Can we believe you, Mr. King?

An author with an authentic voice excites readers in a new way. Their stories feel persuasive, even when they’re built on a framework of outlandish acts or weird events. Consider the heroes and villains of Stephen King. Exhausted by the demands of real life, we can still find the energy to read more about Carrie White and her odd powers before sleep claims us. That’s because King accurately captures the truths of adolescence -- before his character starts burnin' down the house!

Mr. King, who has written 30 bestsellers, insists that he “never got to like Carrie White and …never trusted Sue Snell’s motives in sending her boyfriend to the prom with her.” But to get to the emotional core of his book “Carrie”, he spent a long time digging through his memories of high school, remembering how the “most reviled girls” in his class looked, acted and were treated.

Exploring those old recollections helps us to follow the dictum to “write what we know”. King believes that this directive should be interpreted in a broad way. So, if you're a lawyer or a school teacher, you shouldn't use your job to define the limits of your knowledge. Your work must incorporate stuff dredged up from the depths of feeling and whimsy. As Mr. King says, “If not for the heart and imagination, the world of fiction would be a pretty seedy place. It might not even exist at all.”

As far as I’m concerned, imagination is like that mist rising from the pond on rainy mornings. A photo might capture it, but good writing has a way of keeping it alive, long after the sun comes out.