quick update, Twilight question

[rivendellrose]

Why did no one tell me that the Twilight books are set in Washington State? I've been reading cleolinda's summaries, and... Forks? I've been there. Well, driven through it. Which is all you need, I suspect, since it seems to consist entirely of a gas station, a deli/movie-rental-place and a really disgusting-looking motel. And when Bella apparently says she's "going to Seattle for the day"? Um. How, exactly? Forks = not really at all close to Seattle. Am I completely misunderstanding all of this via the magic of only reading summaries, or did SMeyers just completely screw over my state's geography?

I should be writing. But... meh. I so totally don't feel like it at the moment.

Comments

[vega-ofthe-lyre.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, yes. As far as I know, she'd never even visited Forks before she wrote the book.

Yeah.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Uh, yeah. ....Yeah, I imagine anybody who bothered to set a book in Forks without the intention of writing a dark, melancholy book about the misery of poverty and the deathly gasps of the northwest lumber industry would have to have never been there, if my memory of it is correct.

That said, it would probably be an interesting setting for a book if, you know... the writer actually bothered to go there first. I mean... shit, did she have anything about it except the name and the fact that it's in Washington State? I'm not saying a writer has to go someplace before writing a location, but a little research would not at all be amiss!

[websandwhiskers.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that she picked it because of the weather - I don't know how much research actually went into this, though.

While I'll agree that Stephenie Meyer is being a total prima-donna brat over the leaking of Midnight Sun, and that the books are more cotton-candy than great literature, and that while I like the relationship between Bella and Edward as something interesting to read about, engagingly fucked-up, it's really rather disturbing that SMeyer apparently set out to write Edward as the perfect man (for one thing, um, the perfect man is perpetually 17?!?) . . . I think it bears remembering that she originally wrote this for her own amusement and apparently only even attempted publication on her sister's urging. The books are flawed, in ways large and small, but she really had no idea what they were going to turn into. Doesn't absolve her of responsibility, but it does, for me, at least, inspire a little sympathy.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Psh. The whole peninsula gets pretty much the same weather. Hell, the whole western half of the state gets the "constant grey and drizzle" that keeps getting bandied in summaries.

That's exactly it - goodness knows I've read all sorts of weird books with messed up relationships, and I love cotton candy literature if I'm in the right mood. What bothers me is that she seems to think of this guy as perfect (and portray him as such to her audience). When, in fact, as near as I can tell from reviews and summaries and quotes, he's pretty much a creepy stalker.

I guess what it comes down to is that I understand writing something just for fun, I understand that having it published would make things really weird, but I really don't like a lot of teenage girls looking at this thing as an example of relationships. That worries me a lot.

[tavern-wench1.livejournal.com]

I hate to admit this, but after your posts about this book I feel a perverse need to read it.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Whereas I feel a need to visit Forks and write a dark melancholy book about the misery of poverty. (:

[websandwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Well, I got the impression that Seattle was a significant distance from Forks, per her descriptions .. I was picturing maybe an hour-and-a-half to two-hour drive, or so? But no specific transit time is ever actually stated, just that it's definitely a whole-day trip but not necessarily requiring an overnight stay.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

It's been probably 12 years since the last time I was out to Forks, but I'm pretty sure it's more like 3 hours. Hmm. I'll have to check this out and see if my childhood memories are failing me.

[nolan-ash.livejournal.com]

I thought I heard the author lives in Bellevue (or something kinda Seattle-y) so I don't know what's the deal with not knowing the local geography. =p

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

...Ohgod. I will have to look this up, now. If that's true, there is a very real (and horrifying) possibility that I have met her. And, in fact, might have gone to girls' camp with her.

I never thought growing up with Mormon friends would lead to so many weird little random happenstances...

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Do we have fish yet? ;D

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

We have fish! I'll try to get the pictures up sometime today. :)

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Yay!!!