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/lit/ - Literature

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3944193 No.3944193 [Reply] [Original]

Why does Stephen King get so much shit for being a mainstream entry-level writer? The man is actually one of the better horror writers out the today.

>> No.3944204

>>3944193

Adolescents are, by definition, trying to gain their own identity. As /lit/ is full of adolescents, they perceive attainment of their identity as future adults in terms of demeaning accomplished individuals in order to gain their own individuality, belong to a pack, and define their intellect as "their own" rather than copy pasted from the older generations.

Henceforth, what you point is a phenomenon which has more to do with the posters than with King's obvious accomplishments and quality within his own particular niche.

>> No.3944214

>>3944193
>>3944204
Fuck off, Stephen

>> No.3944217

>>3944214

No! I won't go to sleep yet!

>> No.3944216

>>3944193
>The man is actually one of the better horror writers out the today.
No, he's an absolutely shit horror writer; as in, the stuff he writes isn't scary and doesn't adhere to horror genre conventions.

He is, however, a decent writer of character-driven 'americana'. As far as pleb writers go, he is definitely one of the better ones.

>> No.3944218

>>3944216
>Adolescents are, by definition, trying to gain their own identity.

>> No.3944220

>>3944214
>>3944204
It's clearly a 14 year old, not King - same edgy, attempting to use large words without understanding their meaning BS that the rest of the underagefags carry on with.

>> No.3944221

>>3944204
Correct. This is correct.

King is no genius, but he's a decent novelist, quite unlike most genre writers. Compared to serious writers, he's mediocre, but compared to the likes of Lovecraft or Ligotti (or Asimov, Clarke et al for that matter), he's like a true ultimate classic.

>> No.3944222

>>3944220
>attempting to use large words without understanding their meaning BS that the rest of the underagefags carry on with
This sentence is barely even comprehensible.

>> No.3944240

>>3944220

So, he touched a nerve, uh? Top kek

>> No.3944262

>>3944222

Nice trips.

Be nice on the adolescent. The hormonal changes he is experiencing right now may impair his ability to write coherently.

>> No.3944967

>>3944193
Because even if King's hit:miss-ratio is 1:20, he has still more hits than most.

>>3944221
And he's not pretending. He's not hurr durr now I'm going to tell people how they should live their lives. See me show off my family, especially my spouse and kids, derp.

>> No.3944985

>>3944221

Pls
Pls stop

>> No.3944991

I'm currently reading my first ever King novel and it's actually pretty damn good. I was surprised by how smooth his style was, as the genre authors I have previously read were extremely clunky in that regard. And there is actually some literary merit occasionally mixed in there with the action. I'm a convert, for sure. He's light years ahead of Martin and Rowling and those other popular authors.

>> No.3944996

>>3944216
idk man i found 'it' pretty damn creepy in parts.

>> No.3945030

>>3944991
What is "literary merit"? Where does the line between "genre" and "literature" become defined?

>> No.3945073

>>3945030
Well, I am defining it in this instance as the "human interest" factor. King is an acute observer of people and the world we have created for ourselves (particularly in his little slice of Maine), and he is able to penetrate fairly deeply the human experience even when he's ostensibly writing about post-apocalyptic cowboys or murderous clowns. I guess "genre fiction" distracts you from life, while "literary fiction" teaches you something about it and forces you to confront it. I think it's more of a spectrum than a binary dichotomy though, and most decent books will contain traces of both.

>> No.3945096

He started writing very strangely after he got hit by a car

>> No.3945102

>>3945073
>I think it's more of a spectrum than a binary dichotomy though
Well that's different. Nice explanation, anyway.

>> No.3945105

>middle aged author looking for inspiration
>mentally handicapped, kind person
>wise older black man
>manic depressive house wife
>psychotic businessman
>psychic autistic child
>stupid horny teenager
Dammit Stephen

>> No.3945218

>>3944193
I don't like him because his plots tend to be extremely formulaic and cheesy. I don't find ghosts or aliens or supernatural crap to be scary. The best horror novels are psychological in nature and force you to briefly identify with the killer or antagonist. I'm scared by being disturbed rather than having an author jump out from behind a bush and go "BOO! YOU SHOULD BE SCARED BY THIS!"

>> No.3945220

>>3945218

I find your taste formulaic.

>> No.3945244

>>3945220
You're right. I should read a book about an airplane that magically travels into the past and gets attacked by flying giant green gumballs with razor-sharp teeth.

>> No.3945247

>>3945244

I find your response proper of a manchild, i.e. formulaic.

>> No.3945258
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3945258

>>3945247
>doesn't read books by Babby's First Author from Tutorial Isle
>manchild

>> No.3945265

>>3945258
>posts got gif
>not manchild

>> No.3945277

>>3945265
>every post mentions 'manchild'
>implying not manchild himself

>> No.3945301

Hey, you retards, do you know that greentexting and writing like that is proper of imbeciles? Do you think your "implying" is funny or smart? No, it is retarded.

Learn to write and grow up, scumbags.

>> No.3945324

>>3945301
Go kick some small animals, your rage and incompetence smells.

>> No.3945392

>>3944221
...
Not to nitpick too much but - Lovecraft wasn't a novelist.

>> No.3945420

>>3945324
>>I suck dick

Oh really? Well, at your age experimentation is important.

>> No.3945452

Well, this thread grew toxic extremely fast.

>> No.3945528

Holy shit, now I remember why I rarely come to /lit/.

>> No.3946033

>>3944204

let's start with this.

>>3944221

then a little bit of this.

>>3944991

But ultimately this. This is most people I've known who actually read King.

I think king is pretty good. Not fantastic like he's got the finger of god up his ass, but pretty good. At quite a few points, maybe a strong 7-8/10. He has an interesting style, his early plots were pretty damn good, but his endings very often can be meh, but that's what he's going for. I'd wager he doesn't want to just make it all better, he doesn't want to give you some feel good that you can cuddle up with in the end. Perhaps he wants the reader to consider the pain and suffering of his characters rather than go "They had a nice happily ever after, I can forget about them."... just my take.

Anywho, here's /lit/ in a nut shell: "They're popular, I'm going to make a list of the same overarching reasons that others have listed as to why I don't like them."

If people actually READ the authors they complain about they would begin to see something important; WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SEE. Yea, you can dislike an author, but if you read another author and can't see WHY other people might like them, you're just thick. Far too many people in this goddamn place make the assumption "I didn't like it = they're a bad author, because I know what i'm talking about, I read the greeks hurrdudurhduhrd (whatever)".

The point of this all; King can be pretty damn good, some of his stuff is bad, but show me any writer with a perfect score at more than 7 books. Form your own opinions, and realize that they are YOUR OWN.

peace.

>> No.3946147

Because he's arrogant and his fans pretend that his works are artful and sophisticated.

>> No.3946160

>>3944193
he is a decent writer, but his stories lack depth.

>> No.3946211

>>3946147

I feel like the problem is that so many people think he's the cat's meow, that they are overshadowing the fact that he is indeed a good writer.

>> No.3946248

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is pretty amazing regardless of whether you're a writer or reader. Very insightful.

>> No.3947454

>>3944193

I have read a few of his books, good at times. He cannot write an ending to save his life, IMHO.

>Builds up epic story
>I'm not saying it was aliens
>but it was fucking aliens
>GODFUCKINGDAMNITSTEPHEN

>> No.3947503

>>3946160
Pretty much this, it's as OP said, he is entry level because the people reading it wouldn't be able to comprehend an in depth story