I need help thinking of a clever twist for my novel. Basically does anyone have any ideas on how you would trick a very intelligent vampire into doing something that takes longer than he expects so he doesnt realise that the sun is rising until its too late. He relishes a challenge so when he hears about this possible task, he agrees, thinking he will be able for it, however it proves more difficult and time consuming than expected, thus he is tricked into spending too long at it and forgets that it is almost dawn. The setting is a forest but any suggestions for such a trick/task or anything would be realy welcome!! Thanks!
yes, but im having trouble getting started with an idea, i have a few but i dont think they are good enough. Im hoping some suggestions will spark me to think of new ideas or that i could adapt suggestions others make to suit my story.
I don't know, Danielle. I've seen this sort of thing done a handful of times, where a vampire is tricked into not realizing dawn is approaching. I think it can be done convincingly if you're dealing with a relatively new vampire. But if you're dealing with a very smart, old vampire, who has survived for centuries, I don't find it convincing to think the vampire would be tricked to stay out until sunrise for any reason whatsoever. Just my two cents. You said your vampire was intelligent, but not whether he's a relatively new vampire or one who has been around.
Convincing your reader that a mature, intelligent vampire 'forgets' that the sun is coming up is going to be a hard sell. The survival instinct is very strong, so convincing him is going to be about as difficult as convincing me to go swimming in a pool full of piranha. The only way I can see it being done is by tying the task to the vampire's single overriding concern. If the task is the culmination of a centuries-long obsession, you may be able to convince the reader that his obsession has temporarily overwhelmed his reason. In fact, I would argue that this is the only way that a vampire is going to be convincingly outwitted by mere mortals. An antagonist like this is only going to make a critical mistake if they feel confident that they have finally attained their objective and that all they have left to do is reach out and grab it. The danger in the approach you want to take is in straining your reader's credulity too much. If they don't buy your explanation, they're not going to trust the rest of your work. You don't want your readers thinking: "That would never happen." I'd try to come up with a few alternate endings and refine them until you come up with one that convinces you. Depending on your story, you may even be able to incorporate one or two of these alternate endings as attempts made to destroy the vampire that failed. This happens a lot in horror stories where several attempts have to be made before the protagonists finally find just the right tool to get the job done.
I agree with Cog. This is an important story element, Danielle; you have to come up with it yourself. Otherwise, you're writing someone else's story.
Woo boy, if you have an old vamp, he's going to be crafty and cunning, and your whole book will be taken up with whatever task this is, perhaps looking for a way to be out in the day? An ancient vamp would have plenty of time for study and experimentation. A mad scientist Dracula. Don't forget why we fear vampires.
Old folklore says vampires are OCD in the extreme, and throwing seeds or a handful of tiny pebbles in front of them will distract them as they have to count them all. I've read this in several places, I think, including Terry Pratchett, who knows his stuff when it comes to folklore. When in doubt, go back to the basics.
Why don't you tell us the ideas you have so far and we will help you based on those ideas, rather than us come up with something completely new. That way you will still have plenty of writing satisfaction.
In other words, try propelling the story more through the character's decisions/weaknesses/moods etc, rather than searching for nifty plot turns and twists which are not directly related to the character.
Ok, thanks for all comments so far. The vampire in question is from a race of vampires that are superior in all ways to other vampires. He strongly desires to kill a particular human whom he has tricked into trusting him. A different vampires wishes to save the human by tricking him, however he is physically inferior. they are of similar age. the human is almost dead and dawn is approaching so the weaker vampire must think quickly. it is in the nature of the stronger vampire to be challenged and he loves games and plans that work out in his favour but that require some effort as he is generally superior to everyone. since he wants to kill the human, if the inferior vampire posed a challenge to him, he would most likely accept on the basis that it would make the chase more interesting. however, the challenge/task he is set is trickier than he expected and gets so caught up in completing it that he forgets the impending dawn. I have a very clear idea of the story but im just missing that final piece which is the actual task/challenge he is set!!
Research the weaknesses of vampires from classic folklore. For example, in my novel my vamp character has arithmomania and spends an entire day counting rice that the MC accidentally knocks onto the floor. In my novel it's not meant as a distraction or test, since the MC has no idea he's a vampire at the time, but I could see this being a pretty good distraction technique. Vampires can't cross running water. Perhaps he must find away around a river/stream/sewer/random body of water, and loses track of time? Or perhaps he has to find his way into a home, and the owner does not intend to invite him in? Trying to win someone over could be time consuming. Endless possibilities here, if you take time to do a little research. You may want to even combine ideas or make the task way trickier than it sounds; no self-respecting vampire is going to agree to something he knows is his weakness. You can't very well say "count all the grains of salt in the salt storage building over yonder" and expect him to be willing. XD
