Even if “Twilight” doesn’t make my all-time favorite list, I do admire Stephenie Meyer, and I’m so happy for her success. Although she was on “Oprah” Friday (which I didn’t know until after the fact or I would have given you a heads up), I chose to post the above clip, from “Ellen,” because Meyer is a little more relaxed. I think it aired about a year ago.
I truly admire her vivid imagination and the fact that she took a dream and built an entire story around it.
I’m also impressed that when she first started writing what has turned into a saga, she was writing only for herself. She was telling herself a story and only later realized that it was, in her words, “long enough to be a book.” Plus, I’m impressed with anyone who can write a coherent sentence when they are staying at home with children under 5. I’ve been there, and it’s hard some days to piece together a complete thought, much less a paragraph. In her case, she wrote the whole first book when her boys were 5, 2 and 1.
And maybe that’s why I admire her – I can relate to her. She said she felt as if she had lost herself at points during those years when her children were small, and I remember that feeling. By writing “Twilight,” she rediscovered the joy of a good story (this was even before it was slated for publication) and revived that little part of herself, and I can relate to that, too. The writing and reviving … not the wildly successful, New York Times best-selling author bit.
I am also impressed with her productivity. She wrote “Twilight” in three months. (Maybe I’m not making good use of my time.) And it took just more than two years from the time she wrote the first sentence of “Twilight” and when it first appeared in bookstores. Then she wrote four more books, three in the series and “The Host,” all in less than five years.
About two years ago, she says her husband retired, and he is enjoying spending time with their boys. She is only in her mid-30s. I’m delighted, and only a wee bit jealous, that she has forged a writing career that is off the charts successful. I know such success is scarce, but as a writer, it’s always fun to dream and admire those that make it.
Tags: series, video, wildly popular, writing