How to Howl: Tips for Werewolf Writers

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How to write an original werewolf story?

Watch YouTube videos on wolves. There are a lot of really good documentation videos on wolves on YouTube, ready to be watched any time. Look for videos on wolves in their natural habitat. One of the best things with learning from watching is that you get a lot of visual information. You can see all the small things wolves do and develop visual impressions that you can later use in descriptions in your own wolf fiction.

Read non-fiction. Read books and articles on wolves. Learn their habits and their biology. You certainly do not have to get into super-scientific details, but you should know of their family structures, most prominent instincts, normal hunting techniques – stuff like that.

Take notes. The mind is forgetful. Take notes of small things which may easily slip your mind or which simply caught your interest. Some examples may be the way cubs lick adults’ mouths in order for them to throw up food for the young ones to eat, or the way a large submissive wolf will hunch over to seem smaller and less threatening. Or perhaps the way wolves whine when they gather for a hunt or some such.

Read about mythologies containing wolves. For an example, there is the wolf Fenrir in Norse mythology. The legends say that when he breaks loose of his chains, he shall devour the great god Odin and Ragnarok – the end of the world – thus comes. The people of that culture struggled through cold and dark winters – winters which were hard for wolves, as well. And a hungry, desperate wolf may very well attack an unsuspecting human. It makes sense that the people would come to fear wolves and see them as evil predators of the dark.

Listen to opinions. Hear what the wolf-lovers have to say. Hear what the wolf-haters have to say. You certainly don’t have to agree with any of it, but try to see where each person is coming from and what motivates their opinion of wolves. This can give you inspiration by pointing out a wide range of traits wolves have, that you may not have thought of yourself.

Reference:
https://www.wikihow.com/Write-Wolf-Fiction