Subtly Nice is a 17 year old fic writer, who specialises in writing canon one shots. She decided to tell TFK about her experiences in the Twilight fandom.
We may as well face the facts: some Twilighters are insane.
Not all Twilighters, of course. But the select few who want to kidnap Robert Pattinson, lock him in their basement and take cuttings of his Hair* to sell on eBay? They may want to seek professional help.
The majority of Twilighters, however, can empathise with the poor man who raises shrieks every time he moves a muscle (or just stands still looking pretty as always). Twilighters can be bashed on occasion for their frenzied shrieking and general lack of brains when Robert Pattinson is in the vicinity, but as a whole, we are not crazy. We are not brainless clones. We are not solely fixated on long, whimsical descriptions of what Edward Cullen looks like with his shirt off (well, okay, we are on occasion, but who can blame us for it?). The point is, when I found the Twilight community, I found what at first glance could be mistaken for a rabid pack of dogs. But as an active participant of the community, I found a group of very loyal, dedicated fans, who – no matter what age – were willing to welcome another fan into their midst.
Yep. The sane few of us out there are pretty damn cool.
I remember the very first time I started reading Twilight. I’m ashamed to say that I picked the book up, read the first 3 pages and then put it down again. First-person didn’t really appeal to me, so I forgot about Bella completely and went back to whatever the hell I did before Twilight came along and one-tracked my mind.
Two weeks later, I was dragged to a party by my sister (who incidentally is the epitome of Alice and wouldn’t take no for an answer). I reluctantly accepted my fate and grabbed the first book I could see before I headed out the door. I figured that if I had my head stuck behind a book, no one would bother me. Yes, I know, I’m such a Bella...
Can you guess what the book was?
At 2:00 in the morning, when my (now very drunk) sister found me reading in a corner and insisted that I drive home rather than her – despite the fact that at the time I was 16 and therefore not legally allowed to drive for another year – I barely took any notice. I’d been sucked into the world of Twilight with its absurdly relatable heroine (no heroin jokes, please) and the elusive, stand-offish yet charming Edward Cullen.
And we all know where it goes from there, right?
Once I’d devoured New Moon and Eclipse with equal enthusiasm, I thought I might as well try looking up the series on the internet. But as I soon found out, it wasn’t so easy to type the word “Twilight” into Google. There were literally thousands of fansites to choose from!
In the end, I narrowed it down to a few favourite sources that I still use now. It was then that I came across the fanfiction.
Fanfiction in the Twilight community was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I’d written and read a few Harry Potter fanfics before Twilight, but found nothing outstanding. Twilight fanfiction has a variety rarely seen online. Because Bella and Edward’s story is so timeless, their characters could be stripped down**, re-identified and given completely new surroundings – yet still keep the spark of the series that fuelled such obsession. Thus, the ever-popular ‘All Human’ category was born.
It was after reading a few of the ‘classics’ of our fanfiction that I began to notice a pattern. They were so well-written, so detailed... but something was missing. Where was the forbidden aspect of their relationship? The innocence, the constant struggles, the anticipation? As humans, their relationship just seemed too... easy. As much as we all just wanted Edward and Bella to ‘do it already’, I missed the cute, chaste banter they always shared.
So I started writing. And what did I write? Canon. PG-13. One-shots.
I know. Boring, right?
It’s no secret that in this fandom, NC-17, AH, multi-chapter fics are the only way to go if you want reviews. But as a relatively new fan, I didn’t want to hear about a Bella and Edward from an alternate universe. I wanted to expand the universe Stephenie Meyer had already given us. So I wrote the exact opposite of the norm – short, teen-rated canon fics. And that brings me to my final point on why I love our fandom so much: because although I have a tendency to stray off the path and write stories that no one in their right mind would ever actually want to read (six-year-old Charlie Swan playing with a toy race car, anyone?) I still can’t imagine a fandom where I would be better received.
The Twilight fandom has given me memory upon memory to share with fellow devotees. But more importantly, Twilight fanfiction has become a ‘fandom’ in its own right. There are fanfics with their own communities and followers, fanfics set to become published novels, and now, even teen fics are getting their own well-deserved spotlight.
And on that note, this teen still has revision to be getting on with. Damn you, Stephenie Meyer for ruining decent exam results with your addictive books!
Later today I'll be posting a review of a little known, well done twilight fic...and an affiliate post. Stay tuned!
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