Mich
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The Haven Foundation (King) Ongoing
http://www.thehavenfdn.org/index.html
From the desk of Stephen King:
In the summer of 1999, I was struck by a careless driver and nearly killed while taking my daily walk. It was ten months before I was able to work
productively again. Some years later, a good friend of mine, audio reader Frank Muller, suffered terrible head injuries as a result of a motorcycle
accident. He will never work again. My luck was infinitely better than Muller’s, but the two events set me thinking about the uniquely perilous
situation of many freelance artists. The majority of mid-list writers, audio readers, and freelancers in the book and publishing industry have little
or no financial cushion in the event of a sudden catastrophic accident such as that suffered by Muller and myself. Many aren’t affiliated with any
professional associations or guilds that can help them in the event of such reversals. Even those who are affiliated with organizations such as The
Authors’ Guild cannot look for much beyond token help over a short period of time.
My response to this has been the creation of The Haven Foundation.
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Amy Browne
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I remember when that accident happened.. unreal.
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LaurieM
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What a wonderful thing for him to set up.
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Laurie's Author Website
The darkness is swallowing me. Bastian where are you? |
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itzrissa2u
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In his gunslinger books he wrote the accident into the books. It was kind of cool.
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LittleCricket
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I'm not belittling what King's doing, it really does have a cause when writers who only write get injured in such a way...
But I have to be a little offended, at a certain point. What we do is mostly in the mind, and I KNOW how hard it is to get it out on paper, and not
only that, to get it sounding sincere and grammatically correct, not to mention the work put into finding a publisher and seeing whether it sails or
fails...
My point. Writers who want in every fiber of their being write, and those good enough to earn a living often do a fantastic job of it. The rest of us
are mostly writers with day jobs, and families, and all sorts of medical and personal drama to go with it. A car accident or even spider bites (hint
hint) are horrible, but it doesn't stop us from doing what we love. Sure, if we got paid for it, it would be nice, but it would start haggling
pressure over us that if we don't write then we don't deserve the money that showed up BECAUSE we write.
I lost myself. Hold on.
Basically, I like the idea of the foundation, but if Ms Devon here our anchor in the waters goes through everything that she does, and still gets SO
MUCH done, well it's hard to say none of us could do the same. There are cases out there that I want to throw money at, and it's not even because of
them being authors, but for being PEOPLE. So I'm on the fence. It's awesome but in my pride (just talking for myself) it would be hard to take and
have the excuse not to write.
Huh?
Sorry Reread this over and over but have no idea of it'll make sense. Prolly not. Let's watch O_O
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tanyakaterina
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| Quote: | Originally posted by LittleCricket
Basically, I like the idea of the foundation, but if Ms Devon here our anchor in the waters goes through everything that she does, and still gets SO
MUCH done, well it's hard to say none of us could do the same. There are cases out there that I want to throw money at, and it's not even because of
them being authors, but for being PEOPLE. So I'm on the fence. It's awesome but in my pride (just talking for myself) it would be hard to take and
have the excuse not to write. |
I so got you. And I so love you, too, Cricket, have I ever said that?
I don't think I could partake of something like this, either, only because I can't see myself being so hopeless and downtrodden as to accept
charitable funds -- that is, to allow other people to clear my debt for me. HOWEVER, having said that, if I am blessed enough to receive scholarship
cash, that's exactly what I'm going to use it for: to clear my (student loan) debt.
Clearing one's debt is a noble and exhausting enterprise to undertake. I promise I'm not just saying that because I'm in the agonizing process of
doing so myself. =P Medical debt, as I understand it, can be supremely trying, and it's hard not to be supportive of any program that seeks to
alleviate that pressure for people, especially people who engage in a craft often considered less than work.
Just my two cents. =)
Cain't knock this woman down ... She stands on a Solid Rock."Truth is handsomer than the affectation of love." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
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LittleCricket
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Awww  See tanya us crazy people get it 
Or maybe it's the NIGHT talking for us.... 
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rudy2
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Maybe my brain is broken, but I thought King's thing was supposed to be helping writers who had huge medical bills?
If you've never been in those shoes I guess it's hard to relate no matter what you do for a living. Do you know just an MRI goes $2000?
I needed 6 of them in a year and a half, and that's just the start of it. All told, I probably had 40k in tests. Just tests. TG for insurance.
A lot of doctors won't let you in the door without insurance. How many writing jobs offer ins benefits? I'm lucky, I get ins though my husband. And
then he got layed off....
Even with ins., illness and injury are devestating on the pocketbook.
It's not about *I'm too whimpy to write*. It's about who's paying the medical bills, and i'm sure Michy has plenty to say about that.
You could put your kid through med school with what it costs to pay off one bad health issue.
Nice to see an author giving back a little.
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Thomas Forthe (Tom)
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I think the whole idea here is for those who cannot work for a time, not will not. There is a difference. A writer who cannot write due to injury is
going to starve....
A real writer will write if at all possible. Sometimes the story has to get out, you know.
"Two things are infinite; The universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe."
Albert Einstein
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justkat73
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I love what SK is trying to do here. If those that need it find it avaiable when their need is great, more power to them. I think most people don't
like to take charity. God knows I myself have problems even asking for a hug when I need one. But, if the people that take that help when available
are going to be criticized for it, then they will only shurk further into a corner and bury their story to save their dignity. I CAN see where someone
might not be able to write for a period of time. To those who can't see it, well I guess you are lucky to have never been in that position.
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Don't make me go all Ninja on yo ass! 
