Well I did it........
I do recommend reading it just for the ego boost, though. You'll be much more positive about your writing and much more inspired to pursue your own projects, just because they can't be any worse ;-) At least that's the wave I'm riding right now. Anyway, if you want a free taster, and you don't want my copy of the book (again, for said ego boost), Stephenie Meyer has about half of her first draft of her latest *uh* effort posted for free download on her site. She's retelling the original story from the point of view of Edward the Vampire. I have to say, it's honestly a lot better than the original, only because Edward has a personality. Sure, it's a stereotyped overly-emo personality, but it's a personality nonetheless. And she doesn't use phrases like, "I ran my hands over his scintillating arms," which is definitely to the good ;-) Whoever her copy editor was for the first book should be shot, because if this draft is any indication, she might actually almost be a semi-vaguely-ok writer-- well, at least compared to the first book, which is the only one I'll ever purchase. *Note: this is a cheap trick with not that much more writing, and lots of copy-paste of the exact same dialog from the first novel. Cashing in doesn't require much effort anymore.
