--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I wrote my first novel - I was…" description: "\"When I wrote my first novel - I was nineteen - I did it very quickly. If you write fast, you feel like you're entering something not yet familiar - a w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_books_when-i-wrote-my-first-novel-i-was-ninete_2921162.png" --- # When I wrote my first novel - I was nineteen - I did it… ![“When I wrote my first novel - I was nineteen - I did it very quickly. If you write fast, you feel like you're entering something not yet familiar - a world rather than thoughts about the world.” quote by Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_books_when-i-wrote-my-first-novel-i-was-ninete_2921162.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_books_when-i-wrote-my-first-novel-i-was-ninete_2921162.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a38/karl-ove-knausgard-3539_books_when-i-wrote-my-first-novel-i-was-ninete_2921162.png) > “When I wrote my first novel - I was nineteen - I did it very quickly. If you write fast, you feel like you're entering something not yet familiar - a world rather than thoughts about the world.” [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a novel quickly at nineteen feels like entering an unfamiliar world, a realm beyond mere thoughts about reality. **In simple terms:** Fast writing creates a new, unfamiliar world. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown when creating. Themes creativity youth speed imagination novel writing Mood introspective artistic curious Type literary self‑reflective When to use this quote - first novel - creative block - artistic experimentation Key Concepts literature psychology identity formation Questions to Reflect On - How does speed affect the quality of your work? - What benefits arise from entering unfamiliar creative spaces? A Different Perspective Rapid creation may sacrifice depth and revision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Novel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novel/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like it has gone very fast for me, but I feel like it wasn't instantaneous, at all. I was getting a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/i-feel-like-it-has-gone-very-fast-for-me-but-i-feel-like-it-wasn-t/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [I write pretty quickly. Write pretty fast. I was an old press service man. That was part of the necessity of that occupation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-cronkite/i-write-pretty-quickly-write-pretty-fast-i-was-an-old-press-service/) [Walter Cronkite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-cronkite/) > [I'm fast. I feel like I can feel things before the play starts. I think my reactions are quick. I think I have great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-jackson/i-m-fast-i-feel-like-i-can-feel-things-before-the-play-starts-i-think/) [Edwin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-jackson/) > [Write quickly and you will never write well; write well, and you will soon write quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/write-quickly-and-you-will-never-write-well-write-well-and-you-will/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm out of vogue, I'm out of touch. I fell to fast - I feel too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jann-arden/i-m-out-of-vogue-i-m-out-of-touch-i-fell-to-fast-i-feel-too-much/) [Jann Arden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jann-arden/) > [I do read very, very quickly. I do process data very quickly. And so I write very quickly. And it is embarrassing because there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-french/i-do-read-very-very-quickly-i-do-process-data-very-quickly-and-so-i/) [Jackie French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-french/) > [When things are going well, I can't write fast enough to keep up with my mind. Writing walks, speech runs and talk flies. Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-moran/when-things-are-going-well-i-can-t-write-fast-enough-to-keep-up-with/) [Dylan Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-moran/) > [What a joy Mary Jo Putney is to read; she can't write fast enough for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-kinsale/what-a-joy-mary-jo-putney-is-to-read-she-can-t-write-fast-enough-for/) [Laura Kinsale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-kinsale/) > [“We should be told: Write fast, write close to the bone, write for ten hours straight until you’re not thinking in words anymore, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-friedman/we-should-be-told-write-fast-write-close-to-the-bone-write-for-ten/) [Bonnie Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-friedman/) > [I write fast, I write beautifully, I write convincingly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-toback/i-write-fast-i-write-beautifully-i-write-convincingly/) [James Toback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-toback/) > [I only can write a book every two years, you know. 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But they sure as hell can write them thick and fast.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abram-gitspof/the-dull-people-don-t-write-interesting-books-but-they-sure-as-hell/) [Abram Gitspof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abram-gitspof/) > [As soon as I began, it seemed impossible to write fast enough - I wrote faster than I would write a letter - two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-hunt-jackson/as-soon-as-i-began-it-seemed-impossible-to-write-fast-enough-i-wrote/) [Helen Hunt Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-hunt-jackson/) ## More by Karl Ove Knausgard > [When I wrote my fictional novels, they always had a starting point of something real. Those images that are not real are exactly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-wrote-my-fictional-novels-they-always-had-a-starting-point-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“When I look at a beautiful painting I have tears in my eyes, but not when I look at my children. That does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/when-i-look-at-a-beautiful-painting-i-have-tears-in-my-eyes-but-not/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“I was a wannabe who was actually unable to write because I had nothing to say, who wasn’t honest enough with himself to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-was-a-wannabe-who-was-actually-unable-to-write-because-i-had/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [I think there are a lot of similarities between writing and music. 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There are childishness, stupidity, lack of wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/a-problem-with-my-novels-is-that-they-from-the-start-have-been/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [In modern novels I try to not let myself get away and to be here, and that's why I write about my life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/in-modern-novels-i-try-to-not-let-myself-get-away-and-to-be-here-and/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Writing isn't black magic. You just have to come up with an idea...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/writing-isn-t-black-magic-you-just-have-to-come-up-with-an-idea/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“It was a fantastic feeling, but it left me restless because the most important thing in it was the longing, for what was going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/it-was-a-fantastic-feeling-but-it-left-me-restless-because-the-most/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“the past is now barely present in my thoughts. I believe the main reason for that is our children, since life with them in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/the-past-is-now-barely-present-in-my-thoughts-i-believe-the-main/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“I loved it, I loved the feeling, it was my favorite feeling, but it never led to anything good, and the day after or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/i-loved-it-i-loved-the-feeling-it-was-my-favorite-feeling-but-it/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“Actually there were only two forms of existence, I reflected: one that was tied to a place and one that wasn't. Both had always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/actually-there-were-only-two-forms-of-existence-i-reflected-one-that/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [“And art has come to be a spectator of itself, the way it reacts, what newspapers write about it; the artist is a performer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/and-art-has-come-to-be-a-spectator-of-itself-the-way-it-reacts-what/) [Karl Ove Knausgård](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > ['My Struggle' came from a place of questioning and feelings of inauthenticity and frustration, and almost all of that is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/my-struggle-came-from-a-place-of-questioning-and-feelings-of/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [In 'Min Kamp,' I wanted to see how far it was possible to take realism before it would be impossible to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/in-min-kamp-i-wanted-to-see-how-far-it-was-possible-to-take-realism/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) [Explore all 118 Karl Ove Knausgard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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