Stephen King: American Author of Contemporary Horror, Science Fiction, and Fantasy

If you have read any amount of Stephen King’s books, you can see a similarity in both tone and style. With over fifty works published, including books, movie adaptations, and short stories, King went from printing twenty-five cent stories in his basement to New York Times Best Sellers. King tends to insert experiences from his life into what he writes, along with reoccurring characters, numbers, and themes.

Stephen King, being the famous director that he is, has a strong voice when it

Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy and science fiction writer, who is very successful in what he does. Starting at the very beginning, Sanderson was born December 19, 1975 in Lincoln, Nebraska. Throughout school he never liked reading the books his teachers would give him. Until 8th grade his reading teacher gave him the book “Dragonsbane” by Barbara Hambly. He fell in love and he began to become an avid reader. He enjoyed reading books from the authors who wrote about science or fantasy. He went to college to study chemistry, but soon left for his mission in Seoul, Korea. Brandon got back and realized he didn’t miss chemistry. While going to BYU, he became an English major. Although his mother wished he would be a doctor, he found love in writing. Working at a front desk of a hotel making little money, he wrote 7 short novels. Brandon

On January 2, 1971, Tabitha Jane Spruce and Stephen King were married. And in the fall of 1971, King took a teaching job at Hampden Academy earning $6,400 a year. The Kings then moved to Hermon, a town west of Bangor, Maine.

Author Stephen Edwin King was born on September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. King is one of the most famous and successful horror writers of all time. His parents, Donald, and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King, split up when he was young, and he and his brother

(DeFilippo) His first book “Carrie” was a huge success after its’ publication. (“Stephen King Biography”) At the time of publishing his books such as; “Salem’s Lot,” “The Shining,” “Firestarter,” “Cujo,” and “IT,” he also published books under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. A few of Richard Bachman works include; “The Rage,” “The Long Walk,” and “The Running Man”.

Stephen King, author of fiction, provides literary elements in the C.V. portion of On Writing:

Joe Hill is from a family of very well known writers, and has tried to get his work to stand on its own. His father Stephen King, mother Tabitha King, brother Owen King, and sister Naomi King. All are authors and some more successful than the others. Joe Hill has tried to get away from his father’s vision, but has eventually accepted it.

Furthermore, we watch horror in order to show others we are audacious. King already has his ways of giving us thrills through his twisted stories. In “Why We Crave Horror,” Stephen King explains we watch these movies “To show we can, that we are not afraid, that we can ride this roller coaster” (1). We are all prone to letting out a good scream when the roller coaster dives straight down, which is the same as as watching a scary movie. There are those who go with their friends and family to show they are not frightened by what they are watching, it’s to prove to others and themselves that they are strong willed and not weak. “We are all daring the nightmare” when we go to watch horror (King, “Why We Crave” 1). Sometimes when we get scared,

In Stephen King’s first section of On Writing, I think the number one thing that stuck out to me is how fast King grew as a writer. In this first section, King talks about his personal experiences that affected his qualifications as a writer. As early as six years old, King had already started writing. Struggling as a kid, King found writing as an outlet for his creativity, and it never stopped there. By the time King had entered high school, writing had became a part of his life.

Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King are famous for their works in horror. Who are these authors and why do they write these horrifying tales? Edgar Allan Poe’s life and literary works are more ominous than Stephen King’s life and literary work.

1. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption - this story hardly needs an introduction, it is one of the best works of King. I think everyone knows the film adaptation of his popular - The Shawshank Redemption. Rarity, when the film and the book - great! ..lyubimaya quote from the book: ""... - I hope for the best, prepare for the worst, and nothing more than that ...""

The few survivors choose between following an elderly black woman to Boulder or the dark man, Randall Flagg, who has set up his command post in Las Vegas. The two sides prepare for war between the forces of good and evil (The Stand). Stephen King found his inspiration in the Dugway sheep incident of March 1968. The incident was a case where nearly six thousand sheep were found dead in Utah for an unknown reason. A report later revealed that the incident was the effect of nerve gas that blew away from a nearby army base (Rheenen). After two years of planning and writing, Stephen King had a total of 1,200-page rough draft that weighted twelve pounds. The editor asked him to cut at least four-hundred pages. King complied and in September of 1978 an 823-page book went public (Rheenen). The Stand ended up selling over 65,000 clothbound and had a limited time run on the hardcover bestseller list (Lawson).

“God is cruel. Sometimes he makes you live(Stephen King).” King was born in a post- World War II America society. King felt as if the world was being invaded by technologically advanced aliens during the cold war. The US was stuck in a technological arms race against Russia at the time to make it to space and to develop nuclear weapons. This was incredibly unnerving for King, especially when he was watching one of his favorite television programs and it was interrupted by an announcement stating that Russia had beaten the US in the race into space. The invasion of aliens and the parallels people noticed it had to the cold war with the Russian satellites and the fear that came with it all gave king a perfect source of terror to use in his novels. These experiences in particular, aided in the development of his imagination used in his writing later in life. The war horrified king and while he was in college, he served as a member in an anti-war group at the University of Maine. Soon after Salem's Lot was published, his mother died of cancer at only 59 years old. The hardships king endured help create a unique, dark writing style that is enjoyed all around the world. Stephen King is by far one of the very most influential writers of American Culture and he continues to baffle his fans to this day.

Born on September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine, Stephen King was a surprise to his family. Stephen was raised by a mostly single parent. Stephen’s father “left the house to buy a pack of cigarettes…but never returned. Stephen