Question for Ms. Mod -- Do you write?

[Rrty]

Ms. Mod, after working for Mr. King for so long, has it ever occurred to you to try your hand at writing short stories, novellas, novels? Or, perhaps you already do?

I'm going to guess maybe you're not a writer already (I could turn out to be surprised).

If you are not, I suggest giving it a go and posting something here on the board. Be an interesting change of pace. Maybe a couple/few thousand words; you could even use your position as an assistant to a horror author for ideas. There's got to be a horror story just on that, and on moderating the boards. It would surprise me somewhat if, after working, at least tangentially, in the writing/content business, that a book/screenplay idea hasn't crossed your mind. Everyone has an idea somewhere in their mind, whether it be a movie, TV series, whatever. I would find it fascinating to see you write something, even a dollar-baby adaptation that someone else would lens/animate.

That gives me an idea -- "The Moderator." Actually, that would be a great title for a Bentley Little story. A character starts posting on a message board and gets in trouble with -- the moderator. Or, it could be plural: gets in trouble with -- the moderators. Kind of marketable, if I do say so myself.

(By the way, to the actual moderators -- I have no idea how you do that tag thing. Below is the best I could do, that's why I titled the post as I did.)

[Moderator]

 

[Dana Jean]

To tag, all you have to do is do that @ sign and their user name.

Moderator

As you do this, a list of people will pop up and you just click on the correct person.

 

[kingricefan]

Marsha is currently at work on a non-fiction 'tell-all' on the King's.....

 

[danie]

I'd say just because you work for a writer (even the best one) doesn't mean you get the inclination or talent to write. Not to say Marsha doesn't have either, but I don't think everyone has a novel, screenplay or TV series bumping around his brain.
It's like if I were the personal assistant to a basketball coach, that wouldn't make me think I could give advice on playing the game or be a coach myself (I'm worthless at sports except for volleyball and ping pong).
Or if I were the personal assistant to an actor, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll think I should start acting.
Marsha is a great writer on this board though--don't mess with her and the grammar!

 

[Moderator]

Ms. Mod, after working for Mr. King for so long, has it ever occurred to you to try your hand at writing short stories, novellas, novels? Or, perhaps you already do?

I'm going to guess maybe you're not a writer already (I could turn out to be surprised).

If you are not, I suggest giving it a go and posting something here on the board. Be an interesting change of pace. Maybe a couple/few thousand words; you could even use your position as an assistant to a horror author for ideas. There's got to be a horror story just on that, and on moderating the boards. It would surprise me somewhat if, after working, at least tangentially, in the writing/content business, that a book/screenplay idea hasn't crossed your mind. Everyone has an idea somewhere in their mind, whether it be a movie, TV series, whatever. I would find it fascinating to see you write something, even a dollar-baby adaptation that someone else would lens/animate.

That gives me an idea -- "The Moderator." Actually, that would be a great title for a Bentley Little story. A character starts posting on a message board and gets in trouble with -- the moderator. Or, it could be plural: gets in trouble with -- the moderators. Kind of marketable, if I do say so myself.

(By the way, to the actual moderators -- I have no idea how you do that tag thing. Below is the best I could do, that's why I titled the post as I did.)

[Moderator]

Horror isn't my preferred genre so it's unlikely I'd ever go in that direction although for the April Fools' day joke a few years back I did write a Twilight parody. Steve read it before we posted it as I wanted to make sure it had his blessing because we teased it as simply a new unpublished story (never saying it was written by Steve) knowing it would get people there and then did the ever classic Rick-rolling as the ending. I have a feeling any story with "The Moderator" theme you suggested would end up being derivative of Dinky Earnshaw's "Everything's Eventual" or "The Word Processor of the Gods".

I have over 400 manuscript pages of a novel written with perhaps another couple hundred to finish it up but I don't have the discipline to be a published writer as I've been working off and on on that for several years. It's been probably a year and a half since I've written a single word but the idea is still strong enough in my mind that I know I'll be able to pick up where I left off. I will finish it eventually if for nothing else than to have it for myself but that might not be until retirement. I have the attention span of a squirrel when it comes to my free time. Instead of writing this past year I've been more motivated to work on craft projects when I'm not doing personal assistant duties as a way to relax and express my creativity.

Working for Steve can have the opposite effect of being an inspiration to write in that I know my efforts at writing are so far below his abilities. And although I have contacts in the business so much easier than it would be for a lot of others to break into publishing, I feel it would be an imposition to ask any of them to consider my work and possibly put them in an awkward position. If they thought it was rubbish would they be willing to say so and risk the professional relationship we have or if they said it was good, would I think it was sincere. I completely understand why Joe decided to publish under a pseudonym and keep his identity hidden even from his agent and publisher.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...she IS the Swiss Army Knife of the Board....(whatever the hell that means, I have confounded myself)....

 

[EMARX]

I wonder how many board members are inspiration for some the characters in those manuscript pages......

 

[Moderator]

I wonder how many board members are inspiration for some the characters in those manuscript pages......

 

[Neesy]

Stephen King takes shining to Toronto blues singer | Toronto Star

Do you recall this story Marsha? I wonder if her song every got published

 

[Bev Vincent]

Stephen King takes shining to Toronto blues singer | Toronto Star

Do you recall this story Marsha? I wonder if her song every got published

"Run, Rabbit Run" consists of 11 Tracks, 10 of which were written solely by Christian, and 1 (Barn Dance), that was co-written with Stephen King, yes that Stephen King. (Source: Blues Underground Network (Nicole Christian "Run, Rabbit Run))

 

[Neesy]

"Run, Rabbit Run" consists of 11 Tracks, 10 of which were written solely by Christian, and 1 (Barn Dance), that was co-written with Stephen King, yes that Stephen King. (Source: Blues Underground Network (Nicole Christian "Run, Rabbit Run))

Thanks Bev!

 

[Rrty]

Ms. Mod, thanks for your reply. Extremely interesting. I have a theory that most people would love to produce a novel, at least for themselves personally. Someone so close to the industry, especially. I did not know about the April Fool's Day joke, I'll have to search for that. Speaking about comedy, that made me think you could theoretically write some sort of parody article, perhaps for Mad magazine, that would be a satirical look at what's it like to be an assistant for a famous horror author (I can assure you, since it is something that is supposed to be funny, the editors at Mad would not be cutting you a break on that one because of your connection; but I'm just thinking aloud randomly, obviously that wouldn't be something to do).

I too have written a book -- a YA novel just under 60,000 words, so it isn't that long, sounds like you beat me in word count -- that I plan to self-publish at some point. Sounds like you would never self-publish, and I can sort of understand that -- the network of people who know you would buy the book, and would tell you it's good no matter what, and that would not be satisfying. I've put a couple short stories on Amazon that I think are really good, but I have not mentioned that to anyone I know (except one person who I had to mention it to because I used his photo as a cover). I have zero sales so far, but I don't mind; I plan to promote it in a different fashion so I can avoid asking people to give me money. Yet, at the same time, that may be stupid of me because that is the model people use to break through. Just can't do it, though.

I hate suggesting things to people or saying what they should do, but allow me to say this (only for entertainment value, perhaps). Because of your connections, you might have a chance of selling a screenplay to Hollywood. Here are the reasons to try it:

Life is short, and I would find it difficult to believe you never thought about seeing a movie idea you came up with on the silver screen. At the very least, you would be doing it just to see a movie no one else was going to do; there is a novelty to that.

Whether you are King's assistant or not, no one is going to care in Hollywood (for the most part) because of the difficulty of generating a return on investme

Screenplays are not like books; they are blueprints which serve as a nexus for collaboration. As such, it is the movie people see, not the screenplay. This way, you are not asking friends to read your book and say they like it. Instead, they will know a large group of people came together to make a movie and will judge it solely on its merit; your contribution to any movie will be diluted (although you were the start of it, which is always important).

Screenplays take less time to write. And it is the story, not the writing technique, that matters.

Breaking through to Hollywood has nothing to do with writing; it's about networking. Because of this, you can obviously be forgiven for using contacts in the industry. Remember: you're not asking friends to read your book, you just want to be read by people in Hollywood -- young people who, forgive me, I can guarantee have no idea who you are (as time goes on, Stephen King is probably meaning less as a brand to some young execs in the industry). All you want is an agent willing to submit based on a pitch.

I'm going to repeat the last point: Hollywood is about relationships and networking. You are supposed to use contacts and people you know. Because scripts go through multiple drafts and eventually the writer is thrown off the project in favor of other scribes who do the rewrites, writers who are starting out essentially sell ideas, not actual plots. Because of this, it is pretty competitive out there, because ideas are ubiquitous like sand in a desert.

You're not asking an agent you know to buy your book, you are asking an agent to become your partner -- again, different than self-publishing.

You know all that, of course, but I had to write it out just to formalize my thoughts. Have some fun in the new year. Maybe you could sell a low-budget horror project to Blumhouse Productions (of Paranormal Activity and Purge fame) about an assistant to a famous horror author -- one who gets too close to how he really gets his ideas. Horror not your thing? Maybe a comedy about the very same subject. Or a drama.

I would love to be a screenwriter, but I have no connections and find it difficult to network. However, just consider this post a musing of the hypothetical. (I would, however, consider writing a dollar-baby someday.) As for that "Moderator" idea -- derivative, sure, but I kind of like it. Maybe I'll have to try it out.

By the way, what pseudonym did Joe King write under? And did the industry really not know it was him?

 

[Moderator]

I get what you're saying but screenwriting just isn't a format that I'm interested in so as Danie mentioned, even though I'm connected to Steve and know many people in the film industry that doesn't automatically mean it's the right fit for me. Having one of my ideas be adapted as a movie honestly never came on my radar. Maybe it's that I'm not an avid movie-goer so not an aspiration of mine. I have considered the Amazon platform if I ever do (when I) finish the novel but do understand and relate to your hesitation to try to build a market from friends and relatives. I have those same reservations.

Joe publishes as Joe Hill. His birth name is Joseph Hillstrom King which is where that came from and it wasn't until he started getting awards for his writing that it came out who he is. He did have to take his picture off his web site for a while as I recall because his resemblance to his father raised suspicions from several people.