--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I write, I don't know what is going…" description: "\"When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/jane-hirshfield-2649_concepts_when-i-write-i-don-t-know-what-is-going_1050889.jpg" --- # When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I… ![“When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears, another word appears, an image. It is a moving into mystery.” quote by Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/jane-hirshfield-2649_concepts_when-i-write-i-don-t-know-what-is-going_1050889.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/jane-hirshfield-2649_concepts_when-i-write-i-don-t-know-what-is-going_1050889.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/889/jane-hirshfield-2649_concepts_when-i-write-i-don-t-know-what-is-going_1050889.jpg) > “When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears, another word appears, an image. It is a moving into mystery.” [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing starts from a place of uncertainty, allowing ideas to surface organically without pre‑set goals. **In simple terms:** Writing begins in uncertainty, letting ideas emerge naturally. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown to discover authentic expression. Themes creativity uncertainty process exploration Mood curious reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - journaling - fiction drafting - poetry workshops - brainstorming sessions Key Concepts emergent thinking mindfulness creative flow Questions to Reflect On - How does uncertainty shape your creative output? - What practices help you stay grounded while exploring? A Different Perspective The lack of a clear goal can lead to aimlessness or frustration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Unknowing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unknowing/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“From nowhere, a word appears: Mesozoic. He can see the word, he can hear the word, but he can't reach the word. He can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/from-nowhere-a-word-appears-mesozoic-he-can-see-the-word-he-can-hear/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [Look beyond what you see to find what's really there as nothing is as it appears to be!!…WORD](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kostallanetz-evans/look-beyond-what-you-see-to-find-what-s-really-there-as-nothing-is-as/) [Kostallanetz Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kostallanetz-evans/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [And who in time knows whither we may vent the treasure of our tongue, to what strange shores this gain of our best glories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-daniel/and-who-in-time-knows-whither-we-may-vent-the-treasure-of-our-tongue/) [Samuel Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-daniel/) > [“I’m not sure of anything,” she said. “Which is almost wonderful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-heller/i-m-not-sure-of-anything-she-said-which-is-almost-wonderful/) [Peter Heller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-heller/) > [The whole pleasure of being in a state of unknowing is that as long as you don’t know, all possible outcomes feel as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/the-whole-pleasure-of-being-in-a-state-of-unknowing-is-that-as-long/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Unknowing ignorance is preferable to informed stupidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-sanderson/unknowing-ignorance-is-preferable-to-informed-stupidity/) [Brandon Sanderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-sanderson/) > [“Come unto me. Come unto me, you say. All right then, dear my Lord. I will try in my own absurd way. In my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/come-unto-me-come-unto-me-you-say-all-right-then-dear-my-lord-i-will/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [I had gone to no such place but to the smoke of cafes and nights when the room whirled and you needed to look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-had-gone-to-no-such-place-but-to-the-smoke-of-cafes-and-nights-when/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [To be left alone on the tightrope of youthful unknowing is to experience the excruciating beauty of full freedom and the threat of eternal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/to-be-left-alone-on-the-tightrope-of-youthful-unknowing-is-to/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Truth walks toward us on the paths of our questions. As soon as you think you have the answer, you have closed the path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-winspear/truth-walks-toward-us-on-the-paths-of-our-questions-as-soon-as-you/) [Jacqueline Winspear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-winspear/) > [“Unknowing, or agnosia, is not ignorance or absence of knowledge as ordinarily understood, but rather the realization that no finite knowledge can fully know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pseudo-dionysius-the-areopagite/unknowing-or-agnosia-is-not-ignorance-or-absence-of-knowledge-as/) Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite > [When I went to school, they told me literature was a rope I must use to climb out of the dark well of unknowing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-stone/when-i-went-to-school-they-told-me-literature-was-a-rope-i-must-use/) [Jennifer Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-stone/) > [ \[W\]e must come into a transformed knowing, an unknowing which comes not from ignorance but from knowledge. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/w-e-must-come-into-a-transformed-knowing-an-unknowing-which-comes-not/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Who knows about another's love? The more you love the more you know the burnt out loss of love, the more you heed the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/who-knows-about-another-s-love-the-more-you-love-the-more-you-know/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More by Jane Hirshfield > [I don't have a cell phone (though for years I've kept saying, "soon").](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-don-t-have-a-cell-phone-though-for-years-i-ve-kept-saying-soon/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I once was asked to contribute to a mushroom poem anthology. I didn't have anything, and so instead ended up writing the introduction. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-once-was-asked-to-contribute-to-a-mushroom-poem-anthology-i-didn-t/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Everything has two endings- a horse, a piece of string, a phone call. Before a life, air. And after. As silence is not silence,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/everything-has-two-endings-a-horse-a-piece-of-string-a-phone-call/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [A certain amount of housekeeping also goes on in my poems. I wash doorknobs, do dishes, mop floors, patch carpets, cook.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/a-certain-amount-of-housekeeping-also-goes-on-in-my-poems-i-wash/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Self carries grief as a pack mule carries the side bags, being careful between the trees to leave extra room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/self-carries-grief-as-a-pack-mule-carries-the-side-bags-being-careful/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [My job as a human being as well as a writer is to feel as thoroughly as possible the experience that I am part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/my-job-as-a-human-being-as-well-as-a-writer-is-to-feel-as-thoroughly/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [I want to preserve a certain unknowing about my own poems - perhaps because unknowing is in itself a useful poetic thirst. To move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/i-want-to-preserve-a-certain-unknowing-about-my-own-poems-perhaps/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Habit, laziness, and fear conspire to keep us comfortably within the familiar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/habit-laziness-and-fear-conspire-to-keep-us-comfortably-within-the/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [In order to gain anything, you must first lose everything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/in-order-to-gain-anything-you-must-first-lose-everything/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [The same words come from each mouth differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/the-same-words-come-from-each-mouth-differently/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Metaphors think with the imagination and the senses. The hot chili peppers in them explode in the mouth and the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/metaphors-think-with-the-imagination-and-the-senses-the-hot-chili/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Your fate is to be yourself, both punishment and crime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/your-fate-is-to-be-yourself-both-punishment-and-crime/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Near even a candle, the visible heat. So it is with a person in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/near-even-a-candle-the-visible-heat-so-it-is-with-a-person-in-love/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [At some point I realized that you don't get a full human life if you try to cut off one end of it, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/at-some-point-i-realized-that-you-don-t-get-a-full-human-life-if-you/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [Immensity is always there, but we so often become numb to it, or deceive ourselves into thinking our own lives and selves are what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/immensity-is-always-there-but-we-so-often-become-numb-to-it-or/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) [Explore all 156 Jane Hirshfield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) ## More Concepts quotes > [Capability is just a concept of what is it we're looking at. Now how far we can go along that and what new capabilities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/capability-is-just-a-concept-of-what-is-it-we-re-looking-at-now-how/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-bannister/our-concept-of-a-family-holiday-was-going-to-a-guest-house-in-the/) [Roger Bannister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-bannister/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [I do like talking with friends about big concepts, you know, the stuff that will ruin a party. To me, the party hasn't begun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mercer/i-do-like-talking-with-friends-about-big-concepts-you-know-the-stuff/) [James Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mercer/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For a physicist mathematics is not just a tool by means of which phenomena can be calculated, it is the main source of concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/for-a-physicist-mathematics-is-not-just-a-tool-by-means-of-which/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [One of the most powerful concepts, one which is a sure cure for lack of confidence, is the thought that God is with you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/one-of-the-most-powerful-concepts-one-which-is-a-sure-cure-for-lack/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [All significant concepts of the modern theory of the state are secularized theological concepts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-schmitt/all-significant-concepts-of-the-modern-theory-of-the-state-are/) [Carl Schmitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-schmitt/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [So many times we come to Jesus in worship and ask Him for things that He already IS and has already done... What a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-nockels/so-many-times-we-come-to-jesus-in-worship-and-ask-him-for-things-that/) Christy Nockels > [ I don't think in national categories. For me it \[policy\] is about concepts and substance. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-claude-juncker/i-don-t-think-in-national-categories-for-me-it-policy-is-about/) [Jean-Claude Juncker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-claude-juncker/) > [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/) > [To pray without expectation is to misunderstand the whole concept of prayer and relationship with God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/to-pray-without-expectation-is-to-misunderstand-the-whole-concept-of/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) Browse all 2,468 Concepts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I write, I don't know what is going to emerge. I begin in a condition of complete unknowing, an utter nakedness of concept or goal. A word appears, another word appears, an image. 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