MARCH 2020

THE SHINING

STEPHEN KING

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The Shining managed to inspire me in a multitude of ways, and by the time I finished the book at the end of February, the month of March provided me with plenty of opportunities to express my newfound creative thinking. As I’ve stated once on this blog (not sure where, but surely I have, since I like to drawl on and on about myself), my type of writing can become greatly affected by a story I’m inspired by. For The Shining, a stiffening, murderous, psychologically pounding piece of writing bundled into a compact item in my hands, I guess you can say that my writing turned to a certain direction.

I wrote down two specific quotes that captured my attention the most while reading:

 

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(curiosity killed that cat and it was the HOPE of satisfaction that brought him back)

While reading this portion of the story, I remember glazing over it in a haze, quickly realizing the true meaning of the jumbled sentencing, rereading it again for good measure (pretty sure I read it twice), and promptly deciding to put down the book to type it into my phone.

I loved the repetition of curiosity kill the cat, a clear indication into the slow derailment of the mind when it comes to justifying unmoral actions. The character had blamed their sense of misdirection due to simple curiosity. The original quote is as follows: curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Despite this, Stephen King punched in the truest, darkest meaning of curiosity with the final sentence that I wrote down. The HOPE of satisfaction is what pushes people to do so many things, and I found that his twisted words fit the societal mind a lot better.

 

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I see a bad moon a-rising

I see trouble on the way

I see earthquakes and lightnin’

I see bad times today

Don’t go ’round tonight

It’s bound to take your life

There’s a bad moon on the rise

– Bad Moon Rising, Creedence Clearwater Revival

I noticed these song lyrics used at the beginning of the chapter when the family were travelling to the Overlook Hotel, and I found the metaphor to be kind of an “Aha!” moment for me. Plus, the lyrics were pleasantly attuned to my love for anything celestial. There was a clear indication of what was to come for the family’s long awaited winter. Honestly, I couldn’t have chosen a better song portion to describe The Shining.

 

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My main inspiration for my March writing piece were these two examples specifically. I ended up spewing out a sort of murderous, psychological-ish story that I was somewhat satisfied with. The inspiration was there, as well as the motivation, but I definitely need to fine-tune my thriller writing more.