{"id":107,"date":"2012-05-14T15:34:20","date_gmt":"2012-05-14T15:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onfire\/?p=107"},"modified":"2012-05-14T15:34:20","modified_gmt":"2012-05-14T15:34:20","slug":"what-if-tabby-hadnt-pulled-carrie-out-of-the-trash-stephen-king","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onfire\/2012\/05\/14\/what-if-tabby-hadnt-pulled-carrie-out-of-the-trash-stephen-king\/","title":{"rendered":"What if Tabby hadn’t pulled CARRIE out of the trash? (Stephen King)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I couldn\u2019t see wasting two weeks\u2026creating a novella I didn\u2019t like and wouldn\u2019t be able to sell. So I threw it away.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

The next night, when I came home from school, Tabby had the pages. She\u2019d spied them while emptying my wastebasket, had shaken the cigarette ashes off the crumpled balls of paper, smoothed them out, and sat down to read them. She wanted me to go on with it\u2026\u201dYou\u2019ve got something here, she said. \u201cI really think you do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>So recounts Stephen King in his book, On Writing: A memoir of the craft<\/em>. Tabby is his wife and the pages she retrieved from the trash ultimately became Carrie<\/em>, King\u2019s first successfully published novel. Carrie<\/em> was a turning point for him and his family. Upon its publication in paperback, he quit teaching and wrote full time.<\/p>\n

What if Tabby hadn\u2019t pulled the pages out of the trash?\u00a0 How might Stephen King\u2019s writing career\u2014life story\u2014be different?<\/strong><\/p>\n

###<\/p>\n

What about you?\u00a0 Has there been a \u201cmade-all-the-difference\u201d turning point in your life? A time when someone\u2019s actions\u2014no matter how obscure\u2014changed your course<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

– from second-guessing yourself to moving forward?<\/p>\n

– from being hidden in the background to joining the cast on stage?<\/p>\n

– from being on the team to taking the lead?<\/p>\n

– from always helping others fulfill their dreams to valuing your own?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Have you been that difference-maker for someone else?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Have I?<\/p>\n

Am I being that person today?<\/p>\n

– – – – –<\/p>\n

photo credit: Jeff Hester<\/a> (creative commons)<\/p>\n

– – – – –<\/p>\n

Dear Reader: this is a new Beliefnet blog. I need your help to make it a success! Would you subscribe (see bar above on the right) plus forward this post to a friend who may enjoy it? Also, I appreciate your comments.\u00a0 Thank you, Gloria<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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