--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it was the first time I had ever…" description: "\"“But it was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of fiction, and there was a kind of dreadful exhili..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg" --- # But it was the first time I had ever really used the place… ![“But it was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of fiction, and there was a kind of dreadful exhiliration in seeing things that had troubled me for years come out in a new form, a form over which I had imposed control.” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg) > ““But it was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of fiction, and there was a kind of dreadful exhiliration in seeing things that had troubled me for years come out in a new form, a form over which I had imposed control. ”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author feels exhilarated when personal anxieties are transformed into controlled fictional narratives, providing relief and mastery over inner turmoil. **In simple terms:** Turning personal struggles into fiction gives a sense of control and relief. Key Takeaway Channel inner turmoil into creative work. Themes creativity control emotional release Mood reflective hopeful introspective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - therapy - artistic projects - personal journaling - storytelling Key Concepts psychology narrative therapy self‑expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you use creativity to process personal challenges? - What boundaries exist between control and expression? A Different Perspective Fiction may not fully resolve underlying issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [At these times, the things that troubled her seemed far away and unimportant: all that mattered was the hum of the bees and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-croggon/at-these-times-the-things-that-troubled-her-seemed-far-away-and/) [Alison Croggon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-croggon/) > [“More than anything else I wanted to get inside my readers’ defenses, wanted to rip them and ravish them and change them forever with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/more-than-anything-else-i-wanted-to-get-inside-my-readers-defenses/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In this place, he knew instinctively, the lights would never be turned out. It was the place with no darkness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-this-place-he-knew-instinctively-the-lights-would-never-be-turned/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I stared out the car window and understood that I was in a place where nobody knew my heart even a little bit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-stared-out-the-car-window-and-understood-that-i-was-in-a-place/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [I was in a place where nobody knew my heart even a little bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-rifka-brunt/i-was-in-a-place-where-nobody-knew-my-heart-even-a-little-bit/) [Carol Rifka Brunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-rifka-brunt/) > [“But I kept it to myself--maybe because I didn't think it mattered, but probably because, in a place where everyone knew my story, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/but-i-kept-it-to-myself-maybe-because-i-didn-t-think-it-mattered-but/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [My father worked for Bell Labs. Hence, I knew very much about the place. I knew it because also he was involved with telephony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-ritchie/my-father-worked-for-bell-labs-hence-i-knew-very-much-about-the-place/) [Dennis Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-ritchie/) > [“- this is where I live now. If you had known me once, you'd still know me now though in a different light and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/this-is-where-i-live-now-if-you-had-known-me-once-you-d-still-know-me/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Some men are all right in their place if they only knew the right places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raoul-walsh/some-men-are-all-right-in-their-place-if-they-only-knew-the-right/) Raoul Walsh > [I know from my own experience and from other people in the business that when you come from a place where nobody knew who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-wiig/i-know-from-my-own-experience-and-from-other-people-in-the-business/) [Kristen Wiig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-wiig/) > [“... She might have thought that it was the case, that all things worked out in the end, and that the world was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-straub/she-might-have-thought-that-it-was-the-case-that-all-things-worked/) [Emma Straub](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-straub/) > [In a place where everyone knew my story, it was nice to know there was a chapter that ONLY I HAD TO READ. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-carter/in-a-place-where-everyone-knew-my-story-it-was-nice-to-know-there-was/) [Ally Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-carter/) > [“I’d learned so much from traveling to familiar places that I figured I’d learn twice as much by going to a place I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-abbey/i-d-learned-so-much-from-traveling-to-familiar-places-that-i-figured/) [Gerry Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-abbey/) > [All things have their place, knew wee how to place them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/all-things-have-their-place-knew-wee-how-to-place-them/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [A whole new worldo. A dazzling place I never knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aladdin/a-whole-new-worldo-a-dazzling-place-i-never-knew/) [Aladdin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aladdin/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More First time quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“I’m so stressed that a weird Olympic-style commentary starts up in my head. And here we have Zelah Green, the fourteen-year-old champion of rituals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-curtis/i-m-so-stressed-that-a-weird-olympic-style-commentary-starts-up-in-my/) Vanessa Curtis > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [“I’m waiting for you,” he murmured, smiling a slow, familiar grin that seemed to hint at a secret between them. And for the first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-monir/i-m-waiting-for-you-he-murmured-smiling-a-slow-familiar-grin-that/) [Alexandra Monir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-monir/) > [“Treat every natural beauty you met as if you see them for the first and last time!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/treat-every-natural-beauty-you-met-as-if-you-see-them-for-the-first/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“I won’t break your heart. For the first time in my life, I’ve found something worth fighting for, someone more important than me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelle-bliss/i-won-t-break-your-heart-for-the-first-time-in-my-life-i-ve-found/) [Chelle Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelle-bliss/) > [Life is like a parachute jump: you have to get it right the first time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/life-is-like-a-parachute-jump-you-have-to-get-it-right-the-first-time/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [When my kids were in the school play for the first time, I decided I had to make the costumes from scratch and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-alexander/when-my-kids-were-in-the-school-play-for-the-first-time-i-decided-i/) [Sarah Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-alexander/) > [“I will run every mile, i will save every line, i will say i reached the top and i will fall back down standing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mennah-al-refaey/i-will-run-every-mile-i-will-save-every-line-i-will-say-i-reached-the/) Mennah al refaey > [“Or maybe your magic isn't that destructive after all. The rain of Doritos, the bed thing,this...Maybe it's just that you create too big, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/or-maybe-your-magic-isn-t-that-destructive-after-all-the-rain-of/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [There is no pain like the first time you get your heart broken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ne-yo/there-is-no-pain-like-the-first-time-you-get-your-heart-broken/) [Ne-Yo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ne-yo/) > [I don't know why, but everybody thinks that I'm short. When they see me for the first time, women are always surprised to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariah-carey/i-don-t-know-why-but-everybody-thinks-that-i-m-short-when-they-see-me/) [Mariah Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariah-carey/) > [“I met Suffering on a quiet road, just as the sun was setting behind me. Its presence was heavy, like an old coat I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanjo-jendayi/i-met-suffering-on-a-quiet-road-just-as-the-sun-was-setting-behind-me/) [Sanjo Jendayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanjo-jendayi/) > [“You never talk to the pitcher when…” He shook his head. “You just never talk to the pitcher when--” “I just wanted to congratulate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawthorne/you-never-talk-to-the-pitcher-when-he-shook-his-head-you-just-never/) [Rachel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawthorne/) Browse all 9,309 First time quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But it was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of fiction, and there was a kind of dreadful exhiliration in seeing things that had troubled me for years come out in a new form, a form over which I had imposed control. ”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-really-used-the-place-i-knew-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First time" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-really-used-the-place-i-knew-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/148/stephen-king-13_first-time_but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-rea_931256.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it was the first time I had ever really used the place I knew and the things I felt in a piece of…” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But it was the first time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-really-used-the-place-i-knew-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-it-was-the-first-time-i-had-ever-really-used-the-place-i-knew-and/#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 } } ] } ```