Vampires vs. Stephanie Meyers.

I was watching twilight tonight and starting thinking about this. I’ve watched movies like Nosferatu, the lost boys, Buffy the vampire slayer, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Blade, Underworld, interview with a vampire and Salem’s Lot. I’ve liked each of these for different reasons. The television series Buffy because it was different, he had more of a natural human side. The vampire world wasn’t as organized as it is in Underworld and Blade.

I agree that bloody terrifying vampires have their place except it’s nice to read something different otherwise it becomes too common, besides I will admit I like change. Stephanie Meyers made her own version of the vampires and their sparkly-ness accomplishes that. They are still human while having the powers most vampires acquire. Usually I prefer the book over the movie except this time it’s a toss-up. There were parts that the movie did better however parts I liked in the book itself.

Yes she does get overly descriptive, especially over areas she’s already described or points she’s made. One example that sticks in most people’s minds is how the vampire’s bodies sparkle and how cold they were. But then look at her target audience, its young adult which likes description, they like certain things, especially when it’s important to be pointed out again. How often have you talked to a friend and found them telling you the same thing again? It’s just something that happens. Yes she could have cut her book down a lot and not lost the sense of the story. Again, it was meant for a younger audience and simply accepted by a wider audience. Personally I didn’t find it that amazing however no one was forced at gun point to see the movie or buy her book. She sold enough of each to earn its title.

If you were disappointed there wasn’t gore or the old fashioned style vampirism then you were expecting something from this series that never was there to begin with. This series was never about gore or the complexities of being a vampire. It was a teenage romance with a vampire who is permanently in a teenage body and obviously hasn’t grown past that.

It was worth the try and I did enjoy the twilight series books. Obviously there were many parts that I would have personally changed or explored certain areas that the author had not. She did do a great job at creating characters and their behavior, keeping them consistent for their age group. I would read her books again however I would also still read Anne Rice or several other authors for their versions of vampires. I personally have my own style, not completely original but they are characters who speak to me and that’s more important than anything else. If others like it then it’s a bonus. Stephanie Meyers accomplished that.

Ghostwriting, Author and Co-Author

I’ve been asked about this several times about ghostwriters. Why would a person want to work hard on a project only to give all of the rights and creativity to another person? I have several friends who ghost write for a living.

A ghost writer can make a pretty good income and they handle work from either very small articles ranging 50 to 3 thousand words. Projects ranging from magazine articles, scripts, blogs, speeches and Novels. When you hire someone to ghostwrite for you, yes you are paying for the copyright to the written word, the entire product that they produced for you. You can do anything you want with it, even make changes to it and copyright it through copyright.gov 

I’ve seen ghostwriters charge anywhere from $5/hour or a flat fee from $40-$20,000. It all depends on what is involved with the work being commissioned. Being a ghost writer can be rather lucrative depending on how many contracts you’re able to commission. Many well-known authors will have someone unknown write a novel or other piece for them. 

Some authors do not like the idea of taking the credit for another’s work so they will have either a credit/ mention of the writer’s name. Some will go as far to put the other person’s name as a co-author. 

Currently I’m working on my first co-authored novel which has been very interesting and fun. I love the chance to collaborate with another creative writer.