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Well, it finally happened. As to what “it” is (or was) I ask you to bear with me for just a moment.
The last article I had written for this site had to do with whether or not the plethora of books on writing did more harm than good for the aspiring and/or learning writer. In it, I had come to the conclusion that unless you are writing a specific sort of book (i.e. Action/Thriller/Potboiler) generally they are not much help. However there was one particular book on writing that I actually did enjoy and that was Stephen King’s “On Writing: A Memoir on The Craft”. In comparison to the others I had read, it seems that Mr. King has the right attitude which could basically be summed up as “write whatever book you feel compelled to write. Here are some tips I can offer you from what I know and from what I’ve learned.” Pretty straightforward. No preaching. No “musts”. The one interesting thing that caught my attention about King’s book on writing was how seemingly bitter he has become with regard to how the literary establishment views his work. A strange thing for a guy who has sold over a gajillion books over the past 30 years or so. Why should he care? The answer is respect. It’s obvious from reading his book that he definitely feels he deserves respect as a writer.
I can’t say that I am a “fan” of Stephen King’s work. I’ve only read two of his books, “The Shining” and the first book of the “Gunslinger” series. I enjoyed them both immensely. However I never really felt compelled to read anything else from him, mainly because I am not a big fan of the Horror genre (with the exception of “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” but are these really “horror” books? Or are they something more?). Anyway, the overwhelming majority of Stephen King’s books are either horror or something resembling it. Not exactly my cup of tea. After reading his “memoir of the craft”, I felt compelled to see if he had written anything that wasn’t in the horror genre. Turns out there have been a few. Today, I picked up two of them. “Hearts in Atlantis” and “Different Seasons”. Naturally, I can’t comment on them because I have yet to read them but I am looking forward to it to see how he writes a non-horror book.
Now back to what “it” was that happened:
In his memoir, as I stated, he couldn’t resist taking pot shots at the literary establishment for not taking his work seriously and treating him with respect as a writer. I had also once seen a speech he had given to the PEN awards some years ago where he ranted and railed against those who turn their noses up at popular fiction. Interesting, I thought. Here is a man who has sold more books than any author could ever wish for yet there seemed to be something inside him that embittered him. It seems to matter to Mr. King that he be treated with respect. That much is clear. This coming from a writer who once said of his own work, “I am the Big Mac and fries of literature”. Sarcastic? Perhaps.
So as it turns out, I was in Barnes & Noble this afternoon and I decided to locate these non-horror books he had written. I found them and wound up buying two others, a book of short stories by the Italian writer Primo Levi, and the last novel by Mario Vargas Llosa, “The Bad Girl”. I took the books up to the counter to pay for them. The woman who worked the register was an older woman, maybe late 50s at most, and she had that look of someone who was well read and most likely read a lot of literary fiction. When I handed the books over to pay for them, she looked at me and said, “Wow, from the sublime to the ridiculous.” It made me laugh for a moment but it also made me realize one other thing. Stephen King had been absolutely right about how others perceive him as a writer; and I’ve met many other voracious readers and writers over the years who had this same attitude towards Stephen King’s work. Were they right? I can’t say. I’ve only read two books as I said and I did enjoy them very much. I was a little taken aback by this woman’s pronouncement mainly because you usually don’t hear that in Barnes & Noble. You usually put up with that sort of thing from some Hipster douche bag in the independent bookshops in Greenwich Village or somewhere in Brooklyn. So there it was: Primo Levi and Mario Vargas Llosa were “sublime” and Stephen King was “ridiculous”. I couldn’t believe how right he had been.
Naturally, it could all just come down to personal taste. After all, what is really “good” and “bad”? How can you define these terms objectively? You can’t. It all comes down to personal tastes and preferences. However, a good book is a good book, no matter the writer, no matter the genre. Hell, there have been many “literary” novels I have read over the years that were just as bad as anything else in my opinion. Just because they are “literary” doesn’t necessarily equate them with being “good” books. Popular fiction can be just as good, just as entertaining and can make you think about things differently as much as any literary novel could. It all depends on what you bring to it and how much you are willing to get out of it.
I think it’s important for writers to keep their minds open. One can learn many things from reading many differing kinds of books. One thing one can learn, first and foremost, is how a novel can be built. You can also learn from the really bad books as well, as a sort of guide as to what not to do with your own writing, but again, what is “bad” other than something you personally don’t like, and what is “good” other than something that you do?
The older I became the less “snobby” I have become about many things. I try to keep my mind open. Does that mean that I will devour every Stephen King, John Grisham and Tom Clancy novel and enjoy them? Of course not. My personal tastes run the gamut. I like what I like and don’t like what I don’t like, as we all do. But I think it’s important for any writer not to simply dismiss something out of hand due to the “cool factor” or the alleged embarrassment one may suffer from around the “chosen ones” by admitting that you may have actually enjoyed a Grisham book now and then. There’s always something to learn. At the very least, explore things for yourself and not just follow some unwritten rule about what one is “supposed” to like and not like. Much like those Hipster douche bags I mentioned earlier, who wouldn’t be caught dead reading Stephen King due to fear of losing their Hipster credentials. Be an individual and try to learn something.
Who knows if I will enjoy these two Stephen King books or not? I won’t know until I read them for myself and I sure as hell won’t care whether or not some bookseller approves of it or not. The point is, be an individual. Think for yourself. When you create, be yourself also, no matter what it is you decide to do. The one piece of advice Stephen King gave in his book that I think is the most important is this: Read alot. Write a lot. Don’t limit yourself. Learn and most importantly, be open.
It is nothing but creative suicide otherwise.
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I enjoy some of Stephen King, but only as escapist reading. In my estimation, the finest book he wrote was Duma Key. You may want to try that, though Hearts In Atlantis was a decent read with some untied ends actually found in His Dark Tower series. I could not get through that after the third book, and thought it to be a complete rip-off of Tolkien. That was a terrible disappointment.
More recently, I devoured Pat Conroy's South of Broad. I like giving books to people who are looking for a good read. I did that with this one of Conroy's, but included a caveat that I would like it back. The characters were so finely developed that I did not want to close the book on them after the last page.
I do agree with King's statement, though. If you are a writer, read without ceasing.