I just finished On Writing by Stephen King and I thought it was a good read. Coincidentally, Ian over at Banana Oil posted his thoughts on King's "The Dead Zone", which King talks about in On Writing.
I've never read The Dead Zone, but I love good plots and the plot of this one is "What happens when the lone gunman in the tower is right?". Ian goes into the plot in more detail. Just the simple question makes it an intriguing novel. Most great plots can be summarized with an intriguing question starting with "what happens when":
What happens when a priest falls in love with a gypsy girl? (Hunchback of ND)
What happens when an ugly, but witty, man seduces the woman he loves for a hansom, but simple friend? (Cyrano)
What happens when a mulatto returns home to confront a racist general and his slave trading brother? (George by Dumas)
What happens when a man fights against a Wall Street syndicate to build a grain elevator? (Calumet K)
What happens when a valley girl becomes a killer of vampires? (Buffy the Vampire Slayer-I had to throw this one in)
What happens when the mind goes on strike against society? (Atlas Shrugged)
What happens when a son discovers his father's unsavory past? (All My Sons by A. Miller)
All of these are great and intriguing plots.
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