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I always thought King's writing could stand to be edited down (a lot). But I feel that about most genre fiction. I find it stifling as a reader especially when
by jacobheric 10y ago
I always thought King's writing could stand to be edited down (a lot). But I feel that about most genre fiction. I find it stifling as a reader especially when characters thoughts and emotions are over described. Usually a simple detail about their appearance, their manner, or similar is sufficient to clue me into what's going on inside. And the uncovering of those clues makes for a much more enjoyable reading experience.
- bovermyer 10y agoHave you read anything by Robert E. Howard? I imagine you might rather enjoy his works.
- jacobheric 10y agoI'll check it out. Thanks! Some of my favorite reading is genre fiction that trims the fat and floats above the rest of the genre. This seems to fit that bill.
- rpgmaker 10y agoAny recommendations?
- jacobheric 10y agoYes, I recently stumbled upon Black Wings Has My Angel by Eliot Chaze. Great, obscure and underrated crime/noir/pulp novel. It transcends the genre. It's somehow both more gritty and more literary than the more famous Hammett and Chandler and similar stuff.
- bovermyer 10y agoREH, most famous for the Conan the Barbarian short stories, has a visceral writing style. I'd start with one of the Conan omnibuses, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adventures/dp/0345461517/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1470229829&sr=8-10&keywords=conan+the+barbarian https://www.amazon.com/Coming-Conan-Cimmerian-Original-Adven...
- rpgmaker 10y agoI agree. Ironically (since he is associated with the 'gardeners' type in the piece), his writing feels too methodical and lineal to me. Also very repetitive. Of his books I haven't liked the first one. The same happens to me with Neil Gaiman, who seems very heavily influenced by King. To me their style of writing is almost interchangeable.
- douche 10y agoA lot of Stephen King's best writing, he was pretty much out of his mind the whole time on PBR and cocaine. For instance, not really having any recollection of penning Cujo[1]. His later stuff feels much more planned, in that it kind of all ties into his big meta-project of the Dark Tower, even the early stand-alone stuff, that he more or less retcons into that universe. [1] http://stephenking.com/xf/index.php?threads/king-forgets-cujo.2225/ http://stephenking.com/xf/index.php?threads/king-forgets-cuj...
- jacobheric 10y agoI actually think that's not a bad way to write! Whatever gets you into the zone or flow. Of course, you have to have the discipline to go back and edit with clear eyes later. There is a famous (mostly misattributed) quote to that effect: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/84190-sometimes-i-write-drunk-and-revise-sober-and-sometimes-i http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/84190-sometimes-i-write-drun... Though Hemingway didn't say that, he was definitely a merciless editor of his own work. I dropped in on this (http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/ernest-hemingway http://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/ernest-hemingway) exhibit recently that had early drafts of some of his most famous stories and books and it was remarkable how many whole pages and chapters he chopped out just prior to publication.
- rpgmaker 10y agoI have read about that. And while it would explain the repetitiveness it's independent of how his writing appears to me. Needless to say, a lot of people disagree with my view of his writing.
- JustSomeNobody 10y agoMe too! I find myself skimming when I read his books.