Artist's representation.

This past weekend in New York, where Twilight megahunk Robert Pattinson is currently shooting a film, the actor was approached by a throng of teenage girls. Even though he had a total of five (five!) professionally-trained security guards on hand to protect him, the hysterical fans nonetheless chased him into the street, where he was hit by a car.

Pattinson is fine. But apparently this sort of thing happens to him a lot. And as unfortunate as that is for him, it’s absolutely fascinating to me. There are so many things I don’t understand here. Why does Pattinson have a weird habit of running away from his fans? And—more curiously—how can these girls be so enthralled with a fictional character that they will go so far as to chase him down the street? I understand the concept of feeling connected to fictional characters, and hey, if you don’t feel connected to a character then clearly the storyteller has done something wrong. But to go to such extremes as chasing an actor into a busy street? I don’t get it, though I would like to. And I’m not sure if this is an example of fandom gone awry or—as crazy as this sounds—if this is what true fandom really is.

The intense connection that millions of teenage girls have with the sparkly and chaste vampire Edward Cullen, and with the Twilight series as a whole, is not unique. Think of comic-cons, and the thousands of fans that turn up every year to support their favorite stories. Think of Star Wars. Think of Firefly’s “Browncoats.” Or Trekkies. Or the thousands of people that study J.R.R. Tolkien’s invented Elvish languages. The idea of people who dedicate their lives to a character or to a story is, actually, not uncommon. Sure, (most of) these fans typically don’t make it a practice of literally chasing down their favorite authors, actors, or directors—but if you’ve never worshiped a story like they have, these hardcore fans can still seem pretty awe-inspiring. Or overwhelming. Think you’re a Star Wars fan? Think again once you’ve met a couple that had a Star Wars-themed wedding.

These extreme fans tend to get all the attention, partly because they make for more interesting conversation (and blog) material, and also because, in a way, they are on the surface more admirable—imagine feeling such a profound connection with a story that it touches the very way you live your life! Wouldn’t that be wonderful! But on the flip side, I wonder if these dedicated fans somehow discount the experiences of the so-called casual fans. Is the Star Wars wedding couple somehow “truer” than the casual Star Wars enthusiast? Is there some sort of criteria that differentiates these “true” fans?

And yeah, okay, so maybe I was playing the devil’s advocate a little bit in the teaser. Because I would venture (or at least, I would like to) that a fan is a fan is a fan. They just come in varying degrees of, you know, passion. From my personal experiences both as a fan as well as an author: there are certain stories that I enjoy, and which I’ve read/watched/listened to over and over again. I’ve never attended any conventions, or joined any fan clubs, and though I respect and admire those that do, I wouldn’t consider myself to be a lesser fan. I hold my favorite stories close to my heart, and I choose to celebrate them in my own quiet way. And sure, if it were my characters that legions of teenage girls fawned over and chased into the street, I would be positively thrilled (er, I think). But I wouldn’t hold them in any higher regard than all the other readers who picked up my books and enjoyed my stories. Because I’d like to think that as a storyteller you don’t need to turn every reader into a fanatic. Touching a reader in some way, however small, is enough.