--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Used to be in the old days, only the pulp…" description: "\"Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote like machines. Now everybody is expected to be literary John Henrys. So in that context someone..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/junot-diaz-531_anomalies_used-to-be-in-the-old-days-only-the-pulp_1235714.jpg" --- # Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote… ![“Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote like machines. Now everybody is expected to be literary John Henrys. So in that context someone like me is an anomaly.” quote by Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/junot-diaz-531_anomalies_used-to-be-in-the-old-days-only-the-pulp_1235714.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/junot-diaz-531_anomalies_used-to-be-in-the-old-days-only-the-pulp_1235714.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f10/junot-diaz-531_anomalies_used-to-be-in-the-old-days-only-the-pulp_1235714.jpg) > “Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote like machines. Now everybody is expected to be literary John Henrys. So in that context someone like me is an anomaly.” [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how modern expectations force writers to emulate a mechanized, idealized literary archetype, making authentic voices rare. **In simple terms:** Modern writers are pressured to be like machines, making genuine voices uncommon. Key Takeaway Embrace your unique voice despite pressure. Themes authenticity creativity conformity literary culture identity Mood reflective determined Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - publishing - creative writing - personal branding - academic analysis Key Concepts mechanization literary expectations artistic individuality Questions to Reflect On - How can you maintain originality in a commercial market? - What risks do you face by diverging from the norm? A Different Perspective Not all readers value non‑conformist styles; market forces may favor formulaic works. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anomalies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anomalies/) [Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [Expected Literary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected-literary-3839207/) [Like me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-me/) [Literary John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literary-john-3839209/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Old days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-days/) [Pulp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp/) [Pulp Writers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pulp-writers-3839208/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Used to be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used-to-be/) [Writers Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writers-wrote-394616/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Wrote Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrote-like-1843603/) ## Related quotes > [There are some writers who wrote too much. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/people-see-your-reviews-sometimes-and-it-s-so-good-that-they-think-i/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“But they wrote like little old men and little old ladies, all purseymouthed and ooo, don't slip on that icy patch, Mildred.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-they-wrote-like-little-old-men-and-little-old-ladies-all/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [I wrote from the time I was four. It was my way of screaming and yelling, the primal scream. I wrote like a junkie,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/i-wrote-from-the-time-i-was-four-it-was-my-way-of-screaming-and/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [I always wrote like rock 'n' roll. And I always listen to rock 'n' roll as poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-always-wrote-like-rock-n-roll-and-i-always-listen-to-rock-n-roll-as/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [When I was 21, I wanted to write like Kafka. But, unfortunately for me, I wrote like a script editor for 'The Simpsons' who'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/when-i-was-21-i-wanted-to-write-like-kafka-but-unfortunately-for-me-i/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [It just sort of happened. I wrote like what I'd always read and what was in the movies... I'm sure popular music is supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-zevon/it-just-sort-of-happened-i-wrote-like-what-i-d-always-read-and-what/) [Warren Zevon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-zevon/) > [“Writers do not write what they want, they write what they can. When I was 21 I wanted to write like Kafka. But, unfortunately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/writers-do-not-write-what-they-want-they-write-what-they-can-when-i/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [It would be a thousand pities if women wrote like men, or lived like men, or looked like men, for if two sexes are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-would-be-a-thousand-pities-if-women-wrote-like-men-or-lived-like/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [As a teenager, I read a lot of H.P. Lovecraft, so I wrote like H.P. Lovecraft. And in my 20s, I read a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/as-a-teenager-i-read-a-lot-of-h-p-lovecraft-so-i-wrote-like-h-p/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ “Hammett was the ace performer... He is said to have lacked heart; yet the story he himself thought the most of \[The Glass Key\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-chandler/hammett-was-the-ace-performer-he-is-said-to-have-lacked-heart-yet-the/) [Raymond Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-chandler/) ## More by Junot Diaz > [It might interest you that just as the U.S. was ramping up its involvement in Vietnam, LBJ launched an illegal invasion of the Dominican…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-might-interest-you-that-just-as-the-u-s-was-ramping-up-its/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Tell her that you love her hair, that you love her skin, her lips, because, in truth, you love them more than you love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/tell-her-that-you-love-her-hair-that-you-love-her-skin-her-lips/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [It took me sixteen years to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/it-took-me-sixteen-years-to-write/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You ask everybody you know: How long does it usually take to get over it? 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The baseline is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-one-thing-about-being-a-dude-and-writing-from-a-female/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I used to think those were the barrio rules, Latinos and blacks in, whites out —a place we down cats weren’t supposed to go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-used-to-think-those-were-the-barrio-rules-latinos-and-blacks-in/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“I put my hand on her knee. I just wish you'd say you love me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-put-my-hand-on-her-knee-i-just-wish-you-d-say-you-love-me/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [I've always thought that you don't love a country by turning a blind eye to its crimes and to a problem. The way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/i-ve-always-thought-that-you-don-t-love-a-country-by-turning-a-blind/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Called her a whore and attacked her walls, tearing down her posters and throwing her books everywhere. I found out because some whitegirl ran…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/called-her-a-whore-and-attacked-her-walls-tearing-down-her-posters/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [You're Dominican only if you do this, this, and that. And if you do this and that, you'll be accepted to a certain degree…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/you-re-dominican-only-if-you-do-this-this-and-that-and-if-you-do-this/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“Ramfis fled the country after Trujillo's death, lived dissolutely off his father's swag, and ended up dying in a car crash of his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/ramfis-fled-the-country-after-trujillo-s-death-lived-dissolutely-off/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [If you didn't grow up like I did then you don't know, and if you don't know it's probably better you don't judge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-didn-t-grow-up-like-i-did-then-you-don-t-know-and-if-you-don-t/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [“If you ask me I don't think there are any such things as curses. I think there is only life. That's enough.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/if-you-ask-me-i-don-t-think-there-are-any-such-things-as-curses-i/) [Junot Díaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [The only difference between a published and unpublished writer is a tolerance for imperfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/the-only-difference-between-a-published-and-unpublished-writer-is-a/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) [Explore all 486 Junot Diaz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) ## More Anomalies quotes > [It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-one-thing-most-necessary-to-our/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [I'm definitely an anomaly, but I'm making things. They're selling, say, martinis, and I'm kind of making vintage Riesling. People aren't going to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/i-m-definitely-an-anomaly-but-i-m-making-things-they-re-selling-say/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [An anomaly is not an abnormality. Diversity does not signify sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-canguilhem/an-anomaly-is-not-an-abnormality-diversity-does-not-signify-sickness/) [Georges Canguilhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-canguilhem/) > [I see that women still have self-doubt, and at the same time I feel like I see all these fantastic young women, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/i-see-that-women-still-have-self-doubt-and-at-the-same-time-i-feel/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) > [“It's in the anomalies that nature reveals its secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-s-in-the-anomalies-that-nature-reveals-its-secrets/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, and the stories are for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/for-me-i-want-to-see-diversity-in-storytelling-sources-because-we/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [Religion itself is an absurdity and an anomaly, and paganism is acceptable only because it represents that purely orgiastic phase of religion farthest from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/religion-itself-is-an-absurdity-and-an-anomaly-and-paganism-is/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist-- I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not be missed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/and-that-singular-anomaly-the-lady-novelist-i-don-t-think-she-d-be/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Auditioning for television shows - to find a guy who has a lot of experience as a laborer is a bit of an anomaly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/auditioning-for-television-shows-to-find-a-guy-who-has-a-lot-of/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/writing-is-in-the-end-that-oddest-of-anomalies-an-intimate-letter-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anomaly is when you don't fit the expected norm. Like "wait what is this?! It doesn't belong here." Its what the system never planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/anomaly-is-when-you-don-t-fit-the-expected-norm-like-wait-what-is/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [When circumstances defy order, order should bend or break: anomalies and uncertainties give validity to architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-venturi/when-circumstances-defy-order-order-should-bend-or-break-anomalies/) [Robert Venturi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-venturi/) > [In any long string of letters, one can find countless anomalies that will seem like convincing proofs of hidden meaning to the mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/in-any-long-string-of-letters-one-can-find-countless-anomalies-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [In a noted 1943 Harvard study, there were no cases of toxemia, congenital anomalies, or neonatal deaths among a group of well-fed woman. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brewer/in-a-noted-1943-harvard-study-there-were-no-cases-of-toxemia/) [Tom Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brewer/) > [And knowing what happens on average is a good place to start. By so doing, we insulate ourselves from the tendency to build our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-knowing-what-happens-on-average-is-a-good-place-to-start-by-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 102 Anomalies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anomalies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Used to be in the old days, only the pulp writers wrote like machines. Now everybody is expected to be literary John Henrys. 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