Message from Stephen

We have been deluged with requests for comment on the cessation of The Plant at the end of December. First, let me make two things clear. The first is that Part 6 of The Plant does conclude the first major phase of the story. It is complete in itself, containing the three classical elements: beginning, middle, and end. The second thing is that The Plant is not finished online. It is only on hiatus. I am no more done than the producers of the TV show Survivor are done. I am simply in the process of fulfilling my other commitments. In my view, The Plant has been quite successful. You can form your own opinion based on the story itself and our complete financial records which will be posted to this site in January. Think of it as Plant Part 7!

That said, I think that the following New York Times editorial and my reply (which they declined to publish) pretty much delineates the boundaries of this fascinating little adventure. If you read them, I urge you to read them together. They will serve as my only point-counterpoint on this subject. May I scold for a minute? This whole discussion is beside the point. My job is not to comment on art and fiction. I am not a critic. If anything has discouraged me about the course of The Plant from July until December, it has been the almost total lack of discussion of the story. Let's get back to that and try to stay there.

Stephen King