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[continued
from page 1]
Naturally,
the class erupted into fits of laughter that would last us
for months. Days after Corn's revelation, students still jokingly
referred to my coworker as a werewolf, and Corn was destined
to uncover his secret identity. For months, I watched and
listened as Corn and her "partner in crime," Jeans (also her
actual nickname), infiltrated enemy lines (i.e. talked to
my oblivious coworker) to reveal his preternatural secrets.
Eventually, Corn dismissed her initial hypothesis. He was
no werewolf—he was a vampire.
 All
the vampire and werewolf chatter inspired me to write my own
vampire-driven story. Some time in April or May, I banged
out the rough draft of a scene: A teenage girl being pursued
by werewolves chooses to fight for her life and is saved by
her vampire boyfriend who, after the heat of battle, must
also try his best not to kill her himself. I never showed
it to Corn, and until now, hadn't even mentioned the particular
scene to another living soul, but the makings of a YA vampire
romance began forming in my head.
It was around that time that I first heard about Twilight,
which was recommended to me by a fellow member of the original
HBC. Naturally, Corn and her classmates were already familiar
with the title and were enthusiastic about reading it. Spurred
by their desire to read, I bought a school copy, and the girls
began reading voraciously, impatiently taking turns reading
both it and another student's personal copy. They were hooked
and, eventually, so was I.
As I
read the first two books, though, I began to notice quite
a few similarities between my story and Meyer's. The romance
aspect was negligible, as most, if not all, great vampire
stories—from J. Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla to
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles—feature an attraction
between vampires and humans. Even Bram Stoker's Dracula
is, fundamentally, a tragic romance.
Other
similarities were perhaps coincidental, including the influence
of Jane Austen. Meyer, a fan of Austen and the Bronte sisters,
took her romantic cues from them, even naming Edward after
the male objects of interest in Sense and Sensibility
and Jane Eyre. I, however, had more feminist pursuits.
While the vampire-or-werewolf saga developed, Corn and a few
other girls were voluntarily reading Pride and Prejudice,
having been inspired by my descriptions of it. I decided that
I wanted my main character to be a worthy descendent of the
book's Elizabeth Bennet because I felt my girls deserved more
strong, independent role models like her.
But other
similarities were far too conspicuous to be ignored. As I
read the books, I found myself growing increasingly frustrated
with the traits our two storylines had in common. Vampires
who eschew human blood? Well, that's been done before. Vampires
who roam around in the daylight? A coincidence, surely. Vampires
in conflict with werewolves, all of whom are pursuing or protecting
the main protagonist? Oh. Well... Allusions to classical music,
the protagonist's love of literature, and a clash between
traditional and modern morality? You've got to be kidding!
Though
I knew my ideas had been formed independently of Meyer's books,
I couldn't help thinking that if I ever finished and published
my story, I would be seen as derivative at best. At worst,
I'd be labeled a copycat.
[continued
on page 3]
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