My Favorite Novelist: Stephen King

Stephen King often gets frowned on by "serious" readers and writers. King himself even noted in "Danse Macabre" (Everest House, 1981) that he often was asked, "Why don't you write real books instead of horror books?" I'm sure King scratches his head all the way to bank each time he gets asked.

King is my favorite novelist, but not just because as a professional writer I envy his bank account. King creates great characters, uses humor and isn't afraid to place part of himself into his writings. Granted, I'm not fond of some of his books like "Insomnia" (Viking; 1994) -- but I find myself reading every single page and feeling sad when the book ends.

Great Characters

King is the master when it comes to creating characters. He basically steps back and lets the characters go. These men, women and monsters become so vivid and three-dimensional that you know which one is talking even before the " -- said" is read. Each character has his, her or its own specific thought patterns, use of slang, mispronounced words and, occasionally, font.

For example, one always knew when the Tommyknockers were knocking on someone's mind in "The Tommyknockers" (Putnam; 1987). This was not only indicated by a series of parenthesis, and often all lower case letters but also in the types of words used. It made the book quicker to read since I didn't have to spend time figuring out who was talking.

Humor

King uses a lot of humor in his novels, although he can take a joke too far, such as the "SSDD" joke in "Dreamcatcher" (Schribner; 2001.) If King didn't balance the often grim storylines with some laughs, then his books would be -- well, would be like Dean Koontz books.

A prime example of blending the humorous and the macabre would be in "The Green Mile" (Signet; 1996) when the warden wants to know why a condemned prisoner caught fire in the electric chair. The warden demands, "What the --- happened?" and one of the prison guards dryly replies over the smoking body that the state had successfully executed a prisoner.

His Own Views

King is a storyteller that mainly keeps his opinions away from the action. The characters are not just many different shades of King, but fully developed people in their own rights. But King does make some not-so-subtle statements about social issues such as capital punishment and domestic abuse. However, King is able to state his beliefs without hammering the reader over the head with them and without interrupting the flow of the narrative.

As a writer, I have a lot to learn from Stephen King.