Explore all 292 Diane Setterfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-setterfield/) ## More Beginning quotes > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) Adam Imad > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [When there is a mission before you, you see it from its beginning to its conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-white/when-there-is-a-mission-before-you-you-see-it-from-its-beginning-to/) [Jesse White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-white/) > [When God made the world, all things began with him. Life, death, it all began when he said so. That includes you and me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manae-poet-of-carisis/when-god-made-the-world-all-things-began-with-him-life-death-it-all/) Manae Poet Of Carisis > [From the beginning at Intel, we planned on being big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-noyce/from-the-beginning-at-intel-we-planned-on-being-big/) [Robert Noyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-noyce/) > [In the very beginning, Yelp started as a service where we really didn't think people would write reviews for fun. The whole concept of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-stoppelman/in-the-very-beginning-yelp-started-as-a-service-where-we-really-didn/) [Jeremy Stoppelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-stoppelman/) > [Some projects feel like the stars are aligning for them from the very beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-smith/some-projects-feel-like-the-stars-are-aligning-for-them-from-the-very/) [Gregory Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-smith/) > [Do not judge me by my beginning, Only by my end, Nor by the path I took, But where it led me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacklyn-h-lucas/do-not-judge-me-by-my-beginning-only-by-my-end-nor-by-the-path-i-took/) Jacklyn H Lucas [Browse all 3,566 Beginning quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I shall start at the beginning. 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