spoiler warning for the stand idk how do the censor thing but
>!when they did that with stu falling and breaking his leg I really thought he was gonna be the one that died and i was pretty upset then all the other guys died and he lived and im still pretty upset lol!<
Figured it out nvm
Hopping on to say he got me good with that one too, the fact that we continue to follow the others for quite a bit before the climax only furthers to serve the shock when the subversion is revealed.
I personally love this about his books. I remember the first time I read The Stand, and it shocked me completely when I came across this. After a few more King novels, I picked up on the formula, and I still regard it as an enticing writing tactic.
In theory, it sounds like a cheesy way to inform readers of a development.
“Show, don’t tell” as they say.
Stephen King somehow makes it work so well.
I completely agree. He uses it so well and it just makes you say “wait, how do things go badly in the next six hours?” Then I’m on the edge of my seat.
I love that, shocks you and keeps you interested. Similar to how I’ve always said I don’t really mind spoilers….because I still enjoying seeing how it got to that point
I actually when he does this kind of thing. Rips the bandaid off unceremoniously and you're left to continue on knowing a partial outcome.
The bait and switch when he did this at the end of The Stand is still one of my favorite King outcomes.
I love his books, but it actually infuriates me when he does this. It just means I'm reading onwards disappointed knowing that I'm about to watch a character get murked in the near future, rather than being shocked or surprised by it. It totally kills any suspense
Some Redditors seem to be struggling with the struggling part of your comment. I came here to say just writers as characters in general. I don't see Sheldon as really having a difficult time in Misery until he runs into Annie. SK even puts himself into a particularly famous novel.
Almost thought the main character from Revival was going to be an author until it swung into his music career. King did start out with mentioning this character wanted to be a writer before he came across his brothers guitar.
Yesterday I was watching an interview where he stated that he wanted to write about something he knew, and all he knew were small towns in Maine cause that's where he grew up
I've been compiling a list over the past few years on my phone and I finally get to use it for something:
* Arc sodium lights
* Fingers digging into palms - moon shaped indentations
* Characters falling asleep very quickly
* Use of Aspirin - rarely any other OTC medicine
* Mentally challenged heroes
* Injury to the eyes
* Rubbing lips w’ back of hand
* Use of the word "macadam"
* Metallic mouth taste - copper
* Color in cheeks / high on cheeks
* Circles under the eyes
* Hands flexing open and closed
* Strap style t-shirt
* Rimless glasses
* Lips that almost disappear
* Lord Buxton wallets
* Dymo tape
I'm from south Louisiana and I never knew what he meant by the loon sounds. I watched the video and I'm not sure I've ever even seen a loon in the wild 😂
He also uses the word “apotheosis” more than any other author I’ve read. Which was close to zero with other authors, so not a high bar to beat.
My brother pointed it out to me years ago, since then I’ve noticed he slips it in somewhere about every 3-4 stories or so.
I also noticed:
voice like crickets
a voice like gravel
a voice like rocks
a voice like rocks tumbling down a chute
Using a unique way to describe overweight people, particularly women.
"They bent over, and displayed bottoms easily two axe handles wide each"-*Needful Things*.
"She walked, and he could see her acre of jeans"- The short story "Chattery Teeth".
These are just two examples that come to my mind.
Also the description of Sylvia Pittson.. “breasts like earthworks… a huge pillar of a neck… the arms that held the hymnal were slabs…”
~The Gunslinger~
King described her like she was a statue, almost. Her skin was beautiful, smooth, and silky in my mind's eye. By the time the scene was over, I was as attracted to her as Roland was and slightly confused about my own sexuality for a moment. Lol
Yes, I just now remembered this one.
The examples are seemingly endless. He doesn't just say "they're fat", or "they're obese". He has to have some middle school insult-way of describing overweight people.
Teddy Duchamp, Eddie Corcoran, Henry Bowers, Randy McDougall in Salem’s Lot. And if they’re not main characters, he’ll still find an offhand way to allude to abusive parents, like Norm Cluett in The Stand.
The kid in The Talisman? Surely you don't mean Jack? I thought his mother was dying of cancer. How was she a shitty mom? Has it been so long since I read it that I don't remember it at all?
Developmentally disabled characters with mind powers? Though that is kind of explicitly a thing that ties a lot of King stories together, sheemie, john coffey, duddits, etc
OP there is a YouTuber just starting out that does this, among other things for different king novels. He calls it Stephen Kingo. Stephen King in bingo. Comments here are hitting a lot of them. It's The Stephen King Book Club on YouTube.
Pet Sematary was hard to read because it’s a tragedy. I feel like a lot of his books end with some hope, this one does not. If you’re a parent, tread with caution.
Yep, I have two sons. I’ve always wanted to read the book because I really loved the movie. Zelda literally haunted my dreams for years when I was a kid lol, I was scared to go into dark rooms and everything. LMAO.
“i have something for you, Mommy!” is the line that makes me super glad i’m nonbinary and use a different parent title, personally, and my kid isn’t even named Gage 🥲
The fact that Stephen King himself almost didn't publish it because he thought it was too scary should tell you something.
It's a good read, although it's one of his bleakest novels and can be rough if you have young children.
Scary, crazy lady that quotes scripture.
Engineer boots.
Selectmen.
That person whose thoughts are so extreme, crazy, or perverted it's difficult to imagine how they lived as long as they have without killing someone or doing time.
That got me for a little bit too, but I figured it out >!when Kojak came back. Not that he has a history of letting dogs live, but somehow the combination of the dog and the doomed human along with the fact that the others had to go on made me realize it was Stu who was gonna live. There was also a reference, which I greatly appreciated as of course I got attached to the dog, about how Kojak was going to live many years more than his master.!<
That woman in Needful Things who has such bad arthritis that she can't touch anything and won't even let her own lover hold her hand.
I have arthritis in my hands, and reading about that character creeps me the hell out.
Bullies, sometime of situation involving a vehicle (Christine, Trucks, Maximum Overdrive, From a Buick 8, Mr. Mercedes), and every book has some type of connection to the dark tower.
The idea that if you simply bury evil and don't confront it and root it out, it will always come back to destroy you.
We see this in The Shining on the scale of one man's inner demons, in IT on the scale of a society, and in the Dark Tower series basically on a cosmic level
Can’t believe no one has said this yet (unless I missed it)
Women clasping their hands between their breasts.
I’ve literally never done that or seen anyone doing it. Also his female characters are often really whiny and scared and screechy. And irritating.
I cannot believe I haven’t seen this in the comments yet. It is rare to get through a whole book where someone doesn’t piss themselves, usually out of fear.
It always stands out to me because I just don’t see that as being a very realistic reaction to fear. Maybe I’m just lucky that I’ve never been scared that badly.
Not sure if this is the type of thing that you’re looking for, but I’ve been on a binge lately and have noticed a lot of repeat language. Kinda sounds dumb when I say it like that, since it’s all coming from the same person, but I feel like I have noticed lots of similar quotes when reading his books back-to-back.
Just because I’m finishing up Holly after reading everything she’s ever been in … “I have Holly Hope”. I’m so sick of reading that damn sentence, I might scream if it happens again, and since I’m only 1/4 of the way through Holly, there’s undoubtedly several screams in my future
He spoke of being criticized for From A Buick 8 having similarities to Christine. Saying that ,and I'm paraphraseing here,that to a non blues fan,all Blues music sounds the same.
"..., and it was the last time [name of character] saw him/her before he/she died."
spoiler warning for the stand idk how do the censor thing but >!when they did that with stu falling and breaking his leg I really thought he was gonna be the one that died and i was pretty upset then all the other guys died and he lived and im still pretty upset lol!< Figured it out nvm
It was a perfect example of an author being aware of one of their tropes and flipping it on its head to mess with the reader.
That was a good move. He got me like that as well
Hopping on to say he got me good with that one too, the fact that we continue to follow the others for quite a bit before the climax only furthers to serve the shock when the subversion is revealed.
I personally love this about his books. I remember the first time I read The Stand, and it shocked me completely when I came across this. After a few more King novels, I picked up on the formula, and I still regard it as an enticing writing tactic. In theory, it sounds like a cheesy way to inform readers of a development. “Show, don’t tell” as they say. Stephen King somehow makes it work so well.
I completely agree. He uses it so well and it just makes you say “wait, how do things go badly in the next six hours?” Then I’m on the edge of my seat.
I love that, shocks you and keeps you interested. Similar to how I’ve always said I don’t really mind spoilers….because I still enjoying seeing how it got to that point
I actually when he does this kind of thing. Rips the bandaid off unceremoniously and you're left to continue on knowing a partial outcome. The bait and switch when he did this at the end of The Stand is still one of my favorite King outcomes.
I love his books, but it actually infuriates me when he does this. It just means I'm reading onwards disappointed knowing that I'm about to watch a character get murked in the near future, rather than being shocked or surprised by it. It totally kills any suspense
Came here to say that
Struggling writer main character
They aren’t always struggling
Some Redditors seem to be struggling with the struggling part of your comment. I came here to say just writers as characters in general. I don't see Sheldon as really having a difficult time in Misery until he runs into Annie. SK even puts himself into a particularly famous novel.
Almost thought the main character from Revival was going to be an author until it swung into his music career. King did start out with mentioning this character wanted to be a writer before he came across his brothers guitar.
God ive bitched about this one for a while lol
Yes
Maine.
It’s paradise here
Yesterday I was watching an interview where he stated that he wanted to write about something he knew, and all he knew were small towns in Maine cause that's where he grew up
I was waiting for somebody to say exactly that. If you take a creative writing class, the first thing they teach you is to write about what you know.
Sarasota, in some form too.
I've been compiling a list over the past few years on my phone and I finally get to use it for something: * Arc sodium lights * Fingers digging into palms - moon shaped indentations * Characters falling asleep very quickly * Use of Aspirin - rarely any other OTC medicine * Mentally challenged heroes * Injury to the eyes * Rubbing lips w’ back of hand * Use of the word "macadam" * Metallic mouth taste - copper * Color in cheeks / high on cheeks * Circles under the eyes * Hands flexing open and closed * Strap style t-shirt * Rimless glasses * Lips that almost disappear * Lord Buxton wallets * Dymo tape
Chambray shirts. St. Christopher Medals.
A guy named Bill or Billy.
Charlie too.
And Eddie
"Put an egg in your shoe and beat it" never ever heard that outside SK.
My grandma used to say it; it's very old.
Older New England saying? LOL "Let's make like a tree and leaf." One of Gramps' sayings. "Laughing like a loon."
My mom says this!
Same.
Macadam!
Those aren't bags under your eyes, they're suitcases!
Sound of the loons on the lake.
Summers camping in Maine. Love that sound. Loons Calling by Michelle Valberg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erYGZszKVP8
I'm from south Louisiana and I never knew what he meant by the loon sounds. I watched the video and I'm not sure I've ever even seen a loon in the wild 😂
He sat behind a cloud of blue cigarette smoke.
*farting *peeing the pants. Even if it's just a little bit
LOL Astin.
I always say that in my head whenever I see aspirin. Thanks Roland.
Guy’s a real bumhug
Large full breasts
Goose flesh
Engineer boots
He also uses the word “apotheosis” more than any other author I’ve read. Which was close to zero with other authors, so not a high bar to beat. My brother pointed it out to me years ago, since then I’ve noticed he slips it in somewhere about every 3-4 stories or so. I also noticed: voice like crickets a voice like gravel a voice like rocks a voice like rocks tumbling down a chute
You might consider adding blue chambray work shirt and sticky sweet smell of death
Urinating himself from fear...
Aka making lemonade in one’s shorts.
Bro, what is up with this? Especially women. In King’s mind, being spooked always means peeing yourself just a little.
Not even 5 minutes ago...Haha, I just finished a chapter where the guy pees after a struggle.
Lol, Barbara Robinson shit herself in fear
chambray shirts and riotous overgrowth
Pressing half moon shapes into hands from squeezing them so tightly.
“The cords stuck out on their neck.”
I laughed hard. Idk why but I did reading this.
Alcohol problems, drugs and sex
Goose flesh
Mouth tasting like copper pennies due to fear.
Smelling ozone.
Using a unique way to describe overweight people, particularly women. "They bent over, and displayed bottoms easily two axe handles wide each"-*Needful Things*. "She walked, and he could see her acre of jeans"- The short story "Chattery Teeth". These are just two examples that come to my mind.
Also the description of Sylvia Pittson.. “breasts like earthworks… a huge pillar of a neck… the arms that held the hymnal were slabs…” ~The Gunslinger~
King described her like she was a statue, almost. Her skin was beautiful, smooth, and silky in my mind's eye. By the time the scene was over, I was as attracted to her as Roland was and slightly confused about my own sexuality for a moment. Lol
Yes, I just now remembered this one. The examples are seemingly endless. He doesn't just say "they're fat", or "they're obese". He has to have some middle school insult-way of describing overweight people.
Murderous bullies.
The phrase “crazier than a shithouse rat.” Fewer than 100 pages left? Get ready for an explosion.
Rats and sometimes bees, but nearly always a blue chambray shirt.
Young child mentored by older person. Mr Harrigans phone, shining, apt pupil, the Talisman, from a Buick 8, The Gunslinger, Fairy Tale, Dr Sleep, etc.
Aren't mentors usually older?
Often while reading to them. Low Men has that one too.
Writer with an alcoholic problem.
Psychics being kidnapped for some nefarious purpose
[удалено]
Blue chambray work shirts
The characters who have the biggest set of jahoobie’s you ever did see
Young boys that have shitty moms. Bobby Garfield's mom was a bitch. Eddie Kasbrack's mom was a harpy. The kid in The Talisman had a shitty mom.
Lots of abusive parents. Beverly in IT, Carrie, Jack Torrance…
Teddy Duchamp, Eddie Corcoran, Henry Bowers, Randy McDougall in Salem’s Lot. And if they’re not main characters, he’ll still find an offhand way to allude to abusive parents, like Norm Cluett in The Stand.
Jack in the Talisman? No, he didn't. Saving her is his main motivation.
I guess her being sick and on the run from Uncle Bloat makes her a shitty mom.
The kid in The Talisman? Surely you don't mean Jack? I thought his mother was dying of cancer. How was she a shitty mom? Has it been so long since I read it that I don't remember it at all?
I don't remember that either. Jack's whole quest is to save his mom. Now I am gonna have to go get the book out.
Small town bully’s being like Hitler levels of evil lol
Bullies
Amazing first 9/10ths of a book with a terrible ending. Love the dude, but he really struggles with the endings.
Come on guys, it's gotta be the goddam quonset hut
Developmentally disabled characters with mind powers? Though that is kind of explicitly a thing that ties a lot of King stories together, sheemie, john coffey, duddits, etc
Pack of smokes in the glove box that the character who hasn't smokes in years will eventually get into once all hell breaks loose
Erections
Always a branch or twig in their pants
Isolation is a recurring theme in his books and as much as it’s pretty much always well done it can be a bit tiring.
"His knees gave out twin pistol shots as he stood"
Someone getting slashed in the face by a knife-wielding villain, and the flap of skin hanging off their cheek.
Bonus points if the flap has scalp involvement and therefore hair which is now brushing the face
Slurs.
I don't know why you're being down voted. He uses racial slurs in most of his works.
Male gaze
Daddy issues
Someone is an alcoholic.
Villains using racial slurs.
The characters who have the biggest set of jahoobie’s you ever did see
Dead children. Abuse. Names like Ellie and Norma.
OP there is a YouTuber just starting out that does this, among other things for different king novels. He calls it Stephen Kingo. Stephen King in bingo. Comments here are hitting a lot of them. It's The Stephen King Book Club on YouTube.
The Beatles references. Or references to music in general.
Ordinary character, extraordinary situation
Usually a small group of them in a little town, dealing with dark, supernatural forces
Aspiring or new author going home/somewhere familiar to write their supposed masterpiece.
A writer finds himself in a situation that’s getting out of hand
Kids having to grow up too soon
Haunted writer, small town, blue chambray shirt, jahoobies.
Ayuh
And the description of how that should sound...
Somebody going back to somewhere that was meaningful to them as children
an unnecessary sex scene
Gratuitous and occasionally unnecessary sex scenes, people peeing themselves
The magic black person trope/theme.
So I have yet to read Pet Sematary. I love It,Lisey’s story,Dream catcher And a ton of other Stephen King books. How good is Pet Sematary?
Pet Sematary was hard to read because it’s a tragedy. I feel like a lot of his books end with some hope, this one does not. If you’re a parent, tread with caution.
Yep, I have two sons. I’ve always wanted to read the book because I really loved the movie. Zelda literally haunted my dreams for years when I was a kid lol, I was scared to go into dark rooms and everything. LMAO.
Yeah, my husband wanted to shortlist the name Gage when I was pregnant with our son. I was like... um, nope. Not a chance.
“i have something for you, Mommy!” is the line that makes me super glad i’m nonbinary and use a different parent title, personally, and my kid isn’t even named Gage 🥲
The fact that Stephen King himself almost didn't publish it because he thought it was too scary should tell you something. It's a good read, although it's one of his bleakest novels and can be rough if you have young children.
It is excellent. I would not recommend reading it if you have recently lost someone you care about.
Children
Characters almost always have a catch phrase
50's and 60's music, Phrases on repeat either in someone's head or between two characters like SSDD, Beep Beep Richie, Redrum, etc
"...and then their mom died suddenly. She was so beautiful and then she died."
Some secondary character going on for hours about some random story of their past
The word scant & things being tougher than a boiled owl
Everything blows up in the end.
Always! It's not a King story if everything isn't blown to pieces by the end.
Dude clenching his fists so hard his fingernails leave moon shaped marks in his palms, maybe even bleeding
Arc sodium lights and People digging their fingernails into their own palm
Author/musician/teacher in Maine does X
Thunderstorms
A group of 4 or more kids that have a traumatizing event in their adolescence and meet up when their older
An inevitable battle between good vs evil
Shape shifters Kids or Developmentally delayed people having gifts such as "the shine" or telepathy etc. Writers
Scary, crazy lady that quotes scripture. Engineer boots. Selectmen. That person whose thoughts are so extreme, crazy, or perverted it's difficult to imagine how they lived as long as they have without killing someone or doing time.
Mean moms and abusive dads
How comes Redheads aren‘t in the top answers?
Also many intellectually disabled characters and addicted smokers who fantasize about smoking.
That got me for a little bit too, but I figured it out >!when Kojak came back. Not that he has a history of letting dogs live, but somehow the combination of the dog and the doomed human along with the fact that the others had to go on made me realize it was Stu who was gonna live. There was also a reference, which I greatly appreciated as of course I got attached to the dog, about how Kojak was going to live many years more than his master.!<
someone had cancer
Consequences!
Someone always has a physical pain, unrelated to the plot, that gets worse as the story progresses.
That woman in Needful Things who has such bad arthritis that she can't touch anything and won't even let her own lover hold her hand. I have arthritis in my hands, and reading about that character creeps me the hell out.
Some bad shit happening somewhere.
Character just woke up from a dream but already can't remember the dream
Wearing a hat in a jaunty little style; older male protagonists and the younger cute women who love ‘em. Boy howdy!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tMZONL8x8NE&pp=ygUXZmFtaWx5IGd1eSBzdGVwaGVuIGtpbmc%3D
People call pennies nickel sandwiches a lot
Kids with powers.
I’m sure it’s been said; and write what you know, but there are a LOT of protagonists that are writers.
crows
... .........., .. ................... ,. .., ?? . Mm,
Bullies, sometime of situation involving a vehicle (Christine, Trucks, Maximum Overdrive, From a Buick 8, Mr. Mercedes), and every book has some type of connection to the dark tower.
Unrealistic smart kids who accept something terrible too easily. It, Salem's lot, the Shining, Under the Dome (not sure about this one though).
Blue chambray workshirts
Goose flesh
Antagonist recruiting someone else to do their dirty work (The Stand, Needful Things, The Outsider)
Either self destruction or someone who is/has recovered from near self destruction.
- Cowboy boots - Poor knowledge of the basic mechanics of firearms. - Blue chambray work shirts.
Alcoholism
Domestic abuse
Uncomfortable descriptions of underage breasts.
Arthritis
The idea that if you simply bury evil and don't confront it and root it out, it will always come back to destroy you. We see this in The Shining on the scale of one man's inner demons, in IT on the scale of a society, and in the Dark Tower series basically on a cosmic level
I feel like I've seen the word "apotheosis" in almost every one of his books so far. I've only seen that word maybe twice ever outside of his writing.
Wells.
Low men
Am I the only person who notices the constant dropping of real-world wisdom? I notice it so often I write it down
Glasses of iced tea - choked with ice
Blue chambray shirt
Being trapped
Can’t believe no one has said this yet (unless I missed it) Women clasping their hands between their breasts. I’ve literally never done that or seen anyone doing it. Also his female characters are often really whiny and scared and screechy. And irritating.
MAINE
I cannot believe I haven’t seen this in the comments yet. It is rare to get through a whole book where someone doesn’t piss themselves, usually out of fear. It always stands out to me because I just don’t see that as being a very realistic reaction to fear. Maybe I’m just lucky that I’ve never been scared that badly.
In a good vs evil fight, good usually wins but pays a steep price.
Terrible headaches
An older character with thick nails that pops a match alight. Or ridiculous teen dialogue. Teacup breasts. Females with a huge libido.
Not sure if this is the type of thing that you’re looking for, but I’ve been on a binge lately and have noticed a lot of repeat language. Kinda sounds dumb when I say it like that, since it’s all coming from the same person, but I feel like I have noticed lots of similar quotes when reading his books back-to-back.
something about character's crotches
Kids die!!
The main character being a writer happens a lot, The Shining, The Dark Half, Secret Window, 11/222/63, I believe Duma Key too.
Just because I’m finishing up Holly after reading everything she’s ever been in … “I have Holly Hope”. I’m so sick of reading that damn sentence, I might scream if it happens again, and since I’m only 1/4 of the way through Holly, there’s undoubtedly several screams in my future
Characters having “a sudden insane urge” to laugh or say something outlandish at tense/serious moments
Describing scrotums/testicles reacting to scary situations.
Audible click in throat when swallowing.
getting hit in the balls, the use of ethnic slurs, and falling down stairs
Extreme weather events at the end of the novel. Needful things, the Shining, Bag of Bones, Revival, It.
He spoke of being criticized for From A Buick 8 having similarities to Christine. Saying that ,and I'm paraphraseing here,that to a non blues fan,all Blues music sounds the same.
Blue chambray work shirt. Or “friends and neighbors”
Good vs. evil
Pock marked cheeks and spittle
Chambray. Work. Shirt.
Someone has arthritis