The Shawshank Redemption

Chapter 1 He first liked to write, and then he made money (preface)——A little talk about Stephen King's creative career
Fu Yuean

Stephen King has been anxious ever since he discovered that he loves writing.

In [-], when he was seven years old, he stayed at home due to illness and lay in bed reading comics all day long.Encouraged by his mother, he created a four-page story about magical animals, and received a dollar in royalties from his mother.He felt that this opened a door of "possibility" in his life, but anxiety also began.

In different stages of life, this anxiety about writing appears in different guises. "Rejection" is of course one of them, but it's not serious.For a 14-year-old boy who writes for fun, the nail hanging on the wall that rejected the manuscript fell off because it could not bear the weight. At best, it would be better to replace it with a longer one.Rejection comments such as "It's well written, but not suitable for us. You are very talented, please work harder!" greatly encouraged him, and he felt deeply hopeful and promising.

The love of my life is horror

What really makes people anxious is that since he was a child, he has not responded to the excellent extracurricular books that are recognized as "spiritually uplifting" such as "Snow White" and "Duke Amber". And movies, almost without exception, are about Martians, vampires, zombies, tomb robbers, the living dead, Gorgon, Jack the Ripper... This kind of "inferior" creation that is still considered "not suitable for children" by educators today , and the more bloody and terrifying, the more exciting and satisfying it is for him.Writing reflects life. What you read and think, is moved by your heart, and it is naturally written, especially for eighth graders in middle school.

On a certain day in a certain month in 36, Stephen King rewrote the colorful horror film "The Pit and the Pendulum" (The Pit and the Pendulum) that he had seen and thought to be wonderful into a novel, wrote and printed it himself, and brought it to He sold [-] copies at school in one morning, earning [-] yuan now, and became his "first bestseller". More pocket money is finally not a dream.At two o'clock in the afternoon, he was called to the principal's office. The principal asked him to return the money to his classmates and gave him a scolding: "I really don't understand, Stephen, you are obviously talented, but why do you keep writing such rubbish? Wasting talent for nothing?" Stephen King complied with shame and returned the money, but did not admit defeat.During the summer vacation of that year, he wrote, edited and printed a story called "Alien Invasion", which sold well.However, even though he had earned enough pocket money, he still felt ashamed in his heart, and the headmaster's words kept coming to his ears: Why waste your talent?Why waste time?Why write this rubbish?
For more than 20 years since then, these words have become a lingering shadow for Stephen King.He's still writing, and he can't let go of "this rubbish stuff". "Writing is a kind of scribbling. Each of our minds is like a sieve, and the sieves vary in size and dimension. What cannot flow through my sieve may flow through yours without difficulty. What doesn't flow through your filter, may pass through mine. Each of us seems to have an innate responsibility to transform the dross that clogs our thinking filter, and eventually develop some kind of talent Come.” After becoming famous, Stephen King once explained his writing hobby in this way. The only thing that can’t flow through his thought filter is “fear”. Fiction".

The love of life is horror, which sounds a little morbid, and many people also think that this is Stephen King's speech after he has tasted the sweetness and made billions by scaring people.However, as Confucius said: "Wealth and honor are what people want; if you don't get them according to the way, you don't get them. Poverty and humbleness are what people hate; if you don't get them according to the way, you don't go Yes. A gentleman loses benevolence, and he is evil to become famous. A gentleman never ends up violating benevolence, and if he makes mistakes, he will do so, and he will do so.” If we replace the words “Tao” and “benevolence” with “horror novels” and “writing” Two words, and then use this passage to describe Stephen King's life, although it is not far, it is not far.

i know how serious i am
Stephen King in 27: Graduated from college for two years, [-] years old, married, glasses lenses are getting thicker and thicker, khaki pants can no longer fit the expanding beer belly.With one son and one daughter, he managed to find a teaching job in high school, but couldn't make ends meet. He also got a job in a laundry factory during the summer vacation, and his wife Tabitha wore a pink uniform as a waiter in a donut shop.The whole family lived in a trailer, the phone was disconnected, and there was no money to repair the battered "Buick" for transportation.He worries about extra bills all day long, and is distracted by teaching and executive meetings, "This is not the life I deserve!" Like everyone, Stephen King is overwhelmed by life, but he can't see it. any dawn of change.

However, even though life is so difficult, he still writes, still contributes, and still writes horror novels, with five or six unfinished manuscripts lying in the desk drawer at any time. "Why waste talent? Why waste time? Why write such rubbish?" These words of the old headmaster must have come to his mind, but at this time he probably has no time to take care of them.After all, sometimes "garbage" is hired, and the extra income from royalties will always bring unexpected joy.The whole family ate a big meal, bought more daily necessities, and took the daughter with ear problems to see the doctor that should have been seen long ago.What's wrong with that?What he is really worried about is, seeing that the year of thirties is coming, can he become a writer and make a living by writing?
The fate of a person is hard to say. In retrospect, a small action often determines the direction of a lifetime.If it weren't for his wife Tabitha who always believed that Stephen King was talented, writing would never be a waste of time and always encouraged him to spend more time on writing; if she hadn't rubbed out the "Witch Carrie" ( Carrie) picked up the draft, shook off the soot, spread it out to read, and said to her husband, "This is a trick, you must be able to do it"!Whether Stephen King can break free from the golden lock and walk away from the flood dragon, and raise a tall building from the ground, I'm afraid it's still uncertain.But in any case, in 30, the publication of "Carrie the Witch" is already a historical fact.This book is like a realized "American Dream", which made Stephen King a blockbuster, soared into the sky, and became famous overnight, and also created one of the most important best-selling authors in the history of American literature. Next, he spent [-] years , created the type of reading "social horror novels" with both hands, and paved a broad road together with Ann Rice, Dean Kunz, Peter Stauber, John Faris and others Come.

The prepaid royalties of "Carrie" were only 40 US dollars. After the best-selling, the paperback copyright alone was sold for 20 US dollars. He received half of the 31 US dollars, which is equivalent to 30 years of teaching salary.Stephen King's fortune is finally here!Being able to do what he loves without worry and wholeheartedly makes him work harder.For the next 20 years, he sat in front of the typewriter every morning and wrote at least [-] words before getting up, and he only stopped writing on the National Day, birthday and Christmas every year. (He later admitted that he said this to find a topic. In fact, he was crazy, and he wrote it for three days!) "I kept writing because it was the best thing I could do. Someone spent I have been doing psychoanalysis for [-] years, trying to understand why they have certain interests and feelings, I just indulge them." "When I sit in front of the typewriter, I know how serious I am." In an interview, Stephen Kim once said so.

By 130, in just eight years, he had written ten novels, which sold for money.After 25, the speed became even faster. Four new works were published consecutively within fifteen months. Among them, "It" (It) was [-] pages thick and weighed more than three pounds and seven and a half ounces. It is a taboo in the book market, but it is still "croaking", ranking first, and selling more than one million copies.In [-], four of his novels were on the best-seller list at the same time, which became an unprecedented event in the American publishing industry.Throughout the [-]s, Stephen King could be said to be invincible and invincible.According to statistics, in the past ten years, among the [-] best-selling books in the United States, he alone accounted for seven of them, which is unprecedented in the current vacuum!
In addition to royalties, from the first novel, Stephen King's other wealth comes from film and television income.Because he can really tell stories, and the thriller and suspense with bloody killing content is especially suitable for adaptation into film and television, so almost every novel has been put on the screen, making the relatively peaceful but monotonous life of the [-]s The American people got a catharsis of their stimulus.Some people have privately calculated that in the fall of [-], in less than a month, Stephen King had one novel broadcast on TV, two novels screened in cinemas, and another one was being filmed.Its huge benefits can be imagined.In fact, the Hollywood industry as we know it today is closely integrated with the publishing market. The production model of "the novel is still being written, and the movie will be shot" is almost Stephen King. Clayton, Tom Clancy these few best-selling kings carried forward and established.

Stephen King wrote fast and sold well. He gained both fame and fortune. Publishing is equivalent to printing money.However, he seemed anxious again.He used to like to drink a couple of cups, but in [-], he became addicted to alcohol and drugs. Not only did he drink heavily, but he also took cocaine.Why is this? The "fame syndrome" and the pressure of regular publishing may be the reasons, but judging from the quality of Stephen King's books during this period, it is probably not a problem.Hidden at the bottom of consciousness, "Why waste your talent? Why waste your time? Why write such rubbish?" is like a shadow, like a maggot attached to the bone, I'm afraid the old principal's curse is still at work.

From worrying about "horror" to worrying about "not scary"

In [-], Stephen King had successively written "Salem's Lot", "The Shining", "Night Shift", "The Dead Zone" (The Dead Zone), "Firestarter" (Firestarter), "Mad Dog Cujo" (Cujo) and other popular blockbuster novels have become famous for a while, and when they faintly have the appearance of "best seller", he published "Shawshank's Redemption" (Different Seasons).This book is quite beyond the expectations of readers and the publishing industry. It is composed of four novellas. The first three have nothing to do with horror. "Vampire" and the blood flowing all over the ground are nothing compared to it.Regarding this book, Stephen King later revealed: "I have spent more energy on it than any other book." "Maybe there will never be another book that is exactly the same in my life." How energetic?Why will there never be a second one?The answer has to be explored from this book.

Stephen King recounted in the "Postscript" of "The Shawshank Redemption" that when he published "The Witch Carrie" and then wrote "Salem Land", the editor was a little worried for him because he was afraid that he would be "stereotyped" as a "A writer who specializes in horror fiction".Stephen King took the matter lightly and asked him to wait a few years because "no one in America can make money writing horror fiction alone".The implication, of course, is that he will transform.Later, "The Shining" became a hit again, and the editors were even more worried about the "stereotype" issue.Stephen King is still relaxed, thinking that it is okay to be stereotyped, "If readers like it, I will continue to write horror novels, which is not bad." When "The Shawshank Redemption" came out, his editor was still worried. Not the same, "I don't think so. Can one of them be a horror story?" "Maybe I could add a little more horror." "Great! And that new novel—" "Writing about a haunted car?" How about your car?" "That's right!"

From worrying about "terrorism" to worrying about "not terrorism", it clearly shows that the market forces are gradually "stereotyped" Stephen King.But it also shows that even if horror is what he loves the most in his life, even if he has written ten novels in eight years, after the books have sold well, he is still a little confused, not sure whether he is writing "garbage", "wasting talent", Are you "wasting time"?This anxiety is expressed clearly through the mouth of the narrator Gordon who is recognized as the embodiment of Stephen King in "Corpse": "Many book reviewers say that what I write is shit, and I often feel that they say That's right...my story is so fairy tale-like it's absurd....I wonder if all this I'm doing really makes any sense? What is it like for a person to get rich writing fiction world?"

dark other half

Readers like me to write, Stephen King said so.However, apart from the readers' applause, what is enough to affirm a writer is the book reviewer—a book reviewer like the old headmaster who always equates "best seller" with "garbage".When there is no money to buy rice or salt, earning money to support the family is the most urgent need, and it doesn't matter what others say is good or bad.Once the money is flowing and the food and clothing are safe, self-affirmation becomes important.This affirmation often depends on "name", and it is "good name" rather than "bad name".There is no doubt that Stephen King is talented, but as he said, liking dark and unknowable things is his natural interest. He follows his God-given writing talent and follows his own nature to create. He is serious enough and works hard , The outside world also rewarded him with enough wealth and fame.However, why there are always some people, who he thinks are worthy of respect and should be valued, always think that he is sensationalizing and blindly making money; always criticize what he writes is not popular, no matter how much money he makes, it is still "" Rubbish"?If it is said that the most important thing for a writer is to "be true to himself", then he must have achieved this.But why can't the mainstream literary world affirm him?
This anxiety later became a prominent feature of Stephen King's literary creation, and he often wrote about best-selling authors, as far as the one kidnapped by a fanatical female book fan in "Number One Book Fan" (Misery, 1987), and as close as In "Bag of Bones" (1998), the person who was overwhelmed by the bottleneck of creation, all of them have the meaning of the master's own way.

The most noteworthy and most symbolic is "The Dark Half" (The Dark Half, 1989). The author who devoted himself to serious literary creation but achieved nothing, occasionally wrote a few horror novels, and gained both fame and fortune. middle-aged writer.Because the more he wrote, the more he felt that it was a waste of talent and a waste of time, so he wanted to stop.Through magazine reports, a ceremony of "burying the doppelgänger" was held by myself, and a few photos of "my tombstone" were taken at the cemetery to announce to the world.Who knew that the "ordinary clone" that was born out of nothing and supposedly dead had been awakened. "He" crawled out of the grave and went on a killing spree, killing everyone involved in the murder of "him".In the end, he kidnapped the middle-aged writer's wife and children and threatened him to write another series of novels so that he could be resurrected and replace him.At the end of the story, "serious literature" finally defeated "popular literature" and drove "him" back to the dark world where "he" should be.There is a passage in the book that makes people think: "Any man or woman who lives by creation must be like this. One lives in the normal world...the other creates the world. They are two people. At least two people." But why is the one in popular literature the "dark half", and why does "the one who lives in the normal world" have to put him to death?The real Stephen King is clearly on the "dark" side, but why did he still execute "himself"?What is the underlying psychological structure of this execution?

Popular literature belongs to the "dark half".As far as Stephen King is concerned, that seems to be the reality.In 12, [-] years after his debut, he already had a lot of money, fame and fortune, but in the American literary world, he looked like a new upstart, and he could only enjoy himself alone.The "National Book Foundation" (National Book Foundation), which represents the mainstream, has never looked at him seriously, not to mention that his works have been shortlisted for the "National Book Award". Send him an invitation: If you want to come, just pay for the meal coupons yourself!Stephen King, who was alone and haggard, might be overwhelmed by this, and decided to change the track and start again.During this year, he publicly announced that he would abandon the creation of horror novels, and turned to science fiction and fantasy novels that were less open-minded and always affirmed his efforts (at this time, he had already won the "Hugo Award" representing the highest honor for the creation of these two types of novels. " [Hugo Awards], "Lucas Awards" [Locus Awards] and "World Fantasy Awards" [World Fantasy Awards]).

upright, even dignified

After the news came out, the "gold fans" were in an uproar, resolutely opposed, and refused to obey.Not to mention those film and television people who rely on him for food.The situation fits perfectly with a proverb: "Those who act in a play must leave, but those who watch a play will not leave." In the end, Stephen King may not be able to resist the enthusiasm of book fans, the call of nature, and, also very important, the temptation of spending money. , Writing and writing, I still returned to the road of horror novels.In [-], he wrote "Number One Book Fan", which was later put on the screen and renamed "Ten Days of Surprise". The best-selling author who writes, to a considerable extent, should reflect Stephen King's inner feelings at that time.

Stephen King, who was "kidnapped", was like the "pawn crossing the river" in Hu Shi's mouth. He had no choice but to move forward desperately.The way forward, in addition to being more delicate and creative, with more "human psychology" and less "bloody violence"; more "ordinary people" and less "special functions", he also returned to short stories, Prove your talent by publishing a novel in The New Yorker.Even, from "Douleday" to "Viking" to "Scribner", the trajectory of changing publishers along the way also shows that he is becoming more and more "serious" to deal with attitude (in [-], he won the O.Henry Awards, the highest honor for short stories, with "The Man in the Black Suit", which is the result of this series of efforts ).More importantly, injustice leads to outcry. Whenever there is an opportunity, Stephen King will not hesitate to start a quarrel and argue with others to the end: "popular novel" is by no means synonymous with "garbage". Popularity does not necessarily mean good literature!
In [-], the American PEN Newsletter discussed the distinction between "popular literature" and "serious literature". The novelist Ursula Perrin wrote a letter to PEN, publicly saying: "I write The best are the 'better' novels, which means, I don't write romances or horror novels or mystery novels." This sentence angered Stephen King, who retorted sharply, even if there are thousands of best-selling novels, among which There are good ones and bad ones, "some of them, sometimes or often literary, and all are good storytellers. And it keeps me from the dullness of life...and enriches my leisure time Such creations, in my opinion, are always upright and decent, even noble.” How can one make a final decision and presumptuously determine the pros and cons?
"There is only good fiction and bad fiction, there is no difference between serious literature and popular literature." This is what Stephen King wants to say.However, like all previous discussions on this topic, this debate is still expressed separately, with occasional intersections.The reason is that although this matter is only concerned with the rationality of the distinction between "serious literature" and "popular literature", the underlying problem is not only the replacement of literary paradigms, but also the evolution of literary history. Popular literature writers have changed into classic romantic writers in the history of English literature today; or Eliot (TSEliot, 1888-1965)'s "The Waste Land" (The Waste Land, 1922) and Joyce (James Joyce, 1882-1941) 1922)’s Ulysses (Ulysses, [-]) shaped modernism and brought the novel into the narrow alley of “literature is only obscure”. In fact, it also involves the Cultural changes, such as the commercialization of writing, the entertainment of publishing, the attack and defense of cultural hegemony, and even the essence of human nature, are by no means clear and understandable in a few words-"Tao is false and all predestined relationships need to be matured with time", Can the replacement of paradigms be changed at will?
final affirmation
In [-], Stephen King was involved in a car accident and survived.The publication of "On Writing" (On Writing) in [-] has the meaning of making a final conclusion for his life and passing it on to future generations.In the summer of [-], it was rumored that he was suffering from age-related macular degeneration and was in danger of blindness; in the winter, he said that he would retire bravely and was about to close his pen.All of these seem to indicate that the long days are coming to an end, and there is no time to give.The master has never forgotten it all his life, hoping to set up a monument in the history of American literature, so as to prove to the old headmaster that he did not waste his talent, did not waste his time, and did not write rubbish. His wish could not be fulfilled.Unexpectedly, at this time, the "National Book Foundation" announced that he won the "Lifetime Achievement Award" of the [-] National Book Award on the grounds that his works "inherited the greatness of American literature that emphasizes plot and atmosphere." Tradition embodies both beautiful and tragic moral truths deep within the human soul."

Stephen King finally received the invitation, and it was an invitation to accept the award on stage.When the news came out, the American literary world was like a hornet's nest that had been pierced through, and the crowd was boiling: there were those who disdain, those who opposed conspiracy theories, and those who applauded.The debate lasted for a month, from the newspapers and magazines to the awards venue.Harold Bloom, a conservative general and a Yale University professor who has spared no effort to promote the "Western canon" all his life, blasted that this is a "terrible mistake" because Stephen King "is not a good writer at all", "His work, used to be called 'cheap thrillers'. That's the thing, and they believe there's any literary value, aesthetic achievement, and enlightening ideas in it, which only proves that the reviewers are idiots! "The famous literary critic Lev Grossman (Lev Grossman) wrote an article "Long Live the Old King" in "Time Magazine", strongly supporting Stephen King.He believes that "Stephen King's efforts are not only sincere, but also brave", "the next wave of literature will not come from the elegant place, but from the vulgar place, from the bronzing outsourcing and embossed cover on the drugstore shelf board." Printed paperback. Go ahead and read yours. This revolution will not cheer the saints."

Not only did the saints not cheer, but they also "spit" Stephen King face to face.On November 7, 72, the awards ceremony was held in New York. Stephen King attended despite the pneumonia infection and was sick. He also spent more than 56 US dollars to pack six tables and invite friends who are also best-selling writers. Amy Tan and John Gleason participated, and a free invitation card was also given to them.He sincerely called for "the establishment of a bridge of communication between the so-called 'popular novels' and the so-called 'serious literature'".However, Shirley Hazzard, [-], who won the Fiction of the Year Award for her book "Great Fire," didn't buy into the [-]-year-old's account, not only telling the Associated Press The reporter, who had never read a Stephen King novel himself, said frankly in front of nine hundred guests: "Give us a list of current bestsellers, and I don't think we'll get any better out of it." So satisfying." "These hobbies of ours are serious, we have our intuition, our personality, we know what we're supposed to read."

Conclusion
In the foreseeable future, the literary war between "popular" and "serious" is likely to continue.Stephen King can still see it, but he may not necessarily go into muddy water and scold people.After all, he has already earned the monument he wanted most, and he has given an account to the old headmaster.For a lifelong writer, he spent 30 years writing 33 novels and 1990 short stories. His works were translated into [-] languages ​​and sold [-] million copies. Two books, one is the "Bible" and the other is probably Stephen King", it is too far-fetched to say that this is not a "lifetime achievement".As Neil Baldwin, chairman of the "National Book Foundation" said when announcing Stephen King's award: "We need to look at what literature is from a broader perspective." death” and regard “writing attitude” as the most basic element of literature, then the world of literature may become more diverse, rich and approachable.And this passage from Stephen King’s preface to Four Past Midnight ([-]) makes more sense:

I still love a good story, I love hearing a good story, and I love telling a good story.You may or may not know (or care) that you may or may not know (or don't care), but I made a lot of money publishing this and the next two books.If you care, you should also know that I didn't get paid a dime for "writing".Like other spontaneous things, writing itself is beyond money.Money is good, of course, but when you're creating, you better not think about it too much.This kind of thinking will only make the creative process constipated.

(End of this chapter)