My Khef

Oh how like Roland I feel.

It was only a few weeks ago that the Dark Tower first came into my life. Once glimpsed, however...Ka like the wind as they say. The Dark Tower has taken hold and like a Gunslinger my quest takes me closer to it each day. I've turned 1,731 pages (Books 1 - 4) in the last month, give or take. I have sacraficed time, sleep, and in some cases food in my quest to reach The Dark Tower.

I spend much of my waking hours these days thinking about Roland's tale and how it will unfold. I think that had I started reading the saga before King had finished it and subsequently endured the long periods between books (prior to the last three which were written in quick succession) I would be as ravenous as those who anticipate the future Game of Thrones installments. I was never a real fan of Stephen King in the past. To be honest, I never had any real interest in picking up any of his novels prior to the Dark Tower series. What was it about these books? What drew me to seek out Roland's tale? That too may have been Ka.

What most people don't know is that Roland isn't the ony one with a story to tell; now is not the time for mine, but perhaps soon. The truth is that I have had a story in me for quite some time. The characters have been evolving and forming in my head, the plot twisting and turning as I sleep. As it did I began to envision something I didn't quite understand and I still don't. Nevertheless, I was drawn to the tower. For a story I never read and a tale I knew nothing about I stated to see many similarities between King's world and the one growing in my mind. Can a writer unknowingly create a tale that exists in a world close to one that has already been imagined?

To my friends that write (mainly my sister) I ask does the influence of another writer's tale strengthen or hinder your ability to draft something original? Are we capable of creating something COMPLETELY original or will it always draw from our literary experiences? These were the thoughts that almost kept me from reading the series before I began writing but the draw of the tower was far too great.

Ka like the wind.