What scares Stephen King? Spiders, snakes and mother-in-law

The admission came when the author of international bestselling books including 'Carrie' and 'The Shining' came to University of Massachusetts Lowell to talk to writing students.

English department professor Andre Dubus, another bestselling author and an old friend of King’s, shared the stage for about an hour as students asked questions about their craft.

King told the audience of about 125 that his goal was to write stories that sizzle with emotion.

“I’m a confrontational writer. I want to be in your face. I want to get into your space. I want to get within kissing distance, hugging distance, choking distance, punching distance. Call it whatever you want. But I want your attention.”

He got that – plus some laughs.

Wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, the 65-year-old writer from Maine peppered his talk with profanity and promised students he was just a regular guy.

He said they should not be in awe like he was when he was a University of Maine freshman and heard a talk from 'Catch-22' author Joseph Heller.

“It’s not like being U2, you know what I’m saying?” King said.

The author told students he knows where he gets his writing ideas about half the time, and his fascination for horror stories did not come from childhood trauma.

During his lecture and in an interview later, King also talked about two books he had finished that will be published in 2013.

The author’s crime novel 'Joyland' will be out in paperback in July, followed in September by 'Doctor Sleep', a sequel to 'The Shining'.

The story is set in a New Hampshire hospice, where now grown-up character Danny Torrance works.

King said he had reservations about writing a sequel, but people always wanted to know more about the little boy from 'The Shining'.

“People used to ask me, years later after 'The Shining', what ever happened to that kid? ... I’d say, ’I don’t know’. But it started to kind of kick around in my brain.”

Because Torrance can read minds, King said he was intrigued by the idea of having the character work in a hospice as someone who helps people cross over from life to death.

The author encouraged students to be people-watchers and pick up on traits that would let them create their own characters.

King also warned them against becoming discouraged about publishers’ rejection slips and using notebooks for story ideas – he said things worth writing stay in your head.

“My method for starting anything is I tell myself the story when I’m laying in bed at night, waiting to go to sleep,” King said.

As well as giving out writing advice, King also left the students with some mystery.

“I’ve always wondered who I am when I write,” he said, “because once I’m doing it, I’m not in the room with myself.”