'The Dark Half' and the nature of being a writer

[thymeoperator]

Hi, just finished ‘The Dark Half’ a few days ago and, while I must admit I thought a section of it in the middle dragged a bit, I loved it overall, particularly the crazy ending – and I most especially loved the insight it gave into writing. My favourite aspects were when he had to admit a part of him wanted to give in to the darker side of things – I thought that was a powerful expression of something everyone must feel in them, of the potential we all have inside us and about the motivation behind creative output; as well as a moment when he said fans were always disappointed with the writer when they met him because he was just an ordinary guy with an ordinary life – they didn’t seem to realise they’d actually already met the person they wanted to meet, by reading his books, because really what they want is the fantasy world/life in his head. I loved that – and as an aspiring writer myself, I really related to that.

I’m always thinking how exciting I am in my mind, how many crazy ideas are kicking around in there, and how it doesn’t seem to come out in reality. After reading this book, I thought perhaps this is just the nature of the writer? Maybe that’s a predetermining personality factor toward a person wanting to write? Any thoughts on this?

[the_last_gunslinger]

The Dark Half was the first Stephen King book I had ever read, back in 2004. I can't remember how good it was as I wasn't exactly a King fan, but I think I'll bump it up a little on my "Books I Need to Buy" list.

[delores 74]

As an aspiring writer myself, I have to agree with you. To be able to write and write well, one has to have not only a vivid imagination, but the ability to foster it and make it grow. Something like DT could never have been written without an extremely active imagination.

[AndyDufresne]

I thought The Dark Half was a bit disappointing. I finished it a couple of days myself, so it's still pretty clear in my head. The Deus Ex Machina ending was a bit far-fetched, I thought. It was pretty clear from the moment Thad was handed the bird whistle he was going to use it in the end. Also I don't think the possibilty of Thad being the possible killer was developed as fully as it could've been.
Although I tend to criticize books (and films as well) for what they aren't. Most of the times I think these criticisms aren't valid anymore the second time I read or watch something. So it probably just has to sink in.

[Danivan]

Yes, that duality might be an existing aspect of any writer's personality. Without those crazy ideas there isn't much to write about if you want to write fiction. Yet to all outward appearances the writer is as unassuming as the rest of us.

Then again maybe the only difference between the writer and the rest of us outwardly ordinary but crazy thinkers is that the writer has the courage to put it all on paper for everyone's consideration.

[thymeoperator]

It was pretty clear from the moment Thad was handed the bird whistle he was going to use it in the end. Also I don't think the possibilty of Thad being the possible killer was developed as fully as it could've been.

yes i know what you mean - but what i loved about the ending was how graphic and insane it was. i also loved all the bits where he'd be standing there making all nice with the kids or flirting and yet he was oozing and dripping and falling to bits, i thought that was hilarious in a really morbid way. i think the middle of the book, though, as i said, dragged...like it was a great story idea but it was point a and point c that were brilliant and it was hard to think of how to connect them so it kinda meandered a little bit in the meantime before it got back to the good stuff. that was just my opinion of it though.

but the good bits i think were enough for me to like the book, because when it was good it was fantastic.

[tillyn]

I enjoyed the book, not a writer myself but a hobby artist (when i have time.) i visualize stories and there characters in my head all the time while reading, the scenery all the time, that is why i love SK, he can put me somewhere else fast. I could picture the pencils and the car in my minds eye.

[Prince of Darkness]

Hi,

As a writer myself, I can try my best to answer this question.

Somebody once said that every writer has had to have a bad childhood, or at least pretend that they had one. This is not very literal, and actually means that a writer has to have scars. They must be battered and bruised on the inside, even if they don't show it on the outside... especially if they don't show it on the outside.

Writers are beings of duality. We have to exhibit our inner passions, whether they be for cookies, kitties, or killing. For most of us it is like we have to do it or lose sleep, breakdown, and go crazy. Also, writing normally comes to us even in the gravest of situations, we can be losing a loved one and thinking of a way to express those feelings of anger and loss in writing.

It's a wacky ride, lemme tell you.

Also, many people who know writers personally think they are kind of strange, with their odd habits. Like I carry a sound recorder, MP3 (for inspiration), a notebook, and (sometimes) a ream of paper with me whenever I go out. Another thing is that writers have immense imaginations, larger than that of normal people, because they excercise them by writing.

Often people I know have told me to start living in the real world, but I told them that the water here in fantasy land is where the water is fresh and the fish always swim (borrowed that one from Sai King's afterword in Lisery's Story).

In my case, I cannot sit in the park and watch people walking or talking without trying to translate every image I see into words. Even watching movies, I imagine everything in words, and listening to the radio, I am constantly thinking what the DeeJay is doing with his hands (drinking coffee, writing notes) all that stuff.

It's an exhilerating ride, and I think this is what it must be like for any creative person (most of all painters and lyricists) who loves what they are doing.

But most of all, writers don't show these things they do to most people because most people think they are crazy. But the funny thing is that when they write and most people read their writing, it seems to make sense to them.

Writers are dual beings. We have to exist this way.

Just my twenty cents (or two million).

Long days and pleasant nights

[Queen Judia]

as far as im concerned, Dark Half is one of the best books of SK and i believe that writers should strive to become like him--and not like George Stark. :biggrin2: Good luck to your career!

[Presque Vu]

Old Greeks used to call inspiration “zeia mania” – divine madness, and an inspired man was a possessed man. Possessed with demons of creativity.
This possession creates masterpieces, and, looking at this strictly from a psychological point of view, the readers of such work have to be “infected” by the same kind of possession to read and to enjoy the fantasies behind the words.
...
The entire humanity is under a collective burden of living. And it mostly isn’t such a wonderful world, as Louis Armstrong sang decades ago. Some of us decide to get rid of the pressure by making mayhem in some public area, some turn on themselves and use drugs and other toxins, others torture their own family. Writers (though it isn’t an exclusive “gift”, some may do these actions and still write, and vice versa) free themselves from the burden by imprisoning his or her demons on those blank pages. By doing so, they free themselves of the obsession of writing… until the same process starts again.
When George was writing, and at the same time, was written in the form of Alexis Machine in four novels, he was in the dungeon. When he was no longer bound by pen, then it was the time he freed himself and made a claim on “real”, Thad’s life.
However, writing itself isn’t such a liberating process. As we see in the grand finale of “The Dark Half”, both participants understand that it is about a far greater magic than simply conjuring up ghosts on paper. Writing is just the ritual. With this ritual, a passing of power was starting to occur between Thad and George, a passing of life and the right to be living. Magic that occurs during writing and reading of the written, is a path that, perhaps, transcends our linear way of thinking, and connects different worlds.
Maybe nothing in the world has never been truly “created”, maybe it has just been seen in another world, and brought to this one in a specific form. As French poet Arthur Rimbaud said “ So the poet is truly a thief of fire” .
Truly, writers are mediums, special kind of individuals who are “in tune” with other worlds and sensitive to whispers of the ghosts beyond. They are the visionaries, the “seers” of all things hidden to an ordinary eye, mind, heart.
...

(I stole these passages from my Bachelor's thesis on this book:blush:)

[Bryan James]

Now THIS is a good thread. I might actually have to consider stuff that I'd normally avoid.

Writers (artists) are not insular, even the bad ones. We have stuff floating around in our heads that we need to get out, that we need to "sick up." We have to get it out there even if "out there" is never seen by anyone else. For me, "out there" sometimes means a printout and crumpled paper straight into the garbage can.

But there's always something next, looming on the horizon.

Painters are the same way. Sculptors too. Even lawyers to a degree (but if you meet one of those that's also an artist, be vewwy vewwy careful...left AND right brain meeting in the middle can be dangerous).

I recently had a short idea that wanted to take me somewhere that I wouldn't write. The father/daughter on a road trip get kidnapped and the father is force-fed Viagra and has to...you get the picture. I could envision it all, even the part where the father got over his fear and liked it......but I couldn't write it.

So I changed it. And my brain let me get away with it, as long as I let something loose.

Turned out to be a decent (very) short story. I am weak on dialogue, so I focused on that and killed two (actually four, if you read it) birds with one stone.

Some major, unexpected violence at the end (mostly undescribed...I like to let the Reader fill in those bits and chunks), and I had purged some horrible thoughts.

There are more around the corner. Under the bed. Outside at night under a palm tree, winking at me with a glowing cyan eye.

But we purge.

I may have something more to add, I need to get some fresh air.

To your health,
BJS

[Samantha_]

...

(I stole these passages from my Bachelor's thesis on this book:blush:)

Then, imho, you wrote a very good thesis... well said. :smile2:

[aptpupil]

Frankly, I have no outlet for my "dark half" other than my writing, so it probably portrays a more negative and pessimistic world than the one I truly believe in.

I work in a job where I'm constantly meeting customers and having to smile and be friendly. I have a very loving partner and three wonderful young children at home who deserve nothing less than my best, so I strive to create the best family environment for them, too.

Consequently, when night falls, and everyone goes to bed leaving me with just my computer for company, I tend to be ruled by the darker, more depressive side of my personality, and I suspect that this shows in the underlying mood of my storytelling.

However, as witnessed by Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska", a preoccupation with the darker underbelly of society doesn't mean that the end product needs to be uninspiring or impossible to appreciate.

At least, I hope not! :wink2:

[Bryan James]

Presque Vu,

What cool a school, and what a kickarse Prof to signoff (pardon the rhyming) on that subject.

You, also, I have noticed, seem to have, how should I put it, an 'enjoyment' of the comma.

I been writin' colloquialisms and one sentence dialogue untils I get them puppies under control.

Bend it, the language, that is. Break it, and of course I am speaking of the language, even. But, no matter how much you want to, and despite what you have been taught, don't ever, ever, ever....

I've been overcome-Commala'd myself on occasion.

You catch my drift.

I would like to read the paper you mentioned.

BJS

[michal]

I loved the book, it was "About Writing" more than many other of Mr. King's books, but writer-characters are very common in his work. There are, I believe, more books with a main "Writer Characters" than there are without one. It makes sense I suppose. John Grisham, being a lawyer, wrote about courthouses. Mr King -being a writer, wrote about what he new best.

[char80]

I read the book a few weeks ago now and thought it was very good, I have to agree with the middle dragging on a little though, but still I really enjoyed it!

[OneEyedNick]

I believe every writer has got to have that 'third eye', that fountain of unusual perception that separates him/her from the masses. Stephen King demonstrates that in a very real and profound way, much more than many writers out there.