Insomnia: About The Author

About The Author

The author of the book I'm reading, Insomnia, is Stephen King. Stephen King is an author who mainly writes horror stories. Generally his books are over 110,000 words. His longest book being The Stand with 1152 pages. he has been writing since 1974 and is still writing and publishing books today. Some of his most popular books are; The Shining, Revival, Under the Dome, The Stand, and Carrie.

Many of his books are still popular today because of movies(The Shining & Carrie) and some of his books are so long they got turned into TV shows.(Under the Dome) He has had _ of his book that have been turned into movies. In general he says he's reasonably happy with the way his books turn out. However, when asked about one of his most popular movies, The Shining, he says it didn't turn out quite like he wanted.

Stephen King Answers Questions From Fans

Stephen King began writing when he was in school for a school newspaper. He even sold short stories that he wrote based of movies to some of his classmates. He went to college at The University of Maine. Throughout college he wrote, published, and sold short stories. He then worked as a teacher while still selling short stories to magazines and columns. 

After publishing his first book, Carrie, he moved around Maine while publishing more books like 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, and The Stand. After that he taught a creative writing class and wrote and published his first and longest series, The Dark Tower books. And has continued writing many more books up till now only taking a break in 2002 after a car accident. Some books he's published recently are Revival, A Good Marriage, and Mr Mercedes.  He doesn't publish as many books today as he did in the 1970's through 1990's but the books he publishes are still just as amazing as when he was younger.

Duma Key: A Dynamic Character and How They Changed Throughout the Text

Duma Key

Stephen King

A dynamic character in my book would be the main character, Edgar Freemantle. In the beginning of the book, just after his accident he is always angry, out of control, and forgets a lot. However, by the end of the book he's confident, more calm, and much more in control of himself and his memories.

In the beginning of the book Edgar gets into an an accident while working. This accident causes him to lose his right arm and damage almost the whole right side of his body, including his head. Because of this he often gets frustrated, angry, and can't remember things that happened in the past or moments that he doesn't remember that he does at the times and has some hostile encounters with his wife until eventually she asks for a divorce. Edgar decides that he needs a fresh start and moves to Duma Key, Florida. While there he discovers a talent, makes new friends, and really changes his lifestyle and how he thinks.

In the very beginning right after his accident the story is being told in first person vpoint of view in the past. A quote that shows how despairing and in pain Edgar was is, "and the nurse says: 'Are you ready to visit with your wife?' And I say: 'Only if she brought a gun to shoot me with.'" This helps show how much he didn't want to go on and couldn't move past the pain and the missing limb. However by the end of the book he is speaking in present tense and says, "If I kept saying it; if I kept reaching out. My accident really taught me just one thing: the only way to go on is to go on. To say 'I can do this' even when you know you can't." This really shows how he changed his way of thinking to more positive and more ready to believe in himself. It also shows how he's trying new things and pushing himself to do things that will make him happy.

I found an outside article that shows how hard is it to live without a limb after living so long. This article also talks phantom pains that Edgar also dealt with and how hard it is to adjust your lifestyle in such a dramatic way. Overall, Edgar started out having a hard time dealing with the problems in his life but after meeting more supportive friends he became happier and more hopeful for his future.

The Shining: Describe The Setting Of The Novel

My novel is The Shining by Stephen King. The setting of this book is a hotel in the 1980's. The family is living there for the winter because the dad is the caretaker. It is called The Overlook because the hotel is in the mountains and overlooks the scenery in the mountains. An example from the book describing the scenery seen from the road near the hotel is, "They were standing near the top of one peak. Across from them- who knew how far?- an even taller mountain reared into the ski, its jagged tip only a silhouette that was now nimbused by the sun, which was beginning its decline. The whole valley floor was spread out below them..."(King 63) This is a description of the view from a stop in the road below the hotel. The scenery is the main reason the hotel is so popular despite it's  history of crime and death there.

Another important aspect of the setting is how they are isolated The closest thing to the hotel is a small town awhile away and is down a steep mountain. The next major city is even farther. This shows how if there is any trouble at the hotel it might take awhile to get help. This causes the parents to be very overprotective of Danny. It also means that the only thing that the kid, Danny, can do is explore in and around the hotel.

Another thing about the setting is the climate. Part of the build up for the climax is that there will be tons of snow in the winter. This will make it hard for them to leave the hotel, let alone get down the mountain to the nearest town. It also means the phone lines and such are down, meaning they can't call anyone for help. Even if they can call for help, people won't be able to get up to the mountain to them. This all adds up to show that because of the setting of this novel they are isolated from other people and unable to leave the hotel.

Overall the setting of this book and it's attributes are very important to the plot and help cause conflict later on in the book.