How Stephen King Frightened His Way Into History | TheRichest.com
Stephen King is known for being the titan of terror and the master of monsters, but while some of King's work is regarded as pure horror pulp, much of it also retains a sense of literary integrity, highlighted in King's own writing guide/memoir On Writing. King has created some of the highest grossing horror stories that have appeared on both the printed page and the silver screen. Part of King's ability to tap into the darker side of humanity stems from his own dark and ominous past. King has dealt with addition, struggled with injuries, and dedicated his life to the written word which has provided its own series of challenges. But by being able to emerge from the depths of despair within his own life, King was able to build a ladder with words to scale out of the darkness, creating both culturally iconic and highly profitable tales in the process.
With over 70 published books, over 200 short stories, and more than 30 best-sellers from the lot, it is nearly impossible to overstate King's impact on not only the horror genre, but in prolific writing altogether. The culture has honored him as well, providing him with some of the most highly-coveted literary awards and honors to date including the Bram Stroker Award, the Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters from the National Book Foundation, and the National Medal of Arts from the US National Endowment for the Arts committee for his contributions to literature. He has sold over 350 million copies of his books and has rightfully earned the eponymous title of 'King of Horror'.
King was raised by a single mother after his father went out for a pack of cigarettes when King was just two years old. While reading books to pass the time, King was introduced to literature at a young age. King then started his career early on, writing and sharing short stories in school by creating his own comic books inspired by his love for the gruesome tales published by EC Comics.
While a student at the University of Maine Orono, he published short stories in magazines like Playboy and Startling Mystery Stories. After meeting his wife, fellow writer and novelist Tabitha King in college, the couple moved into a trailer in Hampden, Maine while King worked as a high school English teacher. As legend has it, in a plot that matches the serendipitous nature of his novels, Tabitha fetched an early draft of King's first novel out of the trash bin and encouraged him to further pursue the story. Based on a young girl who receives supernatural powers via menstruation, the epistolary horror novel Carrie earned King an advance of $2,500, a significant sum compared to his $6,400 a year salary at the time. The novel went on to earn $400,000 for rights to its paperback, and eventually became a feature film directed by Brian De Palma that grossed over $33 million. A legend was born.
With success comes critical commentary along with a barrage of bizarrely-targeted attacks on integrity. In 1994, King had a short story "The Man In The Black Suit" published in the New Yorker that went on to win the O. Henry Award, but critics referred to the story as "one of the weaker stories in the year's collection". He was referred to as the "McDonalds" of writers, making him horrors pedestrian mainstream, and the Village Voice put out a demeaning caricature of King eating a stack of money. "That hurts even today when I think about it," said King to RollingStone.
The external commentary coincides with King's internal struggles. King had become a heavy drinker by 1978 and the habit slowly slid into heavier drugs like cocaine, which King was a heavy user of from 1978 until 1986. The time is admittedly hazy for King, who churned out works like The Tommyknockers, Cujo, Firestarter, and Pet Semetery during the period.
Shortly after sobering up, King suffered from another accident. In 1999, during one of his nightly walks where King would reflect on his writing, he was struck by a car, nearly dying with doctors considering amputating his leg. While the suddenness of the situation resulted in King announcing an early retirement from writing, King instead, couldn't escape his passion and penned the novel Dreamcatcher longhand on legal pads while doped up on Oxycontin for pain.
After undergoing a series of surgeries, King struggled to sit for long periods of time which further threatened his writing career. But King managed to push himself along, publishing Black House, From a Buick 8, and three additional novels in The Dark Tower series in the three years following.
The ultimate moment of overcoming the incident was when King, in an attempt to beat overly enthusiastic fans, decided to purchase the 1985 Dodge Caravan that had hit him in the accident. King also moved on by giving over $240,000 to his already-established Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation charity and starting an additional charity, the Haven Foundation, which helps other writers, artists, and freelancers unable to work due to injury or illness.
While King continues to publish novels and works of fiction, averaging nearly two a year, he has also found himself much more involved in the political sphere following the election of Donald Tump and his decision to join Twitter in December of 2013.
King's tweets have landed him both controversy and praise, much like the reviews of his fictional works, but he still remains active in the metaverse, posting periodically on the platform about politics, the pandemic, and his pet dog Molly aka Thing of Evil. The platform has served as a way for King to interact with his fans, and remain relevant in a world that seems to favor 280 characters to 1,100 page books.
Regardless of where the culture goes and where the tides shift in relation to literature, King has already solidified himself as one of the greatest storytellers of the generation. As one of the most prolific writers of all time, going as far as writing several books about writing itself, King has worked his way through the critical pin-hole they placed him in, and emerged as one of the most successful and recognized writers in American History.
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