A quick example of the response 101 Reasons provokes:
Blogless reader Cassie mentioned 101 Reasons on Whatever, referencing my post about “all sex scenes are gratuitous“. Author John Scalzi demonstrated that he didn’t bother reading the link by replying thus:
The blogger’s an idiot, then. But I would allow that about 98% of all sex scenes probably needn’t be written.
Dude, what I said. Does that make me 2% idiot? I’m all for people calling me an idiot if they think I’m wrong, but don’t then tell me you agree with me.
Shouts out to those bloggers who’ve directed their discerning reader my way:
- A Dragon Writes: “This guy is brilliant.” But has she stopped writing?
- madwriter: “mostly tongue-in-cheek and often has good links, but not always.”
- Issendai: “It’s one-handed reading for writers… who are wearing a sandpaper glove.” I’m not exactly sure if the metaphor fits, so I must acquit.
- Writing Sya: “Maybe a more accurate blurb would be ‘101 Reasons Not to Get Published’.” But then no-one would read it.
- Jay Lake: “fascinating and somewhat hilarious.” As one commenter put it, it’s better than “somewhat shit”.
- Midnight Highways: “if you haven’t heard of him yet, evidently you don’t keep up on the science fiction writers-and-aspirants Internet subculture.” Ye gods and nanotechnology, if I had to rely on that demographic …
- AntiBlog: Just quotes a couple of paragraphs, which is sweet but really, really lazy. Dustbury.com quotes at length from the same post.
- Simon Haynes: “Another blog to read.” I’d write some really witty put-down about this, but he sent me a free book. I’m that easy.
- Matilda: “Wouldn’t have thought any of us needed 101.”
- Daniel Hatadi, my all-time favourite petrol-jockey-turned-crime-writer, reacted well to being interviewed.
- wordweaverlynn misunderstands the concept of 101 Reasons by volunteering a 102nd.
- A.R. Yngve: “Is it possible that human evolution is now moving in reverse?”
And extra-crispy kudos to those who’ve added 101 Reasons to their blogroll:
Store credit is due to two men, who have pimped 101 Reasons like they own stock:
Paul T. Riddell, who took up the mission with the zealotry of a Heaven’s Gate acolyte, and
Lee Battersby, the link that started it all, and the inspiration for 101 Reasons.
Thanks to everyone who’s ridden the bus this far.
![[Logo]](/images/101ReasonsLogo.png "101 Reasons to Stop Writing")
