Monday Morning Quote – Stephen King on Inspiration and Collecting Jars

Today’s Monday Morning Quote comes from a writer whose bag of tricks contains sins, secrets and, more likely than not, death. With a loyal fan base and readers around the world, most would agree that Stephen King certainly knows how to spin a haunting tale.

People want to know why I do this, why I write such gross stuff. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy…and I keep it in a jar on my desk. - Stephen King

Well known for his literary talent and tendency to intertwine horror and storytelling, Stephen King published his first professional piece in 1967 en route to getting a job as an English teacher. After becoming employed at a public high school in 1971, King began devoting evenings and weekends to writing, producing short stories and developing novels during that time. Two years later, he would publish his first novel, Carrie. The earnings from Carrie provided him with enough resources to leave teaching and pursue writing full-time. Interestingly enough, King was supposedly so frustrated with the novel’s progress that he threw it out before its completion. It was his wife, Tabitha, who rescued the novel and encouraged King to continue with it.

One would think that producing and publishing over forty books would keep King occupied with battling writer’s block, sustaining storylines and nurturing his imagination; on the contrary, King is also highly involved in other forms of the arts, including both film and music. One glance at the lengthy list of film and television productions that have been adapted from King’s novels or other pieces makes it easy to understand why he has been described as “Hollywood’s favorite literary brand name.” His musical talents may not be as widely acclaimed, but they certainly have generated quite a buzz: King, along with more than a dozen others authors including Dave Berry, Amy Tan, Barbara Kingsolver, and Joel Selvin, replace their pens with guitar picks to form the Rock Bottom Remainders for one week out of the year.

Want to stay in the proverbial loop? Subscribe to our RSS feed.