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927f5c6
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His name was Rambo, and he was just some nothing kid for all anybody knew, standing by the pump of a gas station at the outskirts of Madison, Kentucky.
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first-lines
military
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David Morrell |
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1158285
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Sometimes life kicks you in the teeth with an irony that a self-respecting fiction writer would be ashamed to invent.
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David Morrell |
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7e91d4b
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Just because somebody smiles when he hands me a bag of shit, that doesn't mean I have to take it. I don't give a damn how friendly he is. It's what he does that matters.
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truth
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David Morrell |
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b7010ac
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What about God? The idea embarrassed him. It was only in moments of absolute fear that he had ever thought about God and prayed to him, always embarrassed because he did not believe and felt so hypocritical when he prayed out of fear, as if in spite of his disbelief there might be God after all, God who could be fooled by a hypocrite. When he was a child, then he believed. He certainly did believe when he was a child. How did it go, the nig..
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David Morrell |
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ea4b750
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If the passage absolutely demands cursing, be moderate. A little of it goes a long way. I've seen beginning writers pepper curse words through sentence after sentence. 'If you don't -blanking- get your -blanking-blank-blank- in to this house this -blanking- minute, I'm going to -blank- your -blank- and nail it to the -blanking- door.' Two things happen when I read this junk: I get bored and I get angry. I didn't pick up your book to read ga..
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writing
writing-craft
writing-advice
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David Morrell |
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63ac236
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If he had really wanted to control himself, he could have. He simply had not wanted to control himself. To live his way, he had been determined to fight anyone who interfered. So all right then, in a way he had fought for a principle. But it was not that simple, because he had also been proud and delighted to show how good he was at fighting.
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David Morrell |
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441d7fc
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The posters and rock-star buttons and banners were valueless without the perspective of the mind that had attached significance to them. Souvenirs have no worth without nostalgia, after all. They're meaningless if a memory isn't linked to them.
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David Morrell |
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e7e9aea
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The guitar. Rubbing the gentle polish On Every smooth contour. On the lap. Knowing every curve As the light shines from it. On stage a planned metamorphosis Takes places as the hours go by and the Space is transformed to a concert hall. The energetic nemesis has struck. The risers are transformed into a stage And black boxes turned into powerful Pieces of sound equipment. The spring is taut. Backstage while pandemonium Sweeps the hall and p..
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David Morrell |
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8254acb
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On every page, confidence fights with self-doubt. Every sentence is an act of faith. Why would anybody want to do it?
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writer
writing
novelist
purpose
questions
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David Morrell |
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1080c63
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Except that it was no more home, just the place where he had grown up, and that first day back, touring the once familiar places only made him realize that he had already lived close to half his life.
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David Morrell |
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91b90b6
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Don't give in to doubt. Never be discouraged if your first draft isn't what you thought it would be. Given skill and a story that compels you, muster your determination and make what's on the page closer to what you have in your mind. The chances are that you'll never make them identical. That's one reason I'm still hitting the keyboard. Obsessed by the secrets of my past, I try to put metaphorical versions of them on the page, but each tim..
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writing-life
writing-craft
writing-advice
writing-process
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David Morrell |
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b130f56
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So they spread the paintings on the lawn, and the boy explained each of them. "This is the school, and this is the playground, and these are my friends." He stared at the paintings for a long time and then shook his head in discouragement. "In my mind, they were a whole lot better." Isn't that the truth? Every morning, I go to my desk and reread yesterday's pages, only to be discouraged that the prose isn't as good as it seemed during the e..
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writing-life
writing-craft
writing-advice
writing-process
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David Morrell |
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af7e98b
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Fasting is the only method of suicide permitted by the Catholic Church. All other ways imply despair, a distrust of God's wisdom, an unwillingness to bear the hardships with which God tests his children. An absolute sin, suicide's punishment is eternal damnation in the fires of Hell. But fasting is undertaken for the purpose of penance, meditation, and spiritual ecstasy. It purifies the spirit by denying the body. It brings a soul closer to..
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David Morrell |
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617c747
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We act upon assumptions that control our view of reality, even though reality might be quite different... By definition, what is unthinkable isn't part of our reality... your assumptions about what is possible prevent you from accurately seeing the reality before you.
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David Morrell |
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43e8092
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Hey, what about you? That monastery didn't make you soft, I hope." "The Cistercians?" Chris laughed. "Make me soft? They're the toughest order in the Catholic Church." "They really don't talk?" "Not only that. They believe in brutal daily work. I might as well have spent another six years in Special Forces."
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David Morrell |
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6524500
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First Blood Rambo knife by Jimmy Lile. It features a saw, a guard with straight and Philips screwdriver heads, holes in the guard for a wrist lanyard,
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David Morrell |
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95a8423
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Cavanaugh's knife, Ernest Emerson's CQC-7W. The hook at the top opens the blade as the knife is drawn from a pocket. (Emersonknives.com)
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David Morrell |
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f02d844
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La Griffe, "The Claw." Simple and small. The index finger goes through the hole near the blade. Favored by climbers and boaters. Designed by Fredric Perrin, manufactured by Ernest Emerson. (Emersonknoves.com)"
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David Morrell |
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d73e5c0
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Learn to respect a craftsman's talent, to realize that a task done well seems easy but is terribly difficult.
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David Morrell |
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2e81302
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if people weren't sinners, every intelligence network would be out of business
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David Morrell |
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e883923
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I suppose none of what I'm saying matters. In a few years a search like this won't even be necessary. We have instruments now that can be mounted on the underside of an airplane. To find a man all you have to do is fly over the spot where you think he is, and the machine will register his body heat. Right now there aren't enough of those machines to go around. Most of them are in the war. But when we come home from there, well, a man on the..
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progress
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David Morrell |
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ac22896
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A knife slash with a sharp blade almost never caused pain unless delivered with force. As the skin parted, there was only a stinging sensation. Spinning,
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David Morrell |
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6836d1d
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It's not polite to pass out when you've got company. Conversation,
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David Morrell |
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0fb0ca3
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The trouble with instant gratification is, it takes too long.
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David Morrell |
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3445eef
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He showed his love and determination by burning her BMW and strangling her cat, then
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David Morrell |
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763dde4
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He was a God who observed without intervening in this hell he created" -Carlisle"
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sadquotes
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David Morrell |
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84abc65
|
He strode with the weight of robbed innocence and a stolen childhood, for a life time of pain and anger, of terror and death." - Frank Balenger"
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sadness
sadquotes
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David Morrell |
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5e3892b
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His blank face communicated an emptiness that could never be filled" - Frank Balenger"
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sadness
sad-quotes
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David Morrell |
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0e6f71f
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Don't you love it when a plan comes together?" Carl"
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David Morrell |
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6f46ae5
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A cool head. That's the secret to getting along in life, gentlemen. You
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David Morrell |
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76ee800
|
Cavanaugh believed that the term "martial arts" was a self-contradiction. When it came to combat, there was nothing artistic, nothing smooth and graceful about it."
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David Morrell |
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da2edb4
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Fine motor skills, which use dexterity and hand/eye coordination to perform precise movements (accurate shooting, for example) disintegrate at 115 heartbeats per minute. Complex motor skills, which help muscle groups perform a series of blunt movements (kicks and punches, for example) disintegrate at 145 heartbeats per minute. But most hand-to-hand combat causes the heart to surge to 200 beats per minute. In that frenzy of adrenaline, the c..
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David Morrell |
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8267cfd
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Watch tonight's episode. Someone might die.
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David Morrell |
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13502c9
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the anxiety of the unpredictable came only when you dealt with amateurs
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David Morrell |
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20a307e
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I fear I am losing my mind. I do not mean "losing my grasp of reality." I know perfectly well what is happening. But I am powerless to prevent the outcome. Each day, I have less strength of mind to resist." --
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David Morrell |
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4a60713
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delegations
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David Morrell |
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ea2ec56
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always wanted to live with a man who looks like a boxer.
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David Morrell |
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1a4f395
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A friend is somebody who accepts your faults, who's there for you always, even when you're not your best, somebody who'll do anything for you, somebody you can count on totally, just as a friend can count on you. It's the most powerful relationship there is. Most
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David Morrell |
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808eb6b
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I find an empty page friendlier than speaking to another person.
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David Morrell |
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f710644
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i've heard this called st. peter's square," arlene said. "but it isn't square. it's oval."
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david morrell |
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e3f8680
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blackmail never ended. it only bought time. but time was in limited supply. it would last only as long as his money did.
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David Morrell |
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5b06f41
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don't expect a magic formula that'll make books fall out of your head and automatically give you a wide readership.
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David Morrell |
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268be05
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Lies were told to start the war. Lies were told to cover mistakes. The Pentagon wouldn't fully commit to special-operations units, which meant that conventional tactics were used against guerrilla forces. That's a losing strategy. Good men died because of that. Other good men are still being held captive because of it. And Rambo--well, if winning now means he has to die as well, he'll die. No fear. No regrets. That more than anything is wha..
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David Morrell |
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fc48386
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Anybody who tries to pass me will have a headache.
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David Morrell |