I haven’t read Meyer. And my wife was less than lukewarm about seeing the “Twilight” flick.
Maybe “Twilight” had a good premise… Maybe it was good source material with which to make a movie. I can’t yet say.
But, I would say that Stephen King is one of the best modern authors I’ve read. He creates very believable characters that face unbelievable circumstances. Actually that’s his major charm for me: King’s a master at getting me to relate to and empathize with his protagonists.
If he’s unreasonably jealous… well, so be it.

To be popular with the teens the writing must be simple. Stephen King is not a simple writer. He is detailed and descriptive. You can feel and see exactly what is happening with little or no gaps to be imagined. I love his writing. But with Meyer’s it is written for the simpler mind. Jealous? I don’t think so. Just stating facts. Meyers is not the accomplished serious writer. Maybe in time it will improve. Stephen King is for the adult minds to get wrapped up in. My teen daughter loves the movies but just can’t follow the books. Poor child the books are better.

I think it’s kind of unfair to play the “he must be jealous” card. Stephen King is one of the best-selling authors of all time. He doesn’t need to bash other writers simply because he’s nervous about competition. King and Meyer aren’t even in the same league. Stephenie Meyer’s writing IS actual crap. Although I will give her some credit for creating characters and a plotline that obviously a lot of readers–mainly young girls–enjoy and on some level, can identify with.

I think King is experianced and crediable enough as a writer to know a bad one when he see it. I think he’s correct about Meyer, I too think she is aiming at extremely young girls who lust for love and things that are worldly, and unworldly, like Vampires. Strange human during the day and lust-filled blood sucking creatures during the night…which is when life seems it’s hardest on our young impressionable confused teens most. She also shows a LOT of lusting and yurning in her series which speaks directly to the souls of impressionable teen girls who already feel misunderstood and alone, and find that without God in their young lives the only thing that grabs their attention is LOVE in the form of lust, forbidden and yet safe because no one really cares about them to begin with…jmho.

Meyer compared to King is more popular among teens than among adults. Teens all over have a very different taste in reading than adults. this difference is caused by age and their own individual take on life. Teens adore and admire writings involving unworldly characters and settings which are bounded by love. Twilight’s main attraction is the whole idea of forbidden love and charming looks of edward cullen!
It is a rare sight to see a teen reading a Stephen King novel.
Let King’s intention behind that comment be pure jealousy or nervousness about competition. Its irrational to critique Stephenie’s writing in such a manner. He might be correct.
But she will always be more popular among teens than he’ll ever be until he himself starts writing crap like vampire falls in love with a human!

Stephen King made an accurate statement. Stephenie Meyer is arguably a good storyteller (particularly for young women), but she is not a good writer. There is a difference.
I’m a published author (on a much smaller scale, of course) and, after reading the first chapter of Twilight, I was frankly shocked by the poor quality of the actual writing. My own editor (at a small, independent publisher, mind you) would have torn it to shreds. The dialogue modifiers alone made me want to weep.
And no, I’m not “jealous” either. Would I love to emulate Meyer’s success? Absolutely. But I write in a genre that is never going to captivate the hearts and minds of the masses, and that’s okay with me. I write what I love.
Stephen King is a brilliant writer who has enjoyed staggering long-term success. Stephenie Meyer has created a series that speaks to a lot of kids (and adults, for that matter) and has enjoyed tremendous popularity based on these isolated works. Will she be able to replicate that success in future books? Maybe, maybe not. I know her other series has not been received nearly as well, even by devoted fans.
To suggest that Stephen King is “jealous” of a newbie writer who, admittedly, has experienced fast fame is pretty laughable. I will be shocked if Stephenie Meyer realizes even a fraction of the acclaim and longevity that King has enjoyed.
When it comes down to it, Stephenie Meyer isn’t a good writer. That has nothing to do with book sales, popularity, or the ability to tell a story people want to hear. It has to do with craft. And Meyer’s craft is weak. Anyone who has ever gone through a serious editing process and had a novel published can attest to that.
That doesn’t mean she can’t learn to become a good writer. It’s something that takes practice, and an author’s early work is never, ever as good as their later work, if the writer is committed to improving.

It doesn’t make sense to say that Stephen King may have said this out of jealousy over Stephenie Meyer’s popularity. He loves J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series to death, and those books are a thousand times more popular than Twilight. He is simply stating what, in my opinion, is true: Stephenie Meyer is a terrible writer. The reason her books score well with teens is not that they are intelligently written stories but that they include hot guys with awesome powers and a steamy romance between the hottest guy on Earth and an average girl (without the average girl factor it wouldn’t be relatable). They live through the books.

What does Stephen King have to be jealous of, anyway? He’s published seventy novels to her five. He’s been a lauded, established author since the seventies. It doesn’t add up.
He’s just stating the truth: Meyer is an awful writer. Her novels are filled with purple prose, bad grammar, and flat, completely unrealistic characters. She could have greatly benefited from a stricter editor, as the lack of plot and structure to her novels is staggering. I’ve read better fanfiction than the Twilight “saga”. It’s like literature-lite for those who don’t read much.
I applaud Mr. King for speaking up; it’s about time someone with some pull put this out there.

I think Stephen King is a brilliant and experienced writer,but bashing another writer’s ability is in bad taste.I am 35 and love the twilight series as well as many other adults I know-including some men.My 58-year-old mother loves them, also.I have read many adult novels that weren’t even as good as Stephanie Meyer’s writing! She can captivate an audience and that’s what it takes to be a good writer.They are maturely written books and anyone who has read them would know that.In fact,I was a little concerned that they were a little too mature for my fourteen year old.They are written from a seventeen year-old’s point of view, but a very mature seventeen year-old.
Stephen King definately has the right to his opinion, and I really respect him as a writer, but he should not be insulting other writer’s publicly, because it does make him appear jealous even if he’s not and certainly shouldn’t be!

To say that King is jealous of Meyer is frankly laughable. Aside from the fact that the man is a prolific, celebrated writer, his comments and tone don’t read as jealous at all. Meyer has not achieved anything that King himself is incapable of.
This story has been completely blown out of proportion. King has long been a commentator on writing (if anyone remembers, his book On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft was published in 2000), and he blogs often about his favorite writers and recently released fiction. He makes an annual list of his favorite books of each year. It is not outside the reach of a regular interview to ask him what he thinks of a popular writer in a sci-fi/fantasy genre.
King gave an honest answer to a question about another writer’s ability. As a successful writer of 30+ years, he is certainly in a place to offer an opinion. I’ve never known the blogophere to erupt like this when King is criticized.

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” I Cor. 13:11 (KJV)
When I was young teen; I love to read “Fear Street” books. Absolutly loved them. As I grew older, Stein was replaced with Star Trek and Star Wars novels and the occasional Stephen King novel. I grew up. My son brought home a “Goosebumps” book and I just shook my head at the stuff that, at the time, thought was very good writing.
Writing for a child, is much, much different than writing for an adult. Granted, I myself haven’t read the “Twilight” books. However, from what I heard from a friend of mine, she also went on and on about how crappy these books are written. King knows how to write—granted they’re for adults rather than kids—but his opinion carries a lot of weight. At least he was comparing apples with apples by Rowling with Meyer. Honestly, that collum on MSNBC is really bad, too. “Ohh, the Stephen King is jealous of Stephanie!” He sounds so out of character and a snippet comment here and there really is bad journalism.
What we may be seeing here are the printed form of the Backstreet Boys. It’s new, and exciting; the “it” book for Seventeen magazine crowd. Honestly, when these girls “grow up” to the Harlequins and/or Stephen King books; we’ll see if Ms. Meyer and her poor writing are still here.
“What? You think you’re some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I’m a Toydarian, mind tricks don’t work on me. Only money “ ~~Watto, SW I: PM

I’m almost 40, and I loved the Twilight series. My daughter, who is 13, told me I had to read it. Both of us are very avid readers, though I tend to read more genres than she does. (Non fiction, classics, etc.) I had also read “The Host” before I read Twilight.
With that said, I still believe Mr. King is certainly entitled to his opinion. However, I would venture to say that, with his prolific career and his many critiques of other authors, he probably can’t read purely for pleasure anymore. He has spent his entire adult life reading with an eye to what sounds right or wrong, how things will be perceived, does the phrasing communicate what he wishes to say.
Twilight is a series that you read for fun. It doesn’t have any grand statement to make. It just tells a story. If you expect more than that, read Madame Bovary or Jane Eyre, two more of my favorites. Just my opinion.

I forgot to say that my daughter also loves King as a writer. In fact, she’s been after me to read “Duma Key”, but I haven’t had time.

Mr. King is a successful, prolific, author whose contributions to the literary world are not to be dismissed lightly. However, having read both JK Rowling and Stephenie Meyer, I beg to differ with his opinion of Ms. Meyer’s authorship. I find the stories engrossing and the characters well rounded and fully developed. Ms. Meyer is writing to a specific demographic. If others find her works entertaining, aren’t all readers enriched? As with the controversy that arose over the Harry Potter series, the basic fact that seems overlooked repeatedly is this: these books interest young people in reading for fun. As a hobby, reading encourages lifelong learning and an appreciation for the world as a whole. Since when is this a bad thing? For shame Mr. King, you write for your audience and Ms. Meyer will write for hers. Let us hope the children ignore all of this and keep reading.

I honestly beleive that Stephen King is concerned for the well being of these young girls. There is more than enough sexuality out there. It is just one more saying it is ok to these things. It gives them the wrong idea and shame on any parents that approve.

Well she isn’t a GREAT writer, she won’t be one of the greats of our generation, but the twilight series is good enough to read. That’s why her being popular and King being right can both be true.

I have been a fan of Stephen King for decades. He will ALWAYS be my favorite because of his style of writing.
However I did read the Twilight series and thought it very good. But not as good as Mr King.
I’m 37 and I just ordered one of King’s older novels.
I think the thing that makes Stepanie Meyer easy to read is the way it seems so thrilling to be a part of the fantasy.
Twilight is a love story.
Cujo is a horror story.
There is really no comparing the two.
Stepehn King rocks
http://www.stephenking.com

I really think Stephanie Meyer should try doing something else. I
don’t think she can write. And our teenagers have enough on their
plate without this type of confusion added to it.

ive read a lot of stephen king novels and id say he’s just as average as any other bestseller authors he’s trashing now…however, i think he’s doing that for publicity stunt…he’s got a new novel after all…its so low though…tsk tsk

I don’t think Stephen King needs anymore publicity or anything seeing as how his stories have been around and will be around for years upon years upon years. I think he is looking at the books from the eyes of a REAL author.
I’m not a real author yet, but just by actually looking at how books are made, Stephanie can’t write. At all. Period.
Like, the only thing she’s doing right is giving girl’s butterflies. Otherwise she BREAKS HER OWN RULES. She has a MARY-SUE for a character as well as a GARY-STU. And it’s disturbing how so many girls want an ‘Edward.’ Just… no. My friend put it wonderfully;
“. In the last book, Bella sacrifices absolutely nothing. She gets a husband, a daughter (that shouldn’t even be possible considering the rules that Meyer established in the first book. Never break your own rules.) a friend (who should hate her), immortality, her fathers support (that was just crap), vast amounts of wealth, and the big fight between those Italian vamps was totally called off. Why? Because apparently Bella is too good for the normal rules that apply to being a vampire. She doesn’t completely lose it and gets a (conveniently) awesome power to help with the fight! What kind of message does this show children? That getting married and having a child at 19 is perfectly okay? (no offense to those who do that, I’m just saying for the majority) That everything will go your way in life? That’s total crap. Life is not that cut and dry. Deal with it.”

Whatever his motivations, King is justified in his opinions. I personally dislike the Twilight franchise, but initially I wasn’t interested in decrying it. It’s only when rabid fangirls who seemingly fail to recognize the faults with this series start chattering about how much better Twilight is than…Crime and Punishment? Lord of the Rings? I’ve heard both…that I feel the need to nip that particular opinion in the bud. It will be a dark day for literature when Meyer’s scribblings become viewed as fine art rather than what they are: passable but unexceptional light entertainment.

King isn’t being jealous, it’s been stated before, why would STEPHEN KING be jealous of some, frankly, VERY AWFULLY written garbage?
To be blunt, my 12 year old sibling writes better then Meyer, and thats her target audience, meaning, she doesn’t reach the standard of writing for a 6th grader let alone a high schooler.
It’s nothing but pitiful Stumance.

To be perfectly honest, I can write better than Meyer, and I’m 11.
So why would King be jealous?
Stephen King is my favorite author. Masterpieces like ‘Salem’s Lot and The Shining frankly cannot be compared to all the garbage Meyer rolls out.
Granted, Meyer’s work is more *cough* appropriate for my age group (11, 12, 13, 14) than King’s, but…amazing writing nonetheless.

I’m 14 years old, and even I write better then Stephenie Meyer. Although some may argue that she wrote the books “never intending to be a writer,” I think that’s pull bull crap. If you’re going to publish a book, wouldn’t you want it to be the best as possible. I admit, I enjoy the series. It is addictive, and I can’t help but root for Bella and Edward’s relationship. However, I am smart enough, and have read A TON OF BOOKS to recognize a bad one, and Twilight is definitely one of the most worst-written books I’ve read. It sounds like something I would write in a journal. ‘ I woke up and had some cereal.’ ‘I looked at Edward across the cafeteria.’ It doesn’t sound right at all for a book. J.K.Rowling on the other hand, brilliant writer. Purely brilliant. She has both the Storytelling ability, AND the writing chops. No wonder her books have sold WAY MORE then Stephenie’s and she’s even won AWARDS!!! Stephenie has yet to win one. I also have read Stephen King and have respect for him too. Also, he’s not jealous of Stephenie. Stephen is an acclaimed literary legend, whilst Stephenie is enjoying her mediocre success.
Stephenie is just not that great a writer…

I THINK THAT HE JUST IS BEING A DONKEY(A**S) AND JUST DOESN’T LIKE STEPHENIE BUT PREFERS STUPID OLD WIZARDS THAT CAN DIE AND GROW OLD SO IF HE LIKES SEING PEOPLE DIE THAN FINE HE CAN READ ABOUT RETARDED DIEING WIZARDS.:P I AM 11 YRS OLD.

“I write better than Meyer”. May I remind you that writing is not an exact science. Therefore, you cannot say if someone writes “better” than anyone! It is absurd! Every writer has his/her own personal style, and if Meyer has had so much success, then at least some outstanding writing virtues must be present, whether critics will acknowledge them or not.

Um, NO… if he were jealous wouldn’t he be slamming J.K. Rowling as well?
Stephenie’s won a few teen book awards for her trash– Stephen King is recognized as an actual literary success.

What I find most interesting about all these comments is that they seem to mostly come from an adult’s perspective. So been as “twilight” is aimed at a teenage audience, is it really a surprise that most of you think that Stephanie Meyer’s work is “VERY AWFULLY written garbage”?
However I’m fifteen and have read the first three books of the “Twilight” collection and find that they are no work of a genius, yet wonderful and completely infectious to read. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions; however Stephen King seems to have made a clearly stupid remark about Myer.
Being a good writer is about capturing your reader. Meyer has done much more than that which is clear to see from her huge success. So whether you are writing for an audience aimed at two year olds or highly educated professors the skill of being a GOOD WRITER is creating a GOOD READ for your audience.
Also I find it amusing that people seem to think teenagers have no taste in literacy and wouldn’t know a good novel if it smacked them in the head. Well I enjoy all the classics just as much as anyone else with one of my favourites being Jane Austen. This should speak for it that I don’t enjoy reading shit.
On another note, I find that her writing is in no way inappropriate to teenage girls. I mean Hello, reading a book on a forbidden fantasy love is supposed to be a bad example? Umm what do you think surrounds the average life of a teenager? A book isn’t the cause of any pressure to make mistakes. And in fact one of the reasons I like the book is because it has taught me to wait for the right guy.

First of all whoever wrote this blog is an idiot because Stephen King has had way more best sellers than that woman. He has had almost all of his books turned into number one movies, and he can do all this while writing great books. So, what exactly is he jealous of? An idiotic fan base that doesn’t have one brain cell between them? I don’t think so.

King can’t be jealous of Meyer, King has been one of the most successful writers of all time…
And writing is a science, probs the most difficult thing on earth to write a good book

BAH! Her work is drivel. Completely and inequitably trash, I knew I was fated to burn these turgid insult to literature and vampire lore. Stephanie Meyer has proven that legislation must be passed to prevent housewives from writing. Not just her but Nicholas sparks, James Patterson as well. Since the 1940′s true story telling is rare in the American market, what happened to true artistic writers such as Robert E. Howard who single handedly created the sword and sorcery genre, J.R.R. Tolkien the father of High Fantasy and the masters of Horror Alfred Hitchcock and H.P. Lovecraft; Better yet the father of vampire literature Bram Stoker. Meyer is an insult such genius of authorial talent as these great minds and anyone who thinks Meyer is talented and original has quite frankly been under a rock and have not even experienced the wonder of culture. Sorry if you get offended by my remarks, but I speak my ultimate truth, Meyer is not a writer and is an insult to the arts.
“All great art is made from suffering” –Shagrath- Dimmu Borgir.
Due your research on these authors listed and then you will understand.

The chances of Stephen King being jealous of Stephenie Meyers is zero. It’s ridiculous to even suggest that. The man is a multi award winning author who has had several best sellers and considered the most successful author of horror of today, the man is a freaking legend. She does not give him a run for his money in terms of popularity, I highly doubt she has a large male fanbase.
Besides he praised JK’s Rowling’s writing and Harry Potter is just as huge as the Twilight Saga