--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I write, the first blank page, or…" description: "\"When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page, means nothing to me. What means something is a page that has been filled with words.\" — Guillerm..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg" --- # When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page… ![“When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page, means nothing to me. What means something is a page that has been filled with words.” quote by Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg) > “When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page, means nothing to me. What means something is a page that has been filled with words.” [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A blank page is meaningless until it is filled with words, which give it purpose. **In simple terms:** A page only matters when written on. Key Takeaway Write to give meaning. Themes creativity writing purpose Mood reflective inspired Type literary motivational When to use this quote - authoring - journaling - drafting - overcoming writer’s block Key Concepts blankness expression meaning Questions to Reflect On - How does you turn emptiness into content? - What does a filled page represent for you? A Different Perspective A blank page can also be a source of anxiety for some writers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Blank pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-pages/) [Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/filled/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-page-2175043/) [Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page/) [Page Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-blank-1171086/) [Page Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-means-2175042/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Write Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write-blank-2175044/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, the fear of its blankness. At the same time, I kind of loved it. Mallarmé was trying to make the page a blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vito-acconci/yes-the-fear-of-its-blankness-at-the-same-time-i-kind-of-loved-it/) [Vito Acconci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vito-acconci/) > [One thing I knew about the novelist’s task: when in doubt, write; when empty, write; when afraid, write. Nothing is more impenetrable than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-sington/one-thing-i-knew-about-the-novelist-s-task-when-in-doubt-write-when/) [Philip Sington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-sington/) > [I have a horror of the blank page. I simply cannot write on a blank page or screen. Because once I do, I start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-krauthammer/i-have-a-horror-of-the-blank-page-i-simply-cannot-write-on-a-blank/) [Charles Krauthammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-krauthammer/) > [If you look closely, there is no book more visual than Three Trapped Tigers, in that it is filled with blank pages, dark pages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/if-you-look-closely-there-is-no-book-more-visual-than-three-trapped/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/you-are-just-in-the-middle-of-a-struggle-with-words-which-are-really/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [“Every day life adds a new page in my life...but the sad part is...every page is Blank...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bharat-singh/every-day-life-adds-a-new-page-in-my-life-but-the-sad-part-is-every/) [Bharat Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bharat-singh/) > [Your life is a blank page. You write on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/your-life-is-a-blank-page-you-write-on-it/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/by-the-time-i-sit-down-and-face-the-blank-page-i-am-raring-to-go-i/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [The best tip for writing is just to write; to sit down and write, to begin doing it and not to be scared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/the-best-tip-for-writing-is-just-to-write-to-sit-down-and-write-to/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Writer's block.. when one curses the blinking cursor on the blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/writer-s-block-when-one-curses-the-blinking-cursor-on-the-blank-page/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [You can fix anything but a blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-fix-anything-but-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) ## More by Guillermo Cabrera Infante > [Watching a movie from beginning to end is like reading, because even though what you see are images, they are telling you a story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/watching-a-movie-from-beginning-to-end-is-like-reading-because-even/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I read the Odyssey because it was the story of a man who returned home after being absent for more than twenty years and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-read-the-odyssey-because-it-was-the-story-of-a-man-who-returned/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Dialogue in fiction is always written to be read in silence. The page is the limit. Dialogue on stage and on the screen is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/dialogue-in-fiction-is-always-written-to-be-read-in-silence-the-page/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I am a writer of fragments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-am-a-writer-of-fragments/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [No, absolutely not, writing doesn't have to be like a jigsaw puzzle, it can be a very linear undertaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/no-absolutely-not-writing-doesn-t-have-to-be-like-a-jigsaw-puzzle-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Well, I write in exile because I cannot return to my country, so I have no choice but to see myself as an exiled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/well-i-write-in-exile-because-i-cannot-return-to-my-country-so-i-have/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [For me, literature is a complex game, both mental and concrete, which is acted out in a physical manner on the page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/for-me-literature-is-a-complex-game-both-mental-and-concrete-which-is/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I know that many writers have had to write under censorship and yet produced good novels; for instance, Cervantes wrote Don Quixote under Catholic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-know-that-many-writers-have-had-to-write-under-censorship-and-yet/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not consider myself a Hispanic writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-consider-myself-a-hispanic-writer/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [The relationship between reader and characters is very difficult. It is even more peculiar than the relationship between the writer and his characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/the-relationship-between-reader-and-characters-is-very-difficult-it/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I think writers rush in where everybody is very frightened to tread](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-think-writers-rush-in-where-everybody-is-very-frightened-to-tread/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I was never a true journalist, I was a movie critic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-was-never-a-true-journalist-i-was-a-movie-critic/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [A good smoker, like a good lover, always takes his time with a cigar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/a-good-smoker-like-a-good-lover-always-takes-his-time-with-a-cigar/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [I do not believe in inspiration, but I must have a title in order to work, otherwise I am lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/i-do-not-believe-in-inspiration-but-i-must-have-a-title-in-order-to/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [You are just in the middle of a struggle with words which are really very stubborn things, with a blank page, with the damn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/you-are-just-in-the-middle-of-a-struggle-with-words-which-are-really/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) [Explore all 54 Guillermo Cabrera Infante quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) ## 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. I work hard, spend too much time looking after my son, I dance like a mad thing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/i-ve-always-been-a-very-restless-person-i-work-hard-spend-too-much/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When I came back, they gave me blank looks. Some said, 'I don't think I've seen you for days.' Some not even that. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/me-a-selimovi/when-i-came-back-they-gave-me-blank-looks-some-said-i-don-t-think-i/) [Meša Selimović](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/me-a-selimovi/) > [Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chalmers/every-man-is-a-missionary-now-and-forever-for-good-or-for-evil/) [Thomas Chalmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chalmers/) > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [The American people reject the idea of giving Washington a blank check to increase the debt limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-roby/the-american-people-reject-the-idea-of-giving-washington-a-blank/) [Martha Roby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-roby/) > [You wind up creating from silence, like painting a picture on a blank canvas that could bring tears to somebody's eyes. As songwriters, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-atkins/you-wind-up-creating-from-silence-like-painting-a-picture-on-a-blank/) [Rodney Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-atkins/) > [“As I stare at the blank page, I am at once awash inwords but unable to find the ones I want to use.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-ryan/as-i-stare-at-the-blank-page-i-am-at-once-awash-inwords-but-unable-to/) [Carrie Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-ryan/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [Bullies enjoy dark happiness; these are the blank parts that eventually fill their minds with nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-shanks/bullies-enjoy-dark-happiness-these-are-the-blank-parts-that/) [Emily Shanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-shanks/) > [History is full of blank spaces, but good stories, invariably, are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/history-is-full-of-blank-spaces-but-good-stories-invariably-are-not/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [If men's minds were like dominoes, surely his would be the double blank.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/if-men-s-minds-were-like-dominoes-surely-his-would-be-the-double-blank/) [P. 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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page, means nothing to me. What means something is a page that has been filled with words.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any-blank-page-means-nothing-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blank" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any-blank-page-means-nothing-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/456/guillermo-cabrera-infante-1238_blank_when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any_1818636.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I write, the first blank page, or any blank page, means nothing to me. What means something is a page…” — Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "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": "Guillermo Cabrera Infante", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I write, the first blank...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any-blank-page-means-nothing-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/when-i-write-the-first-blank-page-or-any-blank-page-means-nothing-to/#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 } } ] } ```