--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first got back from the war, I…" description: "\"When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sh..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/karl-marlantes-13122_cold_when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-sai_723898.jpg" --- # When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna… ![“When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would be pages about wet socks and cold feet.” quote by Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/karl-marlantes-13122_cold_when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-sai_723898.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/karl-marlantes-13122_cold_when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-sai_723898.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fd2/karl-marlantes-13122_cold_when-i-first-got-back-from-the-war-i-sai_723898.jpg) > “When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would be pages about wet socks and cold feet.” [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attempting to write a war novel resulted in a massive, unfocused manuscript lacking narrative clarity. **In simple terms:** Writing a war novel turned into endless, unfocused pages. Key Takeaway Focus on structure and purpose when tackling large projects. Themes writing war discipline Mood self‑critical creative Type advice reflection When to use this quote - novel writing - war memoir - personal therapy Key Concepts narrative focus creative process Questions to Reflect On - What core story do you want to tell? - How can you edit for impact? A Different Perspective Length alone doesn’t guarantee quality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Cold feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold-feet/) [First person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-person/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Psychotherapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychotherapy/) [Vietnam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam/) [Vietnam war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vietnam-war/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [“If the pen really is mightier than the sword then you guys better watch out, because I wrote my whole 700,000 w0rd trilogy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-r-mathias/if-the-pen-really-is-mightier-than-the-sword-then-you-guys-better/) [M.R. Mathias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-r-mathias/) > [I've always enjoyed that kind of thing - thinking about the production of narrative and why it is that when we read a novel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-tobin-anderson/i-ve-always-enjoyed-that-kind-of-thing-thinking-about-the-production/) [Matthew Tobin Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-tobin-anderson/) > [I employed my wife for three years to sit in the attic and type up my autobiography, 700 pages, organise everywhere I go. I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/i-employed-my-wife-for-three-years-to-sit-in-the-attic-and-type-up-my/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [I think a book that is over 400 pages should be split in two. 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I think the book was more Afrofuturist when it was like 700 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/long-division-has-a-lot-of-afrosurrealist-impulses-i-think-the-book/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [You never know when some crazed rodent with cold feet could be running loose in your pants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/you-never-know-when-some-crazed-rodent-with-cold-feet-could-be/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [When I was 14, sippin on my OE. Tryna marry money but that bitch kept getting cold feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-miller/when-i-was-14-sippin-on-my-oe-tryna-marry-money-but-that-bitch-kept/) [Mac Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-miller/) > [“Pull yourself together, Detective. You're embarrassing yourself, and more imprtant, you're embarrassing me." "They're going to do it outside. In public." "So the fuck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-robb/pull-yourself-together-detective-you-re-embarrassing-yourself-and/) [J.D. Robb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-robb/) > [“Before I was born she had bought herself a new home health care book. It was large and expensive, and it was a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/before-i-was-born-she-had-bought-herself-a-new-home-health-care-book/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I have been a part of stage shows, but yes, I do get cold feet when I think that every move of mine will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amruta-khanvilkar/i-have-been-a-part-of-stage-shows-but-yes-i-do-get-cold-feet-when-i/) [Amruta Khanvilkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amruta-khanvilkar/) > [“(This is from a tribute poem to Ronnie James Dio: Former lead vocalist of the band Rainbow, Black Sabbath. This is written with all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/this-is-from-a-tribute-poem-to-ronnie-james-dio-former-lead-vocalist/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [What was great about 'Cold Feet' is that although it flew off down all different avenues, it was really based on believing the reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-baxendale/what-was-great-about-cold-feet-is-that-although-it-flew-off-down-all/) [Helen Baxendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-baxendale/) > [“My grandfather once told her if you couldn't read with cold feet, there wouldn't be a literate soul in the state of Maine.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/my-grandfather-once-told-her-if-you-couldn-t-read-with-cold-feet/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“You are gone silence screams in my ears I have cold feet Stepping out of my bed that morning was the hardest thing I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sakshi-narula/you-are-gone-silence-screams-in-my-ears-i-have-cold-feet-stepping-out/) [Sakshi Narula](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sakshi-narula/) ## More by Karl Marlantes > [“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/emotion-constricted-hawke-s-throat-he-suddenly-understood-why-the/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Quitting is unthinkable and pain is just weakness leaving the body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/quitting-is-unthinkable-and-pain-is-just-weakness-leaving-the-body/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time, unable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/i-began-writing-matterhorn-in-1975-and-for-more-than-30-years-i-kept/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral \*standards\* are not ideas;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/we-have-an-idea-of-what-is-right-or-wrong-and-we-can-debate-moral/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. 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Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant awareness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/many-will-argue-that-there-is-nothing-remotely-spiritual-in-combat/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/but-just-below-the-grim-tranquility-he-had-learned-to-display-he/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/and-i-think-that-it-s-the-military-has-actually-made-improvements-so/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/when-the-peace-treaty-is-signed-the-war-isn-t-over-for-the-veterans/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > ['Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then we abandoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/matterhorn-is-my-metaphor-of-the-vietnam-war-we-built-it-we-abandoned/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [Really important books to me are the classics. I try very hard to read them well - you know, especially once I got serious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marlantes/really-important-books-to-me-are-the-classics-i-try-very-hard-to-read/) [Karl Marlantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marlantes/) > [“The fourteen-man snake moved in spasms. . . 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He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) Jimy Williams > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. 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We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. 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