Drive-By Quotes

New wonder-boy Junot Diaz has a great essay on persevering (or giving up-- same coin, different sides) with your writing.

You see, in my view a writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, because everything she does is golden. In my view a writer is a writer because even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway.

It's a fascinating view though I must admit I did feel weird that I was actually reading the online version of Oprah's magazine.

In other news, Guy Gavriel Kay cites the "literary vs. genre" wars that's going on internationally. See! We're not the only ones who keep on going about the same things over and over again?

We'll find ourselves working away from category and genre debates and toward the question worth asking about any novel: Is it any good? Currently, cute labels like "magic realism” are attached to fantasy books in order for the Mullans of this era to safely declare literary worth and admit them into the sanctum, but this, too, shall pass, just as hunting season does in France.

If not, we can always go back to that classic argument by two intellectual giants:

"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"
"Duck season!"
"Wabbit season!"



... And we all know how that ended.