--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I begin a story at my desk, the…" description: "\"When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. As I start to walk, I make the path.\" — Paula Fox" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/paula-fox-13833_desks_when-i-begin-a-story-at-my-desk-the-wind_1406944.jpg" --- # When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back… ![“When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. As I start to walk, I make the path.” quote by Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/paula-fox-13833_desks_when-i-begin-a-story-at-my-desk-the-wind_1406944.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/paula-fox-13833_desks_when-i-begin-a-story-at-my-desk-the-wind_1406944.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a2f/paula-fox-13833_desks_when-i-begin-a-story-at-my-desk-the-wind_1406944.jpg) > “When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. As I start to walk, I make the path.” [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When starting a story, the narrative path is created as you write, not pre‑planned. **In simple terms:** Writing creates its own direction. Key Takeaway Embrace spontaneous storytelling. Themes creativity process writing Mood inspirational reflective Type literary creative When to use this quote - novel writing - creative workshops - journaling - improvisational theater Key Concepts narrative emergence authorial freedom Questions to Reflect On - Do you prefer outlines or discovery writing? - How does improvisation affect your creativity? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on planning can stifle originality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encouragement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouragement/) [Journey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journey/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Path](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/path/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [Don't follow the path. Go where there is no path and start a trail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruby-bridges/don-t-follow-the-path-go-where-there-is-no-path-and-start-a-trail/) [Ruby Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruby-bridges/) > [Know the story before you fall in love with your first sentence. If you don’t know the story before you begin the story, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/know-the-story-before-you-fall-in-love-with-your-first-sentence-if/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [You may do this, I tell you, it is permitted. Begin again the story of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hirshfield/you-may-do-this-i-tell-you-it-is-permitted-begin-again-the-story-of/) [Jane Hirshfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hirshfield/) > [“We decided he might like to know about the people and places that belong to him now so he can begin a story all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jan-karon/we-decided-he-might-like-to-know-about-the-people-and-places-that/) [Jan Karon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jan-karon/) > [“Hi, my name is Tess Embers. A lot of thoughts are probably running through your mind right now. Who does this person think she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-bode/hi-my-name-is-tess-embers-a-lot-of-thoughts-are-probably-running/) [Maya Bode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-bode/) > [What I am telling you, before you begin my story, is this -- two things: I crave truth. And I lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tana-french/what-i-am-telling-you-before-you-begin-my-story-is-this-two-things-i/) [Tana French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tana-french/) > [And before I'd got to the end of the first paragraph, I'd come up slap bang against a fundamental problem that still troubles me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-before-i-d-got-to-the-end-of-the-first-paragraph-i-d-come-up-slap/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/once-you-allow-yourself-to-identify-with-the-people-in-a-story-then-2/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [“I've confessed to everything and I'd like to be hanged. Now, if you please. I don't mean to be difficult, but I can't bear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franny-billingsley/i-ve-confessed-to-everything-and-i-d-like-to-be-hanged-now-if-you/) [Franny Billingsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franny-billingsley/) > [There are all sorts of theories and ideas about what constitutes a good opening line. It's tricky thing, and tough to talk about because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-are-all-sorts-of-theories-and-ideas-about-what-constitutes-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Once you allow yourself to identify with the people in a story, then you might begin to see yourself in that story even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/once-you-allow-yourself-to-identify-with-the-people-in-a-story-then/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [You don't choose your themes; they choose you. The meaning of your stories will rise out of your deepest longings, often out of longings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-dane-bauer/you-don-t-choose-your-themes-they-choose-you-the-meaning-of-your/) [Marion Dane Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-dane-bauer/) > [“And then you realize that when you finally meet, when you finally find each other, it doesn’t matter. All the rest of it doesn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-kauffman/and-then-you-realize-that-when-you-finally-meet-when-you-finally-find/) [Donna Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-kauffman/) > [“You can begin a story in the middle and create confusion by striking out boldly, backward and forward. You can be modern, put aside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/you-can-begin-a-story-in-the-middle-and-create-confusion-by-striking/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“An opening line should invite the reader to begin the story. It should say: Listen. Come in here. You want to know about this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/an-opening-line-should-invite-the-reader-to-begin-the-story-it-should/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More by Paula Fox > [My life was incoherent to me. I felt it quivering, spitting out broken teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/my-life-was-incoherent-to-me-i-felt-it-quivering-spitting-out-broken/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [People steal into one's consciousness and occupy what seems, in retrospect, to have been their place all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/people-steal-into-one-s-consciousness-and-occupy-what-seems-in/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [You'll see some bad things, but if you didn't see them, they'd still be happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“I imagine there's a timid animal inside me...When it's afraid, I feel it tremble. It can't hear. It only knows the fear it feels.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-imagine-there-s-a-timid-animal-inside-me-when-it-s-afraid-i-feel-it/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I taught writing classes at the University of Pennsylvania for a number of years and I realized that all you can do is encourage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-taught-writing-classes-at-the-university-of-pennsylvania-for-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Words are nets through which all truth escapes ("News From The World")”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes-news-from-the-world/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I don't like to listen to music while I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-don-t-like-to-listen-to-music-while-i-m-working/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Imagination has to do with one's awareness of the reality of other people as well as of one's own reality. Imagination is a bridge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-has-to-do-with-one-s-awareness-of-the-reality-of-other/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“Imagination is conjunctive and unifying; the sour, habitual wars of the self are disjunctive and separating. When I begin a story at my desk,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/imagination-is-conjunctive-and-unifying-the-sour-habitual-wars-of-the/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [If a person had accused him of meanness, he could have defended himself. But with a dog - you did something cheap to it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/if-a-person-had-accused-him-of-meanness-he-could-have-defended/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [A year and a half after the end of the war and the German occupation, Paris was muted and looked bruised and forlorn. Everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/a-year-and-a-half-after-the-end-of-the-war-and-the-german-occupation/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [“You’ll see some bad things, but if you didn’t see them, they’d still be happening so you might as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/you-ll-see-some-bad-things-but-if-you-didn-t-see-them-they-d-still-be-2/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [Words are nets through which all truth escapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/words-are-nets-through-which-all-truth-escapes/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [When I had a few francs, I spent them at a café on the Place de Longchamps, a block or so from my pension,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/when-i-had-a-few-francs-i-spent-them-at-a-caf-on-the-place-de/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) > [I've always known a lot of very bad people, destructive, brutes of a certain kind. Then I've seen these lovely impulses and what not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-fox/i-ve-always-known-a-lot-of-very-bad-people-destructive-brutes-of-a/) [Paula Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) [Explore all 49 Paula Fox quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-fox/) ## More Desks quotes > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [Reagan was sitting up at Cath's desk when Cath woke up. "Are you awake?" "Have you been watching me sleep?" "Yes, Bella. Are you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainbow-rowell/reagan-was-sitting-up-at-cath-s-desk-when-cath-woke-up-are-you-awake/) [Rainbow Rowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainbow-rowell/) > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [In luggage claim at the Minneapolis airport, the guy came up to me and said, "Maybe you're wrong, maybe stories do matter." I wrote…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/in-luggage-claim-at-the-minneapolis-airport-the-guy-came-up-to-me-and/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [Grandfather / advised me: / Learn a trade / I learned / to sit at desk / and condense / No layoff / from this / condensery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorine-niedecker/grandfather-advised-me-learn-a-trade-i-learned-to-sit-at-desk-and/) [Lorine Niedecker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorine-niedecker/) > [The writer's Queen Victoria is his public, and he would do well to keep a bust of the old Queen on his desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-watson-fowler/the-writer-s-queen-victoria-is-his-public-and-he-would-do-well-to/) [Henry Watson Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-watson-fowler/) > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [These are the men who, without virtue, labour, or hazard, are growing rich, as their country is impoverished; they rejoice, when obstinacy or ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/these-are-the-men-who-without-virtue-labour-or-hazard-are-growing/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [As long as I sit at Henry Clay's desk, I will remember his lifelong desire to forge agreement, but I will also keep close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/as-long-as-i-sit-at-henry-clay-s-desk-i-will-remember-his-lifelong/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [At this point two elderly security guards in parkas, the guys who normally work the front desk at the plant, asked John to step…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-wong/at-this-point-two-elderly-security-guards-in-parkas-the-guys-who/) [David Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-wong/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [I have never found, in anything outside of the four walls of my study, an enjoyment equal to sitting at my writing desk with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/i-have-never-found-in-anything-outside-of-the-four-walls-of-my-study/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Sometimes there's nothing but Sundays for weeks on end. Why can't they move Sunday to the middle of the week so you could put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-hoban/sometimes-there-s-nothing-but-sundays-for-weeks-on-end-why-can-t-they/) [Russell Hoban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-hoban/) Browse all 652 Desks quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I begin a story at my desk, the window to my back, the path is not there. 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