It makes me very happy that Stephen King will be back with a new movie--"Dr. Sleep"--this Friday. In celebration, a few facts:
*King almost gave up on writing before he really started. His wife found a draft of the novel he was writing; she found it in the trash can. She said, "This is good. Keep going." And the rest is history.
*There's a sense of wonder and confusion among the critics. Writing about "The Institute," critics were sometimes puzzled to say they really enjoyed the novel. Some critics said, "This feels like a Greatest Hits re-run." Others said: "This is one of King's best novels." The detractors seemed to feel--almost against their will--that they'd had a good time.
*Stephen King likes character development. He noted this in a review of Leigh Bardugo's new novel, "Ninth House." Horrors mean very little if you aren't convinced (or playfully semi-convinced) they're happening to real people. Giving an impression of flesh and blood and a beating heart, on the page: That is Mr. King's secret weapon.
*King gets testy when gifted writers don't deliver. Notably, King went after Scott Smith, the novelist who produced "A Simple Plan," when it took too long to make a follow-up. King seems to have little patience for the idea of a Suffering Artist.
*King really enjoys farts and puke. Perhaps too much. There's a sense of boyishness in his work. If that's a liability, it's also a source of strength: Cultivating childlike wonder is a task any writer should want to take on.
To Ewan McGregor! To "Dr. Sleep"--!
*King almost gave up on writing before he really started. His wife found a draft of the novel he was writing; she found it in the trash can. She said, "This is good. Keep going." And the rest is history.
*There's a sense of wonder and confusion among the critics. Writing about "The Institute," critics were sometimes puzzled to say they really enjoyed the novel. Some critics said, "This feels like a Greatest Hits re-run." Others said: "This is one of King's best novels." The detractors seemed to feel--almost against their will--that they'd had a good time.
*Stephen King likes character development. He noted this in a review of Leigh Bardugo's new novel, "Ninth House." Horrors mean very little if you aren't convinced (or playfully semi-convinced) they're happening to real people. Giving an impression of flesh and blood and a beating heart, on the page: That is Mr. King's secret weapon.
*King gets testy when gifted writers don't deliver. Notably, King went after Scott Smith, the novelist who produced "A Simple Plan," when it took too long to make a follow-up. King seems to have little patience for the idea of a Suffering Artist.
*King really enjoys farts and puke. Perhaps too much. There's a sense of boyishness in his work. If that's a liability, it's also a source of strength: Cultivating childlike wonder is a task any writer should want to take on.
To Ewan McGregor! To "Dr. Sleep"--!
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