Stephen King

Stephen King.  It's a name that brings many different pictures and images to one.  Some may form images of an evil clown, werewolves or of Kathy Bates carrying a sledge hammer.  Regardless of whether they are familiar with the works of Stephen King, the majority of people have at least heard his name.  Indeed, Stephen King is a well renowned writer.  He has made millions off the royalties of his novels and has influenced up to three generations of readers up until this point in time.  However, things were not always so great for the man named Stephen King. At one point in his life, Stephen King was practically broke living in a doublewide trailer and driving a rust-bucket Buick held together with bailing wire and duct tape. He couldnt even afford his own typewriter and had to borrow one from his wife, Tabitha.

Before his first book, Carrie, was published, it had been rejected up to 30 times.  In fact, it  may never have been published at all if not for the support of his wife.  With a lack of a steady income and a family to support, King was looking to publish something that would bring him some decent royalties.  The novel Carrie is about a repressed telekinetic girl who, after being publicly humiliated by her peers, uses her extraordinary powers to gain revenge.  King had a hard time putting together a plot and became increasingly agitated. He eventually would give up and throw away what he had written in the garbage.  One evening his wife Tabitha discovered what he had thrown away.  She realized that he was onto something and that this story could be a good one.  Tabitha would help him with the plot over the next few weeks.  Nine months later, Stephen King would complete his final draft of Carrie.  After being rejected thirty times, Carrie was finally published by Doubleday Publishing.  Although the original advance for it was not enough for King to live on, Carrie would soon change his life for the better.  Eventually, the paperback rights would go to Signet Books for $400,000.  These were the royalties he was looking for. 

All throughout the 1980s, King would continue publishing best selling novels. However, many things in his personal life were beginning to unravel.  King has admitted to drinking heavily and using drugs while completing such great novels like Cujo.  It got to a point where his wife and children almost gave up on him.  Eventually, Stephen King would kick his addictive habits and continue to write best sellers without being under the influence.

In June of 1999, Stephen King was struck by a motorist while jogging.  He suffered a collapsed right lung, scalp laceration and a broken hip.  Although he recovered, King contemplated quitting writing entirely.  However, he realized that writing was a part of his life and who he was and therefore could not forfeit the practice.  Stephen King continues to write to this day.

Stephen King Overcame the Odds of a low income and having his works rejected by dozens of publishers.  In addition, he Overcame the Odds of addiction and a tragic accident that could have killed him.

I should say that Stephen King has always been an important person in my life.  Even though I dont personally know the man, his works influenced my life in a special kind of way.  Suffering from certain symptoms of ADHD, I had trouble concentrating on reading all throughout Elementary School and Junior High.  In fact, it wasn't until about my Junior Year in High School that I developed an interest in reading.  After reading the works of Stephen King, I realized that reading anything whether a magazine, newspaper article or poem could be insightful in its own way.  By reading even the simplest of sentences, one can learn not only something about the world but they can also learn something about themselves.  During my Freshman Year in College, I had to write a paper in English Composition about someone who had influenced my life.  Of course, I chose Stephen King.  I received an A on my paper and was even asked to submit it in the Creative Writing Contest.  My final words of that paper have stayed with me to this day. Stephen King has always been associated with horror and scary things. However, he helped me overcome my fear of reading and applying myself in literary works.  My final sentence was "Ironically, the man who has instilled some of the most fears into the minds of many helped me overcome mine."