In the shadow of the King

Have you heard of Tabitha King? You might know she’s the wife of Stephen King, but do you know she’s also an author? No?

I won’t hold that against you, I found out by accident myself. I mean, I always knew she was a writer, I’d read in one of the biographies about her husband how the two met at college, and how ‘Tabby’ was a poet. And apparently ‘damn cute’, according to Stephen. But, as usual, I digress.

I discovered the first novel of hers I read by accident, but I hunted down the others with intent. I only came across it because someone stuck it on the shelf next to the Stephen King paperbacks, and I always check there. Just in case, you know, a book release might have snuck past me.

That first Tabitha King novel was The Book of Reuben and it was a revelation to me. From the first page I was falling into a parallel world, a black hole, a trance, whatever you like to call it when a story simply takes you away. Tabitha King writes engaging, lyrical prose with never a wasted word and she tells a great story. I haven’t read all of her books yet (I can be a bit of a squirrel; I like to know there’s some still waiting for me) but I have read a few, enough to know Reuben was no fluke.

Tabitha King doesn’t have a huge body of work. I wonder if it’s because she’s been busy with raising a family and being an author’s wife. I believe Lisey’s Story isn’t about Tabitha and Stephen King in the strictest sense, but it surely isn’t totally unconnected. Perhaps Tabitha King is just a writer who lays down words over a more leisurely turn of the seasons than other, more famous authors.

Has Tabitha lived in the shadow of the King? Maybe. If so, her talent is shade-loving, and has produced exquisite blooms.

The character is King

Or, why every writer should read Stephen King.

Yes, you read that right. Yes, I even used the ‘should’ word. And I stand by it.

Stephen King has been writing for many years, he’s produced a tremendous body of work and penned a fantastic writing craft/memoir, On Writing. Required reading, by the way.

Whether or not you read horror (I generally don’t) or whether or not you like King’s distinctive style (another reason to try his books—voice in action) it’s worth reading his work for all you can learn about characterisation.

King’s characters live and breathe. They have history and prejudices. Bad breath and bunions. They are capable of incredible acts of stupidity and astonishing acts of bravery and self sacrifice. We get to know them not through rude slaps of biography or back-story dialogue and info-dump, but through the way they talk, think, feel and behave.

And so we care what happens to them. We pray Susan won’t fall to the vampire, we hope Cujo won’t get Donna and Tad (and we even have the futile wish things could somehow work out OK for that ill-fated, rabid dog) and we certainly do want to see Roland make it to the Tower.

Stephen King masters every aspect of characterisation, and he does it again and again. This is no accident and it’s artistic excellence. King’s characters are alive and well—or as well as can be expected. Somewhere.

So give Stevie a read. It might be fun.

Faith, love and the price to be paid

You might have noticed I’m kind of into the whole writing bit. No? Guess I’m too subtle for you.

Seriously–writing is my thing, I love it, and I’m always trying to get better at it. Which means digging in. Looking for the themes that run beneath.

Most writers have recurring themes in their work. Sometimes it seems a writer may be aware of these themes, other times not. I’m fairly confident Stephen King is aware how often love–undying, passionate, self-sacrificing, even old-and-comfortable love–lies at the heart of his stories, but I’m not sure he’s noticed how many times he includes a sacrificial dog. And yes, it’s a fair bet you’ll hear more from me on that.

So I think about themes in my work. What are they? How often do they appear? How can I do more with them?

I’ve identified some of mine. Faith. Sacrifice. Love. That sometimes, there’s a price to be paid.

Much of the time I don’t consciously thread these into the story, but when I go looking, there they are. Then it’s a case of drawing them out and adding some sparkle and making sure they’re properly woven in, that they rise up a few times. Making sure they’re working hard to support the story.

Have you looked at yours lately? What are your deepest fascinations?