Steven King: Master Of Modern Horror

The next writer being featured here in my writing series is someone who needs no introduction. Anyone who reads or watches any amount of movies has at least heard of the man. A man who is often touted as the undisputed master of the horror genre. He is certainly not the only one. Writers like John Carpenter and Peter Straub have created some nerve tinging tales as well. But King has created characters and stories that will live on well past the time he meets his maker.

Much of what he has written have became instant classics. Carrie, Cujo, It, Pet Cemetery, The Shining, Firestarter, and Christine are just a few that accomplished just that. King has a unique ability to pull us into his stories and draw not just on our fears, but our curiosities as well. He is like a burglar who breaks into our minds and steals our secrets and then uses them against us in order to keep us coming back for more. His books have a certain mysticism to them. His personality and overall voice reaches his readers in a way that make them open their minds to possibilities that things might just exist beyond our physical world who want to devour some part of our being. Be it our flesh, our minds, or our souls.

What makes Mr. King such a cut above the rest is his natural knack for keeping you glued to the page. His descriptions of both his characters and their surroundings along with dialogue that is often inviting as well as quirky gives you the impression of knowing them in some way. Consciously or subconsciously his characters feel like people we have met at some point in your life. This makes for a more enriching story, regardless of the plots they are involved in.

Another trait of his that speaks to us all is his uncanny ability to vividly describe literally anyone or anything in such a way that comes across as poetic at times. The visions that are imprinted are ones that paint a scene which immerses us in a world away from our own, yet parallel and believable. Yet more evidence of the makings of a true original to the craft of storytelling.

Any writer, new or old, who needs to "up thier game" for any reason and play with the big kids must read King's work. Without it you will miss out on valuable methods and compelling style that is surely to enrich any writers repertoire of unreason. No matter what genre you write in, if you read King then you are sure to glean copious amounts of input on how to build characters and worlds, whether they be fictitious or real. Steven King truly is the King of horror for a reason. Without being immersed in his books, you will be left out in the cold with a fireplace poker in your eye and a madman searing your kidneys with a hint of garlic and olive oil on an open flame in some remote wilderness.



-By Christopher Storm
-aka- "The Stormcaller"

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