the vampire diaries fanfic writing tips

✧ power isn't everything

experience matters.

discipline matters.

knowledge matters.

skills matter.

just because a character has a lot of power doesn't mean they can win in every fight if they don't know how to use it.

i notice this the most with witches.

a witch can hold a lot of power, however, if they don't know any spells or how to control it, how well will that help in a fight?

think about early seasons bonnie vs bonnie in the later seasons.

in season two, she tries to use the same trick on katherine that she used on damon. but katherine's a lot holder and stronger. it doesn't work.

bonnie's powers weren't as developed yet and she didn't know many, so she couldn't win in a fight against katherine. as the show goes on, she learns more and becomes stronger.

a witch without control can be very dangerous, like davina in season one, for example. but they can't necessarily direct their attacks against someone if they can't control their powers.

they need experience. they need control.

a witch can be born with all the power in the world, but what if they don't know a single spell? what if they don't know how to use it?

you can't perform a spell that you don't know.

for example, in season 3 freya uses a spell to find klaus' enemies (i think that was what the spell was). but she didn't know this spell because she was powerful. being a mikaelson witch didn't mean anything. she knew the spell because kol taught her. he also made the spell.

side note, i really wonder how powerful of a witch kol would be if he were to become one again (not in another witches body) he said that he studied every type of witchcraft. it's said that he was the one who guided some witches into making the dark objects that were the most powerful.

back on track.

there's a reason why they all want those grimoires and other stuff. they get knowledge from them. the knowledge helps them become more powerful because they can utilize their power.

another example, kol vs finn. in their fight in the originals, kol was winning. even though finn was older. but there's things to take into context here.

1. kol was angrier. finn was trying to hurt davina. kol also hates finn so he was just more motivated.

2. finn was in a coffin for 900 years, kol wasn't. kol most likely has much more experience fighting. whether or not the years in the coffin mean anything hasn't been confirmed, i don't think. we know vampires get stronger with age, but i don't think we know what happens if they're daggered or something similar.

3. kol had a much more aggressive personality. i think he was also cursed to be more aggressive at that time, he just didn't realize it yet.

circumstance matters. who is more motivated? who has more experience?

power can only get you so far. you need skills to back it up.

a character's personality matters. the context of the fight matters.

here's another example in which power didn't matter.

in season two, elena successfully daggers elijah. why?

it's not because she's stronger. she obviously isn't. if she just charged at elijah she would've lost.

but she caught elijah off guard. she worked the situation in her advantage. she made him so focused on her getting hurt that she was able to catch him off guard.

she changed the situation to fit what she needed.

another example is elena vs katherine.

elena doesn't win because she's stronger. elena wins because she has the cure. she used the cure to her advantage. she thought about it. she used what she had to her advantage.

power isn't all that matters.

take that into consideration when writing different strength levels, your oc, fights etc.

in my fanfic, my oc is a powerful psychic. on paper, stronger than most of the characters, but she doesn't always win, why?

1. in the beginning, she has no clue. she's 18 when she learns. she didn't know how to use it and she had no teacher.

2. she can't control it. when she gets emotional, her powers get out of control and she can't direct what she's trying to do.

3. her personality. in the beginning, she doesn't want to hurt anyone, she's not very aggressive, she doesn't like to fight. she's not as motivated, when she is motivated, she's stronger.

3. she eventually learns from silas and becomes stronger and gets much more control. she gets experience.

power isn't the only thing.

personality matters.

skill set matters.

knowledge matters.

experience matters.

power can only get you so far,