Alastor in Twilight FanFic Update #1
Note: This is mostly stream of consciousness.
I have never read Twilight. I did not know it was written in first person POV. I did not know there was a preface written in Bella’s POV. I was extremely confused and befuddled about the preface and spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to figure it out. Then I saw chapter one and figured it out immediately.
Anyway, in totally unrelated news, I’m basically writing two versions of the same fanfic now.
The other thing I’m quickly noticing is the odd choice of wording/descriptions. Like on the very first page, chapter one starts with “my mother drove me to the airport with the windows rolled down”…but the conversation between Bella and Renée— that happens after Bella gives some story context/setup— is right before Bella gets on the plane. It struck me as odd as it came off (to me, at least) as a weird and sudden jump from driving to the airport to right before Bella gets on the airplane? Like that first line feels out of place and unnecessary? It’s also something that seems to reoccur?
Another example is the description of Charlie driving a police cruiser and Bella wanting a car so she isn’t driven around in one, then jumping to her getting off the plane and hugging Charlie only for then have it shift to them in the car. Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like it would’ve made more sense— in terms of cohesion— for Bella to get off the plane and hug Charlie and then comment on him driving a police cruiser as her bags get put into the trunk. As I said, this is a weird trend/pattern that keeps happening.
It’s not only tedious to read, but it’s also a bit tedious in terms of writing (e.g., I have Alastor commenting on the cruiser and Charlie (Swan) being a cop only to have to then go back and write quite a bit before it). Thankfully hypergraphia helps counteract this to some degree.
Also is Bella always like this (I’ve never read the books before now)? She’s an infuriating POV narrator, to put it mildly. I doubt she’ll usurp #1 infuriating narrator/POV position (I doubt any character/narrator could but still). Also is she sexist? I feel like she’s been sexist so far…
Also cars. I know very, very little about cars. I had to do quite a bit of internet searching about cars of the 1920s—1930s (very angular?) and 1950s—1960s (very round?). Thankfully, people have uploaded manuals that I could reference.
I also had to research food— more so than I thought I would— which has been interesting. It’s been a while since I had the “damn, I wish I could eat that” feeling but damn did I feel that hard while researching. I wish I could eat those dishes. Also I had a very interesting experience trying to figure out what Charlie Swan might or might not have in his kitchen.
Also triple: whether. I had to research weather stuff and compare and contrast weather between different locations, which was interesting.
I’m also tempted to start keeping a “Number of People Alastor Plans to Murder” and “People Actually Murdered So Far” count/list.
One of the nice, unintended consequences has been being able to use Alastor to point things out that I’ve noticed while going through the book…also because the impulse to point certain things out is too great.
Honestly, the most difficult thing so far has been trying to write characters (i.e., Alastor) being charismatic. I do not think I’m charismatic. I don’t know how people are charismatic. I barely interact with people. I’m trying my best haha…
One thing I’m morbidly curious about is the word-to-word ratio so far between my fanfic and the original novel.
(Also: This is only chapter one so far)
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