An Evening with the Kings

We're very lucky here in Chicagoland to have Anderson's Bookshop. It's an independent bookstore--really an independent chain with three different locations--and it's been in the same family for six generations. (As an aside: A member of the fifth generation is running for Congress in my district. She's one of seven candidates--six of whom are women--competing for the Democratic nomination for the seat. The six women are all strong candidates. Our Republican incumbent is going to have his hands full.)

Anyway, one of the great things about Anderson's is the plethora of author events that they host--not just at their bookstores, but at surrounding locations as well. There's a different author appearance almost every week. This past Friday night, they hosted Stephen King and Owen King at North Central College in Naperville and I was able to buy a ticket.

Stephen King (left) and Owen King (right). This was the best shot I could get from my seat in the back.

I've been reading Stephen King's books since I was a kid. He's one of my favorite authors. I was giddy about having the opportunity to hear him speak. He didn't disappoint. The event was held in the college gym, which left something to be desired as a venue. The acoustics, for one, were terrible. The echo made some things difficult to hear. In some places, the acoustics were so bad people got up and left early. Fortunately, I was able to hear fairly well from my seat in the bleachers at the back, but there were things--questions, answers, parts of sentences--that I missed. On the whole, though, it was a good experience. I laughed far more than I thought I would.

“Keep your courage up. Be brave. Write what comes to your mind. . . . Stay brave.”

— Stephen King, North Central College, September 29, 2017

Each King read an excerpt from the new book that they co-wrote, Sleeping Beauties. I missed chunks of those excerpts, but what I heard sounded good and colorful. (As part of the event, we each received a copy of the book. It's hefty tome--almost 600 pages hardcover.) From there, the conversation became informal and hilarious. Both Kings have a delightful sense of humor, with Owen's being a bit drier and more subtle than his father's. There was a lot of laughter in the audience as they quizzed each other and shared anecdotes about writing the book and Owen's life growing up as a King. My favorite part came at the end of their conversation, when Owen pulled out The Stephen King Quiz Book and tested his father on knowledge of his own work. He presented it as a test of his father's mental acuity, since his father is now 70 years old. Apparently, in their previous stop on this tour, Papa King had missed a question or two about The Shawshank Redemption. This time, he was presented with questions about his short story, "The Body"--which became the movie "Stand by Me." He earned a perfect score and raucous audience applause.

“We’re taught to see reviewers and critics as teachers giving a grade. . . . Don’t take them as teachable moments.”

— Stephen King, North Central College, September 29, 2017

The laughter continued as Becky Anderson (bookshop matriarch and Congressional candidate) asked pre-submitted audience questions. I missed most of the questions, but managed to infer what they were about based on the Kings' answers (what I could hear of them). Over the course of the conversation and Q&A, Stephen King also shared some wise words for those of us who are writers. (I've added a few pieces of his advice as pull-quotes.) 

“If they [reviews] are all saying the same thing, that you f**cked up in the same way, you did. If all reviews say something different, they’re full of sh*t.”

— Stephen King, North Central College, September 29, 2017

The entire evening reinforced my impression of Stephen King as one of the most down-to-earth authors we have. (And as one of the saltiest. The man does love his curse words.) With his success, he could be a real asshole, but he didn't come across that way at all. So many professional (and not-yet-professional) writers get so full of themselves and their process--their way is the only way and their advice is the best/only advice and writing is mysterious magic that requires specific sacrifices and rituals--but King is not like that at all. Even with his success, he still seems like the hack he started out as and, as a writer who's still trying to make her big break happen, I found that very comforting and encouraging.

The American Writers Museum

I spent part of the first day of fall at Chicago's newest museum, the American Writers Museum, which opened back in May. The museum is located on the second floor of an office building on Michigan Avenue, about a block from Millennium Park and the office building where I used to work. 

The museum is small. It took me only an hour or so to through the whole thing. I don't know if the size was by design or a result of finances. I hope the latter, because the museum seemed like a "starter museum," much like the starter house a young couple might buy. It could be so much more, and I'd like to see it grow.

One of the tools on display in the writer's craft section of the museum. Patrons are encouraged to sit and type their own stories. 

The museum is divided into two halves: one about the history of American writing and one about the craft of writing. It's a nice balance. It also has space for two special exhibits--in this case, one about palm trees and one about Jack Kerouac's On the Road. The Kerouac one was my favorite. It includes the scroll on which Kerouac typed his first draft and, holy cow, is that impressive.

Of the two halves, I enjoyed the writing-craft section more than the history section. It was very interactive--with typewriters and laptops for visitors to try their hand at original writing, games to compare yourself to famous writers, and a challenge where visitors can pit their own word skills against the masters.

The history part of the museum was interesting but superficial. That's where the museum has the potential to be so much more. There's a small room that serves as an exhibit about the wonders of children literature, with images from Dr. Seuss, Maurice Sendak, and Charlotte's Web. This, too, was interactive--inviting children to explore and experiment. With more space, I think the museum could explore children's literature in much more depth. I'd love to see something about the history and evolution of children's literature, for example.

The bulk of the history display is a wall-length timeline of important American writers. I was impressed by the diversity of the list. There were a few names that I'd never heard before. But again, I wanted to know more. With more space, the museum could devote a room or wall to each time period on the timeline and provide more information about each writer and display artifacts related to the time period and/or its writers.

With most museums, I leave with a need to go back and explore parts of it again. I didn't have that experience this time. I think I got out of the American Writers Museum everything there was to get out of it. Should it expand, however, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Short Story Contest Results

Well, the NYC Midnight 2017 Short Story Challenge winners have been announced--and I'm not one of them. I am a little disappointed, but having read the synopses of the top 20 stories and having read the winning story, I understand why. NYC Midnight judges tend like stories with a slightly different take or with a twist, and mine didn't have either of those. (I would, however, like credit for getting the prompt "write a story about an undertaker at sunrise" and NOT writing a vampire story.) My story also didn't have the emotional wallop of the winning story, which you can read here. Still, I'm happy I made it as far as I did. It was quite a ride.

Better luck next year!

Short Story Contest Update

The results of Round 2 of the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge 2017 were announced last night/this morning and guess what? I FINISHED FIRST IN MY HEAT!

Here's the proof:

For this round of the contest, I had to write a horror story. It came very easily, thanks to a lifetime of reading Stephen King. In fact, this time I had the opposite problem from Round 1: I wrote too much. We had a 2,000 word limit, and I could have easily written 5,000 words if I hadn't put on the brakes.

I really like the story I wrote this time, and I think it has great potential. So I'm not posting it. I'm going to work on it and try to get it published somewhere, someday. If you would like to read it in its current form, I'm happy to send you a copy.

What does finishing first in my heat mean?

It means the judges like me, they really like me! (Okay, they like my story--and apologies to Sally Field for the blatant plagiarism.)

It also means that I've advanced to the finals--meaning I get to spend my weekend writing one more short story. I've been doing these NYC Midnight contests for years, and this is the first time I've made it this far. Depending on where I finish in the finals, there might actually be cash prizes involved. This is where the real stakes are.

If there's a word that means "a combination of nervousness and excitement," that's what I'm feeling.

The Story Behind the Story: The Wheels on the Bus

Two months ago, I competed in the first round of NYC Midnight's 2017 Short Story Challenge. Today, I found out that my entry placed second in my heat--advancing me to this weekend's Round 2. I was floored.

I had to check the results half a dozen times just to make sure my name was really there.

See, I thought for sure my Short Story Challenge journey began and ended with that story.

For starters, I was assigned Romance as a genre. I do not read Romance. I do not write Romance. I am only vaguely familiar with Romance as a concept. On top of that, I had to write this Romance during the week He Who Must Not Be Named was inaugurated as president. I was not a happy camper. I did not want to write a happy, lovey story. I wanted to write something mad, something sad, something scary--not a story with a happy ever after.

Every word was a struggle. For Round 1 of the challenge, we have eight days to write a 2,500 word story. Usually, my eight days look like this:

Days 1-2 brainstorm and outline

Days 2-6 draft, draft, draft

Days 6-8 revise, revise, revise

This time it was more

Days 1-6 brainstorm   brainstorm   brainstorm

Days 6-8 draft     draft    draft    draft

No time to revise.

My finished story, late on Day 8, was 900 words too short. It was a romance without romance. There's not even any hand-holding. It's basically one long meet-cute.

I posted it thinking, "Oh, well. It's not a Romance, but it's done." I filed away the story, assuming it would never see the light of day.

It seems I was wrong. It IS a Romance, and one the judges liked. Go figure.

Click here to read "The Wheels on the Bus."