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Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Character Development - Stephen King
Whether you like him or not, Stephen King is one of this generation's Masters when it comes to the topic of character development. Who is your favorite SK character and why?
Annie Wilkes in "Misery" has to be my favorite because her personality is so "out there" in a way where at first you think she's just a quirky old lady, until you realize she's a totally deranged psychopath.
A few years ago I helped a woman take care of her bed-bound husband and in many ways she reminded me of Annie W. (only not THAT crazy). She was very controlling and in some ways neglectful and I always thought how awful it must be to be dependent on another person like that. Sad but at least I was also there for him.
Hi Lulu - I'd say Stu from "The Stand" is my favorite, but I came across SK's breakdown of his inspiration for writing "Needful Things" online and since it's one of my favorite SK novels, I'm reposting it. Take a quick look. He really caught the 80's under a glass for the whole world to see. I'm going to have to download it now and grab a nice glass of sirah for later. Cheers chica!!
Needful Things
Inspiration:
I guess I was one of the few people in the United States who thought the eighties were really funny. It was a decade in which people decided, for awhile, at least, that greed was good and that hypocrisy was simply another tool for getting along. It was the last hurrah for cigarettes, unsafe sex, and all sorts of drugs. It was the final corruption of the Love and Peace Generation-The Big Cop-out-and I thought it was a case of having to laugh. It was either that, or cry. I was thinking about all this one night while driving home from a basketball game, and my thoughts centered on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, of the PTL Club. It occurred to me that in the eighties, everything had come with a price tag, that the decade quite literally was the sale of the century. The final items up on the block had been honor, integrity, self-respect, and innocence. By the time I got home that night, I had decided to turn the eighties into a small-town curio shop called Needful Things and see what happened. I told myself to keep it light and surreal; that if I just kept in mind the Bakkers' doghouse, which had been equipped with heaters and running water, I would be okay. And that's what I did. The book didn't review well. Either a lot of critics didn't get the joke or didn't appreciate it. The readers liked it, though, and that's what matters to me.
Cool! I will definitely check it out when I hit Borders later. Love SK's reasoning and his ability to take the ordinary and turn it into something out of this world.
Annie Wilkes in "Misery" has to be my favorite because her personality is so "out there" in a way where at first you think she's just a quirky old lady, until you realize she's a totally deranged psychopath.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I helped a woman take care of her bed-bound husband and in many ways she reminded me of Annie W. (only not THAT crazy). She was very controlling and in some ways neglectful and I always thought how awful it must be to be dependent on another person like that. Sad but at least I was also there for him.
Who's YOUR favorite SK character??
Hi Lulu - I'd say Stu from "The Stand" is my favorite, but I came across SK's breakdown of his inspiration for writing "Needful Things" online and since it's one of my favorite SK novels, I'm reposting it. Take a quick look. He really caught the 80's under a glass for the whole world to see. I'm going to have to download it now and grab a nice glass of sirah for later. Cheers chica!!
ReplyDeleteNeedful Things
Inspiration:
I guess I was one of the few people in the United States who thought the eighties were really funny. It was a decade in which people decided, for awhile, at least, that greed was good and that hypocrisy was simply another tool for getting along. It was the last hurrah for cigarettes, unsafe sex, and all sorts of drugs. It was the final corruption of the Love and Peace Generation-The Big Cop-out-and I thought it was a case of having to laugh. It was either that, or cry. I was thinking about all this one night while driving home from a basketball game, and my thoughts centered on Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, of the PTL Club. It occurred to me that in the eighties, everything had come with a price tag, that the decade quite literally was the sale of the century. The final items up on the block had been honor, integrity, self-respect, and innocence. By the time I got home that night, I had decided to turn the eighties into a small-town curio shop called Needful Things and see what happened. I told myself to keep it light and surreal; that if I just kept in mind the Bakkers' doghouse, which had been equipped with heaters and running water, I would be okay. And that's what I did. The book didn't review well. Either a lot of critics didn't get the joke or didn't appreciate it. The readers liked it, though, and that's what matters to me.
Cool! I will definitely check it out when I hit Borders later. Love SK's reasoning and his ability to take the ordinary and turn it into something out of this world.
ReplyDelete