First, an apology: less than a month in and I have already been remiss in updating. Granted, I have a number of good reasons--the most pressing being that I've been getting a crash course in how difficult it is to take care of a house while my mom and sister are away on a mission trip--but still. So, to make up for it, I've decided to rant about something that has become a hot topic recently: bashing the Twilight franchise and Stephanie Meyer. All from the comfort of my local Starbucks and their amazing new free wifi. (If this blog were cool enough to be sponsored, that would be the point at which you'd roll your eyes and keep reading. Since it isn't, just pity my addiction.)
Let me preface this by saying that I have, in fact, read all four Twilight books and seen the first two films. In fact, I'll probably see the other two--and possibly the rumored film version of The Second Short Life of Bree Tanner. Obviously I don't have anything against the series or it's creator. Actually, I think it's great that Mrs. Meyer managed to tap into something that made her passionate about writing and was able to eventually able to turn that into a huge phenomenon. Most writers will tell you the same; people who write are, by nature, people who read anything we can get our hands on. Words are our addiction, our chosen means of self expression. Anything that gets others as excited about language--even books that might not be of the highest literary caliber--are okay with us. Not that high prose and experimentation aren't important, but every writer had to start somewhere. If Twilight is that spark for someone, who am I to say that it isn't meaningful or shouldn't be read?
That being said, though, I was a little bit taken aback by something I read in Publishers' Weekly earlier this week. In a recent interview with The Daily Inquirer () Meyer admitted that she is "burned out on vampires." On the one hand, I completely understand how she must feel. After all, with five completed books and a sixth partially finished--Midnight Sun, a retelling of Twilight from Edward's perspective--she has every right to be tired of that subject matter. At the same time, though, something about admitting that came across as selfish or ungrateful to me. After all, those very characters have been her bread and butter, catapulting her into fame and fortune. I'm all for authors working on different projects and stretching themselves beyond what has made them successful, but I think there's a time and place for admitting something like that.
For example, J.K. Rowling very publicly admitted her fatigue and relief at finishing her Harry Potter series in July of 2007, but after she had finished her work. She was also candid enough to admit to crying after she killed off several characters and about her own sadness at leaving Harry and the wizarding world behind. She also made clear her excitement to extend herself into other projects that didn't involve Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. And her fans embraced this. It might just be a matter of opinion--because I'll read whatever Mrs. Rowling publishes next--but I think it has to do with the way it was presented. Rowling made it seem as though she was at least as attached to her world and two her characters as her fans are. Meyer's declaration smacks of something very different.
So, readers, what do you think? Am I being biased and overly-sensitive to an off-hand statement, or is there something to how an author presents his or her desire to move into new projects? Or is it, like so many things, a little bit of both?
No comments:
Post a Comment