[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$fhe3JZWHjC7llFxmOP3h9iMg-VXHNJClNo-KQTMREq8Y":3,"$fQ6cEcVBKl4iMq8ZcHFwclVAsoJXst8ZTwAXK3U8x298":12},{"author":4,"tags":11},{"author_id":5,"author_name":6,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"bio":9,"short_bio":9,"slug":10,"image_url":9},79259,"Whitley Strieber","W",35,null,"whitley-strieber",[],{"quotes":13,"pagination":78},[14,22,28,34,40,47,53,59,65,72],{"id":15,"quote_text":16,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":19,"source":20,"quote_tag":21,"commentary":9},3507152,"The Sleep lasted six hours. For most of that time John lay beside Miriam watching the shadows.",6,false,{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":23,"quote_text":24,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":25,"source":26,"quote_tag":27,"commentary":9},3507145,"The interesting thing about fiction from a writer’s standpoint is that the characters come to life within you. And yet who are they and where are they? They seem to have as much or more vitality and complexity as the people around you.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":29,"quote_text":30,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":31,"source":32,"quote_tag":33,"commentary":9},3507140,"It is very easy to claim a theory of everything if you get to decide what that everything is. It is very easy to explain everything on the table if you have put everything you cannot explain underneath it in the wastebasket.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":35,"quote_text":36,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":37,"source":38,"quote_tag":39,"commentary":9},3507133,"I’m not so sure that horror should be dismissed as something less than literature.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":41,"quote_text":42,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":43,"source":44,"quote_tag":45,"commentary":46},3507125,"I’ve got lots of books sitting here that have never been published because nobody could make any marketing sense of them.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nWhitley Strieber, an American author known for his speculative fiction and non-fiction works, including \"Communion\" (1987), a bestseller about his alleged alien abductions. The quote suggests that he was reflecting on the publishing industry's limitations during this time period, as his experiences were unconventional and difficult to market.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nStrieber's statement highlights the tension between creative authenticity and commercial viability. He implies that some works of value may be rejected by mainstream publishers because they don't fit into established marketing categories or appeal to a broad audience, rather than being inherently flawed.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, consider embracing your project's idiosyncrasies as strengths, even if they make it harder to market. By recognizing the value of unconventional perspectives and approaches, you can avoid watering down your work to appease potential publishers or readers who may not appreciate its unique qualities.",{"id":48,"quote_text":49,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":50,"source":51,"quote_tag":52,"commentary":9},3507109,"Maybe that’s what the quasars that stand sentinel at the end of the universe are all about – they are the spots where people like Socrates and Christ dug through; they are windows into bright and terrible wisdom. They are warnings.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":54,"quote_text":55,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":56,"source":57,"quote_tag":58,"commentary":9},3507101,"I put the copy of ‘A Christmas Carol’ that my grandfather had first read to me 60 years ago on my desk, and I began to write. The result, for better or for worse, is the ‘Christmas Spirits.’ I plan to read it to my grandson.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":60,"quote_text":61,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":62,"source":63,"quote_tag":64,"commentary":9},3507089,"In them was not the savage blankness of the reptile species. Instead there was something far worse – burning, unquenchable rage mixed with the self-mocking irony of great intelligence.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"id":66,"quote_text":67,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":68,"source":69,"quote_tag":70,"commentary":71},3507080,"Every time someone ends a prayer in the Western world they say Amen – that is the name of an Egyptian god associated with completion. So we’re still praying to their gods.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],"**The Backstory**\nWhitley Strieber's quote, \"Every time someone ends a prayer in the Western world they say Amen – that is the name of an Egyptian god associated with completion. So we're still praying to their gods,\" was likely penned in the context of his 1987 non-fiction book, \"Breakthrough: The Next Step\". Strieber, a renowned author and experiencer of paranormal events, was reflecting on the persistence of ancient influences in modern Western culture. At the time, he was grappling with the complexities of spirituality and the continuity of human experience across time and geography.\n\n**The Hidden Insight**\nStrieber's observation highlights the paradox that while Western societies may claim to have abandoned ancient deities, their linguistic and ritualistic practices betray a lingering connection to those same gods. This tension underscores the notion that human culture is a palimpsest, with layers of accumulated knowledge, symbolism, and spirituality that cannot be easily erased.\n\n**How to Use This**\nTo apply this mindset today, recognize that even in the most seemingly secular or modern contexts, the influence of ancient ideas and practices can be present. By acknowledging and embracing this continuity, you can tap into the deeper, collective reservoir of human experience and create work that is both innovative and deeply rooted in the past.",{"id":73,"quote_text":74,"author_id":5,"source_id":17,"has_image":18,"author":75,"source":76,"quote_tag":77,"commentary":9},3507073,"The truth is, everything ultimately comes down to the relationship between the reader and the writer and the characters. Does or does not a character address moral being in a universal and important way? If it does, then it’s literature.",{"id":5,"author_name":6,"slug":10,"author_name_first_letter":7,"article_count":8,"image_url":9},{},[],{"currentPage":79,"totalPages":80,"totalItems":8,"itemsPerPage":81},1,4,10]