Stephen King: From Janitor To Genius
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Stephen King used to clean public school toilets, a job many would flinch at, while toiling on stories that publishers showed little interest in. Today, he’s a towering figure in the literary world. This transformation covers King’s traverse across the Cool Continuum, reflecting his progression from an unknown writer to a figurehead in the literary world.
In his early days as a Level 1 “Outsider,” King juggled jobs in a public school and commercial laundry, all the while crafting stories that did not conform to the preferences of conventional publishers. He populated his stories not with superheroes or prodigies but everyday people — schoolgirls, writers, car enthusiasts. King had a knack for seeing the terrifying potential lurking within the mundane, an “Outsider” with an unsettlingly fresh viewpoint.
As King’s recognition grew, he morphed into a Level 2 “Rebel.” His early novels, such as “Carrie” and “The Shining,” subverted traditional horror tropes, setting the genre ablaze. King didn’t pen tales of haunted castles, he introduced terror in the mundane — in high school bullying, in an isolated hotel, in the mind of a dog. This rebellious streak changed the landscape of horror…
