Friday, May 28, 2010

So Many Edwards! How's A Memory-Challenged Twitard to Cope?

Why hello STY - who cares what this blog post is about? I've been waiting for you...

[*Note to all you non-fanfic-readers who are probably rolling their eyes right now [and aren't thinking "twitchy palm"!!] because it's practically been "FanFic-O-Rama Week!" here at Twitarded: don't ditch us just yet even if you don't feel like reading another fanfic-related post... Skip down to the bottom of the page - I have questions for you!]

As most of you know, I haven't read a ton of fanfic... But between JJ's 15 Step, Myg's Osa Bella, Tara Sue Me's delish tie-me-up-tie-me-down Twifecta The Submissive/The Dominant/The Training, and Master of The Universe, I'm starting to notice a little problem: how the hell are you supposed to keep all these Edwards (and Bellas) straight?! How can you keep all of the story lines and plot points and other shit straight?! Because as I am trying to expand my fanfic horizons, I am seriously at a loss here...

I should probably mention that I am not the best at remembering...stuff...in general. I regularly forget birthdays, anniversaries, what I had for breakfast, what I wore on Monday when it's Friday and I am trying to make sure I don't repeat an outfit at the office in the same week - you know, shit like that. Seriously, I should probably invest in mega-doses of ginko biloba and maybe start playing games like Soduko that are supposed to help keep your brain sharp, because at this rate, my noggin is going to be a mushy turnip by the time I hit 50 (and note to Twilight: I love you but you aren't helping matters - just sayin'... I think my frontal lobe is 1/10th the size it was two years ago).

So what are your methods for coping with Edward overload? How are you reading one story and not mixing it up with the other? Because I have read in the comments recently that some of you are in the middle of 10+ stories, and I am totally baffled. Do you have a max on how many stories you will read at once (which is REALLY hard because most of them are not complete...)? Are you one of those people who ends up on Oprah as an adult because they can remember how many Cheerios they ate for a snack thirty-something years back and every detail since? Or do you just lose track and wing it??? I need to know! Seriously...

*OK you non-fanfic-readers - like I said, I have questions for you: why aren't you reading fanfic??? Are you opposed to people messing with Stephenie Meyer's characters?? Maybe you tried one on for size and found it was horribly written?? Do you not want to read smutty, lemon-y stuff filled with graphic, moistness-inducing smexsiness? Or are you just afraid you will fall down this oft-trodden rabbit hole and find yourself reading Twi-smut every waking moment and at work until you find yourself debating exactly how inappropriate it would be to have a little "alone time" in the ladies room???

I have questions, you have answers. Comments, please!

P.S. We are thisclose to having 1500 followers!!! Please, if you love us, help us get there! And 1520 is better than 1500, so don't wuss out on us after we get to 1500... Really - we live and die by those numbers!

73 comments:

  1. Wooooooohooooooooo I'm first! :P

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  2. I'm seriously probably in the middle of 20+ fics. It is hard to keep stories straight, but if it's been a while between updates it's worse! I try to read the last paragraph of the prev chapter just to get back up to speed, but honestly interacting with the authors really helps. Most are on twitter and i'm a twitter h00r so I follow most and it helps talking to other people reading the fics!

    I'm addicted to fics.. seriously. Like in a bad way!

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  3. I do read fanfic. But I try to only "date" 5 at a time. I already feel like I'm cheating on MoTU with UOEM and the guardian... Ok, I'm actually reading 6 at the moment, but have justified starting the 6th because MOTU only has a chapter to go...
    I am concerned that if I was reading 10+ it would start pushing out useful information from my brain, like, what is Rob's birthday, and what was his real mums name, and the interior decor of the bedrooms on isle esme, you know, the info you need to remember to get you through the day.

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  4. As a non-fanfic reader, I have to say the reason is simply that I hear about all the bad fan fics out there and I can't bothered to find one thats well written and doesn't involve a golden nugget...

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  5. This is a problem for me too. I'm reading, no joke, probably about 20 active stories right now, and I'm also trying to finish a few completed ones I have on my miles long "to be read" list.

    It's hard sometimes because I'll be thinking, "I was reading that story the other day where Bella was in that one house, and Edward was working that job, and...what story was that again?"

    Also, sometimes I'll start reading one, get to a part that just turns me off (bad writing, inconsistencies, plot holes), and I'll just drop it like a hot potato, then everyone will start raving about how great it is, and if I feel like doing it, I have to go back and try to remember where I was.

    Basically what works for me is going back and re reading the summary, or reading reviews people have left that discuss what happened in past chapters. This usually helps jog my memory.

    It is a problem though. Trying to figure out a story from details like, "Edward is a jerk to Bella at first/Alice like to shop a lot/Rosalie is a bitch" is not going to be easy.

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  6. Ahem. Sorry about that, but I'm never first for anything. I'm ALWAYS late no matter how hard I try.

    I get fics and characters mixed up occasionally, but I usually get it sorted in my head a few paragraphs into whatever I'm reading. I have a good long-term memory, but not a great short-term memory. In other words, I might remember exactly what I read in Hide and Drink last night, but the next time I go to get something from the fridge, I'll probably stand there staring into it like a moron because I can't remember what I'm supposed to get. I suck.

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  7. I have read only 2 fanfics. One I absolutly loved but I dont like that its still not finished... its like wtf am I supposed to do until a new chapter comes out. The other has practically made me quit all together. The story started great but then went into a crazy direction. IDK mabye if there was a top 5 list I would read some of those but its hard to choose when people rave about a million different fanfic stories bc its too much for me to sift through to find one I'd like.

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  8. I've been reading fics for about a year now and I've read well over 200 stories- got the fanfic faves to prove it but I think I only have around 6 active stories that I'm reading but it's so hard to keep them straight and I really hate finding one I like but it's an author that never updates. So because of that I very rarely ever read a non complete fic, I just can't do it. I don't wanna stop and wait for days, weeks, sometimes months or more to find out what's next. So when all of you fellow fic h00rs recommend something that's in progress, I write it down and then periodically check on it's progress and when it's finished I read em and even then I still can't keep them straight lol. I've become less patient with fics these days as well, like Whitney said, if there's something that hits in my list of fic peeves I'll drop it quick lol. And when stories take an annoying turn I do sit there and think I should just write my own damn fic and then I get an idea, write a few paragraphs and the idea goes away and the block sets in and I realize I just can't write the way I did back in high school lol.

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  9. OK THIS IS WAY TOO LONG - Just a warning!
    umm...i am going to go all-out anonymous here because:
    1. i am ashamed of the number of fics i've read/are currently reading/and favored on FFnet.
    2. if my s/o found out how much i've read - totally would kill me dead. I mean DEAD!
    Here are my stats:
    Favored: 166 (Shut up, i know)
    Read in their entirety - approx 70
    Currently Reading - approx 25

    It is *sometimes* difficult to keep characterizations straight, but usually just re-reading the previous chapter or just the last few paragraphs of the previous chapter will jog my memory. I have only ever re-read a story once, and that was Master of the Universe - because jesus christ it's good.

    Sometimes if an author doesn't update for a very long time (months) I just give up and don't go back to it. Other than that it doesn't really seem to get too confusing.

    I feel I have to give a shout out to my fave faves - because everyone should read these:

    1. Wide Awake (No Brainer)
    2. A Constant In The Darkness
    3. Poughkeepsie
    4. Mutually Assured Destruction
    5. Sleepers, Awake
    6. Clipped Wings & Inked Armor
    I could fucking go on forever.

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  10. I've only read a handful of fics, and believe me, my mind is like a sieve. It can be hard to remember what happened or to keep them straight, but what helps is that so far, the ones I've read are SOOO different from each other!

    For example, Hockeyward from MoBS is easy to distinguish from Fifty. This is the only thing that keeps them straight!!

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  11. When I first discovered the joy that is fanfic, I only would read completed stories. I just felt teased by reading something incomplete. Now I have been brought over to the dark side of incomplete yet faithfully updated weekly fuck-awesome fanfics like MOTU, MOBS, UoEM, H&D, and the like, I am finding myself a tad confused at times. I deal with this by re-reading the previous chapter once the story updates, then the new chapter. Works for me.

    I do also download or bookmark the new fanfic recs I get from you Twitards and in between updates of the others I embark upon even more new stories. I've read over 40 completed fics (actually the real number is probably higher) not counting the in-progress ones. I think I may be reading about 7 right now.

    Mr. Monster is pretty worried about me, I think Forks is out of the question due to how mental he thinks I am with all the fanfic reading I do. Fucker. All those blowjobs, down the drain.

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  12. stilllookingformyvampMay 29, 2010 at 12:57 AM

    I have read some fan-fic. I really like the stories that stay true to the characters, but deviate just a little from the actually books. One of my faves: Blood and Lust. Totally stays true to the story, has the missing EPOV (but a much smuttier version) that SM lacks.

    I am, however, totally loving Myg's story. Older woman mackin' on student vamp. Awesome. I have decide I can only read once a week as one chapter at a time is making me itchy. I like my fanfic in high doses.

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  13. Ok so this is embarasing...but I literally had to go count how many fics I have on alert notice over at ff.net, and the total was..drumroll please... 64 ACTIVE stories. most of them update around once a week.

    I don't really know what to say, other than that I am a prolific reader- I read nonstop and at a very fast pace. I've always been this way, since seven or eight. (I am now 21) for a frame of reference on how fast I read- I read the seventh Harry Potter book in less than 24 hours ( I read it strait through- got it when it came out at midnight and didn't put it down until I was done with it)

    I will also say that I am a fulltime student (just graduated and start gradschool in the fall) I don't work, and I am single (what a shock, lol)

    I have zero problems keeping track of the stories, but I have a very, VERY good memory- if I have any trouble I generally read the summary of the story and all the details come rushing back- at worst I will need to read the previous chapter but that is VERY rare.

    Also- I read other things besides fanfiction- usually one new book a week.

    hey...I'm a poor college student...I don't have cable, and I can only check facebook so many times a day! what can I say. I am sufficiently embarrased now. I thought everyone was reading 50 stories like me...LOL

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  14. Excel spreadsheet...just sayin'! With web links, color coding, multi-tabbed(Actively Reading, Hiatus (for those looooooooong times in between updates), To Be Read, and Completed tabs), 1-5 star review system, comments and the all important "WARD" column to keep track of all the Edward's! I use FF.net to plop my faves in after I have scanned all the fic blogs for recs. And I have to say, most of the fics I have read have been great with only a few duds.....but I rely on the fic blogs for recs.

    Obsessed? Yes!
    Neurotic? A bit....
    Addicted? Totally!

    And a big freaking hell yeah to FF.net for going mobile!!

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  15. I have 45 stories on my faves on Twilighted and I add about once a week. I have no idea how I keep them all straight. I just do. If a story took about a month to update I will sometimes skim through the previous chapter first. But other than that, I have no idea what weird quirk in my brain causes me to remember so much random crap.

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  16. 9 out of 10 times when a story updates, I have to go back a chapter and re-read the first and last paragraph. I have no clue what happened last time.
    I think, I'm may be "reading" 30 or so stories. To try and keep it all straight, I have a bookmarking system of "To read", "Reading", and a email account just for fic updates. :/ (a little embarrassed about that)
    I do wish I would have kept a list of the fics I have read, cause after a year... unless it's a stand out (Hellooo Fifty!) I really can't remember 'em.

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  17. I don't know how many I've read or how many I'm in the middle of reading (Wonderwall, I'm looking at you: update already!), but I would put myself usually in the around 10+ at a time. I can usually keep them straight because I have the same brain damage as LwE I guess, that just lets me. *shrug* If it gets too confusing (for example, at one time I was reading three separate stories that started in New Moon with Edward not returning and went from there and it was DAMN hard to remember what happened in each one), I would just go back to the previous chapter. Usually skimming the first part of the previous chapter is enough fro me to go, "Oh YEAH, this is the one where...[fill in the blank]"

    The worst is when they don't update forEVER, or if I for some reason forgot to follow them - I've had to hunt down one or two errant fics after forgetting to put an alert on them, trying to find them using only the barest memory of what the Hell was happening wherever I left off.

    I've recently imposed a finished-fics-only rule on myself until at least a few of my in-progress ones get completed so I can free up some brain space. That's how I finally read Wide Awake last week. HUGE thumbs up.

    HOWEVER, now that I've been inspired by LJM64, I might be working on a spreadsheet this weekend. ;) Brilliant.

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  18. I tend to stay with Twilighted because that's where all my stories have been moved too. If a post hasn't been updated in months I drop it like wallbanger, I write down the header of a story and give it a one word header like EP and mafia that helps to remember what the story is about

    Mandy07

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  19. Gosh it certainly is hard keeping some of those Edwards and Bella's straight in my head - so my strategy now is to either read completed fics (so I can read the lot in one hit and then not have to get them mixed up with others) OR read only really distinctive ones. For instance I used to have such a problem with keeping all the domward, tatt and pierce-ward stories or the post-Isle Esme or post-Italy stories straight so I've given up - all too similar and I've had my fill of their horny goodness and moved on.

    Ones I never get/got confused are:
    *Hide and Drink
    *The Lost Boys
    *Love on Wheels
    *Misapprehension of Bella Swan
    *Stranger than Fiction
    *Irritable Grizzly Adams
    *Times New Roman (but god oh god oh GOD I wish she'd update as kinky hosiery-obsessed paunch-ward listening to The Velvet Underground totally does me in and the fact that this story is on hiatus makes the little baby jesus cry)

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  20. All hail FanFic-O-Rama week!

    I suffer from fan fic overload regularly. I can't remember the differences between stories and for that reason prefer to find a completed story and read it all in one hit.

    There are some exceptions though, natch, MotU, MoBS, Osa Bella to name a few.

    Pet peev is definitely when you have a great story that doesn't update... don't leave me hangin! *cough* Wallbanger...

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  21. Most of the fanfic I've written is just so poorly written that I can't stick with it. The only one I'm following now is Osa Bella, because this one actually has character development. I want lemony goodness to MEAN something and in order for that to happen, I have to care about the characters, and if they are just hollow shells, I don't care what happens to them. Thanks for sharing Osa Bella with me. I'm looking forward to her next post!

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  22. I used to read a lot of fics, and I could usually keep up with them. Then when I started writing, I couldn't keep all of the Edwards separate in my head, and had to cull a lot of the stuff I read. I stopped reading a lot of new stuff and really only have about 5 or 6 on the go. And those don't update often...

    Plus pre-reading and beta duties on top of those keeps me from starting a lot of new things.

    xo

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  23. @LJM64 - a spreadsheet?? that's GENIUS! I'm so doing that.

    @lisa Re: Times New Roman - I hear you. That story is the so weird and so awesome at the same time, I love it so much. *wishes for more*

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  24. Thanx to you guys I discovered fanfic and now I have never looked back! I am in the middle of 10 stories right now and I am always on the lookout for another lemony sweet story! I get lost in all of the spectacle that is Twilight w/these fics. I do have my favs though : luv AU-human, they are the best and of course they HAVE to be NC-17...i mean c'mon what's the point of being swept up in a story if there isn't any hardcore sex goin on...i'm not reading it!

    LUV YA GUYS!!

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  25. The Domward will punish me if I confuse them with each other and the other Edwards, and I want to please Domwards ;-)

    I have 14 stories favorited in Twilighted, 45 in Fanfiction.

    Luckily I'm not actively reading them all, some are complete, some are dead in the water, some I ignore the alters because I haven't started them. I'm probably reading 12 active stories. (Although last night I read 15 chapters of All of Me over at Twilighted, so good!).

    Like some before said, some stories will give you a tiny review, sometimes I read the last few paragraphs of the chapter before, but most are so good that I'm anxious for Wednesday (Hockeyward!) or the weekend to roll around so I can see what happens next.

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  26. Personally, I'm just in love with 50shadesward, and I read it over and over again, wishing he would come round and tie me up. SUCH A DREAMBOAT! I am probably going to have to open a vein when MOTU is over.

    I recently read CW&IA, which I thought was better written than MOTU, but devolved into an overwrought and somewhat repetitive angst-fest towards the end. I mean, it was good, but a bit of editing might have been in order.

    At this point, unless I die of MOTU ending, I am fanfic free. I can't stand to read anything that's really badly written, and I prefer to read fics that have their own blogs, because the formatting on FFN and Twilighted drives me batshit.

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  27. I am reading about 5 right now (Let your light shine, MoTU, Oso Bella, The Lost boys, The List) & have no trouble keeping the Edwards separate because they are all quite different. Bella, however is pretty much always the same, self-doubting, clumsy, etc...
    I did have a problem last night when Mr. Junkie wanted me to read him some lemons & I couldn't figure out which one/from which story/from which chapter to read him. I finally decided on a juicy one from Let your Light Shine - which he then proceeded to try to recreate. Good stuff. I fucking love fic and I too have a spread sheet of 'to be reads'!!!

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  28. I am a total fanfic hoor. I think it has killed my ability to read the real twilight. I am currently following 10 stories. As commenters said above, I re-read the previous chapter (or parts of) when updates come in. Sometimes I throw in a completed story as I hate to add more unfinished to keep up with.
    Fortunately, I don't get the stories too mixed up as I have some severe LT memory. Short-term memory may suck a little as I often enter a room totally forgetting what it is I wanted.
    Currently, I am totally devoted to MOTU, UoEM, the Guardian, Gentleman from Wash state, Emmancipation Proc., Moving Pictures, Retail Therapy, Incubus Anomaly,etc. All of these Edwards/Bellas are quite different to me therefore keeping it interesting.

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  29. Yup, I've got shit for a memory too. I've found that in order to keep track I've had to do a few things:

    1) I've had to cut back I'm only reading about 4 that update on any kind of a regular basis. It's pretty easy to keep separate Hockeyward (is it Wednesday yet?) from Slayerward. I've got another 4 that occasionally update and I usually have to go back and read the last chapter to remember what happened last.

    2)Stop reading several fics. *gasp!* I know, but if a story starts to cheese me off. That's it. Back on the shelf you go - some I'll come back to when they're finished. Most I won't. I find I've gotten picky about what I read.

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  30. I'm a total newbie in all of this. I "found" your extremely-awesome-there-is-none-better-than-this Twilight blog through Billy Burke's Twitter link. He rocks. So, I've been lurking around in the shadows for a little while now checking things out.

    I decided to officially follow Twitarded this week because of, well, I'll just say it - because of Osa Bella. Don't get me wrong I love every bit of Twitardy goodness but Osa Bella pushed me over the edge.

    I'm so angry with all of you. You have sucked me into the fanfic world kicking and screaming. I still refuse to give myself over to it 100%. Why? Because I don't want to be it's bitch, that's why! I'm quickly realizing that might be a fate I can't escape.

    I actually cried this week reading Chapters 14 and 15 of The Red Line. When say cried I mean I sobbed. Sobbed! WTF??

    I have friends visiting from out of town today. I haven't seen one of them since 1999. My house should be shiny and spotless but have I cleaned one damn room yet? No! Why? I'll tell you why! Because of fanfic! Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!!

    Ok, *deep breath* tantrum over.

    I can only handle 2-3 fanfics at a time and even then I get confused. Yep, I'm truly Twitarded - in so many lovely and shameful ways. *sigh*

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  31. I'm ridiculous with fanfic. I have almost 200 favorited on FF.net, and probably 50 or more on Twilighted. Most of those, however, I haven't even begun to read. I just keep adding on stories at the suggestions of others, especially those of authors I really like. I figure if they recommend them, they must be pretty good.

    Keeping them straight...well, it isn't hard if the authors update regularly and have unique plots. My beloved "Misapprehension of Bella Swan" comes to mind (you can have your FiftyShades; I'll take Hockeyward, thank you very much!), as does "Hide and Drink" with Crazyward and "Just Wait" with Stutterward. What gets tricky is when, as others have mentioned, you get an author who doesn't update in forever. Sometimes it's so bad I have to skim the whole fic to try to remember what it was about, plus re-read the last chapter. NGL -- authors who never update with no explanation for it tend to irritate me. It makes me want to drop the fic off my list entirely *coughWallbangercough*. I think if you don't update, you lose whatever momentum you have going, and therefore whatever excitement you've built up in your readers for your story.

    For example, there's a great fic called "Burn and Shine" which hasn't updated since January. To me, it's so frustrating because I want MORE and I don't know that I'll ever get it at this point. I understand authors do this for free, and I'm everlastingly grateful that they do, but sometimes I wish they wouldn't start something if they're not going to be into it enough to finish it.

    Is that bitchy of me to say?

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  32. I love fanfiction! I havn't read many completed fics - just because not many have caught my eye not because I don't like finished fics!
    I'm reading 45 on-going fics and I don't know I find it alright keeping up with most stories. Most fics are written quite differently - every author has there own 'signature' and my brain recognizes it I suppose and brings what's happening in that fic to the fore-front. There are a few which are quite similar and if i find i'm having trouble differentiating then I'll go back and re-read the last paragraph of the previous chapter. If that doesn't work I'll re-read the 1st chapter. That's never not worked!
    Anyway saying I am reading 45 fics (I've also read my fair share of O/S too) I won't start a new fic until I'm up to date with the one I'm reading...it's while I'm waiting for an update that I start new fics. so That's how it's all built up.

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  33. I am in the process of reading about 20 different fics at the moment, but I probably have at least 50 or so fics in different folders on my laptop, based on whether I'm waiting for updates on them, they are complete, I haven't started them yet, I have started but haven't finished them yet, or I still need to read the last few updates.

    And it does get confusing, especially if a story hasn't updated in a while ("Burn and Shine" or "Company Loves Misery"), it's hard to get back into it, so with those, I try to skim the last few chapters to remember what happened before reading the update. But there are a few that I love that update fairly regularly ("The University of Edward Masen" updates every Saturday, and if for some reason the author can't, they'll tell you why beforehand and when to expect the next update).

    But for the most part, I love all the stories I'm reading and am always on the lookout for more, even if I have decided that I can't start anymore at the moment until a few of the ones I'm currently reading finish.

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  34. I've been a fanfiction junkie loooong before I even picked up twilight. I was reading Jane Austen ff like nobody's business...so when I discovered there was such a thing as twilight FF I wanted to read. I think wide awake was my first one. I know some of you consider wide awake like the twilight ff gateway drug I'm going to be honest, I wasn't a huge fan. I had to find recommendations from other bloggers before I discovered twilight ff's I actually like. There are a lot of stories that I had to stop reading because I got really annoyed with writers that made Bella constantly depressed and Edward angry and uncontrollable. I'm really annoyed with the stories that make them both have this horrific tragic pasts but somehow they're ok together with out some serious psycho therapy...they're co-dependent on each other but that's ok...sorry I can't handle how ridiculous those stories are! So yea i'm not a huge fan of darkward/masen characters or pilled out crazy, depressed Bella...however I will give props to hunterhunting for CWIA I wasn't annoyed with her Bella or Edward :) I just don't see what traits in the original character made writers take that extreme despressed/fucked up angle with Edward and Bella.

    I don't know how many stories I'm currently in the middle of but I have a lot favored on FFn. I guess I keep them all in order because they never update at the same time so at least once or twice a week I have something to read.

    Ok, so for you NON-ff readers I'm going to recommend this story as your gateway drug into twilight fan fiction. I had my bloggy mate read it who is not a fan fic reader and she LOVED it...so if she could enjoy it i'm pretty positive anyone could fall in love with this story:

    Abbricciare il Cantante:
    http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4869575/1/Abbracciare_il_Cantante

    my review of the story:
    http://iloveboyswhosparkle.com/?p=8674

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  35. Well, I'm in the midst of...40 fics right now. I arrange my fics and organize by my characterizations of edward. I have a domward group, a shyward group, a pimpward, vampward, etc.

    I also tagline each fic with a one sentence description of the story in case I get amnesia. I also always read back one chapter when a story updates. Yes, all of this might sound a bit ridiculous. Yes, I could be doing way more productive things with my time and energy. And yes, it is all worth it. Love my fanfic!

    I do have a special love/hate relationship with those on hiatus fics like wallbanger, and ones that just kind of ended like The Red Line (OMG that was the best rec. ma nommmmmmmm)

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  36. @Danielle - you only have to wait a few hours for the next chapter of Osa Bella!

    : )

    @Lady Spinning - i'm SO with you - don't cross Domward... when the training and MotU end i am going to cry. and then i am going to beg someone to write another story in that ilk. mmmm...domward...

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  37. I actually read fanfic (some good ones too! EP anyone?) but honestly I go in spurts (ha!) and sometimes just want my regular ol' Meyer stuff so I get disinterested in it. Then I go back. Right now, I'm disinterested =X sorry!

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  38. I have at least 85 stories bookmarked as favourites, and at least another 100 on my rec'd list that I want to check out at some point. I don't have any problem remembering what's going on in stories likes UoEM and MoTU as they update regularly and are very unique stories. There are times, though, when I get an update alert in my e-mail and I can't remember the story at all. I usually have to go back and read part of the previous chapter to refresh my memory. I still get confused,though. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

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  39. I have a good..ohh I don't know 30+ fan-fics that are on my list of read/reading/to be read. I personally love fan-fic. I started reading it after I finished Breaking Dawn because I didn't want the story to end. It was always...I wonder what they all did after. What about Renesmee and Jacob. or What about the Volturi. So it started as just fan-fics about after Breaking Dawn then I started into the AU ones and they seemed interesting..then Wide Awake did me in on the smut portion and I haven't gone back..so what started out as just fan-fic has turned into smutsville. But my husband doesn't complain. when he asks me what I am doing and I reply with "Oh one of my smut's updated" he gets this goofy smile on his face cause he knows what that means. :)

    as for me keeping up with the different stories and trying not to mash them together...I try...but sometimes i fail like with The training and MoTU...for a little while i was getting stories mixed up cause it was similar as some points...but now i just scan the last chapter to get the idea of whats going on and go from there.

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  40. Credit to the fanfiction writers for their descriptions of Edward beyond the cooper hair and crooked smile because from there I can usually attach a specific image of Robward to help keep the stories straight and somehow that works but I just read "The Family Business" by suzspetals and he was all Tyler to me. Great story, too! I guess the more movies he does the more vivid my ____wards will be!

    Some parts of the stories require a mental manip!

    @TeamSixPack-AIC is really good!

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  41. I get my Edwards confused often unfortunately with 10+ fics, some very slow to update, it gets fuzzy and I'm lucky if I can remember what the hell I ate yesterday.
    I got introduced to the world of fanfic firstly by Twitarded but I didn't read anything until I went searching (after New Moon). Now I'm hooked. Where at first I would not read anything that made the characters human, that's out the window now- period pieces are my fav. Luckily my first five fanfics were written by some stellar authors and I was blown away at the quality of writing and creative plots. I didn't find truly awful fics until recently…and even some of those I read through (one was a great story so I try to give the BOD). And since I see shout outs…
    1. Irrtiable Grizzly Adams
    2. Beyond The Broken Scars (MY FAV)
    3. Twice As Long As Yesterday (human)
    4. A Picture of Doran Grey (human)
    5. UOEM- I didn’t love this at first but I like the twists
    6. There Will Be Blood

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  42. @LJM64 a spreadsheet?? I LOVE it!!

    I feel like and outsider here since I don't/didn't read fanfic before Osa Bella (thanks MyG I still love it). The biggest reason for not reading fanfic is fear..fear of what you ask? GETTING SUCKED IN-which I know will happen so I try to avoid it at all costs. I might cave in soon though. Is there a top five poll somewhere?? If not i'd like to see one here at Twitarded.

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  44. I tend to be quite monogamous to my FF. I'm a one at a time girl to my Edwards except to the WIP's of course. But there are some Edwards that just CANNOT be confused with the others...Fifty Shades, Hide & Drinkward....They have a way of standing out in a room full of Edwards.

    Just finished the last ch. of H&D. My big decision of the day is whether to start MoBS, Wide Awake or Osa Bella....Such a rough life I lead!

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  45. I do not read fanfiction because I guess I'm a bit of a Twi-snob. I feel that those are Stephenie Meyer's characters and hers alone. Anyone else trying to use them in a story just doesn't seem right. To me, it wouldn't actually be the real characters. Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE for Stephenie to write some slutty Twilight stories, but we all know that will NEVER EVER happen, so I've pretty much come to terms with that fact. I'm not so much of a snob that I think people who write or read fanfiction are doing something sacrilegious or anything, I just don't have any desire to take part. I completely understand why people write and read it, it's just not for me.

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  46. Oh the fics I read. I have over 125 fics on the list, and more than half are active....As for the -wards, I don't have to work too hard to keep them all straight. I read fast and often, and my memory is pretty damn good. Prolific -wards are easy to keep straight because we talk about them ALL THE TIME. Even if the fics are done. And I love that. There are so many peeps in the Twidom who are just starting things I've finished ages ago, and they help keep it alive :) Or remind me that I still haven't gotten around to reading some things...

    I read something everyday. I blame my blackberry and easy access. If I get an email that one of my fics updated, I don't usually wait around on it...Speaking of which, H&D AND UoEM just updated.


    So, for all those -wards out there, Vladward, Domward, Drinkward, Darkward, Beautiful Bastard, Tattward, Hockeyward, Fifty, Mafiaward, Profward, Wallbanger, Wingie...The Lost Boys Edward (did he have a -ward name?) whoever I've left out, I love you all deeply. And my bf thanks you for all of the good ideas you've brought to my dirty, dirty mind.


    Does anyone have Poughkeepsie lying around? I'm dying to read it, but since MrsTheKing took it down to prep for publishing, I'm at a loss.

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  47. Okay. I made a comment a few posts back about how I can't keep my Edward and Bella's straight. They seriously are affecting the way I process things around me. My son has a therapist that works with him. She looks just like "Clipped wings and inked Armour" Bella. Everytime I see her I have to make sure I don't stare. Creepy, I know. But it's strange when a beloved character steps out of the screen and into your life.

    I'm reading

    1. MotU- I'm a sad panda. 1 more chapter left. We should seriously set up a support group for withdrawls. I have the chills man!!!

    2.High Anxiety- @Twilighted (pot/ potty mouth darkward)

    3.The Weight of Words- @Fanfiction.net or com, not sure which.(hot/smart teacher/ward)

    3.The Woods are Deep and Lovely- @FanFiction.net (Tragic suicidalward)

    4.The Boy in the Red Sweater- @FanFiction.net (It's completed and totally worth a read if you love shyward. This one makes you cry)

    I have so many I can reccomend, but yes, STY, I have a hard time keeping them all straight. I have to learn to compartmentalize fan fic from reality. Not gonna happen anytime soon. *sighs* I can totally see a diagram of our brain; 10% real life, 90% Twilight.

    This is your brain, and this is your brain on Twilight fanfic.

    Sad... so sad.

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  48. @STY - a few hours, you say??? I'll have you know I'm compulsively refreshing Twitarded, I want my Osa Bella!!

    @ Toefunny - wtf, girl, I told you - MOBS!!! It's a light read but SO hot - you'll breeze right through it! Well, unless you stop every chapter for vibrator time, as I tend to do...

    @Kerri - ZOMG I KNOW SAD PANDA!!!

    vw: coersi You don't need to coersi me into reading more ff!

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  49. I'm in the middle of about 15 different ff's. And yes its hard to keep 'em all straight but by some miracle I manage. If they are well written, then the story will likely be ingrained in my memory. I never watch tv anymore! I'm always playing ff catch up.. and that's the way I like it!

    @Kerri: Ditto! Sadsadsadpanda right here! Yes, MOTU support group is definitely in order. Good news though... a MOTU sequel is not out of the question... heard it straight from the horses mouth! Cross your fingers and repeat those mantras!

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  50. I have a recommendation for y'all ffhoors...
    Art School Confidential by farkle
    Edward is a (nude) life-model in Bella's art class.
    Yeah that right there was the draw for me. I'm 17 chapters in and I'm still trying to figure this Edward out!

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  51. Why don't I read Fan Fiction? Because I don't read much fiction, period.

    The only ones I read were because I was searching for something better than Stephanie's cockblocked honeymoon scene. There was one that was very satisfying, but i can't recall what it was. And then I read a few chapters of The Office, to see what all the fuss was about.

    I think I'm just too ADD to stay with things. Perfect example - my lame blog.

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  52. @kerri - sign me up for you sad panda MoTU Support Group for I too will be needing a shoulder to cry on

    @mypimp - I DID start MoBS and am laughing my ass off!! LOVING this Bella!!! WANTING Hockyward!!!

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  53. Ok, so I put off fan fic for soooooo long just refusing to believe Edward could be any better. Then one night about 3 months ago I moseyed on over to Twilighted cause NOONE was on FB and I started reading Clipped Wings and Inked Armor...well that was it for me, so now 3 months and 45 stories later I can say I thouroughly enjoyed my descent into the rabbit hole. The best way I've found to keep stories/Edwards straight is I just read one fic at a time till it's through. I was kinda pissed after 12 hs straight of MOtU, 83 chapters and it wasn't complete...but I love fiftyshades too much to complain. I only currently have 8 active unfinished stories that I'm reading but I don't run into memory isues due to the fact I take it all at once and then just do the updates as they come, the more complete the story when I start it the better. Lately I've been trying to only read completed stories becasue I really read too fast and waiting for updates makes me twitchy and pissy. If you want some good straight thru reads that you won't have to chance losing track of try 1)The Family Secret 2)Blood and Lust 3)The List 4)Dirty Dancing with the Devil Herself and 5)Not Like This...ok, time to go see what's updated now lol

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  54. I've posted this here before, but I already wanted to finally get my first tattoo- and instead of "Twilight" being the thing that inspired me to finally get one, it was Twilight FANFICTION!

    WHAT A FUCKING NERD RIGHT! Seriously, imagining Tattward's hands on me meant I could do nothing less than race down to the tat shop and finally get my body inked. Not like Inkella so much, but some ink none the less.

    So, yes, Fanfiction is huge to me and I love the shit out of it. It's sometimes been more emotionally taxing for me than Twilight even was, and that's saying alot.

    I have to say I have faves
    Clipped Wings and Inked Armor hands down #1
    Emancipation Proclamation
    Scotch, Gin and The New Girl

    I'm clearly a HunterHunting hoor as well since she inspired me to finally get a fucking tattoo, so of course I love Hockeyward

    How do I keep them separated? Well to be honest, I switch up Master of the Universe Domward with The Training Domward all the time, and I get pissed when MOTU Domward isn't all like The Training Domward, cause he's much much more intense. I find that Bella to be much stronger and more mature as well, and less angsty crap in The Training. It's a gold standard story to me

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  55. I am currently reading 10 different stories...I think at least 3 of them haven't updated in what feels like forever...I'm looking at you Burn and Shine (Thanks JJ for hooking me on that and then no update for months same goes for Breaking Trinity! WTF!!!) I don't get my Edwards mixed up but I usually have to go back to the last chapter to remember where I left off. I remember when I started reading CW&IA and I didn't realize it wasn't complete (She was already 20 or more chapters in) until I get to the end of that last chapter she posted and all I could think was "WTF I have to wait now"

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  56. Can I just say, I'm now much more invested in how my hometown team is faring the Stanley Cup than I would have been before MoBS....rawrrrrr

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  57. I put off readinf ff for a long time because I knew it would be a rabbit hole I'd fall into and never find my way out of. And for awhile it was. I went about favoriting the big ones that people talk about and hope to get to them some day, but when I found myself wanting to read ff at work, that's when I had to take a step back from it.

    I only have five stories that I'm actively reading, and even they are suffering now that I've gotten wrapped up in MotU (you are partly to blame for that, STY!). It's even affected my blog. It's been six days since I last posted. What a coincidence. Right about the same time I started MotU. Oh, well. Sacrifices have to be made. I clearly have my priorities straight. LOL!

    @AshleighMarie - You should read The Family Business by Suzspetals. It's so well written, and she updates regularly. We were 15 chapters in before she wrote a lemony chapter, and it was beautiful. It was the perfect time for the characters. It doesn't have smut just for the sake of smut - not that there's anything wrong with that from time to time, too ;)

    Lisa

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  59. @17foreverlisa- Rabbit Hole is right!

    I have yet to even venture over to Twillighted, though I signed up...I'm not even sure what kind of Pandora's box that would lead my life into....

    I keep seeing MOTU-Master of The Universe mentioned (and not just here) so I had better add that one STAT...

    Hide & Drink- this one rocks...thanks for the rec. If anyone likes Darkward in this you might also like one I pimped earlier- There Will Be Blood...some serious hawtness takes place somewhere in the first five chaps and I think the author needs some props to keep it going.

    Thanks for OSA Bella and for further suckering my gal pals into FF.

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  60. I keep them straight by usually only readin ones on twilighted.net that are marked as "complete." Now, I have made some exceptions, including Osa Bella, but for the most part, when a fanfic is recommended and I read the synopsis and like it, I will usually just add it to my favorites list and keep an eye on it as to when it is completed. You may think I would be sitting around twirling my thumbs with nothing to read, but I have 3 pages worth of saved stories on twilighted, with about half of them as compeleted, and about a dozen saved on my favorites bar from fanfiction.net.

    If I don't do it this way then I will end up reading about 10 of them all at the same time and stories will start to cross over in my head when I'm reading them.

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  61. Emancipation Proclamation, I keep seeing recs for this but I can't find it anywhere because of the fanfic TOS deal...can anyone tell a hoor where to find it?

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  62. @Anon - Here's the link to EP... she moved it to a blog.

    http://kharizzmatik-ep.blogspot.com/2009/08/prologue.html

    Enjoy...

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  63. Right now I am following EP, MOTU, 15 step and OSA chapter by chapter. Then I'm also reading one complete story at at time. I have over 50 stories I'm keeping track of, and when they are finished, I will start reading those. I do fairly well keeping 5 stories separate, but had a harder time when I was reading MOTU and the submissive at the same time!!

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  64. I'll be honest I have no idea how I keep them straight. I know I have trouble remembering which author goes with which story and I have been known to tweet the wrong author about the wrong story. When a new chapter is released, I ALWAYS go back and read the end of the chapter that was before the new one. That way I kind of get back into the right people. So far I have kept them all separated - while reading - but I can get confused while discussing them. I have shocked myself though by keeping them all going at once - not a normal thing for me.

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  65. I'm going to answer the "why aren't you reading fan-fic" question...because seriously I would read it more, i think, if i didn't have to register on sites to read it.

    I actually read Osa Bella, because it's easy. It's right here on your site, and at Osa Bella site, you don't have to register...and then remember extra places to always go and passwords for them.

    Also, I read ONE fan-fic a few years ago that sounded like a 10 year old wrote it...and then it was like a chapter. I don't go for that kind.

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  66. just finished reading MoTU... I'm gonna miss Fifty :( thanks for telling me what/who that was ladies!!

    After reading a fic which started out great but got all twisted and jacked up and then turned out to be incomplete I was totally off fics for awhile (It was only my 3rd one too) but since I started reading MoTU last weekend, I picked up a couple others 'January' (at twilighted) and Abbracciare il Cantante (fanfic.net) are two of my favorites. January is not yet complete but fairly far along and easy to follow. Abbracciare il Cantante is complete.

    January's E/B's are canon, it's a follow-up to Breaking Dawn -- Abbracciare il Cantante is their story if Edward had never returned from Denali after first meeting Bella but that they end up meeting in college.

    Easy enough to keep them separate just b/c the time/place is different -- MoTU is just a whole new world of it's own with little nods to the twilight characters. Not sure how I'd manage to keep all the other separate tho haha - will def have to keep the # of fics I read down to minimum to avoid confusion ;)

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  67. I read fanfic sometimes, but I get frustrated when it takes a long time in between updates, like a lot of you said. Also, I hate to admit it, but one of the reasons I LOVE Twilight is the innocence of the characters and the purity of the young/first but all consuming love... I like to read the fic that stays true to that feeling... with a more adult twist to it. I guess I ride (hehehe) both sides of the fence. Also, one more thing that keeps me from reading a lot of fanfic (other than the fact that I could sink myself into the depths of the Twilighty goodness for a very, very, very, long time) is that I have trouble reading from a computer screen for a long time. It makes my eyes go all wonky!

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  68. I tried, I really tried to keep everything straight, but my memory is shite so now I am down to just 3-4 WIP's (mmmmm...hockeyward) and completes. I have a list of WIP's that I check back on and wait for them to complete so that I do not forget to read, but this HAS burned me in the past as I went to go finally read Poughkeepsie, but when I went back, it was GONE! I was so very bummed. If anyone knows where to get a version of this, that would be much appreciated!

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  69. I tried, I really tried to keep everything straight, but my memory is shite so now I am down to just 3-4 WIP's (mmmmm...hockeyward) and completes. I have a list of WIP's that I check back on and wait for them to complete so that I do not forget to read, but this HAS burned me in the past as I went to go finally read Poughkeepsie, but when I went back, it was GONE! I was so very bummed. If anyone knows where to get a version of this, that would be much appreciated!

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  70. Right now I am following EP, MOTU, 15 step and OSA chapter by chapter. Then I'm also reading one complete story at at time. I have over 50 stories I'm keeping track of, and when they are finished, I will start reading those. I do fairly well keeping 5 stories separate, but had a harder time when I was reading MOTU and the submissive at the same time!!

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  71. I've posted this here before, but I already wanted to finally get my first tattoo- and instead of "Twilight" being the thing that inspired me to finally get one, it was Twilight FANFICTION!

    WHAT A FUCKING NERD RIGHT! Seriously, imagining Tattward's hands on me meant I could do nothing less than race down to the tat shop and finally get my body inked. Not like Inkella so much, but some ink none the less.

    So, yes, Fanfiction is huge to me and I love the shit out of it. It's sometimes been more emotionally taxing for me than Twilight even was, and that's saying alot.

    I have to say I have faves
    Clipped Wings and Inked Armor hands down #1
    Emancipation Proclamation
    Scotch, Gin and The New Girl

    I'm clearly a HunterHunting hoor as well since she inspired me to finally get a fucking tattoo, so of course I love Hockeyward

    How do I keep them separated? Well to be honest, I switch up Master of the Universe Domward with The Training Domward all the time, and I get pissed when MOTU Domward isn't all like The Training Domward, cause he's much much more intense. I find that Bella to be much stronger and more mature as well, and less angsty crap in The Training. It's a gold standard story to me

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  72. I've been a fanfiction junkie loooong before I even picked up twilight. I was reading Jane Austen ff like nobody's business...so when I discovered there was such a thing as twilight FF I wanted to read. I think wide awake was my first one. I know some of you consider wide awake like the twilight ff gateway drug I'm going to be honest, I wasn't a huge fan. I had to find recommendations from other bloggers before I discovered twilight ff's I actually like. There are a lot of stories that I had to stop reading because I got really annoyed with writers that made Bella constantly depressed and Edward angry and uncontrollable. I'm really annoyed with the stories that make them both have this horrific tragic pasts but somehow they're ok together with out some serious psycho therapy...they're co-dependent on each other but that's ok...sorry I can't handle how ridiculous those stories are! So yea i'm not a huge fan of darkward/masen characters or pilled out crazy, depressed Bella...however I will give props to hunterhunting for CWIA I wasn't annoyed with her Bella or Edward :) I just don't see what traits in the original character made writers take that extreme despressed/fucked up angle with Edward and Bella.

    I don't know how many stories I'm currently in the middle of but I have a lot favored on FFn. I guess I keep them all in order because they never update at the same time so at least once or twice a week I have something to read.

    Ok, so for you NON-ff readers I'm going to recommend this story as your gateway drug into twilight fan fiction. I had my bloggy mate read it who is not a fan fic reader and she LOVED it...so if she could enjoy it i'm pretty positive anyone could fall in love with this story:

    Abbricciare il Cantante:
    http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4869575/1/Abbracciare_il_Cantante

    my review of the story:
    http://iloveboyswhosparkle.com/?p=8674

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  73. Well, I'm in the midst of...40 fics right now. I arrange my fics and organize by my characterizations of edward. I have a domward group, a shyward group, a pimpward, vampward, etc.

    I also tagline each fic with a one sentence description of the story in case I get amnesia. I also always read back one chapter when a story updates. Yes, all of this might sound a bit ridiculous. Yes, I could be doing way more productive things with my time and energy. And yes, it is all worth it. Love my fanfic!

    I do have a special love/hate relationship with those on hiatus fics like wallbanger, and ones that just kind of ended like The Red Line (OMG that was the best rec. ma nommmmmmmm)

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