I came to a dead stop and ...

I came to a dead stop and began major revisions. Sometimes these entailed the shredding of all existing manuscript for a fresh start - an inefficient way to write a book, though I found it exciting.
 William Manchester

Quotes from the same author

The colors of the underwater rock [are] as pale and delicate as those in the wardrobe of an 18th-century marchioness.
 William Manchester
Men do not fight for flag or country, for the Marine Corps or glory or any other abstraction. They fight for one another. And if you came through this ordeal, you would age with dignity.
 William Manchester