A Man of Decision Cannot be Stopped

Dear Stephen King,

I have been re-listening to my copy of "The Law of Success" by Napoleon Hill. One of the first points in this series of books is "The Man of Decision Cannot be Stopped, the Man of Indecision Cannot be Started." I have been thinking about this quote and I am trying to find ways to apply it to my own life.

Writing is one of those things that many people think about, but never do. I have met several people who say they are planning their "All American Novel". They have been planning it for decades. Some of them have binders of information about the world they are writing in and sketches about their characters, but they have yet to start writing the novel itself.

Two days ago I decided to take the initiative and publish a short story on the kindle store. I had been putting it off because I was afraid. I made three editing passes over it and believe it is as good as it is going to be without a proper editor, then I uploaded it and pressed the publish button. What I like about the kindle store is I can make changes to the story as people make comments about it, or I can just ignore them and leave it story alone.

I have also made a definite decision about this blog. I really enjoy writing to you. I know you are not reading this as of yet. Maybe as I write more and get better with my commentary, you might take notice and feel the inspiration to respond. That would be awesome. The point of this blog is to use you as a Mentor to bounce my writing thoughts and ideas off of. I am able to use you as someone to speak to.

The idea of this blog came from my goal on 43things.com to one day meet you. I didn't want to just stand in a line and wait to have you sign my copy of your latest book. I wanted to earn your respect and develop some sort of relationship that would lead to a meeting of meaning. What I decided to do to make that happen is to become an author (another goal I intend to achieve), someone you might be able to relate to. To help me become that author, I started this blog to focus myself on the craft, to give me a way to see all the things that might make my writing great.  

Needless to say, you are an inspiration to me, as to millions of other people all over the world. Now all I have to do is make myself stand out from the crowd. Until then you can always find me here writing to you.

Take care my friend,
Robert T Gasperson

Not Your Ordinary Stephen King Fanboy

Dear Stephen King

I was thinking about what it would be like to meet you in person. I'm not talking about just meeting you in a line of other fans or outside a venue trying to get you to sign my book. I was wondering what it might be like to sit down at a table and speak to you as a human being. I'm thinking more than just an interview, more like a talk between friends or colleagues.

I wonder how I would react. I know that you say you are just another guy who happened to sell a few books and become recognized world wide. There is no reason to put you on a pedestal. Many of your fans do that. I'd like to think I would treat you more like a friend, that I would be able to sit down with you and have a real conversation, a conversation that would not restate all the things everyone else talks with you about.

I am sure that you talk about your books on a regular basis, or how you find ideas for what you write. I can find that information anywhere online. I want to sit down and hear more about you. I want to hear about your Red Sox and some of the stories you might be able about meeting some of your favorite Rock and Roll superstars. It would be fun to hear about your fanboy moments.

Would I try to get you to Sign my stuff? I have tried to get your autograph in the past. I have sent you letters to see if you might send me an autograph. I received a letter from your assistant stating that you were uncomfortable sending autographs through the mail. I can understand that. It is more meaningful to the fans who get to meet you in person and have you autograph their book.

I think I have decided that it is more important for me to have the experience of meeting you, to have a meaningful conversation with you. Your autograph is just a pen mark on paper.  Nothing more, nothing less. An autograph would be nice but it would not change me as a person, a conversation with you would.

Thank you for taking the time to read my humble words, and I hope one day we will get to meet each other. Until that day, take care and keep writing.

Your Friend,
Robert T. Gasperson

Setting a Solid Deadline to Meet King

Everything I have read about accomplishing a goal says that I need to make a specific deadline for it's completion. If you make a goal without a deadline, then you will continue to push it off to the point of ever doing it. If you can give yourself a deadline to accomplish something, you will have a finish line, a time frame to shoot for.

To advance the concept of the deadline, you can make the finish line more effective if you can offer yourself a reward for completing the goal, and a punishment for not making it. You will find a way to make something happen if you desire the reward or dislike the punishment.

Now you can have people help you by reminding you of your deadline and the self imposed rewards and punishments. If you state your goals to others, then they can hold you accountable. They can be your cheerleaders. Some of the books say that you should not tell anyone, that your goals should be driven by your own personal desire. If you let others in on the secret, your results will be swayed by their opinion.

I think my Goal to meet Stephen King should be something public. I want you to know about my journey. I want to be able to read your encouragement on this blog or on my Facebook Page. Maybe you will have ideas that will help me meet the man. Maybe you will have suggestions to help my project be even better. Whatever the case, I want you there to cheer me on.

Here is my Deadline: I want to meet Stephen King by June 30, 2013. I want him to see my project and want to meet me. I want to be able to sit down and have a beer with him and talk about writing, baseball, music and anything else that comes to mind.

A Hand Drawn Stephen King Comic

I have decided to put together a comic to send to Mr. King. I don't know if he will appreciate it or not, but I will at least give it a try. I am kind of thinking about doing a piece of fan art that might get his attention. I want to do something like the people who made this independent film called, "You Can't Kill Stephen King."

They were able to write and shoot a fan film about the stories by Stephen King. Then they showed in at Film Festivals. Now they have the rights to sell the film, finally getting Mr. King's blessing. I want to do something similar. I don't care if he ever allows me to sell the comic. I just want him to see it and acknowledge it. Maybe even sending me a thank you letter or something.

I think I am going to stick to the 22 page format and make a self drawn, self bound comic book to send to the address he gets all of his fan mail. The hope is that his secretary will look at it, get a laugh and think Mr King might actually want to read it, passing it along to his inbox.

What is it going to be about? I want to write about me, a cartoon overly dramatized version of me trying to figure out unusual ways to meet Mr King without getting in trouble with the authorities. I might go back into my file where I take a road trip up the east coast to see his home town in Bangor Maine. I actually took that trip in 2003 as a vacation for 2 weeks. I got to visit some friends and family along the way. I stood outside the red mansion and took the Stephen King city tour. I never did see him, but it was a fun trip.

Brainstorming Ideas to Get Stephen King's Attention

This blog is one of the ideas I had to get Stephen King's attention. I thought if I could keep a record of what I am doing to meet the man and make sure it was out there on the web for him to see, he might, just maybe, try to contact me and invite me to meet with him. It's unlikely, but the blog will help me keep track of my endeavors.

I have tried to write Mr King in the past, asking for an autograph. I always get a response stating that he is uncomfortable with that concept. He only signs in person. If I ever get the chance to go to a signing, I am going to take my dark tower books for him to sign. This kind of venue is not what I want when I say I want to meet him though. He will not remember me being one of thousands of people he would shake hands with and sign books for in a book store or some larger venue.

What I want to do is create something that I can mail to him, that will make it past his personal assistant, something that will make her say, "Hmmmm. Mr King would get a kick out of this one. I think I will leave it on his desk."

My thought is to make some sort of comic book or sketchbook that will star myself and fictional accounts of me trying to meet Mr King. Then when I finally meet him, he is not exactly what I thought he would be. He would be a crazed maniac or an alien or something even more off the wall. We will see what I can come up with.

Taking the First Steps to Meet the Man

I have been a Stephen King fan for as long as I can remember. A friend of mine introduced me to "Pet Sematary" when I was in Middle School. I grew up reading his work. Every time a new book would come out, I would go out and buy it. I had designated space on my bookshelf just for his books. For many years I was proud that I had every single book he had ever released. Then after I got married and moved into a house in another state, I made the hard decision to sell my collection of Stephen King books. The only ones I kept were the Dark Tower Series and my first trade edition of Carrie. To this day that decision still stings a bit.

A couple of years ago I discovered 43things.com and started making goals about things I want in my life. I wrote down things like becoming debt free and putting the kids through college. One of the things I have always wanted to do is meet Mr King. I started getting monthly reminders via email from 43things.com one of which wanted to know if I had met him yet. Of course I have not. The reminders did however make me wonder, "What can I do to get myself in the sights of the great author. What can I do to make him want to meet me?" To help me figure that out. I started this blog.