Shining

Stephen King once wrote “Writing is not life, but writing can bring you back to life.” I tend to agree. I joke that if I didn’t write, I’d be a homicidal maniac—but am I really joking? It’s saved me before, most recently with my novel, SNM. Writing has a way of cleansing the emotional palate. The Greeks called it catharsis; I call it therapy. And thank God for it. What brought this on? Well, Mr. King, of course.

 

now THAT'S scary

The Shining is one of my favorite movies of all time. The music, the camera angles, the dialogue, the CREEPY TWINS—it all folds together perfectly, with the help of Stanley Kubrick and Jack Nicholson. Being that it’s one of my favorite movies (and that Stephen King is one of my favorite authors), it’s shocking to think I haven’t read the book. So the other day, I started reading.

 

I haven’t stopped.

 

Sometimes I forget the unfathomable TALENT of Stephen King. He can make the creepiest line comic, and he often does. From the first page of The Shining, you know something just ain’t right. Something BAD is going to happen, and yet, you keep reading, because King has a way of sucking you in from paragraph one.

 

There are other writers who do this, but not many.  They HOOK you with that first line before you even notice they were fishing, and then…well, you just gotta keep reading. Examples?

“Jack Torrance thought: Officious little prick.” The Shining, Stephen King

“Why is the measure of love loss?” Written on the Body, Jeanette Winterson

“I wish Giovanni would kiss me.” Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert

“Tomorrow I will wake up, and I will be myself again.” SNM, Sara Dobie

 

Writing is an amazing thing. It saves your life. It saves other people’s lives. It takes you into a whole other world from LINE ONE. Thanks for the reminder, Mr. King. You rock my world, man.