--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The enemy is not the badly written page…" description: "\"The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty page the great advantage of a badly written page is that it can be rewritten. It can be improv..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg" --- # The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty… ![“The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty page the great advantage of a badly written page is that it can be rewritten. It can be improved. A blank page is zero. In fact, it’s worse than zero, because it represents territory you’re afraid, unwilling, or too lazy to explore. Avoid…” quote by Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg) > “The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty page the great advantage of a badly written page is that it can be rewritten. It can be improved. A blank page is zero. In fact, it’s worse than zero, because it represents territory you’re afraid, unwilling, or too lazy to explore. Avoid exploring this territory long enough, and you’ll abandon your book.” [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It argues that the real obstacle is not poor writing but the fear of starting; a blank page represents uncharted, intimidating territory that must be faced to create. **In simple terms:** The blank page is a barrier of fear. Key Takeaway Begin writing despite the emptiness. Themes creativity fear productivity Mood anxious inspired Type advice inspirational When to use this quote - writing workshops - draft revisions - brainstorming sessions - personal journaling Key Concepts psychological barrier iteration creative process Questions to Reflect On - What does your blank page symbolize? - How can you turn emptiness into opportunity? A Different Perspective Blankness can also be a source of inspiration, not just fear. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Advantage Badly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage-badly-3115047/) [Blank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank/) [Blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-page/) [Blank pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blank-pages/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enough/) [Exploring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploring/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Lazy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lazy/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Page Rewritten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-rewritten-3115048/) [Page Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/page-zero-3115046/) [Pages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pages/) [Territory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/territory/) [Unwilling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unwilling/) [Written](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written/) [Written Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/written-page-2097093/) [Zero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zero/) ## Related quotes > [The acting background helped a lot when I started writing. I was training for it. In acting class they teach you about the stakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-higgins-clark/the-acting-background-helped-a-lot-when-i-started-writing-i-was/) [Carol Higgins Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-higgins-clark/) > [For me, writing never gets easier. It's always hard work. It doesn't matter how many words you wrote the day before, or how many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lincoln-child/for-me-writing-never-gets-easier-it-s-always-hard-work-it-doesn-t/) [Lincoln Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lincoln-child/) > [I took many notes, more than usual before I sat down and wrote Act One, Scene One. I had perhaps eighty pages of notes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-busch/i-took-many-notes-more-than-usual-before-i-sat-down-and-wrote-act-one/) [Charles Busch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-busch/) > [Director and producers have to take all the risks they can. We developed this film with the possibility to create departing from a blank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-abreu/director-and-producers-have-to-take-all-the-risks-they-can-we/) [Alex Abreu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-abreu/) > [When you can no longer differentiate between the insanity spewed onto the blank page, and the madness evident in the all-but shattered mirror...that's when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-can-no-longer-differentiate-between-the-insanity-spewed-onto/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There are no blank words. Just blank pages.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadinet-tekie/there-are-no-blank-words-just-blank-pages/) [Hadinet Tekie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadinet-tekie/) > [Your life is a blank page. You write on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-miller/your-life-is-a-blank-page-you-write-on-it/) [Donald Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-miller/) > [By the time I sit down and face the blank page I am raring to go. I tell it as if I'm talking to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-morpurgo/by-the-time-i-sit-down-and-face-the-blank-page-i-am-raring-to-go-i/) [Michael Morpurgo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-morpurgo/) > [The best tip for writing is just to write; to sit down and write, to begin doing it and not to be scared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-almond/the-best-tip-for-writing-is-just-to-write-to-sit-down-and-write-to/) [David Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-almond/) > [Writer's block.. when one curses the blinking cursor on the blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/writer-s-block-when-one-curses-the-blinking-cursor-on-the-blank-page/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) > [You can fix anything but a blank page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-fix-anything-but-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [You can't edit a blank page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-can-t-edit-a-blank-page/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Staring at the blank page before you, Open up the dirty window, Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-bedingfield/staring-at-the-blank-page-before-you-open-up-the-dirty-window-let-the/) [Natasha Bedingfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-bedingfield/) > [“Our bodies were printed as blank pages to be filled with the ink of our hearts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-biondi/our-bodies-were-printed-as-blank-pages-to-be-filled-with-the-ink-of/) [Michael Biondi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-biondi/) ## More by Timothy Hallinan > [“Ain't never gone to be no asshole shortage. We got oil shortages, grain shortages, coal shortages, every kind of fuckin’ shortage you can think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/ain-t-never-gone-to-be-no-asshole-shortage-we-got-oil-shortages-grain/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“What was it like, being married to six actresses?" "Like being married to one of them. They're all pretty much alike." "Why'd you keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/what-was-it-like-being-married-to-six-actresses-like-being-married-to/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“Life is a gift. If we don't live it well, we are being ungrateful. And we have to love the ones who journey with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/life-is-a-gift-if-we-don-t-live-it-well-we-are-being-ungrateful-and/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“Life is just there, to be made the best of, until it isn't. And that's all right, too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/life-is-just-there-to-be-made-the-best-of-until-it-isn-t-and-that-s/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“And you know women, they're both back there turning it into the crime of the century. Planting it in a little garden in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/and-you-know-women-they-re-both-back-there-turning-it-into-the-crime/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“visible, to keep me on track. When”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/visible-to-keep-me-on-track-when/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [It's responsible for the sloppiness and imprecision of the War on Terror, for example. It's responsible for taking people's tax dollars and spending the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/it-s-responsible-for-the-sloppiness-and-imprecision-of-the-war-on/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [The chuckle is a perfectly acceptable form of laughter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/the-chuckle-is-a-perfectly-acceptable-form-of-laughter/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“She gave me the slow nod women use to indicate that they understand our pain, they admire the courage with which we handle it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/she-gave-me-the-slow-nod-women-use-to-indicate-that-they-understand/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“I let one of the men rename me. A man gave me the name Rose – you didn’t know that, did you, Poke?…He said,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/i-let-one-of-the-men-rename-me-a-man-gave-me-the-name-rose-you-didn-t/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“I heard what I'd learned against my will to identify as new age music. Aimless and spacey, it meandered from unresolved keyboard chord to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/i-heard-what-i-d-learned-against-my-will-to-identify-as-new-age-music/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“She drove as though a fortune-teller had warned her about the day.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/she-drove-as-though-a-fortune-teller-had-warned-her-about-the-day/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) > [“So you don't think the government is responsible for anything?" "Oh, it's responsible," Rafferty says. "It's responsible for the sloppiness and imprecision of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/so-you-don-t-think-the-government-is-responsible-for-anything-oh-it-s/) [Timothy Hallinan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) [Explore all 14 Timothy Hallinan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/) ## More Abandon quotes > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) [Kenan Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenan-malik/) > [The purpose of a spirit filled life is to demonstrate the supernatural power of our living God so that the unsaved multitudes will abandon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-l-osborn/the-purpose-of-a-spirit-filled-life-is-to-demonstrate-the/) [T.L. Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-l-osborn/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [I would leave at once, but it would be cruel to abandon a lady in a foreign land with a maniac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-would-leave-at-once-but-it-would-be-cruel-to-abandon-a-lady-in-a/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [When we fall utterly, something gathers us up. But our falling must be without reservation, without expectation, without hope, though not hopeless. You cant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-housden/when-we-fall-utterly-something-gathers-us-up-but-our-falling-must-be/) [Roger Housden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-housden/) > [every subjective phenomenon is essentially connected with a single point of view, and it seems inevitable that an objective, physical theory will abandon that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nagel/every-subjective-phenomenon-is-essentially-connected-with-a-single/) [Thomas Nagel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nagel/) > [Can you dissolve your ego? Can you abandon the idea of self and other? Can you relinquish the notions of male and female, short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/can-you-dissolve-your-ego-can-you-abandon-the-idea-of-self-and-other/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [Every great thing starts with an idea, followed by a doubt and finally a resolve to abandon or pursue. Victory is a treacherous journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/every-great-thing-starts-with-an-idea-followed-by-a-doubt-and-finally/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/those-who-have-been-once-intoxicated-with-power-and-have-derived-any/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Do not lose hope; St. Joseph also experienced moments of difficulty, but he never lost faith and was able to overcome them, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/do-not-lose-hope-st-joseph-also-experienced-moments-of-difficulty-but/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Don't give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/don-t-give-up-because-things-are-hard-but-work-harder-when-you-think/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [Sex is not the ultimate high, but the ultimate high hangs out around sex. The ultimate high is the dance with another person, played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/sex-is-not-the-ultimate-high-but-the-ultimate-high-hangs-out-around/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [I care so deeply about this matter that I'm willing to take on the legal penalties, to sit in this prison cell, to sacrifice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-care-so-deeply-about-this-matter-that-i-m-willing-to-take-on-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [I've been to unpretty places with the roles I've played, and I'm attracted to reckless abandon. I like being taken to the edge of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ifans/i-ve-been-to-unpretty-places-with-the-roles-i-ve-played-and-i-m/) [Rhys Ifans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ifans/) [Browse all 1,142 Abandon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty page the great advantage of a badly written page is that it can be rewritten. It can be improved. A blank page is zero. In fact, it’s worse than zero, because it represents territory you’re afraid, unwilling, or too lazy to explore. Avoid exploring this territory long enough, and you’ll abandon your book.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Timothy Hallinan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page-it-is-the-empty-page-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abandon" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page-it-is-the-empty-page-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/214/timothy-hallinan-34010_abandon_the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page_333474.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The enemy is not the badly written page; it is the empty page the great advantage of a badly written page is…” — Timothy Hallinan", "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": "Timothy Hallinan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-hallinan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The enemy is not the badly...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page-it-is-the-empty-page-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-hallinan/the-enemy-is-not-the-badly-written-page-it-is-the-empty-page-the/#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 } } ] } ```