Where’s Stephenie?

A couple of weeks ago, the movie Breaking Dawn premiered. I wasn’t going to be first in line to see the movie, though I read the entire series of books.  Yes, I got caught up in the mania, but I wouldn’t consider myself a Twilighter. Rather, I really enjoyed the way Stephenie Meyer wrote. Her development of characters made them memorable and she used a good turn of phrase in many of the pages.

As I’ve seen images of the movie premiere, a thought struck me—where is the author in these galas? Of course, a movie has many different and important components—actors, director, set and costume designers. However, in my opinion, this movie could have happened without her. She created these stories, yet she’s not shown on the red carpet. Or at least not in the footage I’ve seen.

When my works are made into a movie (yes, I said when, not if!) I would try to get into every camera shot I can!  In my mind’s eye, the actors are on the runway, and there I am, standing next to them. Or, the animators are posing for a picture and there I am, linking arms with them (I haven’t decided if the movie will be live action or animated) I’ll be best friends with all of them, and why not?  They’re bringing my characters to life!

Maybe that’s it—the story takes a life of its own.  At the risk of sounding like a cliché, writing a book is like giving birth. If I’m vying for every photo opportunity, I would resemble a desperate helicopter mom.

Maybe Stephenie’s got the right idea, staying out of the spotlight. She’s letting her work stand on its own. She created it, put it out there, and that’s enough. I’ll take a lesson from this, though it’s still kind of fun to think of me being on the red carpet!