--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Starting a novel is opening a door on a…" description: "\"Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing.\" — Iris M..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png" --- # Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape… ![“Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png) > “Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Beginning a novel feels like stepping into a vague, sensory‑rich landscape where details emerge gradually. **In simple terms:** Writing starts with a hazy, evocative sense of place. Key Takeaway Creative work begins with impression, not clarity. Themes creativity writing process imagination sensory detail Mood inspired curious Type metaphorical creative When to use this quote - drafting a story - brainstorming a screenplay - conceptualizing a game world Key Concepts embodied cognition narrative emergence Practical Applications - Allow sensory impressions to guide early drafts - Embrace ambiguity before structuring Questions to Reflect On - How can sensory awareness improve your writing? - When does ambiguity hinder progress? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Landscape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landscape/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Smell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell/) [Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wind/) ## Related quotes > [“Cannot a rugged and misty landscape be adored by the eyes as much as a sunlit garden? Perhaps it is adored even more for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galen-beckett/cannot-a-rugged-and-misty-landscape-be-adored-by-the-eyes-as-much-as/) [Galen Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galen-beckett/) > [I have never started a novel - I mean except the first, when I was starting a novel just to start a novel -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-have-never-started-a-novel-i-mean-except-the-first-when-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Starting a novel is like standing in a field and waiting for lightning to strike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/starting-a-novel-is-like-standing-in-a-field-and-waiting-for/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [It sounds boring, but anything is easy to start-starting a novel, starting a business ... it's keeping the thing going that is difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prue-leith/it-sounds-boring-but-anything-is-easy-to-start-starting-a-novel/) [Prue Leith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prue-leith/) > [I let myself go at the beginning and write with an easy mind, but by the time I get to the middle I begin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/i-let-myself-go-at-the-beginning-and-write-with-an-easy-mind-but-by/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Some authors, when starting a novel, imagine a place first. Others, a character starts taking shape in their head. I start with a hook,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linwood-barclay/some-authors-when-starting-a-novel-imagine-a-place-first-others-a/) [Linwood Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linwood-barclay/) > [The clouds are scudding across the moon, A misty light is on the sea; The wind in the shrouds has a wintry tune, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-clouds-are-scudding-across-the-moon-a-misty-light-is-on-the-sea/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Misty is mystic and mystic is misty!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/misty-is-mystic-and-mystic-is-misty/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [ Unless we're very intentional about meditating on these truths \[that show God's love\], they slip from our thoughts like misty dreams that evaporate in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elyse-fitzpatrick/unless-we-re-very-intentional-about-meditating-on-these-truths-that/) [Elyse Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elyse-fitzpatrick/) > [Smile O voluptuous coolbreathed earth! Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees! Earth of departed sunset! Earth of the mountains misty-topt! Earth of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/smile-o-voluptuous-coolbreathed-earth-earth-of-the-slumbering-and/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“It was almost twilight, long shadows of oaks and chestnuts crossing the unpaved road leading away from the village. This part of England had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/it-was-almost-twilight-long-shadows-of-oaks-and-chestnuts-crossing/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [The effort of the economist is to "see," to picture the interplay of economic elements. The more clearly cut these elements appear in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irving-fisher/the-effort-of-the-economist-is-to-see-to-picture-the-interplay-of/) [Irving Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irving-fisher/) > [Knowing that I was the first version of Misty Knight, a character that was created 40 years ago is one thing. But now knowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-missick/knowing-that-i-was-the-first-version-of-misty-knight-a-character-that/) [Simone Missick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-missick/) > [If you can live the beauty of the misty mornings, you are the king, you are the queen!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/if-you-can-live-the-beauty-of-the-misty-mornings-you-are-the-king-you/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The morning was so damp and misty”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-morning-was-so-damp-and-misty/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Love is the perception of individuals. Love is the extremely difficult realisation that something other than oneself is real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/love-is-the-perception-of-individuals-love-is-the-extremely-difficult/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [“Be careful about reading health books. Some fine day you'll die of a misprint.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-herz/be-careful-about-reading-health-books-some-fine-day-you-ll-die-of-a/) Markus Herz > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) [Browse all 59,485 Books quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and feel the wind blowing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Books" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/348/iris-murdoch-993_books_starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a_88612.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the…” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Starting a novel is opening a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/#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 } } ] } ```