the thing that has always drawn me most to his writing, ever since the first time i read one of his books, is the way he personifies almost everything. all things are alive. usually i can't sit through lots of description in books, my attention wanders, i'd rather read thoughts, speech or events. he's the one writer who really contradicts that rule of mine, because he's just so vivid. i remember when i first read 'christine', it was the way at the end the car was described in such a way that it felt like it was a lion lurching out of the bushes to come and maul them - it was so intense - and everything i've read from him since does the same thing.
actually, i run my own social network (for writers with neurological conditions - i'm self-publishing a book with a bunch of other writers, of all fiction and poetry about having OCD), and for fun i recently set a writing exercise for everyone to try their hand at writing a story that involved that sort of personification and it proved really difficult for people! especially to do it more than just once. i personally did manage to get it in there but it really didn't flow out of me easily and took some doing and wasn't nearly as intense - it's an amazing skill to have and i think it's one of my favourite things about his books. i've never come across anything like it in anything else i've read.
maybe you're onto something, thyme, sorta like the...something. the house that tries to bite jake. something more than just window dressing. every word counts kinda thing.
Yes! Few authors can hold my attention with descriptive passages. I have never felt that way about SK's writing he keeps a tight reign on it and never wastes a word while at the same time, describing the surroundings and atmosphere perfectly.
Well the thing I find most fascinating about SK's descriptions is the way he easily feeds your imagination. He has a way of describing (like personification, but it's his whole style) that just makes it easy to fantasize and imagine things. He leads you deep into your own imagination, without spoiling the fun of creating your own image (some writers seem to find it necessary to bypass your own imagination by stating the descriptions in such a way that they try to "lead" your fantasy somewhere, those are, in my opinion, the most boring ones. Long, detailed. but static descriptions).
He always has the perfect amount of description, you can see everything so well but it doesn't slow the pace of the story too much. I was just watching the Green Mile yesterday and noticed that the Mile looked exactly as I had imagined it. Of course, I've never been in a prison, but it's amazing how I was able to see just what it was like from the book. I also like how he describes people very little, which lets you see them your own way. That's really great, too, it can help make you connect with his characters more and makes the villains scarier, because you imagine what you personally find scary.
the thing that has always drawn me most to his writing, ever since the first time i read one of his books, is the way he personifies almost everything. all things are alive. usually i can't sit through lots of description in books, my attention wanders, i'd rather read thoughts, speech or events. he's the one writer who really contradicts that rule of mine, because he's just so vivid. i remember when i first read 'christine', it was the way at the end the car was described in such a way that it felt like it was a lion lurching out of the bushes to come and maul them - it was so intense - and everything i've read from him since does the same thing.
actually, i run my own social network (for writers with neurological conditions - i'm self-publishing a book with a bunch of other writers, of all fiction and poetry about having OCD), and for fun i recently set a writing exercise for everyone to try their hand at writing a story that involved that sort of personification and it proved really difficult for people! especially to do it more than just once. i personally did manage to get it in there but it really didn't flow out of me easily and took some doing and wasn't nearly as intense - it's an amazing skill to have and i think it's one of my favourite things about his books. i've never come across anything like it in anything else i've read.
I'm a functional alcoholic, OCD, and any -ism you might want to mention, and I fight the good fight every day. Some days good, some bad, you know what I mean. I recognized the brilliance of Stephen King's works many years ago, in 1980, to be exact. His wordcraft expresses many of my own fears, insecurities, and 'the boogeyman in the closet.' But it almost always comes to a conclusion that I can live with, or at least to give me a night's peaceful sleep.
If I could write as well as he does, I wouldn't need a therapist. But I would need someone to teach me proper grammar. Oh, and I'm not ready to quit smoking, yet!
Yeah, he's a master of characterization/personification. Christine became more than just a car, ditto for the 'Buick' in From a Buick 8. Even weird creatures take on their own character in his books, and never become 2-D 'monsters'. FAB8 had one scene with a critter that, for me, played on expectations and sympathies very hard and very fast. Others who have read that book will probably know the part I mean. Those who haven't...I hope your interest has been piqued.
He leads you deep into your own imagination, without spoiling the fun of creating your own image (some writers seem to find it necessary to bypass your own imagination by stating the descriptions in such a way that they try to "lead" your fantasy somewhere, those are, in my opinion, the most boring ones. Long, detailed. but static descriptions).
Yes! Exactly! that is exactly why i can't sit through description normally.
His wordcraft expresses many of my own fears, insecurities, and 'the boogeyman in the closet.' But it almost always comes to a conclusion that I can live with, or at least to give me a night's peaceful sleep.
If I could write as well as he does, I wouldn't need a therapist. But I would need someone to teach me proper grammar. Oh, and I'm not ready to quit smoking, yet!
i know precisely what you mean, i was just saying this in another post earlier this week - his books have helped me face a lot of mental demons i normally fight awfully hard to avoid.
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personification in SK's writing
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Originally Posted by thymeoperator
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