A suave feline perches on the edge of danger in this Stephen King inspired Weekly Words illustration Outside the Law.
Cat's were the gangsters of the animal world, living outside the law and often dying there. There were a great many of them who never grew old by the fire.
-Stephen King, Pet Sematary
-Stephen King, Pet Sematary
When I read this quote it really struck me. I read it again as soon as I finished, and then read it several more times before understanding why. It's a potent string of words. Like any great writing, it says so much in the shortest way using the best words.
I've been teaching myself to write creatively for quite a few years, picking up everything I can to hone my grasp on the craft, often from reading. Many successful authors will say reading is essential to learning to write. If you're not sure what I mean about great writing, let me show you a terrible way to write the same thing. Maybe you'll gain a better appreciation:
"Cat's are like gangsters because many of them die in gruesome ways instead of from old age in the safety of a house under the care of their owner."
First, that was a mouthful if you tried to read it out loud. Second, it's just bad. You don't have to know why to not enjoy reading it.
Stating what you know just tells the reader what to think instead of piquing the reader's curiosity enough to think with the author and arrive at the same conclusion. I can't imagine anyone would be successful in creating an engaging novel writing statements like that.
The original quote lures you in with an unlikely comparison and makes you think about cats in a new way. It's a strong couple sentences. I get really excited about words sometimes, you'll have to excuse me.
In the case you don't care as much about books, well, I'm probably no further ahead than Remy trying to convince his family that food has flavor:
I've been teaching myself to write creatively for quite a few years, picking up everything I can to hone my grasp on the craft, often from reading. Many successful authors will say reading is essential to learning to write. If you're not sure what I mean about great writing, let me show you a terrible way to write the same thing. Maybe you'll gain a better appreciation:
"Cat's are like gangsters because many of them die in gruesome ways instead of from old age in the safety of a house under the care of their owner."
First, that was a mouthful if you tried to read it out loud. Second, it's just bad. You don't have to know why to not enjoy reading it.
Stating what you know just tells the reader what to think instead of piquing the reader's curiosity enough to think with the author and arrive at the same conclusion. I can't imagine anyone would be successful in creating an engaging novel writing statements like that.
The original quote lures you in with an unlikely comparison and makes you think about cats in a new way. It's a strong couple sentences. I get really excited about words sometimes, you'll have to excuse me.
In the case you don't care as much about books, well, I'm probably no further ahead than Remy trying to convince his family that food has flavor:
That's okay ;)
Also, Synesthesia is fascinating.
Also, Synesthesia is fascinating.
At first I wanted to draw the cat in a hoodie... but then I figured that's probably not the style of gangster Stephen King had in mind. I couldn't be sure but I decided a fedora was the better choice. I used Al Capone's for reference.
The hat I ended up drawing changed a lot, regrettably more than I intended. But the scale was so small and there were tall pointy ears to accommodate, and I was in such a rush...
The quote for this Weekly Words illustration was chosen by one of my Patron's List e-newsletter and Patreon subscribers, which makes it special. This was the first time I illustrated a quote chosen by one of you. It was great fun and got me thinking in a way I normally wouldn't have had I chosen a quote myself.
I definitely want my fans and followers to join in selecting quotes for future WW illustrations. If you aren't already, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter (Patron's List) or follow me on Patreon, Facebook or DeviantArt to participate!
I definitely want my fans and followers to join in selecting quotes for future WW illustrations. If you aren't already, be sure to sign up for my e-newsletter (Patron's List) or follow me on Patreon, Facebook or DeviantArt to participate!
***
About the Author
"King was born September 21, 1947, in Portland, Maine. His father, Donald Edwin King, was a merchant seaman. Donald was born under the surname Pollock, but as an adult, used the surname King. King's mother was Nellie Ruth (née Pillsbury).
When Stephen King was two years old, his father left the family under the pretense of "going to buy a pack of cigarettes," leaving his mother to raise Stephen and his older brother, David, by herself, sometimes under great financial strain. The family moved to De Pere, Wisconsin, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Stratford, Connecticut. When King was 11, his family returned to Durham, Maine, where his mother cared for her parents until their deaths. She then became a caregiver in a local residential facility for the mentally challenged. King was raised Methodist but lost his belief in organised religion while in high school. While no longer religious, King chooses to believe in the existence of a God.
As a child, King apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train, though he has no memory of the event. His family told him that after leaving home to play with the boy, King returned, speechless and seemingly in shock. Only later did the family learn of the friend's death. Some commentators have suggested that this event may have psychologically inspired some of King's darker works, but King makes no mention of it in his memoir On Writing (2000).
King related in detail his primary inspiration for writing horror fiction in his non-fiction Danse Macabre (1981), in a chapter titled "An Annoying Autobiographical Pause." King compares his uncle's dowsing for water using the bough of an apple branch with the sudden realization of what he wanted to do for a living. That inspiration occurred while browsing through an attic with his elder brother, when King uncovered a paperback version of an H. P. Lovecraft collection of short stories he remembers as The Lurker in the Shadows, that had belonged to his father. King told Barnes & Noble Studios during a 2009 interview, "I knew that I'd found home when I read that book."
King attended Durham Elementary School and graduated from Lisbon Falls High School, in Lisbon Falls, Maine. He displayed an early interest in horror as an avid reader of EC's horror comics, including Tales from the Crypt (he later paid tribute to the comics in his screenplay for Creepshow). He began writing for fun while still in school, contributing articles to Dave's Rag, the newspaper his brother published with a mimeograph machine, and later began selling to his friends stories based on movies he had seen (though when discovered by his teachers, he was forced to return the profits). The first of his stories to be independently published was "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber"; it was serialized over four issues (three published and one unpublished) of a fanzine, Comics Review, in 1965. That story was published the following year in a revised form as "In a Half-World of Terror" in another fanzine, Stories of Suspense, edited by Marv Wolfman. As a teen, King also won a Scholastic Art and Writing Award.
From 1966, King studied at the University of Maine, graduating in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. That year, his daughter Naomi Rachel was born. He wrote a column, Steve King's Garbage Truck, for the student newspaper, The Maine Campus and participated in a writing workshop organized by Burton Hatlen. King held a variety of jobs to pay for his studies, including janitor, gas pump attendant, and worker at an industrial laundry."
When Stephen King was two years old, his father left the family under the pretense of "going to buy a pack of cigarettes," leaving his mother to raise Stephen and his older brother, David, by herself, sometimes under great financial strain. The family moved to De Pere, Wisconsin, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Stratford, Connecticut. When King was 11, his family returned to Durham, Maine, where his mother cared for her parents until their deaths. She then became a caregiver in a local residential facility for the mentally challenged. King was raised Methodist but lost his belief in organised religion while in high school. While no longer religious, King chooses to believe in the existence of a God.
As a child, King apparently witnessed one of his friends being struck and killed by a train, though he has no memory of the event. His family told him that after leaving home to play with the boy, King returned, speechless and seemingly in shock. Only later did the family learn of the friend's death. Some commentators have suggested that this event may have psychologically inspired some of King's darker works, but King makes no mention of it in his memoir On Writing (2000).
King related in detail his primary inspiration for writing horror fiction in his non-fiction Danse Macabre (1981), in a chapter titled "An Annoying Autobiographical Pause." King compares his uncle's dowsing for water using the bough of an apple branch with the sudden realization of what he wanted to do for a living. That inspiration occurred while browsing through an attic with his elder brother, when King uncovered a paperback version of an H. P. Lovecraft collection of short stories he remembers as The Lurker in the Shadows, that had belonged to his father. King told Barnes & Noble Studios during a 2009 interview, "I knew that I'd found home when I read that book."
King attended Durham Elementary School and graduated from Lisbon Falls High School, in Lisbon Falls, Maine. He displayed an early interest in horror as an avid reader of EC's horror comics, including Tales from the Crypt (he later paid tribute to the comics in his screenplay for Creepshow). He began writing for fun while still in school, contributing articles to Dave's Rag, the newspaper his brother published with a mimeograph machine, and later began selling to his friends stories based on movies he had seen (though when discovered by his teachers, he was forced to return the profits). The first of his stories to be independently published was "I Was a Teenage Grave Robber"; it was serialized over four issues (three published and one unpublished) of a fanzine, Comics Review, in 1965. That story was published the following year in a revised form as "In a Half-World of Terror" in another fanzine, Stories of Suspense, edited by Marv Wolfman. As a teen, King also won a Scholastic Art and Writing Award.
From 1966, King studied at the University of Maine, graduating in 1970 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. That year, his daughter Naomi Rachel was born. He wrote a column, Steve King's Garbage Truck, for the student newspaper, The Maine Campus and participated in a writing workshop organized by Burton Hatlen. King held a variety of jobs to pay for his studies, including janitor, gas pump attendant, and worker at an industrial laundry."
I read about this author here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King
You can find the author's website here: https://www.stephenking.com/the_author.html
This illustration has not yet been digitized and the displayed image does not accurately reflect the quality and coloration of my giclée prints.
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