The Talisman (by Stephen King and Peter Straub): Insights of Book Architecture: Part 1

Like any good author in his mid-forties, I have read The Talisman. Being me, I've also listened to it. Two things drive me to write about this book, one of King's best in my opinion. The first is that I am listening to the audio book again. Frank Muller is the narrator; his incredible performance may be responsible for my ever-increasing love of the audiobook medium, but I digress.

At the same time, I have been reading an ARC of Book Architecture by Stuart Horwitz. He also wrote Blueprint Your Bestseller, so I knew I was going to learn a lot of good technique in his most recent work.

So here it is, the laydown, the straight dirt. The Talisman contains so many powerful Series that listening to it while studying Book Architecture seems like proof of divine intervention, or at least some kind of fate. (If I can pull from one of my recent blog articles--The Pale Horseman--"Destiney is everything.") There is a reason King rose to the top of popular fiction. He can make multiple timelines and back story dance, two things that few writers do well. The secret, whether Mr. King and Mr. Straub know it or not, is in their mastery of Series.

According to Horwitz, a Series is something that repeats and varies in a way that develops the theme or a character arc. It something like a "through-line" but for some reason I am able to get my head around the concept of Series easier (at least the way he explains it). When a writer does a good job of foreshadowing, he is using Series.

I am not really doing Book Architecture justice at this point, but will try to review this very interesting writing tool. The examples that Mr. Horwitz uses really show how an emotionally powerful story uses Series, whether intentionally or not.

I can't help but think my writing life would have been a lot easier had I known the concept years ago. (Now I know it, but must fully understand and master it--can anyone say practice, practice, practice?)

My favorite Series in The Talisman is what I call the Travlin Jack Series. If you have read the novel, then you must be familiar with this often repeated phrase. Speedy Parker, Jack's mentor, says it all the time. There are many Itertations of this Series (repetitions and foreshadows). The Travlin Jack Series is an easy example, because it obviously means more than hello.

Jack is going to travel between worlds and across the United States during his adventure. The catchy phrase runs like a lifeline through all of Jack and Speedy's scenes.

"Why I got me some company. Good ole Travilin Jack. Little Travlin man he is. Speedy done some travlin his-self, he has..." (This is an approximate quote from memory; no offense to Mr. King or Mr. Straub if I got it wrong. I figure there is no harm done, since I am praising their story craft from here to there. And, I’d like to do some travlin myself, I sure would, see the Territories that’s true.)

Another Series is the My Mother is Dying Series. This has an obvious cause and effect on the plot. There are several other Series that I have began to hear clearly as I listen. Currently I am on chapter four and The Talisman Series has just been identified.

This series will end, you guessed it, when Jack finds the Talisman, learns what it is for, and uses it. A lot of really bad Stephen King stuff will happen to Traviln Jack along the way.

Stephen King is a self-admitted, non-planner. His book, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is still one of my favorites, even though writing by the seat of my pants had gotten me in a mess of trouble from time to time.

Perhaps Book Architecture will allow me to write freely again and still make sense of the imaginary places and the people I find when I hop-scotch across my own version of the Territories.

Please leave a comment on what you think of The Talisman. What is your favorite character, scene, phrase, item or place? If you have questions about Book Architecture I would be happy to share my experience (though I do recommend reading the book yourself as well). Or, if neither The Talisman nor Book Architecture interests you (gasp!) please say hello. I'd love to hear from you.

Last but not least, I just learned that in 2014, King and Straub announced that they are working on a third book in the Talisman trilogy. This, dear readers, is good news!