Professional Storytelling: Why Stephen King Had to Write ‘A Good Marriage’

[Daniel]

I just finished writing a blog post that speaks directly to the issue of using current events in your creative work. Those affected by the tragedy may feel disappointed and let down, but I thought it worthwhile to offer a counterpoint:

Professional Storytelling: Why Stephen King Had to Write ‘A Good Marriage’

I look forward to your thoughts.

[Renee]

It's interesting. I feel bad for the family, but at the same time people are going to have to realize that a lot of writing is based off of real life situations. And writers get their ideas from the real world. It's hard to say what was in King's mind when he wrote the book, but he does have a history of putting real life in his books (he put himself in the Dark Tower series) so it's not surprising.

[Theresa]

I agree Renee. A lot of authors put in something of the real world/events, whether it is someone else's experiences or your own. Some authors just choose to disguise the "real life angle" more than others.

[Daniel]

It's a pretty polarizing issue - King freely admits he took BTK's family's experiences to write the book. In their mind, they suffer, he profits - I can understand why they'd be pissed.