Stephenie Meyer Answers Fan Questions

Just before the release of New Moon Stephenie Meyer gave us a heads’ up that she would be accepting questions through the Twilight Saga.com and answering the most popular questions… well here are some of them, be sure to check out Stephenie’s website for the rest

What was your favorite thing about Chris Weitz and how was his interpretation of the books different from Catherine Hardwicke? – Mira N.

My favorite thing about Chris Weitz: everything. Sounds hyperbole-ish, but he’s really that amazing. If you follow along on some of the cast interviews you’ll hear the same thing over and over. We all adore Chris. I would have to say that my very favorite thing about Chris as a director, coming from my unique position, is his passion for being true to the source material. He really immersed himself in the Twilight world and came to the set with the feel of it already in his head. We were very much on the same page. Second thing, he listens really well—to everybody, cast and crew.

In comparing New Moon to Twilight, I would say that the biggest difference in style is that Chris is more classic while Catherine is a little more edgy and modern. I wouldn’t want both movies to be the same, though. I like seeing different interpretations. After all, no two people see the same thing when they read a novel. I enjoy seeing that visually.

Hi Stephenie! Texas LOVES you!!! In staying true to the novel, I’d like to know if there were any scenes missing from the original screenplay that you insisted be in the movie?? Thank you SOOO much!!!! -Trinity in Fort Worth

Sort of. In the original screenplay, Jacob’s visit to Bella’s room that one night didn’t exist. The necessary information was still there, it was just scattered through a few other scenes. I really missed that scene, but change (and cutting!) is a part of the adaptation process—especially when you write really long books—so I was prepared to suck it up. And then Chris Weitz felt like we needed that scene, too, and he wrote up a beautiful version I love. And we all lived happily ever after.

Why in the world is Edward’s volvo now black in the New Moon? – Kim B.

This wasn’t my call. Picky as I am about cars, if I’d been rounding up the vehicles for Twilight, they all would have been the exact makes and models I’d written about (especially that ‘53 Chevy!). I don’t know what all is involved with choosing the cars—I know they have to be able to get their hands on several identical vehicles—but I can say that I like this Volvo—the XC90—better than the first one—the C30. In regards to the color, it’s actually a dark silver, not black. And I enjoy the black rims quite a bit.

Dearest Stephenie, I was wondering if you had given the actors in the movie some kind of advice to get a better insight to their character in the movie. Thank you so much for everything! You’re amazing! – Lucila S.

I was able to give Rob the first half of Midnight Sun to help him prepare for the first film, and I feel like that manuscript is basically a guide to Edward. Of course, Kristen gets Bella’s first person perspective in all the books. I have discussed most of the characters with the actors. I’m always happy to answer any questions, and it’s fun to hear some of the backstories they come up with. I know Edi Gathegi has a fairly elaborate Laurent history in his head, and many others do the same thing. I like that they get into the roles so deeply.

Do you think Taylor Lautner does a good job of portraying Jacob’s smart alec side? Taylor seems so sweet, especially in the first movie, and I like to think of Jake (esp werewolf Jake) as a tough guy with an attitude, who sometimes let his nice side slip. Thank you! Larissa

Taylor is going to surprise you. He’s wonderful as the sweet kid, but even better as the angry werewolf. The kid can act.

I am a 39-year-old member of the Older Women’s Group (OWG) on thetwilightsaga.com. My question is, what lead you to the concept of IMPRINTING — in reference to the Wolf Packs future mates? Thank you for pouring your heart and soul into this series! I can’t tell you how much happiness it has brought me! Sincerely, Stephanie R. – Atlanta, GA

Imprinting was inspired by two different sources: ducklings and dragons. Imprinting actually exists in nature, but usually between parents and their offspring. I saw a nature documentary about ducklings imprinting on their moms and it always stuck with me. The other inspiration is Anne McCaffrey’s dragon books (which, if you haven’t read them, do so now! Start with Dragonflight). In her mythology, humans and dragons bond so tightly that if one of them dies, the other either suicides or goes mad. They love each other with an absolute and unreasoning love that never falters or changes. I was always captivated by this concept, and I wanted to explore that kind of life-changing and compulsory relationship.

While writing the books, were you ever unsure of whether Bella would choose Edward or Jacob, or did you always know she would end up with Edward in the end? – Samantha V.

I wrote New Moon and Eclipse after I wrote Forever Dawn, which is pretty much the rough draft of Breaking Dawn. So I always knew Bella’s destiny was with Edward, and as her relationship with Jacob evolved and deepened through the course of the middle novels, writing about it was sometimes painful. Even knowing Jacob’s eventual happy ending, it was hard to put him through all the heartbreak. I do know what would have happened if Bella hadn’t jumped off the cliff that day, but I always knew that was a could-have-been that wasn’t the right way to go.

My question for you is…. are you at all surprised by the variety in age of your readers? I am 32 years old and absolutely loved your books, and I know I am not alone, in many discussion groups I have found there are 30, 40, even 50 somethings reading twilight. Thanks and keep writing! – Amy B.

Because I wrote Twilight for my twenty-nine-year-old self and not for a future YA audience, it always made sense to me that women my age would get it the same way I did. Are you ever too old to remember falling in love for the first time?

If you had to choose, would you rather be a vampire or a werewolf? – Kaitlin T.

Werewolf. I like being able to change my mind, and the werewolves always have the option to go back to “normal.”

Are you writing any other books right now? – Kershia

One of the weirdest things for me about success is how it sucks away your time. I’m successful because I write books, but that very success takes all my writing time! It’s very frustrating. I’m just itching to get back into a fantasy world right now, but the real world won’t let me. I thought this would be a writing year, but unless you count emails as writing, it didn’t work out that way. I was able to do a few smaller things that will show up here and there—an extra chapter for the release of The Host in paperback, that kind of thing. I’ve really worked to clear my time, but that is a slow and ongoing process. Of course, another aspect is that I am more burned out by the last five years than I even realized.

To address the many, many questions about Midnight Sun:

I’ve found that there really isn’t any answer I can give that changes the substance or tenor of the myriads of requests, pleadings, and demands I get for Midnight Sun to be finished, so I feel a little silly answering that question at all. But it’s the most popular question, so I’ll take another stab at it.

I am not working on Midnight Sun now. I don’t have a plan for when I’ll get to it; I don’t know now what the right time for it will be.

In your questions, there were some erroneous conclusions about the situation which I’ll try to set straight. First, Midnight Sun is not finished and locked in a safe, waiting for me to be done angsting over the leak. If it were done, I would be throwing it on the bookstore shelves myself. I’d love to be able to give it to all the people who are anxiously waiting for it. Second, I am not upset about the leak. I haven’t been for a long time; I was over it after about three weeks. Third, and most important, I am not trying to punish anyone. Not the persons who leaked it, not the people who read the leak, nobody. As I said, it would make me very happy to be able to give it to anyone who wants it.

So why the hold up? Because it’s not finished and lying in a safe. It’s not done, and finishing it is not a simple matter of sitting down in front of my computer and typing out the words; the words have to be there in my head to type out, and right now, they’re not. I have to be in the zone to write any story, and trying to force myself into that zone is a waste of time, I’ve found. I’ll get back to Midnight Sun when the story is compelling to me again. Just because people want it so badly does not make it more write-able; kind of the opposite, actually. I need to be alone with a story to write, and Midnight Sun feels really crowded, if you know what I mean.

People write for different reasons. I have always written to make myself happy. If I’m enjoying a story, feeling the creativity flow, engrossed in a world, then I write and I write fast. If I’m not into it, I can’t write. I’ve never been someone who writes on demand and I can’t imagine working that way. As cool as it would be to say to my favorite author, “You know, I’d really like to read a great book about a narwhal mafia. Write that for me, ‘kay?” or even “I’d love a sequel to that last one,” that’s not how it works. How it works is that my favorite author writes a new book about whatever he/she is interested in. Maybe it takes a year, maybe it takes five. If it’s something I want to read, I buy it or I check it out at the library. If not, I find something else to read. The end.

(All of this goes for writing about vampires in general, too. Vampires and I? We’re on a break.)

I’m pretty sure this won’t slow the pleadings and the demands, but I didn’t want you to think I was ignoring the question.

One day guys… One day