--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when…" description: "\"I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when my professional life was falling apart somewhat. I just had a movie implode in pre-production. And so I came b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/tim-blake-nelson-36150_about_i-started-writing-leaves-of-grass-when-m_1864398.jpg" --- # I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when my professional… ![“I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when my professional life was falling apart somewhat. I just had a movie implode in pre-production. And so I came back licking my wounds to New York, where I live, and started to write a script about a protagonist for whom the exact same thing happened: His life…” quote by Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/tim-blake-nelson-36150_about_i-started-writing-leaves-of-grass-when-m_1864398.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/tim-blake-nelson-36150_about_i-started-writing-leaves-of-grass-when-m_1864398.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/tim-blake-nelson-36150_about_i-started-writing-leaves-of-grass-when-m_1864398.jpg) > “I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when my professional life was falling apart somewhat. I just had a movie implode in pre-production. And so I came back licking my wounds to New York, where I live, and started to write a script about a protagonist for whom the exact same thing happened: His life was falling apart.” [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal crisis can spark creative breakthroughs, turning turmoil into art **In simple terms:** Hardship can inspire creation Key Takeaway Channel adversity into creative projects Themes resilience creativity transformation Mood introspective hopeful Type reflective inspirational When to use this quote - scriptwriting - film production - personal setbacks Key Concepts creative process psychology of art Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance pain and productivity? - What safeguards prevent burnout? A Different Perspective Risk of romanticizing suffering ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) [Apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apart/) [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/came/) [Exact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exact/) [Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling/) [Falling apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-apart/) [Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grass/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happened/) [His](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his/) [I came](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-came/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaves/) [Licking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/licking/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Live](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Professional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional/) [Professional life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/professional-life/) [Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protagonist/) [Same](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/same/) [Script](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script/) [Script Protagonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/script-protagonist-2530734/) [Somewhat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somewhat/) [Started](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started/) [Started Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-write-776582/) [Started Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-writing-238165/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Happened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-happened/) [Where](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/where/) [Whom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whom/) [Wounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wounds/) [Write](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/write/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing Leaves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-leaves-2530733/) [York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/york/) ## Related quotes > [All good writing leaves something unexpressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/all-good-writing-leaves-something-unexpressed/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) > [I started to write my own stories, like small novels, and those novels became poems, and after poems, they became lyrics, and song came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dawn-richard/i-started-to-write-my-own-stories-like-small-novels-and-those-novels/) [Dawn Richard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dawn-richard/) > [Once in a while I catch myself wondering whether I would have found the courage to write if I had not started to write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ama-ata-aidoo/once-in-a-while-i-catch-myself-wondering-whether-i-would-have-found/) [Ama Ata Aidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ama-ata-aidoo/) > [When I started to write a tune, I just wrote the nearest at hand, which was what was happening in my own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-harris/when-i-started-to-write-a-tune-i-just-wrote-the-nearest-at-hand-which/) [Jesse Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-harris/) > [I'd always been fascinated by boxing and became very engaged with it through my husband, actually. But I started to write about it because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-dunn/i-d-always-been-fascinated-by-boxing-and-became-very-engaged-with-it/) [Katherine Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-dunn/) > [I started to write before I went to SUNY Purchase music conservatory. As an audition I submitted what I now think are really awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-spektor/i-started-to-write-before-i-went-to-suny-purchase-music-conservatory/) [Regina Spektor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-spektor/) > [The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves are very often not really what happened. And as I started to write stuff down, I started…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-barr/the-stories-we-tell-ourselves-about-ourselves-are-very-often-not/) [Damian Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-barr/) > [When I was young, when I started to write, we were totally convinced that literature was a kind of weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/when-i-was-young-when-i-started-to-write-we-were-totally-convinced/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [I started to write songs. And I started to like what I was writing. I think it's a new way for me to express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-started-to-write-songs-and-i-started-to-like-what-i-was-writing-i/) [Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/) > [I started to write about science and medicine at the 'Washington Post,' in the early days of the AIDS epidemic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-specter/i-started-to-write-about-science-and-medicine-at-the-washington-post/) [Michael Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-specter/) > [I started to write a new editor not too long ago and had it about half done after two days.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-started-to-write-a-new-editor-not-too-long-ago-and-had-it-about/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [I started to write the song. And I was in Gladewater, Texas, one night with Carl Perkins and I said, I've got a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-cash/i-started-to-write-the-song-and-i-was-in-gladewater-texas-one-night/) [Johnny Cash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-cash/) > [I always thought that I was a terrible writer. And I started to write songs. And I started to like what I was writing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-cotillard/i-always-thought-that-i-was-a-terrible-writer-and-i-started-to-write/) [Marion Cotillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-cotillard/) > [When I was one day old, I learned how to read. When I was two days old, I started to write. By the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-scieszka/when-i-was-one-day-old-i-learned-how-to-read-when-i-was-two-days-old/) [Jon Scieszka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-scieszka/) > [Sometimes, but the year I lived in France I started to write songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carly-simon/sometimes-but-the-year-i-lived-in-france-i-started-to-write-songs/) [Carly Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carly-simon/) ## More by Tim Blake Nelson > [Really, life is full of contradictions. Life is messy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/really-life-is-full-of-contradictions-life-is-messy/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I think we all live dichotomies. I'm a father of three boys and a loyal homebody sort of husband and father. And yet I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-think-we-all-live-dichotomies-i-m-a-father-of-three-boys-and-a/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I am not a natural singer, but I can sing, and probably the way I sing is more imitative than from myself, which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-am-not-a-natural-singer-but-i-can-sing-and-probably-the-way-i-sing/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I wanted to get the most broad foundation for a lifelong education that I could find, and that was studying Latin and the classics.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-wanted-to-get-the-most-broad-foundation-for-a-lifelong-education/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I've done about every kind of fishing you can imagine, but I've never noodled. And the reason I've never noodled is because I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-ve-done-about-every-kind-of-fishing-you-can-imagine-but-i-ve-never/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [When I'm in a movie, what I always do, instead of sitting in a trailer or watching a DVD, is I go on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/when-i-m-in-a-movie-what-i-always-do-instead-of-sitting-in-a-trailer/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I frankly encountered more anti-Semitism in the northeast than I did in Oklahoma, but not much either place. Anti-Semitism is not part of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-frankly-encountered-more-anti-semitism-in-the-northeast-than-i-did/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [Drama and comedy, to me ,are all about being surprising, coherent, and true, all at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/drama-and-comedy-to-me-are-all-about-being-surprising-coherent-and/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [We approach life not just to be able to think about it and talk about it and discover its truths, but also to enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/we-approach-life-not-just-to-be-able-to-think-about-it-and-talk-about/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I tried to film 'Leaves of Grass' in Oklahoma, but it was literally about a million dollars less to shoot in Louisiana.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-tried-to-film-leaves-of-grass-in-oklahoma-but-it-was-literally/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > [I love writing about Oklahoma. I love writing Oklahoma characters; I love playing Southwestern characters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/i-love-writing-about-oklahoma-i-love-writing-oklahoma-characters-i/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) > ['O Brother, Where Art Thou?' was this role that utterly fell into my lap and changed my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-blake-nelson/o-brother-where-art-thou-was-this-role-that-utterly-fell-into-my-lap/) [Tim Blake Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) [Explore all 13 Tim Blake Nelson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-blake-nelson/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. If you want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-helgoe/if-you-ask-an-introvert-a-question-wait-until-she-thinks-about-it/) [Laurie Helgoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-helgoe/) > [Joking about violence is not funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perez-hilton/joking-about-violence-is-not-funny/) [Perez Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perez-hilton/) > [I talk to my mates about our kids, being too tired and being worn out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-willoughby/i-talk-to-my-mates-about-our-kids-being-too-tired-and-being-worn-out/) [Holly Willoughby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-willoughby/) > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-rivers/i-didn-t-want-to-do-fashion-police-because-i-thought-this-is-stupid/) [Joan Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-rivers/) > [I just worried about my weight. Worried about my appearance and thought I wan't pretty enough to be a pop star. It was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-durham/i-just-worried-about-my-weight-worried-about-my-appearance-and/) [Judith Durham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-durham/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [There are a lot of kids out there copying and distributing movies - not because they care about seeing the movies or sharing them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perry-barlow/there-are-a-lot-of-kids-out-there-copying-and-distributing-movies-not/) [John Perry Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perry-barlow/) > [I have no physical genius about me. I can't dribble a ball and run at the same time, I can't do lay-ups - I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rich-mullins/i-have-no-physical-genius-about-me-i-can-t-dribble-a-ball-and-run-at/) [Rich Mullins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rich-mullins/) [Browse all 26,122 About quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started writing 'Leaves Of Grass' when my professional life was falling apart somewhat. I just had a movie implode in pre-production. 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