Stephens Story: Turning short-term suffering into long-term misery

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In other words, King -- unlike so many other bestselling authors these days -- has integrity to spare. The words, the story -- they come first always. I first read Misery when I was seventeen years old. I started it about eight o'clock that evening, and finished it about four in the morning.

Heart pounding, bleary eyed and afraid to open my closet door lest Annie Wilkes was waiting there for me with an axe or chainsaw raised over her head. Whenever we're excited about a book, readers will often say "OMG, I couldn't put it down! It's not meant to be a literal expression per se, though sometimes it is and whoah to the power of a book that can hold you in its ironclad grip with such uncompromising resolution. That will make you stay up til the wee hours of the morning even though you have work or school the next day. Or breakfast to make for a screaming brood of little ones.

I couldn't put Misery down that first time. King has penned some page-turning mothers over the years, but the story of Paul Sheldon and his number one fan Annie Wilkes has got to be the most page-turning of them all. I guess you could classify this book as psychological suspense, since there are absolutely no supernatural elements introduced here, but for me Misery will remain classic horror because I really do feel like King's ultimate goal in writing it is to scare the shit out of us. And in this he succeeds brilliantly. We're trapped in that room with Paul Sheldon. The desire to escape is overwhelming.

You begin to understand how an animal can chew its own leg off. Has there ever been a literary creation able to make you lose control of your bladder so effectively? She haunts my nightmares still. King writes her with real depth and nuance. Like Paul, we can see who she might have been if the chemicals in her brain were balanced, or her childhood was different, or all the other permutations that contribute to madness were absent. One of my favorite scenes in the novel is when Paul discovers Annie's "Memory Lane" scrapbook, a collection of all her murders.

I love that singular moment of pure, crystalline terror when Paul realizes what he's really up against. How deep her sickness really goes. How twisted her mind really is. In Misery , King is able to inject a lot of what he knows and believes about the craft and all the tics and challenges that come along with it.

Stephen King: The 'Craft' Of Writing Horror Stories

Until he published On Writing , Misery was King's most passionate description of the weird and wonderful life of a fiction writer. As always, the blessed relief of starting, a feeling that was like falling into a hole filled with bright light. As always, the glum knowledge that he would not write as well as he wanted to write. As always the terror of not being able to finish, of accelerating into a brick wall.

As always, the marvelous joyful nervy feeling of journey begun. I like to think one of my favorite passages is King's version of a big middle finger to the critics who have lambasted him and likely will continue to do so into the afterlife as a hack: There's a million things in this world I can't do. Couldn't hit a curve ball, even back in high school.

Can't fix a leaky faucet. Can't roller-skate or make an F-chord on the guitar that sounds like anything but shit. I have tried to be married and couldn't do it either time. But if you want me to take you away, to scare you or involve you or make you cry or grin, yeah. I can bring it to you and keep bringing it until you holler uncle. Am I right, Constant Readers? Can I get a witness? When I listened to Gerald's Game a few months back, I argued that it shared a lot more similarities to Misery than to the book it's always paired with Dolores Claiborne.

In my review for Gerald's Game I write: While Paul has the indomitable Annie Wilkes to contend with, Jessie has her own problems, but it all adds up to the same thing in the end: How far is any one person willing to go to keep on taking his or her next breath? Stephen King knows pretty damn far. Just ask Paul Sheldon or Ray Garraty. Or the castaway in "Survivor Type" -- him most of all. King also knows that the human body has an amazing capacity for trauma.

It can withstand a lot -- so much so that the mind often breaks first. I'm going to end this review the same way I ended my review for Gerald's Game, with a quote from Bondama made in the Stephen King Fans forum here on Goodreads. I keep coming back to this quote because I think it really captures what is so deeply disturbing and terrifying about both these novels. And what makes them so very hard to put down once begun. This is true horror -- helplessness. I enjoyed it a lot.

I thought I would like it even more than I did though. I had a few problems with King's writing style in this particular book especially in the beginning even though I'm normally a really big fan of it. And I was bored to death every time there were actual parts of "Misery" the book that's being written by the author in this to read.

I don't know why, I just didn't care for them. Other than that, this was pretty awesome. Annie was such a well written, interesting and absolutely terrifying character! She helped a lot with building the right atmosphere. I'm so excited for watching the movie! Oct 12, Leo. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. A fan who happens to be a complete lunatic. This book is gripping. An accomplished author killing off his main character because he is stuck in a rut. Held prisoner by his number one fan. Many times he tries to escape and gets mutilated and hobbled.

Coerced into writing his novel and not to dare finish the character off. Drugged and tied to a bed. Also a film starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. Good film but not as good as the book. View all 4 comments. The reason authors almost always put a dedication on a book, Annie, is because their selfishness even horrifies themselves in the end.

'Misery,' 'Misery' And 'Misery,' From Page To Screen To Stage : NPR

Goodbye sleep and hello Annie! I'm certain that my favorite book by King will always be Pet Sematary , but this book came pretty close to changing my mind. And just like I'm sure that Pet Sematary will always be my favorite, I'm also sure that Misery one will always remain my second favorite. I honestly don't know how King does it.

This is, without a doubt, the most The reason authors almost always put a dedication on a book, Annie, is because their selfishness even horrifies themselves in the end.

This is, without a doubt, the most disgusting and the hardest book I've read so far. And I loved every second of it. Meet Annie Wilkes, a nice old woman who likes to read just like all of us , but who also has a hobby of capturing and torturing her favorite author unlike all of us Annie is one of those character that will definitely pay a visit to me in my dreams.

She's even scarier than crazy Jack Torrance. Wouldn't the two of them make an excellent couple?! But on the other hand, we have Paul Sheldon. And, unlike Annie, he became my favorite King's character. In my opinion, he as a character was even more interesting than Annie. And in the end, I'm just going to say that if you love King or you're just a horror fan in general , but for some reason still haven't decided to pick up this book yet, do it.

You definitely won't be disappointed. This is King at his best. View all 6 comments. View all 3 comments. Annie is that second one. Ticking time bombs are called ticking for a reason. For Misery the order was reversed. Not a horrible thing to do, especially when the movie is a good one. But while reading, James Caan continued to flicker in and out of my mind as Paul Sheldon. Again, not a bad way to picture characters. I simply prefer a clean slate. Although the faces from the movie were clear, the details I remembered were not.

Excepting a few scenes. I mean, some things cannot be forgotten. So imagine my surprise when that oh-so-horrific moment arrived in the book. Slightly, yet completely different! Condensed is the feeling. I will not be able to look at this book in the future without feeling a visceral response traveling directly to my legs. I thought they fit Annie to a tee. View all 26 comments. View all 21 comments. A super intense thriller where I could just envision Kathy Bates as Annie Wilkes inflicting her horrors on Paul Sheldon; but as scary as the movie was, the book is much more terrifying!

Poor Paul endures more than one view spoiler [pre-op procedure that was not included in the movie hide spoiler ] that completely surprised me. One of the scariest and best Stephen King novels I've read thus far! View all 12 comments. Un famoso escritor conocido por la exitosa saga de Misery.

Creo que Annie Wilkes es la mejor villana que he visto en mucho tiempo, si no la mejor que he visto nunca. Y yo me pregunto: He takes a totally innocuous subject - an ardent fan, a typewriter, a bedroom door, anything at all - and infuses it with horrifying elements ordinarily reserved for more supernatural spectres. The reader is then thrust down a rabbit hole full of ill-ease, second-guessing, and the knowledge they will never be able to trust anything again when they return to the real-world, at the novel's close, breathless and with an entirely new outlook on life. Aug 27, Vanessa J.

I do, and I bet Annie Wilkes did too. Well, the thing is, not long ago I reread it, and I went… a little crazy over the head. Everyone in my family knew something was wrong with me, and they thought I was insane, but boy, nothing will ever compare to how Annie Wilkes is with her favourite author. She has read and loved everything he has ever written. Maybe she even fancied herself the luckiest person in the world when he had an accident — she happened to be there at the right moment and saved his life. Annie Wilkes managed to make me feel both scared and angry at the same time.

Scared because the woman was damn crazy. It was damn disturbing to see the things she was capable of doing. But the reasons why she made me angry were more prominent. They can be summarized in two. Besides, the damned wretch made him burn the only manuscript for a book in which he put his heart and soul!

Oh, yes, she is! You know, those that usually appear in your negative reviews and tell you how wrong you are… oh, damn! I hate them and Annie!

'Misery,' 'Misery' And 'Misery,' From Page To Screen To Stage

Speaking of which… God, what a great writer he is! The story always flows effortlessly, with the perfect pace and even better writing. Never was I bored, and never did the narration feel tedious. But beware of the kind of fangirl you become! Because you know… Ha! Worry not, my friends. The people I admire are safe and sound from my insanities. They probably thought I was a 2. Also, because these memes are epic: Worry not, uncle Rick, I won't do that to you! Thriller with psychotic sprinkles. My first SK novel. I wasn't overly scared.. I was mostly picturing the talented Kathy Bates, after googling many of the images from the film.

Another synopsis isn't needed, such a classic book it is, but I was not fussed. I own many other of his novels to read and may get to them at some stage. I read in many reviews this was one of his scariest book, but I was not convinced of this. I wonder what the movie will hold for me. Ma My first SK novel.

Maybe the genre is just not for me. View all 18 comments. Readers of all shapes and sizes. Misery was the second Stephen King book I ever read. This was very shortly after Dolores Claiborne. The big difference here was, my mother knew about me reading Misery. She had already read the novel her buddy Andrita had loaned her the book when it first came out in , and figured I was of an age fourteen where I wouldn't be too terribly scarred by the events o Misery was the second Stephen King book I ever read. She had already read the novel her buddy Andrita had loaned her the book when it first came out in , and figured I was of an age fourteen where I wouldn't be too terribly scarred by the events of the book.

There's nothing sexual about Misery , and for the most part, very little foul language. The violence is rather extreme, but we all know that bad words and intercourse are much worse than chopping people up, right? Anyway, back in the days before the interwebs, the Stephen King Book Club worked like this.

They would start your membership by sending you King's newest novel. After that, they'd start sending you his old books in order of publication until a new book came out, and then they would send you the new one. After that, back to the old books. By the time Dolores Claiborne came out, Mom was all the way up to Misery. By the way, I'm chronicling this nonsense because I will probably forget all this shit in a few years.

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I don't plan on rereading this man's entire library again before I shuffle off this mortal coil, and I would like to have these reviews to look back upon later in life. My apologies if I'm boring you to death. Misery is one of my favorite King novels because it deals with writing and the writing process. And, next to The Shining , it's one of the best denouements he's ever written. I read the book long before I ever saw the movie, and, truth be told, I hated the movie for a long time. Kathy Bates's performance is exceptional, but the differences in the book and the film pissed me off.

I didn't like the old sheriff character, and I missed the Lawnboy scene. Now here's where shit gets interesting. The book takes place in Sidewinder, Colorado, which is the town nearest the site of the fire-gutted Overlook Hotel. Obvious connection is obvious, right? Well what about the mention of the Beam? Here's the exact quote: Even Misery comes back to the Dark Tower. I've come to appreciate the movie for the well-made film that it is, but the book, as per usual, is still leagues better. It's a darker, bloodier creature than its cinematic sister, and that's probably the reason I like it more.

No denying it, I'm a gorehound at heart. That hobbling scene, friends and neighbors Another Stephen King classic! A friend had warned me that the book Misery was more graphic than the movie version, and he was right. Where else can you read? There's always the treadmill, or whatever you use down at the local health club to get aerobic.

I try to spend an hour doing that every day, and I think I'd go mad without a good novel to keep me company. Most exercise facilities at home as well as outside it are now equipped with TVs, but TV -- while working out or anywhere else -- really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs. If you feel you must have the news analyst blowhards on CNN while you exercise, or the stock market blowhards on MSNBC, or the sports blowhards on ESPN, it's time for you to question how serious you really are about becoming a writer.

You must be prepared to do some serious turning inward toward the life of the imagination, and that means, I'm afraid, that Geraldo, Keith Obermann, and Jay Leno must go. Reading takes time, and the glass teat takes too much of it. Once weaned from the ephemeral craving for TV, most people will find they enjoy the time they spend reading. I'd like to suggest that turning off that endlessly quacking box is apt to improve the quality of your life as well as the quality of your writing.

And how much of a sacrifice are we talking about here? How many Frasier and ER reruns does it take to make one American life complete? How many Richard Simmons infomercials? Oh man, don't get me started. When my son Owen was seven or so, he fell in love with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, particularly with Clarence Clemons, the band's burly sax player. Owen decided he wanted to learn to play like Clarence. My wife and I were amused and delighted by this ambition. We were also hopeful, as any parent would be, that our kid would turn out to be talented, perhaps even some sort of prodigy.

We got Owen a tenor saxophone for Christmas and lessons with Gordon Bowie, one of the local music men. Then we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. Seven months later I suggested to my wife that it was time to discontinue the sax lessons, if Owen concurred.

Owen did, and with palpable relief -- he hadn't wanted to say it himself, especially not after asking for the sax in the first place, but seven months had been long enough for him to realize that, while he might love Clarence Clemons's big sound, the saxophone was simply not for him -- God had not given him that particular talent. I knew, not because Owen stopped practicing, but because he was practicing only during the periods Mr.

Bowie had set for him: Owen mastered the scales and the notes -- nothing wrong with his memory, his lungs, or his eye-hand coordination -- but we never heard him taking off, surprising himself with something new, blissing himself out. And as soon as his practice time was over, it was back into the case with the horn, and there it stayed until the next lesson or practice-time. What this suggested to me was that when it came to the sax and my son, there was never going to be any real play-time; it was all going to be rehearsal.

If there's no joy in it, it's just no good. It's best to go on to some other area, where the deposits of talent may be richer and the fun quotient higher. Talent renders the whole idea of rehearsal meaningless; when you find something at which you are talented, you do it whatever it is until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening or reading, or watching , every outing is a bravura performance, because you as the creator are happy. That goes for reading and writing as well as for playing a musical instrument, hitting a baseball, or running the four-forty.

The sort of strenuous reading and writing program I advocate -- four to six hours a day, every day -- will not seem strenuous if you really enjoy doing these things and have an aptitude for them; in fact, you may be following such a program already. If you feel you need permission to do all the reading and writing your little heart desires, however, consider it hereby granted by yours truly. The real importance of reading is that it creates an ease and intimacy with the process of writing; one comes to the country of the writer with one's papers and identification pretty much in order.

Constant reading will pull you into a place a mind-set, if you like the phrase where you can write eagerly and without self-consciousness. It also offers you a constantly growing knowledge of what has been done and what hasn't, what is trite and what is fresh, what works and what just lies there dying or dead on the page.

The more you read, the less apt you are to make a fool of yourself with your pen or word processor.

Excerpted from On Writing by Stephen King. Copyright by Stephen King. Reprinted by permission of Scribner Press. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player. The 'Craft' Of Writing Horror Stories While writer Stephen King was recovering from a near-fatal car accident, he finished a nonfiction book about the craft of writing.

In a interview with Terry Gross, King talked about the demons that haunted him after the accident — and how writing helped his recovery process. Facebook Twitter Flipboard Email.

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It is theorized that while physically the process occurs nearly instantaneously, to a conscious mind it lasts an eternity. One is simply left alone with their thoughts in an endless field of white for what is suggested to be possibly anywhere from hundreds to billions of years. However, the father is careful in his wording to keep from scaring his family. After Mark finishes his story, the family is subjected to the sleeping gas and Jaunted to Mars.

When Mark wakes, he hears screaming; Ricky held his breath while being administered the general anesthesia in order to experience the Jaunt while conscious, and has been rendered completely insane. Ricky confirms the terrible nature of the conscious Jaunt, shrieking "It's longer than you think, Dad!

Longer than you think!

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