STEPHEN

KING
•
BIOGRAPHY
Writer. Born September 21, 1947 in Portland, Maine.
He graduated from his state university and continued
to live in Maine, at first supporting himself with odd
jobs while establishing his writing career. The
success of his first horror novel, Carrie (1974),
enabled him to publish earlier work under the
pseudonym Richard Bachman (1977–84), a ploy
which disguised the true extent of his prolific output of
novels, short stories, and screenplays, until the ruse
became public knowledge and he abandoned it.
• His own name became synonymous with best-selling
novels blending horror, fantasy, and science fiction
into a consistently scary mix. His books have sold
more than 100 million copies worldwide and include
Salem's Lot (1975), The Shining (1977), The Dead
Zone (1979), Misery (1987), Gerald's Game (1992),
and Cell (2006). He has also written collections of
short stories, including Hearts in Atlantis (1999).
Several were made into successful films, and he
himself tried his hand at film directing.
• King and his novelist wife live in Bangor, Maine. They
have three children: Naomi Rachel, a reverend;
Joseph Hillstrom, who writes under the pen name Joe
Hill and is a lauded horror-fiction writer in his own
right; and Owen Phillip, whose first collection of
stories was published in 2005.
• -taken from biography.com
“ON WRITING”
• The scariest moment is always just before you start.

• Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open.
Your stuff starts out being just for you, in other words, but
then it goes out. Once you know what the story is and get it
right — as right as you can, anyway — it belongs to anyone
who wants to read it. Or criticize it.

• One of the keys to doing that is to have an honest voice and

honest characters with both bad and good sides to them.
People we can relate to with all of their faults,

• If you want to be a better writer you need to read a lot to get

fresh input, broaden your horizons and deepen your
knowledge.

• I’ve saved the most important tip for last. To become a

better writer you probably – and not so surprisingly – need
to write more.
 HIS WORKS

“It” tells the story of a man dressed in a clown suit who

terrorizes a group of people.
The 1986 movie “Stand By Me” was based on his novella
“The Body” from Different Seasons. It is a coming of age
story involving four teenage boys out on a quest to find a
body.
 The 1999 film
“The Green Mile”
is about the death
row guards who
befriend a prisoner
falsely accused of
killing a young girl.
 The 1994 film “The
Shawshank Redemption”
featured Tim Robbins and
Morgan Freeman. It was
nominated for several
awards.
 The 1995 drama
“Dolores Claiborne”
deals with such
controversial issues as
spousal abuse and
murder.
 1408

A paranormal expert is
haunted by hotel ghost
in the 2007 film
“1408”.
The iconic 1980 film
“The Shining”
dramatizes the terror
and madness that is
born from isolation.
 Stephen King
King has written a total of 157
stories, 52 of which are
novels. Many of his stories
have been adapted to
screen. Retirement is not
yet an option for him, as he
seems to often find
inspiration.