Stephen King’s a man of many words on the printed page. He’s aware of this reputation, too, and has explained precisely why The Stand received an extra 400 or so pages for a Complete and Uncut Edition that weighed in at 1,152 pages. As he previously explained, those words weren’t merely an “indulgence” but, rather, an effort to make the novel greater than the sum of its parts with shading and flavor and that infamous King humor, and that’s one of many reasons why The Stand will always be regarded as one of the best apocalyptic fiction works of all time.
Yet King knows when to hold ’em — meaning to hold back on words in favor of economy when the venue is appropriate (as it is on Twitter). Look at his very simple tweet that declared his entry into the “Save Manifest” club. Or his (accurate) prediction of the Mare of Easttown killer. Or his approval of Black Summer, which he (tellingly enough) favors for its “stripped to the bone,” economical, and “very fluid” storytelling approach.
King’s latest tweet, though, is characteristically short, but there’s still a lot there: “I just ‘liked’ my own tweet to see what would happen. Now I feel skeevy.”
I just “liked” my own tweet to see what would happen. Now I feel skeevy.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 14, 2021
Hey, it happens! And what an experiment. So for the curious, what Stephen King tweet did Stephen King decide to “like”? He did not attempt to hide the evidence regarding his wish for a “SHARKNADO EXORCISM” movie.
He also “likes” tweets about cute puppies (that of his son, Joe Hill) and bunnies (one helped by author/editor Heidi Pitlor), too. What I’d really like to know is whether he’s tucking into English muffins while surfing Twitter, and now this whole thing is becoming far too circular. With that said, let’s all wish for Sharknado Exorcism, too.