Well the point I'm getting at is those in charge of rejecting manuscripts really have no idea about whats marketable and what's not. Who are the twelve dumbasses that rejected an author that has sold over 400,000,000 copies?

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

totally, I hated Holden Caulfied...I PISSED OFF my English teacher senior year or so when I said I didn't like Catcher in the Rye. Whoops

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"...they came down into the stands and asked if I knew how to do play by play. I said...No. But. I'll take a shot at it if you want".- Rick Jeanneret

I loved Holden Caulfield. I actually have a poem I wrote titled Holden Caulfield.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I couldn't stand Holden, and my angst years were 10-12, when I read the book. Hahaha.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

Aww, I like Holden...although that's why most people hated the book. They didn't like reading about some rich kid whining all the time. But I felt like I could sympathize with and understand the character. I appreciated how purity and innocence was so important to him.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Hmm, I should give it another read. Off to the Reading List section of the library I go!

In hindsight, the books I read when I was like ten years old really were ridiculous. I mean, they're things that aren't even on reading lists in high school, for the most part, because they're too... literary or something. What on earth.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

I've never read it, but I know it's one of the reasons Mark David Chapman murdered John Lennon.

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"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." ~ Han Solo


We truly are not worthy of Miller!

That may be true, but when I think of myself as a writer, I'd rather produce something that isn't literary genius that tons of people love than something that is literary genius and four old guys sit around going yeah this is pretty good, while millions of high school students everywhere consider burning my work.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

What is the definition of literary merit anyways?

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

The scrolling text in your signature makes me laugh every single time I see it because it just doesn't fit with the context in which the quote was stated.

Imagine that, while RJ said that, a disco ball came down and laser lights started to flash and fake smoke filled the room and people started dancing... or something. That's what it feels like.

Now I want to make some sort of techno dance remix featuring that quote. PARTY HARD

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

It's my screensaver at work as well, as a scrolling marquee.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

Ok, in that context it makes sense.

Now it's not as funny.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

Literary merit doesn't have an exact definition. To describe it without getting too convoluted and opinionated, the best way I can put it is to say that there is much more to the work than the aesthetic value. Something written beyond the purposes of just telling a story

I don't have any problems with novels written for enjoyment or people reading for fun and nothing more, I just don't like it when such pieces are put up on a pedestal and claimed to be great pieces of work.

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I would add that it speaks deeply to the core of some aspect of what it is to be human. Typically, too, the author must own the English language, have complete mastery and command of it. It should be not only aesthetically pleasing on the page but should flow when read aloud.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

I think with any writer with a decent voice you're going to find something that flows well when read aloud.

I still think I'd rather be Stephanie Meyer and create something that people are passionate about than a Walt Whitman or e e cummings (how's that one for control of the English language, lol).

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I'm a huge fan of Michael Crichton (RIP)...

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His ability to research technical topics and convey then in a way that is interesting is nothing short of astounding.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual

I know a lot of people that are passionate about Walt Whitman, e e cummings, and all sorts of other authors. They're just not mainly 13-year-old girls and bored soccer moms.

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Miles to go before I sleep

‎"Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation."
-Khalil Gibran

He was a doctor (M.D.), and published his first novel WHILE STILL IN MED SCHOOL...

I find THAT astounding. I mean, who the hell has time to write a novel while in med school?

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I thought he had a Medical Degree, but wasn't sure. Yeah, that is amazing.

If I ever get into writing dramatic fiction set in present day (i.e. not making shit up as I go because its my own created fantasy world), I would aspire to be like him. The level of reasearch he does is fantastic, and he does a good job of fitting it in without it being cumbersome or confusing.

Sphere is one of my all time favorite books.

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Proud LGBTQQ Individual