My personal relationship with Twilight

Photo by George Takai

I've been thinking a lot about Twilight lately.  


Everywhere I go, everything I read online, or see on TV has been treating Twilight like it's a butt of a joke. The worst book/ movie franchise ever. People have commented on it's writing, on the acting, ( which, full discloser, I agree is terrible.) on the anti-feminist themes, and the craziness/ pedophilia of the grown up fan women who lust after these characters.


Seriously?


Now I'm not saying Twilight is the best book ever, cause... It's not. But neither is it the worst. That quote by Stephen King...what is that... here, I'm looking it up...

“Harry Potter is about confronting fears, finding inner strength and doing what is right in the face of adversity. Twilight is about how important it is to have a boyfriend.” 

Some of the fans aren't helping.

This quote really emphasizes the hatred that is directed toward Twilight. Now I'm not saying Stephen King isn't correct in his assessment, but honestly, isn't that what Romeo and Juliet is all about? Or Phantom of the Opera, or Titanic, or the Odyssey, or Anna Karenina, or Le Miz, or...


Um... Dur?... 'Love conquers all' is the plot of a billion stories, and it's going to be the plot of a billion more. Twilight isn't original in that sense.


Which brings me to my next argument...Twilight is a copy. Yup... I've heard that one too. And it's true. There is an entire genre devoted to Vampire love.


 But then isn't any writing done inside a genre essentially copying?  One of my favorite quotes ever, is... "The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." Albert Einstein. I think, as a writer, I can't say I haven't borrowed an idea, or a theme, or that something from my stories wasn't blatantly... inspired... by someone else's writing.

Yes, there are a million Edwards
 in literary history.
And that's a bad thing how?

 Can you?


 If we can't be blamed for our idea sharing, then how can we crucify Stephanie Meyer for the same thing. Stephanie Meyers as made a billion million bazillion dollars... those stories she's "copied" haven't been near as successful. Take from that what you will.


Twilight was Stephanie Meyers first novel. She wrote all 130,000 words in three months which is about Nano speed. Now, I've seen my nano Novel, and I've seen my first novel, and they... I'm speaking truthfully... are much worse that Twilight.  Some, not all, of the first novels I've read aren't as good as Twilight either. 


Now I'm not saying Twilight is good. "It's not," she hissed. 


I am saying it was good enough to be published.


I've often wondered what would have happened, if Stephanie Meyer had joined a writers workshop, or let other people outside her family read it before sending it in to be published. She would probably edit out all the annoying quirks that bug us writer type people. Maybe would be convinced that she was starting in the wrong place, or dwelling too much on descriptions... 


In truth, she probably would have made a better book. However, there's a huge chance that she would have edited out what made her story sell so dang well, or perhaps become so disillusioned with the whole process, she might have never sent the novel in to be published, and essentially rejected herself.


When we try to write the correct way, aren't we actually just writing the same way it's always been done? Publishers are always saying they want something original, and yet how many times have you been told not to do something because it doesn't follow the rules. What if following "the rules" is what is standing between you and a billion batrillion dollars.


My personal experience with Twilight


When I was in Junior High, I went to see Titanic four times in the movie theater. I couldn't drive yet, I didn't have a job, or a source of income, yet somehow I ended up going to see Titanic FOUR times. But by the time Titanic came to DVD, it had been so over-saturated, that I officially became embarrassed that I ever liked it. I never bought the DVD. I made fun of it, often with the same friends I went to see it with in the first place.


The same thing happened to me with Twilight. The first time I ever heard of Twilight, I was in a Costco, and my husband said we had enough money to go pick out a book. I bought Twilight because of the cover. I had never read another Vampire book, and honestly had negative associations with the whole genre. My husband had to convince me to buy the book. 

I read the book, and I liked it. In fact, I liked it a lot. I hadn't heard of any of the hype yet, but I still liked it. I bought the other books in the series, and The Host. I loaned them to my friends, and we all... Okay most of us... liked the books. 


I have in my closet a tee shirt that says Team Jacob. (I only wear it now on laundry days.) 


We had a Breaking Dawn Breakfast were we went to Walmart together to pick up the book.


I still openly mocked the movie. The movies, in my opinion, are laughable grossness, and examples of horrible acting. I never became a Twihard... although I do think that name is creative.


Somewhere around, let's say the second movie, I became embarrassed that I ever liked the book. Now, when I try to reread the book, I can only see it's faults. I can only see how it's critiques are correct.

I've become a fair-weather fan.

So now, before the world, and my writing friends, and the thousand Vampire Diary fans who've stopped by theprosers to say "Hi," I want to officially say something.


Stephanie Meyer, 


as you look down from you giant pile of money, please know, even as I mock you, you aren't as bad of a writer as I think you are. Your stories aren't as laughable as the internet thinks they are, and George Takai is only making a joke.


Oh yyeesss.
~Sheena

Now that's I've embarrassed myself by admitting my feelings toward Twilight, how about you? What did you think when you read it?