by andypalmer » Mon May 03, 2010 4:18 pm
As a writer myself (albeit an amateur) I completely understand Stephenie's feelings about the leak and why she's not feeling up to finishing the story at this time. Because of that, I avoided the partial draft.
Then, however, a friend of mine told me about the chapter that she had willingly posted as a "preview" on her site. I had no moral compunctions then, so read the posted chapter 1.
I was driven by curiosity, not so much about the story itself, but how Stephenie Meyer, as an author, would pull off first person from the mind of a character as complex as Edward Cullen. I know from experience that First Person is a very difficult writing style to do well but Stephenie did just that from Bella's perspective (and also Jacob's in BD). I assuaged my ego a bit by telling myself that Bella, a teenage girl, is not a terribly complex character and one likely relate-able to Stephenie herself in many ways and Jacob wears his feelings on is sleeve so much that writing his first person perspective is in some ways like writing 3rd person with the filter turned off. So yes, I was curious about Stephenie's real writing chops as she tried to capture the essence, in first person, of a decades old vampire who reads minds.
I read chapter 1 and was amazed; she had not only pulled it off, she had nailed it. Of course, at that point, I was far too weak to NOT read the rest of the partial draft...
Now, I can no longer read Twilight without ALSO reading Midnight Sun. The story now seems incomplete without the two together, like a classical concerto with half of the instruments not playing. So, like many others, I dream of the day when Stephenie finishes and publishes Midnight Sun. I dream also of a publishing that puts both Twilight and Midnight Sun in the same book, with the words side-by-side in two separated columns and matched by time - that's where the real interaction between Edward and Bella is fleshed out as you read first the impressions of one, then the other, and realize the little misconceptions that both of them are having that both fuels and builds their relationship.
And yes, I'd like all four volumes of Midnight Sun to be published; I yearn for more insights into Edward's thoughts during the rest of the books, too. How he came to the decision to leave Bella in NM and how he found the strength to go through with it. The depths of his despair when he thought her dead, his initial thoughts when reunited at the square, and his feelings of fear, possibly even betrayal when the vote is taken. Then there's his jealousy and worries about Jacob during Eclipse, his plotting to take Bella to Florida, his handling of the tent scene - how much was cold calculation and how much was desperation? BD has many poignant moments for Edward, the wedding, the honeymoon, his change from wanting to save Bella from the monster he had created inside her and the depths of self-loathing that went with that, to realizing that he was a father, had created something beautiful with Bella. His desperate thoughts as he tried to get the venom into her quick enough to save her, his 2 days of waiting, hoping, perhaps even praying as the venom worked its magic, his unbounded joy as she awoke, for once his equal. And finally, his thoughts as Bella opened her mind to him, sharing her feelings in the most intimate of ways. There are too many moments to mention.
Until then, I will continue to read the half of the story that I have.