Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Stephen King's Fascinating Analogy to the Craft of Writing

It shouldn't be any secret to anyone that's read this blog with any sort of regularity that I'm a major Stephen King fan. Some may write him off as a sell-out and an example of someone with moderate talent being in the right place at the right time, but I would argue that he is the ultimate American writer of this generation. His writing is passionate, poignant, and prolific (sorry, we're on an alliteration kick in one of my classes :-)), and I predict that he will eventually be the subject of a required college course for English literature majors, much the way Shakespeare is.

But that's not my point.

I was rereading "The Body", a novella from the 1982 collection Different Seasons, and I found a quote that really resonated with me.

If you haven't read "The Body", by the way, the odds are still pretty good that you've seen Rob Reiner's Stand by Me, a film that comes fairly close to living up to King's story. In case you haven't, though, it's the tale of four small town boys in the throes of early adolescence heading off to locate the dead body of a boy who was lost in the woods while picking blueberries. Anyway, the main character and first-person narrator, Gordie LaChance, grows up to be a bestselling author. "The Body" is essentially a flashback of this particular adventure he had with his friends and how it shaped him into both a man and a writer. I can relate all too well to Gordie's friends constantly clamoring for him to tell one of his magical stories--although I don't write as well as King, my tales did a fair amount of entertaining my friends when I was growing up.

Perhaps that remembering, that curious mix of pride and shame, is what makes this excerpt echo so strongly in my mind:

"The act of writing itself is done in secret, like masturbation--oh, I have a friend who has done things like write stories in the display windows of bookshops and department stores, but this is a man who is nearly crazy with courage, the kind of man you'd like to have with you if you just happened to fall down with a heart attack in a city where no one knew you. For me, it always wants to be sex and always falls short--it's always that adolescent handjob in the bathroom with the door locked."

I hope nobody is too offended by the sexual references there, but King (writing as "Gordie LaChance", of course, but many of King's protagonists are writers, so I think that inferences can certainly be made) seems to capture the essence of writing as a craft there.

What do you think? Is writing intensely private? Is it hard to share? Do you wish you could share with all your heart, but somehow it's too much? Is comparing the act of writing to the act of sex apt? Is there a better analogy to be made?

I'm not sure, but I do know that this quote (not in its entirety, of course, but I knew the gist--and the text of "The Body"--well enough to find it pretty easily) came almost unbidden to my mind when I got thinking about what to blog about.

That must mean something : )

11 comments:

  1. No, I can't relate to King on this...I write. That's all there is to it. I write to think...and I think what I write...I talk to write, and write to talk...It's all inseparable for me. And as a former journalist, I don't write in secret...in fact, I continually read my projects out loud to just about anyone around me who will listen as I work my way through a piece. Usually my family has my writing memorized by the time I publish...and they've heard all my stories long before I put them to paper, and have heard them more than once...I guess I am not a tortured artist, but a hack...but King's description makes me think of the iconic artist.

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  2. I prefer his take on writing in On Writing, where he says writing is telepathy. It's magic.

    As far as King himself goes -- he is my favorite writer, and I honestly believe him to be the greatest storyteller of our time. I know, I know, and I love Steinbeck too -- Shakespeare is in a class of his own, but sheer storytelling ability, the way he makes me forget I'm reading a book and makes me feel like I'm living the words -- he was right, it's magic, and he is the best at it. Period.

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  3. On the one hand, I get what S&S is saying. I have to write professionally, and it can't be private. In my case though (and perhaps hers, as a journalist), it isn't personal either. My recreational fiction writing is an entirely different matter! Very few people get to see that, and only after I've polished it 7 trillion times. So I guess my analogy mixed with King's metaphor would be the difference between boob flashing as an exotic dancer and boob flashing to a partner. Er, sorry...

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  4. Janine--I think you're right about the vision of the iconic artist, and it's probably noteworthy that this book was published almost thirty years ago. I respect you immensely because I wish I was more forthcoming in sharing my writing.

    Laura--On Writing is definitely a superior work in terms of the craft of writing. I think writing is telepathy, it is magic ... but it's also deeply personal, at least for some people. And I seem to fall into that category and I guess I'm wondering how alone I am lol

    Mary the Cabbage Patch Doll--So there's a definite difference between your professional writing and your private stuff? I think your boob flashing example is actually very appropriate. Well, not appropriate, but ... eh, go pee on some lettuce : ) <3

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  5. Oh KLo, What a fascinating discussion you started!!! I just checked back to see what others were saying...It's so fun to see how everyone views their writing process!!!! I love your "forum"...Your blog description is SO apropo! Bravo! You are terrific!!!!

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  6. Janine--You're making me sniffle and smile : ) Thanks so much ... it's one of those days when nice words mean more than you can imagine. You're fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

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  7. I certainly don't like to write when other people are around. It's done in secret, pretty much. So I guess it is private in that respect. This was interesting and well written, thank you!

    Can you believe I've never read Stephen King? I'd better pick up something! What would you suggest as a first novel of his to read?

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  8. "'Salem's Lot", "The Eyes of the Dragon", "The Dead Zone", or even "Different Seasons" (particularly the novellas 'The Body' and 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption' which are located within). I think you'll really like his stuff if you give it a chance : )

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  9. First off, good to know you're a King fan. He's one of my favorites as well. My favorite non-fiction book by him is in fact On Writing, and I think its a must-read for any would-be writer. I don't get how he's a sellout though, since obviously he writes well enough and people keep coming back to buy them. I just love the irony of his teacher however, telling him he'd never amount to anything. If I could be plagued with amounting to as "little" as he has...

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  10. I know, right? Give me King's "lack of talent" and I'll be a happy woman : )

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  11. It's the act of writing and not the written work that King is referring to.

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