I’m going to be honest with you here. It’s summer and the way I judge books, for the most part, is how quickly they compel me to turn the pages. –The exception is reading Styron, whom I will still read in the summer even though his books aren’t always page turners– Anyway, I finished the first book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyers and I loved it. I thought it was a ton of fun to read. Apparently I’m not the only one since it has consistently been on the top of the bestseller lists. Beside me, Nate is finishing Twilight, too. And, by the look on his face, I think he’s enjoying it. It’s only taken him 2 days to work through the 500-page book.

So millions of people seem to love Twilight. While critics and a zillion writers seem to hate Twilight. Now, we all know that books are a subjective business. It’s perfectly legitimate for some people to “not get” a book and for others it speaks to their heart. Fine. But when a book is as popular as Twilight people seem attack it with particular ferocity. A lot of times, these people are writers. Other examples are Eragon by Christopher Paolini and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. These books are expected to live up to every inch of their hype. These books are supposed to be flawless. Because if those writers don’t deserve the accolades and the super huge paycheck. Right? Wrong.

As Pub Rants’ Kristin Nelson puts it, Writers need to look for what is working in these books and learn from it…”Millions of readers can’t be wrong.”

I’ll concede that in Twilight there is repetitive description–a lot of “marble” this and that. There is a ton of teenage angst and even a few–gasp!–unnecessary dialogue tags!

But what about Twilight worked?

Stephenie Meyers is a storyteller. I fell in love with Edward a little bit on each page. Isn’t that what every romance writer yearns for? To make the reader fall in love? That’s not my typical reading experience (perhaps because I don’t read much romance), but still. Edward is an alpha male and completely to-die-for. Read Harlequin’s writing guidelines and see what lead males they look for. The alpha male works. We might wish it weren’t true, but it’s what we want.

Different vampire lore. These vampires are more relatable. They are still outcasts, but they can do many of the same things we do.

The end is thrilling. Hands down. It was a fast-paced, high velocity ending to a book that took its time developing a relationship.

Forks, the town, was a character in the book. I loved the setting. It was a place I didn’t know about, but got to learn about. And few writers succeed in making the setting such an integral part of the narrative.

I could go on, but you get the picture. Twilight might not be your favorite book of all time, but there are things about it that are excellent and readers, who have nothing whatsoever to do with the writing process love it and are willing to pay good money for it. Now what can we learn from that?

For another Fumbling with Fiction book review check out: Wicked Lovely .

Not a big fan of Twilight, but want your vampire fix? I think you might enjoy the House of Night series. Read my review here.

Status: Spent yesterday researching graphic novel stuff. I downloaded Inkscape in case I decide to attempt lettering, which I think either Ben and I are going to have to. I’ve been working my butt off trying to get the query letter just right so that I’ll be ready to go around July 18th. The deadline is fast approaching and I’ve got so much to get done before we start submissions. It’s amazing the level of accountability that having someone else also depend on you for your writing gives you.