Of Fangs and Blood: Tips and Tricks for Vampire Story Writers

i. Basics

BASICS

What is a story under the vampire genre?

Stories under the vampire genre are stories which feature vampires as one of their main characters. Some vampire stories feature historical places, plots, and arrangements in order to show the character of a vampire which was medieval, old-aged, immortal, and undying. However, as generations developed, this genre grew and evolved into a much broader category.

What are vampires?

Vampires are creatures that feed on blood of living creatures. They are not entirely humans or in the form of some. Some vampires are monsters, unidentified creatures, and as such. They are considered to have pale skin, if taken in the form of humans. They have keen eyes and improved senses. They have superhuman abilities such as extreme speed and supernatural strength. A bunch of their weaknesses were presented through time such as the sun, a stake in the heart, love, and many more.  

How to create an effective vampire lead:

 In order to create a main vampire character, you should consider first the basics. 

1. Appearance and Characteristics

First, consider what your main character or one of your main characters will look like. In the nature of vampires, as said earlier, they have pale, cold skin. Give them eyes unnatural to some people. Give their eyes color that will outstand in the crowd of men. Give them perfect, almost surreal appearances, because they should have in the first place given the fact that they are immortal, feeding onto the blood of living creatures to preserve their youth. Make sure that you will highlight their special abilities such as superhuman strength and speed. The vampire genre is very versatile and you can bend the rules of the vampires as long as you give enough justification to it. 

Example:

Lucas Ravello is a man not so ordinary from any other men. I know, because I know. He saved me from a running van not so long ago using his bare arms. I doubted it at first. I thought I might be hallucinating--maybe even dreaming. But I wasn't. His pale, cold arm holding me tight as he saved me from that tragedy is something I can still feel up to this day. His hazel brown eyes staring down at me in awe as he worries for my safety. His breath--no. He wasn't breathing. It was surreal, impossible. It was so majestic that until now, I am scared to admit the truth that he's not human. 

2. Diet

As vampires' main source of energy, blood, figure a way on how you will be describing in your story how they manage to stay alive. Will they be feeding on humans' blood? If so, make sure that you arrange all plot holes that might be caused by that fact. Will they be feeding on animals' blood instead of humans'? If so, then make sure that you clarify how they still manage to survive with only consuming less by choosing that option. It depends on you, but do make sure that certain circumstances may occur. 

Example:

Vampires like us don't feed on your blood. We resist the temptation on using the humans, because we are afraid you might be extinct any minute now. With the population of the vampires, though may be lower than humans like you, can still outnumber your strength with our abilities. Therefore, we take the other option. We hunt deer, bears, and wild animals and take their flesh and blood instead. They're enough, but still, our system are not satisfied. It's like we've eaten, but never full. It's as if we've drunk, but still thirsty.

3. Weaknesses

Though immortals, vampires do have weaknesses. The main weaknesses known for them to have are the sun and being stabbed by a stake in the heart. However, you can twist, turn, and deceive these common knowledges to vampires. To make a good, effective weakness for your vampire character, you can also refer to what's very important to them. Give them something impossible for a vampire to have that it becomes their weakness. It can be love, family, relatives, certain object, religion, group of people, etc. 

Example:

I'm not supposed to get hurt. I'm not supposed to... bleed. I'm not supposed to suffer. I, Vaughn Koen Lazarus, Lieutenant Colonel of Ephraim Novuri's army, son of Ares, should not be suffering something like this--weakness. It is her and it's all about her. It's all about her that makes my defenses break and my walls collapse. 

4. Settings

Settings in the story give a major impact towards the plot, the backstory of your characters, and the mood of the scenes. Setting up and preparing enough knowledge among places around the world are good implications of paying attention with details. Include the famous Transylvania in Romania, Tuscany in Italy, and many more.