I always wondered what a good place was to get some writing critiqued.
I always wondered what a good place was to get some writing critiqued.
Not sure what that means in relation to the name of the thread?
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
I suppose this is truth time for me.... Don't judge me to harshly, you don't know the paths I have walked.
The first time I started to read this series, I was in a very dark place. I was on the cusp of committing suicide. I fought depression every day (still do). I would use Stephen King as an out so I could leave my own miserable existence of a world and find some place that I belong. Some place that wouldn't reject me. I had the plan to kill myself all laid out. I just had a little voice in the back of my head saying When I am done with this chapter Well, one chapter became two, and two became a section, and soon I had finished the book. I remember actually being mad because I couldn't kill myself now, I had to know what was going on. I made an agreement with that little voice. One more book As my eyes devoured the words that Mr. King wrote I found myself there with the Ka-tet. An invisible presence following their steps feeling their pains, their sorrows, and even the little triumphs. All too soon the book ended, and once again the agreement was made. One more book
I made it through the series. The desire of ending it all was there still, and I think deep down it may always be, but It was like a whisper. Every time I can feel that desire inside me I just answer that little voices whisper of One more book I think I am on my 4th time rereading the series now.
So, The Dark Tower series saved your life? Not many books could have that large of an impact on someone.
One way the Dark Tower series has affected my life: Just when I'm getting into a book, and really enjoying it, something will happen to remind me of The Dark Tower. When that happens, it just slowly begins to creep its way into my mind, making me want to cast aside the book I'm enjoying so that I can reread DT one more time.
It's powerful like that.
Erin, thanks for sharing. As it was for many of us, this series WAS my life. When I started reading King, only books 1-3 had been published. I'll never forget the sensation of waiting for, and receiving, a new Dark Tower book. And then the long wait between 4-5. And the strange knowledge that with book 5, the end was near. Reading Book Seven: The Dark Tower was a roller coaster of emotions. I might not have liked all parts of the entire series, but will always be grateful for it, and look forward to seeing what another visionary could do with it in another medium.
I read the original Gunslinger as a boy and waited over 20 years for the end of this journey. Today it is still in my speech. You can bet your watch and warrant on that.
All that's left of what we were is what we have become.
I finished the Dark Tower series years ago and to this day I find myself using the word "mayhap" in regular conversation. People look at me funny and I have to thing about what I said before I realize I said it.
I am addicted to collecting King books and art now... I seriously have a problem. I hide it from my wife and have taken money out of investments! I have to slow down!!!!!!
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
As mentioned the word "mayhap" I likewise use it and now my
6 and 7 yr olds do the same! (Its used a fair amount in the stand also)
The book change the way I make decisions! And friends!
"Go, then. There are other worlds than these"
John 'jake' Chambers.
Oh, it's simple. I think about the story everyday. I do creative things like drawing pictures related to DT. And at the moment, I'm on my 4th journey. The Dark Tower is within my life, every day. I love it!
To this day, any time I ball up a piece of paper to throw it away, I think of Roland when he first steps into Eddie Dean's mind on the plane and he watches in amazement as someone tears up a piece of paper because he's not used to paper being so freely used.
I started reading King's work when I was in junior high (far too early, but my parents never stopped me from reading) and found a copy of The Gunslinger at a garage sale when I was in high school. By then, I had read most of his work and dove in to find a strange book that wasn't really like anything else he had written.
I eventually found the second book at a used book store (this was before they were widely available) and got back to Mid World. It was a long wait for the third book and then the fourth. And each time a new book came out, I would dive back in, happy to be back.
I've read the entire series 7-8 times, and each time I find something new. It feels like home to me.
It's become a shibboleth for me as well, a way to immediately connect with someone. It's really amazing and beautiful.
The whole series made me think of Oscar Wilde's this saying: "There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it."