An Apology to Stephen King

Back in junior high school, when I first saw classmates carrying black-covered mass-market copies of King's novels, I thought too scary for me. I was the kid who had nightmares just watching a Friday the 13th trailer on TV.

In high school, I took the snobbery approach. Yes, even then I thumbed my nose at "mass market trash". My buddy Ken read about a book a day during school and would relay the plot to me over a Dairy Queen cheeseburger that evening. He always hit the sensational parts of King's plots, the sex and the murder.

I didn't pick up a Stephen King novel and devour from beginning to end until I read 'salem's Lot three years ago. The man is a genius. My high school self? Not so much.

I'm now reading On Writing. There are sections which make this English teacher say "well, duh" (of course, not everyone is an English teacher), but the book is brilliant. Even better than the "how to write" portion, in my opinion, is the first section--C.V. It's a compact biography of King's life up through the mid-eighties.

To me, it reveals how an author is formed. King doesn't pull punches. He doesn't candy-coat or whitewash anything.

So Mr. King, as if you need an apology from this hack, I'm sorry for my teenage snobbery. The high school me didn't know what the hell he was doing. Most days, I still don't.

But I will keep trying.

WIP Wednesday: You're a Writer, So WRITE

Anyone who has been paying attention to the little "Write 1 / Sub 1" update at the top of the page might notice it hasn't changed in the past few weeks. I know how these things become "wallpaper" and easily ignored...

Well, I haven't subbed any new stories in the past three weeks. I have four awaiting edits (hmmm, WIP). One is very short with a very long title: "Items Found Above the Bathroom Ceiling in Room 215, Best Western North, Wichita Kansas". Another is longish and needs some serious work, but I love the premise ("The Night of the Blood Moths"). So yeah, editing. "The Sons of Chaos and the Desert Dead" is in the queue for one more pass before sending it off, too. Editing.

Then I'm writing a novella for the hell of it. Because I want to. There will be blood.

One of the items from "Items Found Above the Bathroom Ceiling in Room 215, Best Western North, Wichita Kansas":

One worn copy of Stephen King’s Night Shift, paperback, 1979, with several pages missing (123-167).

Great Books: Lord of the Flies

One of the highlights of my Senior English course is teaching Lord of the Flies. It's often taught a younger ages in other schools, but I use it as a "send off" for seniors. Reading Lord of the Flies is the last thing we do in class.

Why I consider Lord of the Flies a "Great Book":

The degeneration of a band of British school boys stranded on a deserted island during wartime is a frightening mirror for all human endeavors. Selfishness, greed, egoism, violence--all the ugly depths of the human psyche are laid open when the stress of survival pushes the kids too far.

The book plays with the dichotomy of civilization and savagery. As a nice parallel, the boys hunt pigs--swine are known to turn feral rather quickly when left to their own devices.

And then there's that Nobel Prize...

Favorite Line (*spoiler alert*):

"And in the middle of them, with filthy body, matted hair, and unwiped nose, Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of a man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."

Sheer brilliance.

I, for one, am looking forward to Stephen King's introduction in the new edition celebrating the 100th anniversary of Golding's birth.

Stephen King, My Miniview, and a Thank You

Thanks to Cate Gardner for leading me to The Wasteline Counter. Yes, I tried it out on my own writing, but even more effectively, used it with my writing students. Wow, did those "heart attacks" open some eyes...

You can take a peek inside my dusty cranium at Red Penny Papers. C'mon, it's only three questions.

I've sent out my first story for #10bythen today. 30 more days to send out 9 stories...maybe I can do it.

Finally, some words from the master (Stephen King) about my favorite form in fiction (the short story).

The Blurb: Publishing's Letter of Recommendation

True Story: our school librarian used to feed/water William S. Burroughs's cats. Yes, that William Burroughs. (Burroughs lived in Lawrence from 1981 until his death.) While she knew him, Burroughs's would often ask her for blurbs; publishers sent him books, he didn't read them, and his cat sitter wrote the recommendations that landed on the covers with his name attached.

True story.

With the latest cat fight in publishing (Stephen King vs. Stephenie Meyer), my attention has been brought to the almighty book blurb. We are so used to seeing big time authors' names attached to positive comments in order to sell books, the King/Meyer fiasco has raised eyebrows.

Consider this: as a high school teacher over the past ten years, I've written dozens of letters of recommendation for students seeking scholarships/college entrance/jobs. I feel like it is part of my job. Although I'm always positive (if I can't say anything positive, I let them know with a simple, "Do you think I'm the best person to write this letter?"), the letters usually straddle the line between fantasy and reality. The letter of recommendation is an art form in saying the positive and ignoring the rest.

Isn't a book blurb the same? Some blurbs come across as forceful, almost: "read this book or die" or "you will find true enlightenment if you read this book" or even threatening "you will never be happy again unless you read this book". I take them all with a healthy dose of skepticism, but they are the norm, the letter of recommendation of the publishing world.

How important are they? How serious do you take a book blurb when seeking new reading material?

Pet Sematary: Now That was Depressing

I just finished reading Pet Sematary, and despite the plot speeding away toward an inevitable climax like one of those killer Orinco Trucks on route 15, I enjoyed the book. Depressing as hell, but I enjoyed it. King is at his descriptive best during Louis Creed's walks to the burial grounds; I was really chilled by the fog, the large "thing" (Wendigo?) in the woods, and the marsh lights, etc. He also has a way of crunching the climax together--even though you know it isn't going to go well for our humble protagonist, you still hold out a little hope. He also loves to push the reader over the edge at the last minute...like what Gage did to his poor mother...(yuck).

If/when I read another Stephen King book, it will be a later work. Maybe Bag of Bones.

Thank goodness Obama's inauguration is spreading some hope, 'cause I'm about out after that book.

Things I'm Not Sure About

I just finished 'salem's Lot. Stephen King is the God of Horror, right? I loved the first section of the book. Truly terrifying stuff--subtle paranoia, growing fear, corruption and rot from the inside. Once we turn to traditional vampire staking, I'm done--not because the book is dated or traditional vampire staking is bad, but something else. Something I can't quite put my finger on...

(blushes) I have to admit this is the first novel by King I've read from start to finish, and it is a fine work of classic horror. Maybe I like my horror a little "blenderized"? (crossing genres much?)

The other thing I'm not so sure about...flash horror fiction. I'm okay with writing flash (although not that good at it yet), but I really don't like reading flash. I like subtlty. I like slow, building fear and growing discomfort. I don't like "little girl standing in the doorway holding a bloody skull". Boo! It doesn't work. I'm numb to the sudden shock; I want the real, lingering dred. I want a fear that makes me worry about the real shadows, the real monsters. They're under my bed, right?