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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

A Break from NaNo - When Characters Speak to you in Dreams and Meyer's New Moon

This posting will be a break from all my NaNo posting...

First, I wanted to share a really strange dream I had.

So, today I became bleary-eyed from all my writing and I really needed a nap. Twenty minutes tops, I told myself. (They say a twenty minute nap is all your need. Any longer and you wake up groggy.) So, I climbed under my fluffy down comforter (it's winter cold here in NJ this week) and settled in for a twenty-minute nap. I looked at the clock through one-eye (the other was already asleep) 2:40. I told myself, OK, you'll wake up in twenty minutes.

I had been wondering about this one character for the past few days. She always sounds British to me, but her being British really makes no sense at all. So, as soon as I fell asleep, she came to me and said, "But I am British and this is why..." and proceeded to tell me exactly how this came to be and it made PERFECT sense! Then, in my dream, a buzzer sounded, literally making my eyes pop open. I looked at the clock and it said 3:00. So, not only did she tell me how it was that she is from Great Britain, but woke me up on time too. Strange, right...

Now for the second book of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - NEW MOON. I finished reading this book maybe a week or two ago, but NaNo has kept me so busy, I haven't had a moment to write about it. I am already pretty well into the third book ECLIPSE, so I am not so sure how much I'll remember about NEW MOON, but I promised I would share my thoughts.

So, who was it, Beth, who had said the series is a modern day fairytale and not a hero's journey??? And I said she was brilliant and so right. Well, book two is no exception to that paradigm. I will be honest even though I usually aggravate a lot of you Twilight fanatics. I thought it was boring. Really ho-hum boring. *SPOILER ALERT* highlight to read... It was all about Jacob and Bella's silly obsession with hearing Edward's voice in her head when she did life-threatening stunts, which for the way this character has been set up, crossing a padded room could be life threatening to Bella.

I kept waiting for something to happen and for Edward to come back. For some how that voice in her head to actually be his voice, even though it was established early in the first book that he could not read her mind. I missed Edward! I liked Jacob and I felt badly for Bella, but I just didn't get into it the same way. Also, it occurred to me, there was no real final battle scene at all. Again - not a hero's journey, but it was over and I was like, what? What'd I miss? I mean, yeah Edward comes back and they see the Vulturi, but there wasn't a battle scene. Just "will you let us go?" ... "Ah.. OK, but we'll be back." I felt let down.

So, why did I run out and buy the third book before even finishing the second one??? I DON'T KNOW!!! I am smitten. I am totally in love with the world, maybe not the paradigm, maybe not some of the plot, but I am completely caught up in a world where vampires could co-exist peacefully with humans and werewolves could be their mortal enemy. I couldn't wait to read the third book even though I was ho-hum about book two.

So, in short, not much of a thrilling, captivating review, but my honest impression, as I will always give. Don't hate me. I still love the series, I don't know why. And I have great respect for Stephenie Meyer. But I must be truthful about the way I feel. Read a cliff note of book two and just go right on to book three. Kind of like in Harry Potter's book five was painful for me and a lot of my friends. It seems to be the one where a lot of people lose interest. But you HAVE to read it in order to get to books 6 and 7. However, book five, although a tedious read, was necessary. You did learn A LOT and someone tragic dies... But book two of Twilight didn't even have that going for it in my opinion. I think she could have shortened book two to 50 pages and combined it with book three. I don't think it was enough to stand alone. Again, just my personal opinion...



OH and Robert Pattinson - Edward Cullen - in the movie, was just at the King of Prussia Mall signing autographs to Beatle-type mania fans. Girls fainting and screaming... Hot Topics has been having him tour their stores in key locations to sign autographs and talk to the crowd, who apparently couldn't even hear him over all the crying and screaming. Ay-yi-yi, his life will never be the same!

15 comments:

PJ Hoover said...

The second book bothered the heck out of me. And the third book could have been named "backstory". But yeah, why did I keep reading? Compelling. It's a good study is the subject of "why".
Youtube. You have to go to the youtube page, find the "embed code" area, copy this info, and then paste while in HTML editing more.

Barrie said...

That was one strange dream!

Unknown said...

Heh, I'm glad to see that the fairy-tale-sans-hero-journey thing still plays out in the second book. I thought that her writing was totally addictive and liked the fairy tale of the first book, but it sounds as if I would have petered out in the next one...I like the fights!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Why did it bother you, PJ...

I tried that... I am doing something wrong! I went to YouTube, I copied the "embedded" code and then didn't know where to paste it. I tried on the body of the text itself. I tried in video. I tried URL links. Are you saying there is a button "more?" I feel very stupid. I can usually get these things. I am having some sort of mental block...

I know Barrie! But I love when that happens!

It was you, right Beth??? Once I keep the books in that perspective than I am bothered less. I am bothered. But less...

Clementine said...

Sheri! That is one wild dream! I've had lots of dreams about my plot, sometimes I'll think in my sleep. But NEVER have I had a character tell me about herself - that is really cool! Next time you hear from her, tell her to speak to my characters too.

David Batista said...

Sheri,

Yes, you copy the "embed" code on the side of the YouTube video, then when you are editing your blog entry, go into "Edit HTML" mode and not the default "Compose" mode, and dump your embedded code directly into your text. Switch back to "Compose" and the YouTube video area will show up as a big blank space (sometimes with an "X" in it). But if you go to "Preview" or just publish the entry, you'll see that the video should be working.

At least, I hope you do. :)

And, oh yes, I've had similar dreams when writing. It's so amazing what our subconscious can tell us when we shut that persistent forebrain out for a few minutes. And I'm a firm believer in the 20 minute nap. Even a 15 minute one works wonders.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Amy, it is so cool when my characters visit me in dreams. If I focus before I go to bed and keep saying. "Character X, please visit me tonight," sometimes it will happen. Sometimes it happens even when I don't "ask" for them to come. But it is always a really great experience.

YAY! It worked. David, you were able to get through my thick skull. Sorry PJ, but I was lost with the "HTML" editing. I never looked at those tabs at the top! DUH!!! Thanks to both David and PJ for helping my limited brain!!! :)

Oh and David - I totally agree with you about the subconscious. It is amazing how when you are sleeping, another part of your brain - a very part of your brain - is awake. And like another form of meditation, sometimes I can direct my dreams to help me solve a problem. I love it when it actually happens.

Hey Susan - thanks so much for your patience! I had no idea I had won PJ's book! YAY! I am so excited and I can't wait to get my signed copy in the mail! Thank you so much for hosting the give-a-way.

Tabitha said...

Awesome dream!!! That is just way too cool! I've had a character or two visit my dreams, but never in such explainable terms before. :)

I felt the same about New Moon. It was boring and okay, until the end - I couldn't believe how Bella's character actually went backward, unlearning everything she'd learned in the second book.

At that point, I lost any real interest in the series afterward. I only kept reading out of curiosity as to how Meyer would end the story. I still haven't read Breaking Dawn. It's sitting on my nightstand and I will read it at some point, but there are so many GOOD books that keep passing it by. :)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

And same to your Tabitha. It's nice to know in the midst of this Twilight mania, that I am not alone.

But who is going to see the movie??? Hmmm??? Come on, be honest... I know I am! I am actually going the Friday after Thanksgiving with all the moms and teenage and pre-teenage girls in my family. All the guys are going to see James Bond. And to tell you the truth, I can't wait. I'm excited, living vicariously through Stephenie Meyer, I will sit in the theater in awe of her accomplishments and achievements even if I prefer a hero's journey...

Anonymous said...

Like I said before in my opin the first book was def the best of the bunch. I am reading Breaking Dawn as I want to see how it ends. But to be honest I think the books are a little too long. I was always told that when writing it's best to edit and say things in the shorest way possible but Stephenie seems to get away with doing comp the opp. Its a wonderful story though and yes I will def see the film! Sometimes you can overflog something and in some of the sequels I find it difficult to remember what they were about.

Anonymous said...

ment to say 'shortest!' damn computer keys keep sticking!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

I got 'cha, MomX. Funny, I read it as shortest. Wasnt' until I read the second that I realized you had made a typo. I am the typo queen - at least I am always worried that I am....

I guess they are long, but after reading Harry Potter, Gone with the Wind would be a short tale. I love JK, but I think her books are def too long for MG readers, but they all love them and didn't seem to mind... So who knows?

Jill Wheeler said...

Wow, crazy dream!

So, I'd been thinking about getting the next book, but I might not now... I've heard from several people it is not the strongest one. So maybe I'll skip to the third.

Good job on NaNo!

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Hey Jill, thanks for stopping by. I would never want to dissuade anyone from reading. So, I would suggest, see if you can take it out of the library. That way if you don't like it, at least you didn't waste any money!

And thanks for the encouragement for NaNo!

Keri Mikulski said...

Uh.. I haven't read Book 2. I have it, but I just finished TWILIGHT.

Interesting dream. :)

“Personal limitation exists only in our ideas of who we are. Give up all notions of who you are and your limitations will vanish.”

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