--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think no more than a week after I…" description: "\"“I think no more than a week after I started writing I ran into the first block. It's hard to describe it in a way that will be understandable to anyon..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/tennessee-williams-745_obsession_i-think-no-more-than-a-week-after-i-star_2605669.jpg" --- # I think no more than a week after I started writing I ran… ![“I think no more than a week after I started writing I ran into the first block. It's hard to describe it in a way that will be understandable to anyone who is not a neurotic. I will try. All my life I have been haunted by the obsession that to desire a thing or to love a thing intensely is to…” quote by Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/tennessee-williams-745_obsession_i-think-no-more-than-a-week-after-i-star_2605669.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/tennessee-williams-745_obsession_i-think-no-more-than-a-week-after-i-star_2605669.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07f/tennessee-williams-745_obsession_i-think-no-more-than-a-week-after-i-star_2605669.jpg) > ““I think no more than a week after I started writing I ran into the first block. It's hard to describe it in a way that will be understandable to anyone who is not a neurotic. I will try. All my life I have been haunted by the obsession that to desire a thing or to love a thing intensely is to place yourself in a vulnerable position, to be a possible, if not a probable, loser of what you most want. Let's leave it like that. That block has always been there and always will be, and my chance of getting, or achieving, anything that I long for will always be gravely reduced by the interminable existence of that block.”” [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creative blocks stem from fear of vulnerability and potential failure, limiting achievement. **In simple terms:** Fear of vulnerability blocks creativity. Key Takeaway Face fear to unlock potential. Themes creativity fear vulnerability Mood introspective serious Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing sessions - therapy - artistic projects Key Concepts psychology self‑sabotage Questions to Reflect On - What fears hold you back from creating? - How can you reframe vulnerability as strength? A Different Perspective Blocks can also arise from external pressures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-thing-1842696/) [Existence Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-block-1983535/) [Like Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-block-1983534/) [Obsession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) [Obsession Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession-desire-237539/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [All my life I have been haunted by the obsession that to desire a thing or to love a thing intensely is to place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/all-my-life-i-have-been-haunted-by-the-obsession-that-to-desire-a/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“..the writer’s obsession – the desire to know and communicate, or, rather, to know everything so as to communicate with the greatest degree of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-klima/the-writer-s-obsession-the-desire-to-know-and-communicate-or-rather/) [Ivan Klima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-klima/) > [“Trust is like a block of ice, once it melts into the ground, you can never get it back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/captain-chief/trust-is-like-a-block-of-ice-once-it-melts-into-the-ground-you-can/) [Captain Chief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/captain-chief/) > [Most people don't know I like to block shots. I'm going to be a big point guard out there. So just come in and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markelle-fultz/most-people-don-t-know-i-like-to-block-shots-i-m-going-to-be-a-big/) [Markelle Fultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markelle-fultz/) > [I don't know if you have ever been the object of someone's obsession - but if it's not of your desire, it is horrible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tippi-hedren/i-don-t-know-if-you-have-ever-been-the-object-of-someone-s-obsession/) [Tippi Hedren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tippi-hedren/) > [If you desire one thing for so long, its a given that you will miss other things along the way. Thats how it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/berserk/if-you-desire-one-thing-for-so-long-its-a-given-that-you-will-miss/) [Berserk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/berserk/) > [Desire is the thing you want in incipiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/desire-is-the-thing-you-want-in-incipiency/) [H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/) > [Think before you desire a thing. There is every possibility that it will be fulfilled, and then you will suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osho/think-before-you-desire-a-thing-there-is-every-possibility-that-it/) [Osho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osho/) > [There are certain people who so ardently and passionately desire a thing, that from dread of losing it they leave nothing undone to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/there-are-certain-people-who-so-ardently-and-passionately-desire-a/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [Before we passionately desire a thing, we should examine the happiness of its possessor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/before-we-passionately-desire-a-thing-we-should-examine-the-happiness/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [We never do what we wish when we wish it, and when we desire a thing earnestly, and it does arrive, that or we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-never-do-what-we-wish-when-we-wish-it-and-when-we-desire-a-thing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“A character’s want is a superficial conscious desire for the thing they think they need in order to present themselves to the world, a”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yorke/a-character-s-want-is-a-superficial-conscious-desire-for-the-thing/) [John Yorke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yorke/) > [“If there is a real desire, if the thing desired is really light, the desire for light produces it. There is a real desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/if-there-is-a-real-desire-if-the-thing-desired-is-really-light-the/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) > [Hope is the confusion of the desire for a thing with its probability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/hope-is-the-confusion-of-the-desire-for-a-thing-with-its-probability/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Desire is the first thing a modern dancer should have. Skill can be developed. But if you don't have desire as a modern dancer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twyla-tharp/desire-is-the-first-thing-a-modern-dancer-should-have-skill-can-be/) [Twyla Tharp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twyla-tharp/) ## More by Tennessee Williams > [“Nothing human disgusts me unless its unkind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/nothing-human-disgusts-me-unless-its-unkind/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [These are the intensities that one cannot live with, that he has to outgrow if he wants to survive. But who can help grieving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/these-are-the-intensities-that-one-cannot-live-with-that-he-has-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“Well, you better look out. They got a new bureau in the guvamint files. It’s called U.W. Stands for Useless Wimmen. Tha’s secret plans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/well-you-better-look-out-they-got-a-new-bureau-in-the-guvamint-files/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [People go to the movies instead of moving. Hollywood characters are supposed to have all the adventures for everybody in America, while everybody in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/people-go-to-the-movies-instead-of-moving-hollywood-characters-are/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [They chatter together like birds on Cypress Hill, but all they say is 'Live, live, live, live, live!' It's all they've learned, it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/they-chatter-together-like-birds-on-cypress-hill-but-all-they-say-is/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [You take it for granted that I am in something that I want to get out of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/you-take-it-for-granted-that-i-am-in-something-that-i-want-to-get-out/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Guessing isn't knowing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/guessing-isn-t-knowing/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I respect a person that has had to fight and howl for his decency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-respect-a-person-that-has-had-to-fight-and-howl-for-his-decency/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/life-is-all-memory-except-for-the-one-present-moment-that-goes-by-you/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [Most of the confidence which I appear to feel, especially when influenced by noon wine, is only a pretense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/most-of-the-confidence-which-i-appear-to-feel-especially-when/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I cannot write any sort of story unless there is at least one character in it for whom I have physical desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-cannot-write-any-sort-of-story-unless-there-is-at-least-one/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [I know so well what becomes of unmarried women who aren't prepared to occupy a position. I've seen such pitiful cases in the South…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/i-know-so-well-what-becomes-of-unmarried-women-who-aren-t-prepared-to/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“The Jefferson is such a dignified hotel / There is no such thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/the-jefferson-is-such-a-dignified-hotel-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“A drinking man's someone who wants to forget he isn't still young and believing”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/a-drinking-man-s-someone-who-wants-to-forget-he-isn-t-still-young-and/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) > [“As for me, no one will ever love me. But you could get used to me, couldn't you, Jimmy?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tennessee-williams/as-for-me-no-one-will-ever-love-me-but-you-could-get-used-to-me/) [Tennessee Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) [Explore all 373 Tennessee Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tennessee-williams/) ## More Obsession quotes > ['Mad TV' is one of my most favorite shows of all time and is a huge part of my obsession with sketch comedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-dawson/mad-tv-is-one-of-my-most-favorite-shows-of-all-time-and-is-a-huge/) [Shane Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-dawson/) > [OBSESSED, p.p. Vexed by an evil spirit, like the Gadarene swine and other critics. Obsession was once more common than it is now. Arasthus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/obsessed-p-p-vexed-by-an-evil-spirit-like-the-gadarene-swine-and/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [“Mistaking obsession for love is one of the greatest mistakes you'll every make”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/mistaking-obsession-for-love-is-one-of-the-greatest-mistakes-you-ll/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [Aristocratic depression has this cosmic dimension to it, where it's asking these big questions about, "Why?" "What is the purpose of all this?" Neuroses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-douglas/aristocratic-depression-has-this-cosmic-dimension-to-it-where-it-s/) [Lawrence Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-douglas/) > [To tell the truth, I have no idea what love is. I often think it is a makeshift name--a pretty, but false name--invented to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginko/to-tell-the-truth-i-have-no-idea-what-love-is-i-often-think-it-is-a/) [Ginko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginko/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [For many people it's Facebook, or sports on TV, whatever it is. I have my own demons that I battle. But whatever they are,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/for-many-people-it-s-facebook-or-sports-on-tv-whatever-it-is-i-have/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Our obsession with material things and lack of self-worth is evident in our need for an abundance of momentary luxuries and must-have amenities that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-i/our-obsession-with-material-things-and-lack-of-self-worth-is-evident/) [T.I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-i/) > [I love flat shoes, more so than heels. One of my obsessions is men's co-respondent lace-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/twiggy/i-love-flat-shoes-more-so-than-heels-one-of-my-obsessions-is-men-s-co/) [Twiggy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/twiggy/) > [At some point, you have to disconnect, if the obsession with playing a real person gets in the way of the movie at large.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-edgerton/at-some-point-you-have-to-disconnect-if-the-obsession-with-playing-a/) [Joel Edgerton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-edgerton/) > [“The obsession with the afterlife is born of a panic at not having memories of a before-life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cavanagh/the-obsession-with-the-afterlife-is-born-of-a-panic-at-not-having/) [Dean Cavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cavanagh/) > [I like to make pies. That's kind of my new obsession - peach, blueberry, apple, strawberry. I make a really good pumpkin pie with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-saylor/i-like-to-make-pies-that-s-kind-of-my-new-obsession-peach-blueberry/) [Morgan Saylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-saylor/) > [The fatal mistake we make is looking for a paradise that endures...This obsession with what lasts causes us to overlook many a fleeting paradise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-makine/the-fatal-mistake-we-make-is-looking-for-a-paradise-that-endures-this/) [Andreï Makine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-makine/) > [Since I was a kid, I've had an absolute obsession with particular kinds of American music. Mississippi Delta blues of the Thirties, Chicago blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/since-i-was-a-kid-i-ve-had-an-absolute-obsession-with-particular/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [I knew neither jealousy nor hate but was possessed by a rage to recreate a new world, the world which my eyes perceived, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-de-vlaminck/i-knew-neither-jealousy-nor-hate-but-was-possessed-by-a-rage-to/) [Maurice de Vlaminck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-de-vlaminck/) [Browse all 1,584 Obsession quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsession/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I think no more than a week after I started writing I ran into the first block. It's hard to describe it in a way that will be understandable to anyone who is not a neurotic. I will try. 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