10 Most Important Features Of Stephen King's Writing
5. Getting The Length Right
Stephen King is a master of storytelling. Looking at a list of his 'must-read' works compiled almost anywhere, you are sure to see stories like The Stand that are over the 1000 page mark; stories of an average length such as Misery with its 300-plus pages and short stories such as Rita Hayworth and The Shawshank Redemption.
Simply put, Stephen King's stories are as long or as short as they need to be. He has released dozens of short stories, often gathered into novel-sized collections. Some of his very finest film adaptations have come from these, most notably The Shawshank Redemption, Stand By Me (adapted from The Body) and The Mist. These stories of approximately 100 pages each arguably have the best amount of content to achieve success as hit movies.
In contrast, many of his most successful books have been true behemoths, from IT’s 1100-plus pages to The Stand which in (the highly recommended) unabridged form is over 1300 pages. It's not just his earlier classics which are physically as well as metaphorically huge books - 2009's Under The Dome comes in at 1100 pages and is his third longest book to date.
The story is what counts, and for Stephen King it doesn’t matter if it’s short, long or exceptionally long – you’ll enjoy it regardless.