Stephen King is a bitter old man. The horror author recently gave an interview to USA Weekend and had some not-so-nice words to say about “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer.
He tells USA Weekend via Yahoo News:
“Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.”
Snap! Them’s fighin’ words King!!
He goes on to say that Meyer’s work appeals to teenage girls experiencing love and sex for the first time. Really? Not that I am going to argue with you Stephen, ok, I am going to argue with you, but it seems that you haven’t done much research as to whom the “Twilight” series appeals. In fact, a large percentage of the “Twilight” following are women over the age of 25. I proudly, am one of them.
He goes on to say:
“A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that’s a shorthand for all the feelings that they’re not ready to deal with yet.”
I didn’t realize that Stephen King was so in touch with the emotions of teenage girls. Last I knew, teenage girls in King novels were clairvoyant and set their high school on fire after being dumped with pig’s blood. That’s much more in tune with today’s youth than first love, right?
Since I was once a teenage girl, and since I work with teenage girls on a daily basis in my non-gossip life, I would like to issue the following open letter to Stephen King:
Dear Stephen King,
I am sorry you don’t understand the brilliance of Stephenie Meyer’s writing. I am sorry that your stories about possessed automobiles and rabid dogs don’t capture the attention of an entire generation of young people, middle-aged people, and older people.
I suggest you think again, before stating something negative about Ms. Meyer’s writing. The Twi-hards are not a group you want to cross.
Or are you merely trying to live out your next novel?
Sincerely,
A Dame In Training
[Keep Clicking Thumbnails for Larger Images]
Images Via: StephenieMeyer.com, Wire Image
Think maybe he’s just a bit jealous???? Let’s see – pigs blood or sexy vampires???? Boy, now there’s a hard choice. And trust me, I haven’t been a teenage girl in almost 40 years!
Holy smokes, this just knocked him down several more notches. I read SK’s novels voraciously from aga 7 and up. Cujo, The Stand, IT, all the short stories…pretty much everything I could get my hands on. I still have several of his “old school” books on my shelf. Although formerly engrossing, you could not say at all that he is a good writer. I think it is hilarious that he can even sit there and say Stephanie Meyer is any worse than his writing style. And FYI I am 38 and read all of the Twilight books. Couldn’t get enough. And I know many women and men in their 30′s and 40′s who have read them or are reading them. I haven’t even been able to finish a SK book since I was…19? I agree…someone is bitter!
I’m ready to group sign that letter Crista. He’s messing with the wrong crowd. He must be Team Jacob.
Thanks for setting King straight. Shame on him for bad mouthing something he has no clue about. I’m reading the Twilight series for the 2nd time and enjoying it more than the first time. I’ve read a little of King, and his writing doesn’t interest me. So there!!
Thanks Katie,
I will get your name on it!
Crista your awesome!
When I heard about Stephen King’s comments the first thing that popped in my head was what a jealous old man lol I am 23 years old and I am far away from the 1st time for any of these feelings…so I’m not quite sure what King was getting at. If he wanted to look like a desperate sullen old fool it worked!! lol I think Stephanie’s perspective on vampires and the fact that maybe they aren’t the come out at night fangs prominent creatures everyone else claims they are. Go Stephanie for thinking out of the box!!!
Stephen King vs. Stephanie Meyer? Really, as if there is any competition. Stephen King is amazing as they come, it’s his opinion and a great one. HER books are the ones that put people to sleep, King has never published anything that could not be enjoyed by any fan of good literature. As for Twilight itself…. It was very poor. Not only do the books have no plot or anything whatsoever to stick on, the movie was horrible and Edward is not a pretty sight on the eyes. Really Twilight lovers, your author should be able to accept criticism and see it as a chance to improve, she really needs to. King is a great author, just read one of his books, if you don’t see how brilliant he is, than I guess Twilight is the series for you.
take your own advice and do more research.
stephen king did not only write horror fiction, it's just a part of all he's done. The different aspects of his novels and stories that you mentioned only appeared in one each. “Cujo” never had a second appearance in any of his books, or nything like him. The closest thing to that was “Pet Cemetery”, which deals with the deceased pets of different familiess to come back as “zombies”. Which is very different from a rabid dog that kills everybody.
“Carrie” was a teenage girl, misunderstood, that psychotically retaliated by telepathically destroying her school. This is only ONE story. Stephen King has written novels including teenagers that did not have any supernatural events, for example “The Body”, the story of a group of 4 boys that heard of a dead body lying around near some traintracks near their village and decided to have an adventure to go and see the body themselves. This is more of a psychological thriller than a horror thriller.
You can’t even compare the two. Stephanie Mayer wrote a couple of bubble gum stories for adolescent girls that really aren’t that well written. Stephen King is the master of his craft and if he had kept his mouth shut we wouldn’t be having this argument. The best I can say about Stephanie is that she is prettier than King.
With that said, I am glad the Twilight books have become so popular. Hopefully it turned on more people to reading. That alone is a good thing.
wow your response to stephen king is horrible. Stephanie meyer needs to go to college and learn how to use literary devices better. Wait no…maybe she just shouldnt write at all. Stephen King is a very skilled and acclaimed author who stephanie meyer can not come even close to. Her work only applies to the typical brainwashed, stupid, majority that seems to populate this world of outs. Any true fan of literature would take her books, start a fire and burn those books.
btw “think Stephanie’s perspective on vampires and the fact that maybe they aren’t the come out at night fangs prominent creatures everyone else claims they are. Go Stephanie for thinking out of the box!!!”
no stephanie is wrong. She ruins the centuries old development of vampire lore while at the same time slapping the vampire sub-culture int the face. If vampires were like that they would never be as popular as they are. All her interpretation shows is that she has no knowledge and is merely trying to capitalize on the popularity of the vampire myth.
typo in first message
*world of ours*
Wow, this is ridiculous. Stephen King is an amazing author, and has been for longer than some of us were alive.
Now, let’s move on to Stephenie Meyer. Before anyone gets all upset, hear me out: I’ve read all of her books, including outside the Twilight genre (The Host). And I totally loved the books! But seriously, just because I enjoyed the books doesn’t mean she’s a terrific writer. Honestly, I’m sixteen and I could write a book of her caliber if I wanted to. She’s just not something extraordinary. She simply got lucky and decided to write about something that would prove to be the “next big thing.” So what if Stephen King dissed her? She’ll move on–because she’s rolling in cash, and no one’s opinion is going to change that.
Twilight fucking sucks. End of discussion.
Keep fighting the good fight, Stephen King. You are my hero.
Well, some people are getting their panties in a knot.
I like Stephenie Meyer and believe a lot of the comments left here should of been saved for all the crap books that flooded the markets after she released Twilight.
I found her writing not to be sensational, but decent enough. Stephen King, I would hardly describe as ‘sensational’ either.
Stephen King’s comment was hardly appropriate, if not hypocritical.
They’re both pop culture authors, and it seems that a lot of people criticizing Stephenie’s writings are acting like an elite squad of pseudo-intellects. Stop going on like reading Stephen King makes you classy and educated in good -literature-… That’s a laugh and a half.
i do not think he is and they do capture alot of attention, and the reason he knows is because woman make is obvious she is not brilliant its more of a vague idea if you ask me. you obviously do not know true literature
Really…she isn’t that good of a writer at all. And I think she should be flattered that someone like Stephen King even took the time to read her book. I read it…it was…typical. But if that’s your thing…that’s your thing.
Stephen King is bitter? C’mon…seriously. He’s sold over 300 million copies to her 40 million?
Laughable. And it’s stupid to try and compare King to Meyer….
i have not read any of stephen king’s books, but i do tkink that he is right.
i mean stephenie meyer can not write, and that is a fact.
Stephenie Meyer can write.I’m twenty, and the Twilight series is the best I’ve read since I was in High School.I read and I’m in College.I take it that a lot of haters are teenagers who believe since Twilight isn’t like traditional vampires, that it sucks.Or people simply following the crowd.
Stephen King is a best-selling author.And he should have some respect towards Stephenie and the Twilight fans.And if you ask me, if Twilight the movie and novel were made, then it could not be as bad as you think.And people who have not read the books, only seen the movie, that is just, basically, pathetic.Bashing a book because you don’t like the movie.
His comment was inappropriate and totally unessicary.Believe it or not, you’re not the most brillant writer the world has ever known, Stephen.She is also not a brillant writer, either.Look, they both can write, but neither of them are geniuses at it.
They also do not have to be “traditional” vampires.Is imagination a crime now?And even if they do sparkle, that doesn’t condemn her a terrible writer, nor a terrific writer.I loved the books, I’m reading them for the third time, too.And they movies are also enjoyable.No, the movies are not as good as the books, but they’re worth watching if you liked the books enough.
And if you don’t like Twilight, please don’t have anything to do with it.Move on with your lives.All these anti-Twilight and Twilight sucks stuff is so annoying!Honestly, if people think the fans need to back off, then so do all the little haters.Because they’re just as annoying and ridiculous if you ask me.And it’s pathetic of them to rant and rave so much over something they “hate”.
They are caring about it, when they’re doing all this anti crap.Caring whether or not people like it.
I think it’s hilarious that people are getting so hell bent out of shape for a comment Stephen King made.
But if we’re all honest with each other, he’s right. He said that she’s “not really good”, which she isn’t. She’s writes decent entertainment, but she uses unoriginal, washed up ideas and characters with no depth. It’s not like he said “she’s the worst writer alive”, he’s simply stating her writing isn’t marvelous.
Stephen King is allowed to have an opinion. Not to mention the fact that Stephanie Meyer doesn’t need a bunch of screaming tweens and mid-twenty girls fighting her defense. She’s rich and successful regardless of King’s statement, so shut up and get the hell over it.
Wait a minute – Kaitlyn Taylor Q, you’re in college and the Twilight series is the best you’ve read since you were in high school? Have you read any great works of literature? and I mean great, anywhere from Dostoevsky to Aristotle.
If you have, and you just prefer Twilight to any great work (and I really hope you would have read at least one notable work in a freshman seminar or something).. Well that would make me fear for our generation from the deepest part of my core.
He is an awesome writer/storyteller. Meyer’s books are good too! Someone asked his opinion and he gave it. If you had sold over 350 million copies someone might care about your opinion too.
This is interesting indeed. I would like to address a few things, dear, completely looking at the aftermath of the comments King made… Whether I agree or not (and for the record, I do) is really not the fascinating thing.
1: Bitter old man? Right. Because he has so much to be bitter about. I mean, its not as if he’s famous in his own right, an award winner for his fiction, and a household name for quite a few years now. No… He has every reason to be envious, right? *sarcasm, honey*
2: (in your letter) Sorry his novels do not capture the attention of a wide cross-section of the population, to paraphrase, of course… Um. Again. Look at his track record. Look at the millions of copies he has sold, the millions of King-ites. No… Somehow I suspect that Sai King actually -does- appeal to a large chunk of the population. Personally. Stats don’t lie.
3: The implication that Steven King does not know how to write. Well… Actually. If anything I would say being an English teacher might have given him an edge on that one. Just a thought.
And lastly, the final three lines of your letter. They sound suspiciously like a threat, which I have to say, is more inappropriate by far than honestly answering a question posed to oneself.
I happen to be a King fan, and I happen to agree with the opinion he put out there… I don’t care for Twilight. I don’t care for the implied themes, the writing style, the treatment of traditional vampire lore, and I sure don’t care for the absurd craze over it. However, Twilight is not my complaint here. People will read whatever they please, and its not my job to police that. My complaint here is the childishness of the fans coming out and screaming off with his head, for having an opinion. Please, do develop just a little more maturity, dear. Your ignorance and pettiness is not very becoming.
Yours,
Nata
i agree with king. i’ve read the twilight books and they didn’t really impress me. i’ve also watched the movies so don’t even think of saying i don’t know what i’m talking about. TWILIGHT IS CRAP, OKAY?! the reason i engaged with this crap is for me to find out if they are really that good like what the fans say. so i found out they’re not. they’re effing crap. so stop worshipping meyer, people! she’s not that good. if you love her and her effing books, then you haven’t seen or read anything yet. there are a lot of books better than twilight. be open-minded, please.
Stephanie Meyer is, at best, lukewarm. Her novels are rather tiresome and honestly I can’t stand Bella ( the most pathetic and witless character). Meyer is a disgrace as are her books. You Twilighters are probably young teenagers who only love the books because of the “hunky” (and I use that term loosely) males. Stephen King is a true horror author and one of the best. At least his vampires don’t sparkle us to death.
wow you guys are idiots for real there is no brillance in stephenie meyers writing sorry but there isn’t in a few years all twilight will die down and kings works will be remembered for probably the rest of earths exsisents its a damn opinion ppl get the fuck over it its american and frankly a lot of ppl agree with King and a lot first off where is the brillance of a vampire impregnanting a teenage girl or edward is a 100 something year old virgin that is impossible ok how many fictional characters do you know that are vampires and are still virgin vampires are seductive creaters thats how they lower there prey duh mestopsal woman get over and stfu thanks