Midnight Sun

I discovered the existence of this novel when I stumbled across Stephenie Meyer’s website. Midnight Sun, if you don’t already know, is Twilight re-written from Edward Cullen’s perspective. Since the rough draft was leaked on the internet, Stephenie Meyer felt unable to complete it, but she has made the partial story, such as it is, free to read.

For a long while I resisted the urge to read the book, feeling that doing so would somehow be a betrayal of the author. Then I caved.

If you enjoy books that are dark as bitter chocolate, then you really should treat yourself. Though Twilight has its dark and sensual moments, it doesn’t hold a candle to Midnight Sun. This is Edward’s story, and it’s a look at obsession from the inside.

That’s one of the dirty little secrets of being an avid reader. You get to explore the darker side, without ever having to leave the safety and comfort of your own home. It’s an indulgence, like eating rocky road ice cream in the middle of the night, when everyone else is asleep.

I am incredibly sad that this book will never be finished. In part because I think authors deserve to get rich from their books. (Yes, all authors, even super-rich ones!) And also because I think that the person who leaked this story has robbed readers of an exceptional book. If this book had hit the shelves I don’t think the burning question would have been “Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?” The burning question would have been “Are you Team Twilight or Team Midnight Sun?” The answers could be very revealing!

But that’s actually not the point of this rambly blog post. My point is that many manuscripts never get finished. Probably way more than ever get published. Whether because the writer died (like the mysterious fourth book in Stieg Larsson's Millenium series), or because the writer got inspired by something new and dropped the WIP for new story love (I’m guilty of that one!), or because something happened in the author’s personal life that shook their ability to finish the story, as with Stephenie Meyer.

Worse, there are probably millions more books that never get written at all. Stories that live in people’s heads but never make it onto paper. Think of all those people out there who ‘one day would like to write a book’.

If you are one of those people who has ever said those words, or if you start manuscripts and don't finish them, then this blog post is for you. I beg you: sit down and write that story.

Because you deserve it. You deserve the sense of accomplishment from starting and finishing something.

Because readers deserve it. Don’t rob them of the chance to fall in love with this story before it’s even written.

Because the story deserves it. It might just be the next big thing. Give it a chance.