--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's the horrible thing starting out…" description: "\"That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It's just the same enemy - blank paper.\" — Ji..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png" --- # That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted… ![“That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It's just the same enemy - blank paper.” quote by Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png) > “That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It's just the same enemy - blank paper.” [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Starting a writing project often feels daunting because the blank page seems more threatening than the work itself. **In simple terms:** Blank page feels scarier than writing. Key Takeaway Begin with any small sentence. Themes procrastination creativity writing process Mood motivational reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - authoring a novel - blog post - academic paper - journal entry Key Concepts psychology of start blank page syndrome Questions to Reflect On - What small step can you take right now? - How can you reframe the blank page? A Different Perspective Overcoming initial fear may not guarantee sustained momentum. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Blank paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-paper/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Horrible things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horrible-things/) [Starting out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starting-out/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Writing a novel is easier than writing a memoir; you are not constrained by the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-bisley/writing-a-novel-is-easier-than-writing-a-memoir-you-are-not/) [Steve Bisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-bisley/) > [ Acting is fun; it's easier than writing, and if you get on a \[TV\] show, it draws people to your stand-up. That's ultimately what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannibal-buress/acting-is-fun-it-s-easier-than-writing-and-if-you-get-on-a-tv-show-it/) [Hannibal Buress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannibal-buress/) > [Writing for other people is easier than writing for myself - it's not as personal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-foster/writing-for-other-people-is-easier-than-writing-for-myself-it-s-not/) [Mark Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-foster/) > [“Gavin said that writing novels with a PC was supposed to be easier than writing with a typewriter and bond paper, or with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/gavin-said-that-writing-novels-with-a-pc-was-supposed-to-be-easier/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [I like reading history, and actually most authors enjoy the research part because it is, after all, easier than writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-follett/i-like-reading-history-and-actually-most-authors-enjoy-the-research/) [Ken Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-follett/) > [“But hell, I do like to write letters. Much easier than writing books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-hell-i-do-like-to-write-letters-much-easier-than-writing-books/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Acting is easier - writing is more creative. The lazy man vies with the industrious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/acting-is-easier-writing-is-more-creative-the-lazy-man-vies-with-the/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [It's an easier task to imagine someone's interior world when you feel quite distanced from them. In the same way that I find writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evie-wyld/it-s-an-easier-task-to-imagine-someone-s-interior-world-when-you-feel/) [Evie Wyld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evie-wyld/) > [Blank paper has always inspired me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-handler/blank-paper-has-always-inspired-me/) [Daniel Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-handler/) > [“If our shallow, self-critical culture sometimes seems to lack a sense of the numinous or spiritual it’s only in the same way a fish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/if-our-shallow-self-critical-culture-sometimes-seems-to-lack-a-sense/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [Writing is very difficult. You have 120 pages of blank paper and it's like, "Go fill that up with some funny stuff," and that's challenging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-farrelly/writing-is-very-difficult-you-have-120-pages-of-blank-paper-and-it-s/) [Bobby Farrelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-farrelly/) > [My mind turned by anxiety, or other cause, from its scrutiny of blank paper, is like a lost child–wandering the house, sitting on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/my-mind-turned-by-anxiety-or-other-cause-from-its-scrutiny-of-blank/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [“The words in his book wormed off the pages. Everything glittered like blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/the-words-in-his-book-wormed-off-the-pages-everything-glittered-like/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [All I have to do is keep my spirit, feelings and conscience like a sheet of blank paper, and let the Spirit and power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/all-i-have-to-do-is-keep-my-spirit-feelings-and-conscience-like-a/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [“I believe in magic. As a writer, I create them on blank paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonnia-kemmer/i-believe-in-magic-as-a-writer-i-create-them-on-blank-paper/) [Sonnia Kemmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonnia-kemmer/) ## More by Jimmy Breslin > [Trump survives by Corum's Law. This is a famous, well-tested theory and is named after Bill Corum, who once wrote sports for the Hearst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/trump-survives-by-corum-s-law-this-is-a-famous-well-tested-theory-and/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Governments mostly don't do much. And you've also got to understand the level of incompetence out there. Nobody knows what they're doing. They just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/governments-mostly-don-t-do-much-and-you-ve-also-got-to-understand/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [“woman came to the checkout counter. She took a small order out of the shopping cart and placed it on the conveyor. There was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/woman-came-to-the-checkout-counter-she-took-a-small-order-out-of-the/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Newspapers are so boring. How can you read a newspaper that starts with a 51-word lead sentence?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/newspapers-are-so-boring-how-can-you-read-a-newspaper-that-starts/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Media, the plural of mediocrity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/media-the-plural-of-mediocrity/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [“Pointing to the mutual envy of businessmen and politicians who are often out of their field in each other's area,, the author quotes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/pointing-to-the-mutual-envy-of-businessmen-and-politicians-who-are/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Anything that isn't writing is easy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/anything-that-isn-t-writing-is-easy/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [The other feature is a gymnasium named after another dead politician who was gifted with fast and extremely sure hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/the-other-feature-is-a-gymnasium-named-after-another-dead-politician/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Designed by architects with honorable intentions but hands of palsy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/designed-by-architects-with-honorable-intentions-but-hands-of-palsy/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Speaks cheerful English and in the past has written this language with a paintbrush that talks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/speaks-cheerful-english-and-in-the-past-has-written-this-language/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Trump is larger than life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/trump-is-larger-than-life/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [Out in the ocean, a rope is put around the man's neck. The other end of the rope is attached to an old jukebox…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/out-in-the-ocean-a-rope-is-put-around-the-man-s-neck-the-other-end-of/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [True New Yorkers do not really seek information about the outside world. They feel that if anything is not in New York it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/true-new-yorkers-do-not-really-seek-information-about-the-outside/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [I'm the best person ever to have a column in this business. There's never been anybody in my league.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/i-m-the-best-person-ever-to-have-a-column-in-this-business-there-s/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) > [When you leave New York you ain't going anywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/when-you-leave-new-york-you-ain-t-going-anywhere/) [Jimmy Breslin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) [Explore all 72 Jimmy Breslin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/) ## 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 > [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 ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing. It's just the same enemy - blank paper.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jimmy Breslin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-you-get-distracted-a-lot/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blank" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-you-get-distracted-a-lot/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/82f/jimmy-breslin-9498_blank_that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-y_1179907.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's the horrible thing starting out, you get distracted a lot because anything is easier than writing…” — Jimmy Breslin", "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": "Jimmy Breslin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-breslin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That's the horrible thing starting out,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-you-get-distracted-a-lot/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-breslin/that-s-the-horrible-thing-starting-out-you-get-distracted-a-lot/#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 } } ] } ```