Whoopee.
I'm sure you can just feel my excitement through your computer. You can't? Huh. Maybe it's because I don't care? (Though I will admit this movie looks like it will easily be the best of the entire series.)
I must resist the urge to ridicule the trailer or make wisecracks about the second-rate acting. The purpose of this post is not to bash the Twilight movies or the books. Instead, I would like to point out some of Meyer's biggest mistakes along with her triumphs (yeah, she actually had some of those).
Triumph
Whether this was intentional or not, Stephenie Meyer consistently catered to her readers' tastes (not including that horrid birth scene in Breaking Dawn. My eyes still burn...). Some may argue that this is a failure, seeing as her audience is fundamentally a bunch of twelve-year-old girls. (*cough* Excuse my cliché generalization. ) Arguments aside, knowing your audience and writing accordingly is important. Not to say that other people should wholly dictate what you write, but your reader's opinions should be taken into consideration.
Failure
Meyer's characters are 2 dimensional at best and flat-out irritating at worst. Bella, for example, has no interest outside of Edward Cullen, her beloved vampire boyfriend. It's fine for her to be "irrevocably in love". It is a love story after all, but she doesn't seem to have any other interests, hopes, or dreams. One of the many things that set humans apart from animals is our hopes and dreams. A character without aspirations is usually not a character worth writing about.
Triumph
I will admit, Meyer knows how to draw in a reader. Her premise is interesting. It's also fairly original. Meyer started a trend-- a phenomenon of sorts. Notice how vampires and other immortal creatures have taken over the media? We have Stephanie Meyer to thank for that. Every writer prays their novel's concepts would impact society the way Twilight
has.
Failure
If only the plot was as interesting as the premise! There is a plot, I suppose, but it's weak. You take a book like Gone by Michael Grant
and compare it to Twilight and you can clearly see where Twilight fell short. Granted, they are wildly different books, but a good plot is a good plot. Maybe if she had some characters with depth, I wouldn't notice the gaping plot holes. Then again... Failure
Real men don't sparkle.
Failure
As I read the beginning of New Moon, I got excited. ( I also questioned why they wrapped Bella's present, but that's beside the point.) Not because vampire action is just so exciting, but because when Edward left I thought Stephenie Meyer was going to use that scenario as way for Bella to grow as character.
And then she didn't.
Instead, she brought Jacob Black in the picture, introducing us to Bella's newest, furry crutch. Introducing Jacob Black is not the mistake Meyer made. The mistake was that she passed up a wonderful opportunity for character development. The moral? Don't ever pass up an opportunity to develop your characters further. The more developed your characters, the better your story will be.
Failure
Don't ever contradict your own rules. Stephenie Meyer set up rules for her world and then violates them. She clearly states vampires can't reproduce. And what is Breaking Dawn about? I think I've said enough.
Failure
Renesmee is not even close to a real name. I mean how do you even say that? I realize that this is minor and that's it's already been covered, but really?
Failure
I've always said that Twilight had the potential to be good, possibly great if it had been rewritten a couple of times. It seems to me like Stephenie Meyer haphazardly threw all her romantic fantasies on a couple hundred pages it and sent it to publishing houses without fully assessing whether it was the very best it could be. Maybe I'm wrong. This is an assumption that can't be confirmed.
Triumph
Meyer certainly knows how to take a risk. She essentially threw out all vampire folklore and started from scratch. Her take on vampires certainly is...imaginative.
Failure
Bella's long-winded descriptions of Edward's ethereal perfection leave little room for Bella to inform us of what she loves so much about Edward's character. Sure, he's gorgeous, but he's also moody-- borderline bipolar at times. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that he wants to suck her blood. She never really explains why she's so drawn to him, besides the fact that he's the most beautiful creature she's ever seen and he's "the world's most dangerous predator".
It creates an air of superficiality about the whole relationship.
I could address Edward's stalker-like tendencies that are creepy NOT sweet, but I won't. Instead, I'll leave at this: Attraction is fine. Obsession is not.
Triumph
Meyer doesn't draw out the suspension of disbelief. It could be argued that there is no suspension of disbelief, but I digress. There is nothing more annoying when the reader has already figured out the "grand mystery" and the character hasn't.
Conclusion
We can learn from every writer, good, bad, or in between. I don't pretend to have it figured out. I know how difficult it is to write something worthwhile. I've been working on it for two years and countless rewrites later, I think I might be on to something. Despite my sarcasm, I'm not ridiculing Meyer. She's achieved success on a surface level. I'm happy for her. While her success is impressive, I hope to achieve much more. I hope to write the book that will truly change lives. I hope to create characters that will live on long after I'm dead.
