--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am very scared at the beginning of each…" description: "\"I am very scared at the beginning of each book, because I've never written it before. I feel I have to teach myself how to do it.\" — Paul Auster" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/paul-auster-351_beginning_i-am-very-scared-at-the-beginning-of-eac_698185.jpg" --- # I am very scared at the beginning of each book, because… ![“I am very scared at the beginning of each book, because I've never written it before. I feel I have to teach myself how to do it.” quote by Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/paul-auster-351_beginning_i-am-very-scared-at-the-beginning-of-eac_698185.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/paul-auster-351_beginning_i-am-very-scared-at-the-beginning-of-eac_698185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/524/paul-auster-351_beginning_i-am-very-scared-at-the-beginning-of-eac_698185.jpg) > “I am very scared at the beginning of each book, because I've never written it before. I feel I have to teach myself how to do it.” [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The start of a creative work feels frightening because it is uncharted, requiring self‑teaching. **In simple terms:** Beginning a book feels scary. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown and learn as you go. Themes fear creativity self‑direction Mood nervous motivational Type creative inspirational When to use this quote - starting a novel - blogging - academic research Key Concepts writing learning growth Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to reduce initial anxiety? - How does self‑teaching empower you? A Different Perspective Fear can paralyze progress if not managed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Beginning Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-book-588570/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Scared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared/) [Scared Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared-beginning-5533588/) [Teach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teach/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-feel-264290/) ## Related quotes > [I don't necessarily start with the beginning of the book. I just start with the part of the story that's most vivid in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverly-cleary/i-don-t-necessarily-start-with-the-beginning-of-the-book-i-just-start/) [Beverly Cleary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverly-cleary/) > [The beginning of a book is always the hardest part for me. I'm a Chapter 3 kind of writer, which means I naturally start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/the-beginning-of-a-book-is-always-the-hardest-part-for-me-i-m-a/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [My books come to me in images, and sometimes the image is at the beginning of the book, and sometimes it's simply a flash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-crais/my-books-come-to-me-in-images-and-sometimes-the-image-is-at-the/) [Robert Crais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-crais/) > [That’s why I hate to take credit for the songs I’ve written. I feel that somewhere, someplace, it’s been done and I’m just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jackson/that-s-why-i-hate-to-take-credit-for-the-songs-i-ve-written-i-feel/) [Michael Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jackson/) > [“beginning of this book that the instruction in reading that it provides applies to anything you have to or want to read. However,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-van-doren/beginning-of-this-book-that-the-instruction-in-reading-that-it/) [Charles Van Doren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-van-doren/) > [I come up with a blurb at the beginning, but the book will always be completely different by the time it's finished. 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And this, finally, was all he ever asked of things: to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/on-his-best-walks-he-was-able-to-feel-that-he-was-nowhere-and-this/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [“No es que escribir me produzca un gran placer, pero es mucho peor si no lo hago.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/no-es-que-escribir-me-produzca-un-gran-placer-pero-es-mucho-peor-si/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [You see, the interesting thing about books, as opposed, say, to films, is that it's always just one person encountering the book, it's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/you-see-the-interesting-thing-about-books-as-opposed-say-to-films-is/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I'm not a man deeply interested in technology. 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It's a physical experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/writing-has-always-had-a-tactile-quality-for-me-it-s-a-physical/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [People look at the same passage, and one person will say this is the best thing he's ever read, and another person will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/people-look-at-the-same-passage-and-one-person-will-say-this-is-the/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [I was very moved to see that the name of the boat was Hamlet - an imaginary character becomes so important to people, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/i-was-very-moved-to-see-that-the-name-of-the-boat-was-hamlet-an/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [Our lifelong certainties about the world can be demolished in a single second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-auster/our-lifelong-certainties-about-the-world-can-be-demolished-in-a/) [Paul Auster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-auster/) > [The ideal reader's the same, and I suppose this person has never had a face or a gender or an age. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Every Finish Line is the beginning of a new race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-finish-line-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-race/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Always keep the smile, because the smile is the beginning of love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-imad/always-keep-the-smile-because-the-smile-is-the-beginning-of-love/) [Adam Imad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-imad/) > [We are beginning to see intimations of this in the implantation of computer devices into the human body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-kurzweil/we-are-beginning-to-see-intimations-of-this-in-the-implantation-of/) [Ray Kurzweil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-kurzweil/) > [The only vocal training I had was playing with a tape recorder as a kid, and you know, doing the beginning of the 'Lone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buffer/the-only-vocal-training-i-had-was-playing-with-a-tape-recorder-as-a/) [Michael Buffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buffer/) > [January is the beginning of a new year for us in the Western world. Let us give to God what belongs to him: the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-white/january-is-the-beginning-of-a-new-year-for-us-in-the-western-world/) [Paula White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-white/) > [In the beginning, if you look at those early label albums of the Chicks, we didn't write all that much. We had an A&R…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martie-maguire/in-the-beginning-if-you-look-at-those-early-label-albums-of-the/) [Martie Maguire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martie-maguire/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. 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