Should a Movie Resemble the Book Exactly

Dear Stephen King,

I have been watching what seems like dozens of your books become optioned and scripted for movies, miniseries and tv shows. It is awesome to be able to consume your work in video. I am looking forward to watching the newest adaptations of "The Stand" and "The Dark Tower." These are epic stories that will look amazing with today's special effects and dramatic movie making.

I read your interview with Deadline. It made me wonder how involved I would want to get with filmmakers if one of my stories is ever optioned to be made into a movie. Would I just sit back and let the movie makers do their thing or will I ask to have input on how the movie is made.

I think it would be fun to be involved in making a movie but I don't have the experience in making them. That is why the studio hires talented people to make the movies. I am a writer and the written page is much different than what is scene on the screen. There are so many thoughts and emotions you can describe on the page that is hard to show on the screen.

I do like to write my stories in a way that resembles a tv show. I like to write down the video in my head. I use my words  to describe my visions. Sometimes my words do those visions justice and sometimes they don't. 

How big is your thinking?

Dear Stephen King,

I have been assembling a series of over 300 books that I want to write. It is a giant outline comprised of seven ages throughout our planet's history. Each age has seven moving points that change the course of that age's history. Then each of those moving points has seven novels most likely chronicling the lives of the same characters.

I'm wondering if you write in this way. From what I understand you are a "write by the seat of your pants" author. I can see you taking notes about where you want to go with a sequel or second sequel but I believe you only have an idea of what you want to write when you sit down. You don't have a full outline. You will have to let me know a little more about how you do that.

I personally, have discovered that I need an outline to sit down and write. I have to know how story is going to end before I can start writing that story. I like to have beats to write about. I guess it's because of my short attention span. I write about 100 or 200 words at a time. Then I have to get up and do something around the house and then I come back and write another hundred or 200 words. This means I sit down and write eight or nine times before I can quit for the day.

I am trying to study ways to be a little more focused, to have a more specific place and time to write. The process is something that is ever evolving, and I will continue to make changes to my routine until I find a way to be more consistent about putting words down on paper.

I look forward to hearing more about your writing process. 

Sincerely,
Robert Gasperson

Do you ever have writers block?

Dear Stephen King,

I wonder if someone who writes as much as you do ever has writers block. You always seem to have something to write about. And to tell the truth I always have something to write about.

I figure you have a system kind of like I do. I keep a notebook with me at all times so when an idea does strike me, I write them down. This way when I am trying to write and can't think of something to write about all I have to do is go back to my notebook.

Also I have a series of books that I want to write that number about 340 books. This means I will never run out of ideas for stories because I have an outline of many stories I want to write already.

I know others like Scott Sigler actually has a timeframe laid out in front of him for the next 3 to 7 years of what he's going to be writing. He will always have something to write because he already knows what he is writing in advance.

How do you make sure that you always have something to write?

Sincerely,
Robert Gasperson

Do you write when you're sick?

Dear Stephen King,

I have been fighting a cold for the past week and a half. It's a pretty nasty cold. It makes me tired most of the time, and even with working 10 to 12 hours every 55 days a week I have been exhausted and my body doesn't seem to be healing as fast as I would like it to be.

I'm doing a little bit of writing here and there but nothing extreme. I would like to be writing about 1000 words a day but I seem to be averaging about 200. Mostly I think I'm progress. Some of the reason is because I don't feel good.

I wonder do you write your sick? I know some others probably right because they're sick. It's a good time to eight. It's a good time to get those words on paper. I just know how to do it myself. I only feel like laying down and doing nothing.

Stay healthy my friend,
Robert T Gasperson

Can You Sell Your Soul to the Devil?

"The Stranger" was a basic story about a man who sold his soul to the devil. He killed a guard and stole an unknown amount of money. We believe you stole the money from a bank but you didn't go into too much detail about that. The story was more about the state of his soul.

This is one of those storylines that are used all of the time in books and TV shows like supernatural horror movies dazzled. It's usually a story about how the person who sold his soul finds a way to get it back from the devil. He usually finds a way to cheat the devil or a power higher than himself takes the rights who is the devil.

Being a religious man I don't really believe our souls belong to us to so anyway. our souls belong to our Creator. I have always wondered how religious you are. You bring religion into a lot of your stories. It is one of mankind's biggest struggles in life. Is there a God or is there not.

I have never seen you mentioned God and any interview. I wonder if you believe in God. I believe you do otherwise you would not put so much of it in your stories. Especially because of the ending of "the stand".

Things in Wells Feed Karma

Dear Stephen King,

I was trying to not laugh at the choice of the name Oglethorpe when I found myself intrigued by the story of a kid who found his own fate became that of the animals he had himself mistreated. 

Karma is one of those things we learn in life. We're not necessarily confident in the existence of karma, but when something happens to us not long after we have done the same thing to others, we begin to wonder if the phrase "what goes around comes around" can really be justified as something this world really supports.

You packed a big story into a one page short about a kid who tortured animals and tried to kill his nanny by tripping her as she went down the stairs, before he himself was lowered to the bottom of the well to be tortured and mutilated by some unknown creature.

Karma can go both ways. If you do good things then many times good things will happen to you. When I came to Maine back in 2003 to see your house and the city you grew up in, I ran into a lady at the laundry mat who told the story of the pool and rec center that you funded just because you could. She said you knew that the kids of the neighborhood needed a place to hang out to keep their minds and hands entertained. 

There are many things like this I have seen you do over the many years I've been a fan. I appreciate everything you've done. Thank you for being able to help those in need, help those who are sick and help those who can't help themselves.

I am curious. What kind of charity is close to your heart? Some people help those charities that will benefit their loved ones. Our family tries to help the charities that look for a cure for anaphylaxis because there are people in our family who are highly allergic to nuts. If we can help others who have the same condition as our loved ones, maybe our loved ones will be lucky enough to find a cure.

Stephen King's Ice Bucket Challenge for ALS

Dear Stephen King,

Yesterday I watched you do the ice bucket challenge to support ALS research for a cure. It was refreshing to watch someone as famous and as successful as you are to step back and do something that was not only fun, being soaked by a bucket of ice water by a friend, but also doing something so serious as helping those who are fighting a debilitating disease like ALS.

I have a coworker who was diagnosed a few months ago with ALS. I did not know it at the time and was wondering why he was only working with one arm. I mentioned the fact in a coaching manner. Luckily he did not become offended by my remark. He just let me know what was causing the issue. Sometimes there are comments we make that we wish we could take back after learning what these people are going through.

I hope that one day they will be able to find a cure for ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease. There are so many people who suffer, who cannot move like you when I can. And not everyone can afford the care that it takes to live with this kind of disease.

Thank you again for giving to this much-needed cause, and challenging your peers to give as well. If we all gave a little bit, whether it be money or time or just a simple prayer, maybe one day they will find a way to give these people their lives back.