Greetings!

[The Unpublished Author]

Hi, I'm Alexander.

I can't exactly remember how I found this site, but I have lurked it for a week or so. Seeing many conversations that I would have preferred to take part in, I decided to join. Though I hold no love for Twilight, I am not a troll. Part of my joining is to talk with the fans and find out if my dislike for it stems solely from my existing outside the demographic the series is trying to appeal to. I'm not here to troll and I'm not here to be rude, so do not fear me.

I myself am an author with one book unpublished. It would be on the self-published market, as I have access to a cover artist, copy-editor, and several skilled proof readers, but I find myself unsatisfied with the tone. So now I am working on my second, a far more whimsical story than I am used to. One might even consider it a parody of fantasy, as it does poke fun at some of the more ridiculous and stereotypical aspects of fantasy.

Now, what else is there to say? I am an eighteen year old member of the male sex, I'm Team Buffy, my favorite book is Graceling (which, ironically enough, features a blurb on the back likening it to Twilight), and my favorite movie is... well, I have a lot of favorite movies. The one that I'm going to throw on here off the top of my head is Star Trek: First Contact.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[Jestak]

Hi, Alexander, welcome to the forum. Thanks for joining us.

[smitten_by_twilight]

Greetings to you too! Welcome to the Lex!

I think that if you are not trollish, you will find people generally more than willing to talk about what they like about Twilight here ... most of us are here because we have few if any people in our offline lives to talk to about it.

find out if my dislike for it stems solely from my existing outside the demographic the series is trying to appeal to.

When Stephenie has talked/written about writing Twilight, she has been very clear that she originally wrote it simply for herself, with no conscious intention to turn it into a novel at all, and was shocked to actually sell it. So I don't know that it was really meant to appeal to a specific demographic, and certainly Breaking Dawn busts out of what I would usually consider a YA novel. I would guess that it appeals to fewer men than women because it is, at heart, a romance, and it relies heavily on dialogue. There are times when it reminds me of Austen's books, because there are long stretches where so little happens ... until the fantastic explodes across the page. You will find that fans agree that her writing style has flaws and her copy editor appears to have over-relied on SpellCheck (there are threads on this here), so she will not appeal to you if you require a sophisticated writing style. I don't. I read for character. If the character interests me, I will read them ... if not, then not, no matter how good the writing technically is.

I hope you enjoy it here. Congrats on finishing a story - I never have! There are also threads for writers here, with what look like some interesting discussions.

[audreywarenne]

Hey! Welcome to the Lex!

[Tornado]

Hi Alexander!

I too, am an unpublished author (where novels are concerned, anyway). There seem to be a few here!

It is certainly true that Stephenie's writing style is a little less than perfect, as someone has already pointed out. Sometimes it makes me wince a little, but I too, am more character driven than anything else, and her characters are brilliant.

Also, when it comes to critiquing her writing, I constantly remind myself that Twilight was the first book of any sort that she ever wrote. She wrote nothing at all before - ever. When I recall my pitiful first attempts at writing, it increases my level of respect. For a first attempt it's very good. She has plenty of time to correct whatever problems she may have with her writing. Each book/manuscript should improve on the last, and if she does this, by the time we get to her 31st book, she may well be a genius.

[The Unpublished Author]

Hey everyone, thanks for the replies.

It may come off as odd, seeing as I'm male, but romance is my favorite genre to write. Almost every story I've written has featured it as a major theme, even if I didn't intend for it to do so. In fact, when I'm writing romance, writing is at its easiest. Pages go by and word counts go up.

Even if it was Stephenie Meyer's first attempt, there are standards that publishing companies should adhere to. I don't understand why it was picked up. The book itself begs for two additional drafts, just to work clean out all the gunk that has built up. A few chapters could even stand to be cut, just so the plot moves along at a faster pace.

But enough ranting. I don't want to come off as a troll. If I do, I'm sorry.

[Tornado]

Well, considering it's sold millions of copies, I don't think anyone's complaining. It's clear it is compelling with or without additional edits. And who knows? Perhaps additional edits would have destroyed the spontaneity that is part of its charm.

[The Unpublished Author]

The number of copies a book has sold does not represent it's quality. The Last Airbender sold hundreds of millions of dollars in tickets, but it's still a horrible movie.

[smitten_by_twilight]

I don't want to come off as a troll.

You aren't at all. We are devoted, not blindly devoted. For some genuine, spontaneous comments on the Saga, check out the Twilight books editing errors? thread on the Quench Your Thirst forum. Then let your eye wander over the numerous threads on the romance of Twilight and the character threads. It's a huge site, with plenty of room for opinion - I've been here months and I'm only dipping my feet in.

[Openhome]

Hello and welcome to the Twilight Lexicon!

I’m Openhome, and I’m one of the moderators around here.

We are so pleased you have chosen to join us! The Lex is a large site and can be very confusing at first. To help you navigate through the threads better, please be sure to check out the Welcome Forum and take a look at the threads there. You can begin at the Before You Start Posting thread. This topic contains a wealth of information on how to use our boards.

If you have any questions about posting here, there are three forums set up for you. Newborn in Seattle has a long list of helpful hints and FAQ’s. If you have technical difficulties, go to For the Accident Prone. The site’s rules and policies are found in the Don’t Irritate the Volturi thread. Please be sure to familiarize yourself with them!

If you have any other questions, you can contact any of the moderators by sending them a Private Message (PM). Moderators’ names appear in green. You can also go to the Communing with the Pack forum to ask questions or give us feedback.

See you around the boards!
Openhome