WACKY WEDNESDAY - Why I'm a "Twihard"

Currently listening to:  "What I've Done" courtesy of Linkin Park

When this song starts, I picture the scene in the movie where Bella walks up the grassy slope behind the high school to the edge of the forest with Edward following close behind. She crosses the moss covered logs, stopping in a clearing where a shaft of light filters through the pines and rests on the forest floor. Edward moves behind her and we are aware that he's fighting his urges, struggling with the fear that he and his coven will be exposed...afraid he'll have to kill the one person he's cared about in over a century.

Talk about conflict! Take out the "sparkling vampire," the play-by-play instructions on meal preparation, and page long descriptions, and you have to admit, Twilight is an awesome story. Goal, motivation and conflict are clearly presented, the characters three dimensional, a setting that fits the dark premise of the story and the drama building (in fact, in the movie when they drive into Arizona, you have shield your eyes because the sunlight is so out of place), and touches of humorous real life antics, which put the reader inside the story with relatable characters. Then there's the sweet romance that pulls in the female gender at all ages. We remember our first love so vividly, and Stephenie Meyer did a great job of recreating all those feelings within Bella, but added a hunky immortal to our fantasy.

Tomorrow BREAKING DAWN- Part I opens and this author can't wait! I have tickets to the midnight premiere, My critique partner, who's also a close friend, and I will be there hours early, extra-large Starbucks coffee in one hand and Kindles in the other to pass the time while we wait. If you've never done a movie premiere, you need to. The excitement and energy make the experience as much fun as the movie. Yes, midnight is an ungodly hour to watch a film that in all likelihood will end close to 3 AM, and my eyelids will have to be taped open for work the next day, but it is so worth it! You're treated like a VIP (which I am "very important") and when you emerge from the theatre, you and the select few (OK hundreds) in attendance were treated to a glimpse of greatness others haven't seen yet. Even if the movie sucks, the experience is a blast.

Personally, of all the books in the Twilight saga, the fourth book, Breaking Dawn, was my least favorite. I know, possible bad karma for an author to criticize another colleague's creative work, but touting myself as a dedicated "Twihard" and viewing the final segment of the story from a reader's, not author's perspective, I came away disappointed. The characters who supported the hero and heroine all the way through their drama, adding color to the story along the way, were, in my personal opinion, "flat lined." In fact, most of them were barely given honorable mention and conveniently absent from what I felt, were crucial scenes.

Aside from the whole (**spoiler alert**) daddy chewing the baby from momma, while the boy who's had a crush on her and lost out, watches (and I do believe he sees her "body" for the first time as well, which was awkward to read [I'm not swearing by naked, because its been so long since I read it, but if a baby is being born you can bet there's more skin exposed than not] ) then have the boy whose painfully pined for the heroine "imprint" on her newborn daughter, cementing him in the heroine and hero's intimate life forever....well (taking large breath) just seems twisted! Okay personal rant over. For now.

So why am I going to watch this story (mind you I shut the book after that scene and didn't crack it for at least two weeks - I wasn't even sure I wanted to finish it, to be honest) on the mega screen if it bothered me so much in print? Because I have to! I'm a "Twihard." I have to see this through to the gruesome end. Like passing a bad car wreck, you don't want to, but you have to... look. Human nature? And again...for the experience!

No matter what my personal feelings as a reader were on the last book, as an author, I have to applaud Stephenie Meyers for her gift of being able to write such a wild, imaginative story. From this side of the fence, I view her as absolutely amazing. And, yes, I will proudly say I'm jealous as hell (professionally speaking, of course) of her imagination (and....the fact she sleeps on piles of money).

I also owe the Twilight saga for my writing career. Granted, I've always had the talent (I believe we're born with our gifts) but until I became passionate about reading, which this series definitely did for me, I didn't realize that deep down, I wanted to write the stories wandering in my imagination. I'm a hopeless romantic, believing love will survive against all odds, which is what I write. That's why Twilight worked for me. Isn't that the premise of the entire story....that love survived the odds?

Twilight fan or not, tomorrow marks the beginning of an ending. Like Harry Potter, Edward and Bella's story has come to an end, closing another chapter of literary genius. True, we still have Part II to look forward to, but when its over, there'll be a void, much the same as Harry Potter. Another fantasy will be popped by reality's needle and we'll be clamoring for the next one. Hello, Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games....I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

Thanks for stopping by and taking a moment from your NaNoWrimo frenzy to support me...or just rest your eyes. As always, I love your opinions, thoughts, and comments.  Oh hell, I'm just like that you're here! 

Thought for today: Today will be tomorrow's memory, so make it one you'll cherish...not regret.