--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My most recent novel didn't start out…" description: "\"My most recent novel didn't start out scaring me, but as I got deeper into writing it, it scared me. It's not so much where the story's going. It's whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/nick-tosches-17928_being-nice_my-most-recent-novel-didn-t-start-out-sc_3184274.jpg" --- # My most recent novel didn't start out scaring me, but as I… ![“My most recent novel didn't start out scaring me, but as I got deeper into writing it, it scared me. It's not so much where the story's going. It's where it came from. I always come out of it thinking, Okay, that got it all outta me. The next one's gonna be nice and simple, and it's not gonna…” quote by Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/nick-tosches-17928_being-nice_my-most-recent-novel-didn-t-start-out-sc_3184274.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/nick-tosches-17928_being-nice_my-most-recent-novel-didn-t-start-out-sc_3184274.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8af/nick-tosches-17928_being-nice_my-most-recent-novel-didn-t-start-out-sc_3184274.jpg) > “My most recent novel didn't start out scaring me, but as I got deeper into writing it, it scared me. It's not so much where the story's going. It's where it came from. I always come out of it thinking, Okay, that got it all outta me. The next one's gonna be nice and simple, and it's not gonna scare me, and that never seems to happen.” [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing can become unsettling as it reveals hidden personal truths, making the process frightening rather than the story itself. **In simple terms:** Writing can expose deep personal fears. Key Takeaway Embrace the discomfort to uncover truth. Themes creativity self-discovery fear Mood introspective anxious Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - authoring a memoir - writing therapy - creative workshops Key Concepts psychology introspection narrative therapy Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting inner fear shape your work? - What techniques help you stay grounded while writing? A Different Perspective The fear may stem from confronting subconscious material, not the craft itself. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) [Nice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nice/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Okay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/okay/) [Scare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scare/) [Scare Happen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scare-happen-887060/) [Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared/) [Scared Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared-story-2839220/) [Scaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scaring/) [Simple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple/) [Start Scaring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start-scaring-5847251/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-scared-5847250/) ## Related quotes > [Growing up, I was a huge fan of horror movies. There's nothing more fun than going into a movie with a smile because you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-bell/growing-up-i-was-a-huge-fan-of-horror-movies-there-s-nothing-more-fun/) [Ashley Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-bell/) > [I think we've broken story after story that the rest of the media refused to break even when they had the story because they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-talbot/i-think-we-ve-broken-story-after-story-that-the-rest-of-the-media/) [David Talbot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-talbot/) > [“thinking: I don’t want my little girl to come out blind or gouged up. I’m not cheap, I’m scared. It’s the story of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-wells/thinking-i-don-t-want-my-little-girl-to-come-out-blind-or-gouged-up-i/) [Rebecca Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-wells/) > [“All of us are part of a big story. It is a story that is much bigger than we know. Do not confuse the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-reiken/all-of-us-are-part-of-a-big-story-it-is-a-story-that-is-much-bigger/) [Frederick Reiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-reiken/) > [There's something really cool about scaring children. Traumatize a generation, that's what it's all about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/there-s-something-really-cool-about-scaring-children-traumatize-a/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [“When you cannot reason with people, you have to try scaring them. If that doesn’t work, then you either run or you kill them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hearne/when-you-cannot-reason-with-people-you-have-to-try-scaring-them-if/) [Kevin Hearne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hearne/) > [I enjoy scaring people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-horowitz/i-enjoy-scaring-people/) [Anthony Horowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-horowitz/) > [“Don't entertain fear; it does not entertain you either; it only scares you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/don-t-entertain-fear-it-does-not-entertain-you-either-it-only-scares/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [“Holding her breath, she stepped out, heading for the better-illuminated section of the room. Hard hands closed about her upper arms. She started-very nearly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/holding-her-breath-she-stepped-out-heading-for-the-better-illuminated/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) > [I'd like to thank the Royal Marines for bringing me in like that and scaring the shit out of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-craig/i-d-like-to-thank-the-royal-marines-for-bringing-me-in-like-that-and/) [Daniel Craig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-craig/) > [I enjoy scaring people too much to let it go!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-marshall/i-enjoy-scaring-people-too-much-to-let-it-go/) [Neil Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-marshall/) > [“The day I stop scaring you is the day you should leave me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orest-stelmach/the-day-i-stop-scaring-you-is-the-day-you-should-leave-me/) [Orest Stelmach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orest-stelmach/) > [I want to do things where the talent range is difficult and that scare me. I thrive on that; if it's not scaring me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-dobrev/i-want-to-do-things-where-the-talent-range-is-difficult-and-that/) [Nina Dobrev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-dobrev/) > [What if it turns out there really are witches and vampires and werewolves living right here alongside us? After all, what better disguise could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sergei-lukyanenko/what-if-it-turns-out-there-really-are-witches-and-vampires-and/) [Sergei Lukyanenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sergei-lukyanenko/) > [Thinking without scaring is make people good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aziz-nesin/thinking-without-scaring-is-make-people-good/) [Aziz Nesin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aziz-nesin/) ## More by Nick Tosches > [Mortality applies to every aspect of life. The fear of death is the driving fear of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/mortality-applies-to-every-aspect-of-life-the-fear-of-death-is-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [They say nobody has the attention span to read great books early in life. If I start to read something good, I'll look and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/they-say-nobody-has-the-attention-span-to-read-great-books-early-in/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [Steiner has here transformed the vaporous conceptions of his life, the vapors of what never was and never will be, from their aeriform state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/steiner-has-here-transformed-the-vaporous-conceptions-of-his-life-the/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [The older you get, the more you live with ghosts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-older-you-get-the-more-you-live-with-ghosts/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [You're never gonna outwrite the movement of the white clouds and the blue sky. You're never going to. 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If I could get real opium, I'd stir it in my hot coffee every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-appeal-for-drugs-has-dwindled-except-for-actual-opium-if-i-could/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [My father, God bless him, thought it was such an impossible desire to be able to make a living the way I do. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/my-father-god-bless-him-thought-it-was-such-an-impossible-desire-to/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [The things I wanted to be when I was a kid were an archeologist, because of dinosaur bones; a garbage man, because they got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/the-things-i-wanted-to-be-when-i-was-a-kid-were-an-archeologist/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [As a young man, I felt a need to communicate with somebody or something, but it seemed in my own particular environment that that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/as-a-young-man-i-felt-a-need-to-communicate-with-somebody-or/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [I wanted to just get a job so I could have enough money for my own apartment and be able to get drunk. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/i-wanted-to-just-get-a-job-so-i-could-have-enough-money-for-my-own/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [“And, of course, that is what all of this is - all of this: the one song, ever changing, ever reincarnated, that speaks somehow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/and-of-course-that-is-what-all-of-this-is-all-of-this-the-one-song/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [You got guys that are so old, you see them eating lunch, the drool's just coming from their mouth, and they're sending around memos…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/you-got-guys-that-are-so-old-you-see-them-eating-lunch-the-drool-s/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) > [I don't have a college degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-tosches/i-don-t-have-a-college-degree/) [Nick Tosches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) [Explore all 36 Nick Tosches quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-tosches/) ## More Being nice quotes > [Business school graduates from the best schools earn large salaries and frequently rise to positions of great power. It would be nice if they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-pfeffer/business-school-graduates-from-the-best-schools-earn-large-salaries/) [Jeffrey Pfeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-pfeffer/) > [Good people are found not changed. Recently I read a headline that said, 'We don't teach people to be nice. We simply hire nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/good-people-are-found-not-changed-recently-i-read-a-headline-that/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) > [I think there's a lot of scope in broadening the way videogames approach depictions of masculinity, which is still extremely narrow in scope. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-druckmann/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-scope-in-broadening-the-way-videogames/) [Neil Druckmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-druckmann/) > [He put his arms around her. “Well, in my defense, then, whatever I did seemed to work, didn't it?” She sighed. “I suppose.” “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-sparks/he-put-his-arms-around-her-well-in-my-defense-then-whatever-i-did/) [Nicholas Sparks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-sparks/) > [Somewhere where people aren't so mad would be nice, but I don't know if there is anywhere like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-smith/somewhere-where-people-aren-t-so-mad-would-be-nice-but-i-don-t-know/) [Elliott Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-smith/) > [Most of the people I know who were raised to be accommodating or were raised to just be nice and put everybody's needs ahead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-chbosky/most-of-the-people-i-know-who-were-raised-to-be-accommodating-or-were/) [Stephen Chbosky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-chbosky/) > [“When we are nice to others, we generally lose all claim to their respect.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/when-we-are-nice-to-others-we-generally-lose-all-claim-to-their/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [Being nice from now on, leaving the old BS where it's at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-nice-from-now-on-leaving-the-old-bs-where-it-s-at/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [I think music is better listened to with other people. Music is better shared. It depends what situation you're in - if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/i-think-music-is-better-listened-to-with-other-people-music-is-better/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [Everybody wants to be good, but not many are prepared to make the sacrifices it takes to be great. To many people, being nice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-arden/everybody-wants-to-be-good-but-not-many-are-prepared-to-make-the-2/) [Paul Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-arden/) > [Give me a mirror.Or holy water. I'll drink it,even!" I gasped as someone threw water on the side of my face. "A little warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiersten-white/give-me-a-mirror-or-holy-water-i-ll-drink-it-even-i-gasped-as-someone/) [Kiersten White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiersten-white/) > [What inspired me as a child is the same thing that inspires me now: being nice. I always try to one up everybody with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joell-ortiz/what-inspired-me-as-a-child-is-the-same-thing-that-inspires-me-now/) [Joell Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joell-ortiz/) > [My ex-wife was trying to be nice once, so she took me to a concert in Los Angeles. I went with her to Symphony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-b-king/my-ex-wife-was-trying-to-be-nice-once-so-she-took-me-to-a-concert-in/) [B. B. King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-b-king/) [Browse all 659 Being nice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-nice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My most recent novel didn't start out scaring me, but as I got deeper into writing it, it scared me. It's not so much where the story's going. It's where it came from. I always come out of it thinking, Okay, that got it all outta me. 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