But I would. Because if I had to make deals with and/or for that person? I'd put a bullet in my own brain. Because you don't think the diva stuff stops when she starts getting attention, does it? I'm thinking NSM. Only then, our careers would be intertwined(shudder)

Side note: Don't think Rowling is all that as a writer. I mean I'm really glad she got a lot of people hooked on reading who otherwise would not be. And she is not a bad writer or anything. But not in my opinion anywhere near any of the greats. Not on the same level of Nesbit or L'Engle. Hell, for all he makes me furious sometimes I think Pullman at his best is better than Rowling at her best. Only don't know where to go from there. We all have our internal rankings, and if someone ranks Rowling higher than I do, I don't really have a strong counter case to make. However, no argument on the larger point about the whiny letter, and the whiny author who wrote it.

But Typo, she wasn't saying that she'd read McCarthy because he was a better writer than Rowling, just simply because he wrote books for adults and she was an adult.

She used one avatar to dismiss an entire genre, her argument being that YA books were good for kids, but that adults needed to "challenge" themselves further.

And she made this entire argument while openly stating that she hadn't read any YA novels since she was a kid. I mean, talk about brass ones.

She used one avatar to dismiss an entire genre, her argument being that YA books were good for kids, but that adults needed to "challenge" themselves further.

Is it wrong that I don't want to be challenged when I read? I want to be entertained. If I had loads of time to read, maybe I would want to be challenged some of the time. But I don't. In order to write, I have given up a number of things including reading.

I don't really rank authors I read, there I books I enjoy and books I don't. I like them for different reasons usually, so I have a hard time coming up with rank.

Then there are books that I regret having liked. Typically these are series where I like the first book or two and by book three or four I have achieved retroactive dislike.

Is it wrong that I don't want to be challenged when I read? I want to be entertained.

Nope. Not wrong at all. I think that's what most people want out of reading and why genre fiction is actually enjoying a surge in sales right now. I know I get so freakin' sick and tired of people who equate "good" literature with books that you have to work to read and that leave you wanting to slit your wrists.

I read to lose myself in another world-- same reason I write.

Guess that makes me cheap and commercial-- I'm good with that.

But Typo, she wasn't saying that she'd read McCarthy because he was a better writer than Rowling, just simply because he wrote books for adults and she was an adult.

Sure that is why my note was a side note. No disagreement on the main point. Dissing whole genre's is assholeness. Her reasons for preferring McCarthy to Rowling were assholeish. Just was making a side observation peripheral to the main discussion that I don't enjoy Rowling as much as I enjoy a lot of other writers.

I know I get so freakin' sick and tired of people who equate "good" literature with books that you have to work to read and that leave you wanting to slit your wrists.

Kat calls these books "broccoli." Like, they're good for you, but a hot fudge sundae is way yummier.

Almost knocked out chapter 4 this weekend. It is taking longer than action packed chapter 3, but there is a lot of important set up stuff. Stuff that will become important much, much later in the story.

Hmmm... So far with four chapters my chapter length has remained bizarrely consistent even though I haven't trying to do that. Interpolating the various story events to chapters gives me about thirty chapters. Taking the average of the first four chapters and multiplying that by 30 gives me about 500 word processor pages. Gulp. I've got about 64 pages right now.

It always helps me to break it down that way, Gud, but if it seems intimidating, just forget that part! Also, it might not work that way, in practice, so.

Excellent progress, though!