[UA] War of the bibliomancers: slidding off topic

[Chad Eagleton]

> Even in his arguments he doesn't resonate; he seems
> to say that popular
> authors are bad writers, something I don't agree
> with.  He also overlooks
> the many authors now venerated in ivory towers were
> once considered slimy
> populists.
> 
> In other words, he's an asshat.

This sort of attitude never ceases to amaze me. The
idea that if someone, you know, actually reads your
stuff that means you're a bad writer. Isn't that what
writer's want--to be read? Or the idea that somehow if
you make money as a writer, you're a bad writer?
What's that about? What's wrong with making money? ALl
arguments about art aside, writing is still a job.
SHouldn't you want to be successful at it? To make
some money? I think it was Dean Koontz who said, in
response to that sort of thinking, "Anyone who is
against making money in writing, has obviously never
been poor." And genre fiction especially gets a bad
wrap--which I've likewise never understood. Just
because you got a vampire or something in your novel
somehow means it's badly written, and has no depth?

It's crazy. Reminds me of my Creative Writing w401
teacher...he has won alll sorts of awards that no one
had ever heard of, published collections of stories at
you know the Dustbowl Press in Bumbfuck Arkansas, and
was part of that whole, as Bukowski put, "pat each
other on the back club." Anyway, I remember this girl
turning in this story about these two girls driving
around Bloomington, spotting a couch by a dumpster,
and then carrying the couch back to their house.
Christ, he droned on and on about that goddamn story.
It's deeper meaning. And finally I erupted, "What are
you talking about! It's about two girls and couch!
That's all! Nothing happens! Kevin Smith writes more
realistic dialogue than this crap! There are typos!
It's not even that interesting, and more
importantly--it's about two GIRLS AND A GODDAMN
COUCH!"

Somehow, I managed to pull off an A-

--Chad

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