Stephen King
-
Green Mile. I think it will hit the right chord with you.
-
You all know he writes mysteries, too, right?
The Colorado Kid's pretty fun. Not at all weird, just a whodunnit.
-
He does. Great book, but like so many of his, it falls prey to his weakness at great endings for great stories.
@Mik said in Stephen King:
He does. Great book, but like so many of his, it falls prey to his weakness at great endings for great stories.
He gets that kind of criticism a lot, but I don't think it's true.
Or maybe more precisely, saying he's bad at endings may be interpreted to imply he plans them out, which isn't true.
If you write organically, and let your subconscious in the driver's seat for your plotting, you open yourself up to write the stuff of legacy. But you also open yourself up to write a stinker.
On the other hand, if you plot, it's a lot safer, but it'll never really be as good, either.
King's not a plotter, and he doesn't even believe in the practice. So, that's kind of the risk you take with his stories. When you're halfway through and you wonder how it'll wrap up, you can content yourself with the fact that at that point in writing the story, King had no idea, either.
I like the risk, personally, but absolutely, some endings have just sucked. Under the Dome really ticked me off.
-
But the fun of King is it is akin to listening to a world class bullshit storyteller around a campfire. You’re pulled into the story as he makes it up. With planned out authors like say Harlen Coben it’s more like listening to a well planned sales spiel where you kind of sense where it’s going to end up and you’re just figuring out how he’s going to get there.
"The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like the condemned man who is proud of his large cell." Simone Weil
-
What I always loved about King was the people he creates. The story's are fun, but the way he gets inside the heads of the people is just wonderful.
I'm going to have to read some again once I finish the Dune saga.
I was only joking
-
But the fun of King is it is akin to listening to a world class bullshit storyteller around a campfire. You’re pulled into the story as he makes it up. With planned out authors like say Harlen Coben it’s more like listening to a well planned sales spiel where you kind of sense where it’s going to end up and you’re just figuring out how he’s going to get there.
@Mik said in Stephen King:
But the fun of King is it is akin to listening to a world class bullshit storyteller around a campfire. You’re pulled into the story as he makes it up. With planned out authors like say Harlen Coben it’s more like listening to a well planned sales spiel where you kind of sense where it’s going to end up and you’re just figuring out how he’s going to get there.
Yeah, that's a great way of putting it.
-
What I always loved about King was the people he creates. The story's are fun, but the way he gets inside the heads of the people is just wonderful.
I'm going to have to read some again once I finish the Dune saga.
@Doctor-Phibes said in Stephen King:
What I always loved about King was the people he creates. The story's are fun, but the way he gets inside the heads of the people is just wonderful.
I'm going to have to read some again once I finish the Dune saga.
One thing he knows is the adolescent and preteen mind. So adept at taking you there.
-
The thing I like about king is I just know I’m going to enjoy the writing no matter what the plot. I felt the same way about Le Carre. When I have long plane trips coming up I always keep a new king ready for download for the trip. For example, I have a trip to Atlanta in March for a conference and I’m waiting for the trip to download his latest, Holly.
