In anticipation of the release of his new novel "Under the Dome," there's an interesting post over on StephenKing.Com wherein he talks about the various iterations the novel has gone through. Apparently, he essentially abandoned the thing years ago -- even lost it once or twice -- before coming back to it.
Perhaps of most interest to us writers is a downloadable .PDF of the first few early chapters, back when it was known as "The Cannibals." Seeing his own edits and crossouts is quite fascinating, not to mention the nostalgia those of us of a certain age get when seeing anything typewritten.
If interested, check it out here. The downloadable .PDF is available on the bottom of the screen, just above the blank comments field.
And stay tuned to this space, where I'll soon be sharing my own somewhat embarassing encounter with the Master of Horror himself. Though I do feel I'm getting closer . . . I'm just not ready to talk about it yet. Soon, though.
(:?)
6 comments:
Fascinating link.
Thanks, Cate. I thought so too.
I love the look of all those old scanned papers. Nice to see how the "Masters" work, isn't it?
Same here, Aaron. It's like looking at old parchment or sheepskin or something, idnit? And seeing his own edits is always fascinating.
i think i like the cannibals title better. im looking forward to the novel, though his last one (The Duma Key one, not the short collection) bored me and I couldn't finish it (bad King girl)
I confess that after growing up reading him, I stopped not long after "Cujo" and "Pet Semetary." Could not believe he killed the kid off in "Cujo" and (if I remember right) practically everyone in "Pet Semetary."
I remember saying to myself, "If he doesn't care about his characters, why should I?"
(Course I find out later that he doesn't even remember writing Cujo, so I'll cut him some slack . . .)
Gave him another try with the dual release of "Regulators" and "Desparation" and really enjoyed them. But I put "Cell" down after only a few chapters.
May give this one a shot.
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