OUCH! In a new interview with USA Today, Stephen King was asked about his thoughts on the writing talents of J.K. Rowling (who created the amazing Harry Potter series of books) and Stephenie Meyer (who created the Twilight Saga that is all the rage with the tweens these days) and he had some very nice things to say about Rowling. When he gave his opinion of Meyer, well, I think it’s best if I just let him speak for himself:
Stephen King’s opinion may drive a stake through the heart of “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer. In an interview with USA Weekend, the bestselling author compared Meyer with J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series. According to Stephen, “Both Rowling and Meyer, they’re speaking directly to young people… The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer and Stephenie Meyer can’t write worth a darn. She’s not very good.” Meeooww! While Stephen may not be a fan of Stephenie’s writing, he understands the appeal of the series. “People are attracted by the stories, by the pace, and in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it’s very clear that she’s writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It’s exciting and it’s thrilling and it’s not particularly threatening because it’s not overtly sexual.” He further explains, “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.”
To be fair, King also states that author Dean Koontz is “sometimes … just awful” and that author James Patterson “is a terrible writer” … so it’s not just Stephenie Meyer that he is not too fond of. To be completely honest, I see his point. Having read the entire Twilight Saga, I also do not feel that Meyer is a particularly good writer … even tho she is able to capture the imagination of millions. Rowling, on the other hand, is an absolute master storyteller and is, IMHO, a brilliant author. They’re just very different … and both very entertaining writers. I have always respected Stephen King for his brutal honesty … he may not always have the most popular thing to say but, at least you know he’s being honest. If I can interject my own opinion on Stephen King‘s writing … over all, I’m a fan. I’ve enjoyed way more books of his than I’ve not enjoyed — but there have been those books of his that are absolutely terrible. They can’t all be gems … and to each their own. I’m sure some Meyer fans are bound to give King flak for his comments but I ain’t mad at him. He’s merely giving his opinion … which may resonate with some and clash with others.
[Source]
interesting that Meyer’s movies are made into movies that are successful and all of King’s movies are stupid, chessy and have horrible acting.
JK Rowling is amazing! She has this gift of telling a story and weaving facts and fictions together that I havn’t seen in another writer. I agree that Stephanie Meyer couldn’t write her way out of a paper bad. Twilight reads like bad fan fiction.
That being said….I LOVE TWILIGHT!
It’s a sickness. :(
HAHA I love that guy. I have to agree with him about Stephenie Meyer and her writing. When I read the Harry Potter books (and I am an avid fan) I read them in one sitting, and especially with the later books, was unable to read them fast enough. Her writing was almost flawless and flowed off the page. I read about 2 days before the movie release and only because my friends refused to let me go with them unless I knew what I was going to see… I barely finished the book in time for the midnight release. Her writing style was choppy and very undefined and it’s in my opinion that her editor be fired because I found more grammatical and spelling errors than I’ve ever seen in a published book. (Granted, I am an English teacher and I’m trained to see them, but still) The rest of the books in the series were the same and I could not read them all at one time. I do LOVE TWILIGHT because in the end it was the story that got to me, but I can’t bring myself to read the books again like I can with Harry Potter because I feel like I’m grading a poorly written paper. That being said I enjoy James Patterson’s books very much, even if he does write with a certain formula. I do enjoy some of Mr. King’s books as well, however I do think some of them should be thrown into a box and never spoke of again!
team Stephen King!!!!!!!!
danna-your point is what???
I love Stephen King!!
and um..since when was Twilight a good movie? and since when does the quality of a movie compare to the quality of a book? oh..right..since never! Keep reaching Danna.
While I agree with him, it’s a little hypocritical… it’s not like Stephen King’s novels are the epitome of literary art!
@aimie
King had 4 bestselling novels (Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining and The Stand) by the time he was 30. If I’m reading her bio correctly, Meyers first novel was released when she was 32 though, obviously, it doesn’t make her success any less impressive. The point is, I doubt his comments were motivated by jealousy.
Also, I don’t quite understand your “If he doesn’t like it, he doesn’t have to read it” comment. Clearly, he’s already read (at least one of) the books and has based his opinion on that. As an author himself, it only makes sense that he’d be interested in other popular works.
I recently read Twilight and, as several other people here have mentioned, though premise was interesting, the subpar writing really prevented it from being truly enjoyable (for me). There were numerous parts that I skimmed over because I found them too tedious. I think the film comes off better in comparison.
i think Stephen King is so right about Stephanie Meyers. i reasd all 4 Twilight books and they were very hard to sit through. i felt the books were the same thing over and over again with no real character development and growing until the last “book” in Breaking Dawn. i felt like Meyers used a lot of the same words over and over again which annoyed me like crazy.
i have not yet read the Harry Potter books but i will when i have the chance. there’s a reason JK Rowling is one of the world’s best authors… it’s because she knows how to write and make the stories and characters interesting and move them forward.
Stephenie Meyer is the the worst writer to have emerged since…well, ever. I work at a bookstore, and it pains me when girls come in and rave about how “awesome” the writing is, and how it’s “the best thing ever.”
The Twilight series will be the downfall of the English language, and of knowledge of good literature.
Also, how sad is it that Twitards have become violent toward people who don’t like the series? Goes to show how intelligent these people are.
Good God! Cut the lady some slack. She was a stay at home mother who found her artistic outlet. She wrote Twilight as her own personal wish fulfillment and looked into getting itpublished on a whim. Somebody in the literary world appreciated it or it would never have been published in the first place. Everyone has his or her own interests when it comes to reading. I am NOT a fan of King. Talk about long-winded!!! I have read several of his novels and the ONLY one I enjoyed was Misery. Sounds like the Green-Eyed Monster rearing his ugly head if you ask me.
As a side note…when I think of Stephen King I always remember that Family Guy clip where he is in a meeting with his publisher. He picks up a lamp from the desk and says, “Ooohhh, the lamp is gonna kill you.” or something like that. That is the extent of his creativity as more time passes.
@ danna
No, it’s not really interesting. I’m not sure what your point is. So what if Meyer’s movie (not movies) is supposedly more successful than King’s? It has nothing to do with the books. It has everything to do with the director and the way he or she interprets the books and films the movie.
LOLLLLLL omg this made my day.
I totallly agree with him.
Harry Potter is absolutely amazing and i don’t think theres really any arguement that Harry Potter was indeed MUCH better than Twilight.
However i did think Twilight was a good read, it was easy because you didn’t have to think and the books told you everything. It was simple and nice, but agreeably horribly written.
With harry potter you actually had to think with a much more complex and interesting story line
But maybe the fact that i’m a 17 year old girl, and don’t qualify under the ‘tween’ is the reason i didn’t get soaked up into it.
But i do agree with someone up above who said, whatever it takes to get teenagers to read is okay with me.
he is the King you cant argue with that.
ive been in love with JKR’s works since i was 12, its not like a temporary phase like i did with SVH pocketbooks ive read before that whenever i buy one, i squeel like those twilight fangirls.
. there are lots of characters, themes, plots on hp than twilight. obviously its for the teens who could only appreciate HOT stalkerish vampires.
its just that smeyer first came up with a story of SPARKLING FANG-LESS VAMPIRES. damn these tweeners!
He is 100% right. While Meyer’s stories are engaging, her writing is just plain bad. I guess infatuated teens don’t really care about the writing, but at any rate, they should be more appreciative of good writers such as Jo Rowling. Pick up a book, kids, A GOOD ONE!!
its just the same reason why high school musical,miley cyrus is famous. these things are milking the ignorant youth.
and damn, even my college classmates are liking this shit. i believe they only like it coz its popular.. urrgh peer pressure
im 22 years old and have taken many literature courses while in college. i love the twilight books. everyone has different taste, to say that she is a bad writer because you don’t enjoy her stories is just immature. meyers obviously has a way into people’s hearts in the way she writes her characters and develops her stories. someone doesn’t make millions by being a ‘bad writer’. (ps..little girls love miley cyrus and high school musical because of the genius that goes into their marketing…not the actual performers)
i got to say that i agree with stephen king. although i enjoyed twilight series. but, i only really liked it after reading all 4 books. at first, i didn’t know why.. then i realise it was how bad of a writer meyer is. the storyline is fantastic.. but, how she wrote it.. just made it… well, lacking. JK Rowling sucked in readers from book 1… but, meyers.. well, yeah.. she didn’t do it for me.