Saying Good Night to Twilight
You'd better hold on tight, spider monkey!
Greetings, friend!
How is it already December?!
I came up with several themes to write about in Paper Crane Feelings #3 but decided it makes the most sense to reflect on the Twilight project that I’m wrapping up. I’m happy with the results, but this effort did not meet my expectations in several ways:
I got creatively “stuck” at one point, which contributed to the zine, “My Anxious Rescue Dog is Basically Edward Cullen from the Cinematic Masterpiece Twilight,” taking much longer than I planned to spend on it (and was also super freaking stressful).
The zine taking so much longer than planned meant that I ran out of time for creating a bonus item for the Snail Mail Club mailings. (Not the end of the world, but kind of a bummer! [I sent a blank THANK YOU card for members to use to try and make up for it.])
Running out of time also meant I didn’t get to spend much on the labels. I created 3 labels, each one featuring a colorized version of one of the zine illustrations — and I think they turned out really cute — but I always have my doubts that people want stickers with my dog on them, so I usually try to create another label option. (If there is anything you do or don’t want to see on the labels, please let me know! Just reply to this email!)
When I was dreaming up ideas, I thought adding glitter somewhere would be fun (for the vampire sparkles of course), even though I know glitter sucks for the environment. I went through a whole process of “Should I or shouldn’t I?” and even checked out “eco-friendly” glitter, which — it turns out — probably isn’t much better (if at all) than regular glitter. In the end I decided to skip it.
Being really obsessive over Twilight the last few months might have made up for me not going through that phase at the height of its popularity. I was in my mid-20s when the book was published and almost 30 when the movie came out and that whole thing just missed me the first time around.
I had so much fun putting together “My Anxious Rescue Dog is Basically Edward Cullen from the Cinematic Masterpiece Twilight” — before and after the creative block anyway. And I had even more fun making my silly movie trailer. (I’d love to do more videos to go with projects in the future.)
I feel least confident about the writing part of the zine. It’s an area that I want to improve, and I’m hoping that posting regularly in my JOURNAL will help with that. I also hope working through this recent scary creative issue will help me identify similar issues more quickly if they occur again. The only thing left on this project now is to add a description to the Twilight Autumn 2024 section of my website!
Thank you so much for reading about my Twilight project adventures. If you’d like to find out how to get a digital (PDF) copy of “My Anxious Rescue Dog is Basically Edward Cullen from the Cinematic Masterpiece Twilight,” please read to the end of the newsletter. Now on to more updates!
Current Projects
Snail Mail Club member updates.
FALL. Keep an eye on your mailbox! If your Twilight-themed Fall 2024 mailing hasn’t arrived yet, it should be showing up soon. I’ve heard that about 5 have arrived so far, which means a lot of them are still traveling. If you haven’t received it by the next newsletter, I will be asking you to reach out to me so we can figure that out. If you want to join SMC to get the fall mailing, you can sign up through Ko-fi HERE!
I am also working on a shop listing for anyone who wants to purchase a physical copy without joining SMC. Hopefully more on that in the next newsletter. (If you’d like a digital copy, please check out the offer at the end of the newsletter.)
WINTER. I’m working on winter cards NOW. I’m still planning on a Practical Magic theme. I’ve already started on the playlist. I like kind of sad, pretty songs for this time of year. You can find a preview on YouTube HERE. Getting cards out before Solstice/Christmastime seems unlikely at this point, but I’ll see what I can do!
TWILIGHT WATCH PARTY. A few people have expressed interest in the possibility of an online Twilight watch party for members, and I am so excited about it. It will probably happen through Discord, and I hope to have an update in the next newsletter. I may send an invite out sooner, but I need to figure out all the technical details first. If you’re not a member and you want to participate, sign up through Ko-fi HERE!
What is Snail Mail Club? SMC members receive unique handmade cards four times per year that are inspired by the seasons. Additional items are included in every release such as stickers, bookmarks, and other surprises. If you aren’t already a member, you can sign up through Ko-fi HERE!
New journal entries.
Bite-Sized: I Made A “Movie Trailer.” A short entry about putting together the video preview of “My Anxious Rescue Dog is Basically Edward Cullen from the Cinematic Masterpiece Twilight.” You can watch the video there, too.
Playlist: Notes About Twilight Fall 2024. I put this together to explain my song choices for the Twilight-inspired playlist. I thought it might help anyone who hadn’t seen the movie or anyone that wanted a refresher.
Further Reasons My Anxious Rescue Dog is Edward Cullen. This is about a 7-minute read. It’s kind of an expansion on the zine and I get really personal about what made me fall in love with Twilight. (HINT: It was mostly because of grief and feeling overwhelmed and later had a lot to do with Luna.)
Luna.
Luna has been doing what she does best — being a very good girl. And loving us. Also, she’s been busy being the co-inspiration of all the Twilight-themed stuff!
Recent pop culture inspirations/comforts/distractions.
Watching.
A Man on the Inside (2024). This kindhearted new Netflix series had me cracking up one moment and bawling my eyes out the next. Really lovely. Ted Danson was terrific, and I truly thought Sally Struthers sparkled.
Reading.
Midnight Sun (2020). I mentioned starting this — Stephenie Meyer’s companion novel to Twilight, written from Edward’s point of view — in the previous newsletter. Similar to the rest of the series, there were some parts I loved, some that were interesting, and some that just didn’t work for me.
Some of the Twilight plot holes I’ve seen people discuss online were explained, which had me wondering if Meyer came up with these after the fact to fill the plot holes or if it was her explaining what she always intended. The best parts for me were getting more of the Cullens, especially Carlisle and Alice. (I love them!)
In conclusion.
As mentioned above, I have not always been a Twilight fan. I resisted watching it for a looong time. But when I was going through some challenging stuff, Twilight was there for me. A lot of my friends were confused when I started talking about the Twilight movie all of a sudden. This reminds me of what happened when I started following basketball, which began for similar reasons (grief over my dad). So, if you find yourself struggling, I invite you to check out something you may have always been curious about but thought it just wasn’t for you. Allowing yourself to enjoy something out of your comfort zone can have unexpected and rewarding results.
I am so grateful for you and your support, especially if you’ve made it this far. I mentioned an offer to receive a digital copy of the zine, “My Anxious Rescue Dog is Basically Edward Cullen from the Cinematic Masterpiece Twilight,” and here it is:
I really respect when businesses donate part of their proceeds to important causes, but I am not yet in a sustainable place to do this. However, if you make a donation of at least $15.00 to an animal shelter, rescue, or other animal welfare nonprofit of your choice and then send me the receipt or confirmation dated 12/1/24 or later, I will send you a link to view or download the zine.
If animal causes really aren’t your thing, I will also accept a receipt dated 12/1/24 or later for a $15 donation to the Quileute Tribe’s Move to Higher Ground project.
Please reply to this email (or email me at dearchizuko at gmail dot com) with any questions or to show me your receipt. Thank you so much!
As always, please hit reply if you are having big feelings and need someone to chat with. As you may have noticed, I love talking about feelings and I try to be a good listener.
Until next time,
💖Becky H
💚Dear Chizuko