How can I find a Vampire story idea that doesn’t sound like Twilight?

Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by beehoney, Dec 9, 2017.

  1. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Not a book, but a film: Only Lovers Left Alive (2013). It tries to uncheck many of the cliché boxes, but not all, I have to admit. Adam's (Tom Hiddleston) house and car run on some str8-up sci-fi, Tesla-on-crack shit. ;)
     
    John Calligan likes this.
  2. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    It's not going away any time soon, I don't think. Put on your best jungle adventure kit and trek into the wilds of FicLandia and you'll discover that High School AU™ is a...

    HUGE THING.jpg
     
  3. S A Lee

    S A Lee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2017
    Messages:
    1,070
    Likes Received:
    1,396
    Location:
    Greater London, England
    I admit, my own story makes a parody of the idea, however, that's because his boss suspects that the school in question is hiding a recruitment cell for a cult of hunters (the hunters are more like genocidal cultists with a means to an end mentality in this). I do need my vampire to take the Mick out of it more though.
     
    Wreybies likes this.
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    All that at face value, my sentiment is more towards the idea of High School as a setting having evolved into a near-genre unto itself. There comes a point where one has seen so many takes on the High School trope that one has to ask "Is this a vampire story that takes place in high school, or a high school story that has vampires?"

    Some of the most devoted followings in fic orbit around High School AU.

    "Just imagine if Game of Thrones and Vikings were rival groups.... in high school!" is just an example of "Just imagine if {literally anything}... in high school!"
     
    S A Lee likes this.
  5. srwilson

    srwilson Senior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 30, 2017
    Messages:
    259
    Likes Received:
    111
    Location:
    London
    I'm sure vampires don't have to be handsome. Have you seen Salem's Lot or Nosferatu or the more recent Shadow of the Vampire with Willem Dafoe? Perhaps you're reading only the cliché books.
     
  6. DK3654

    DK3654 Almost a Productive Member of Society Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2018
    Messages:
    1,244
    Likes Received:
    1,384
    Location:
    In the vibe zone
    Personally, one of the things I most dislike about vampires at High School, is it makes the vampires pretty young, and it always seems to be done poorly in not a very believable and intelligent way. Plus, it's highly correlated with a focus on romance with a focus of the story being 'can [human love interest] save [main vampire character] from their dark side?". Which is a theme I think is way overrated.
    Which brings me to my personal least favourite thing about vampires- they always seem to be used largely or entirely, in terms of thematics, as a metaphor for human darkness. Especially with regards to good vampires. Vampirism is the focus point of their character flaws.
    Is that all people can come up with? You couldn't make it a little more complex? Portraying vampires as capable of good is a nice element to make them more complex than boogeymen (not that evil vampires can't be interesting in their own way), but often (as in True Blood and Vampire Diaries/The Originals) they consistently just seem to end up significantly worse for it even if they are maybe okay in general.

    For this reason, my own portrayal of vampires with my character Jade starts with a typical 'unwilling vampire straining against their dark nature' story, but increasingly the plot deviates from that. There are a few particular points here I would like to see more often:
    1. The disadvantages of fighting their vampiric nature (beyond the difficulty of self control and loss of carnal pleasures)
    2. The advantages of vampirism (and not just their powers helping on a situational basis with little acknowledgement of that fact)
    3. Different people deal with it significantly better or worse (morally)

    I like the idea also of acknowledging the strong negative portrayal of vampires in original mythology by making the general perception of vampires in world strongly negative, but actually more negative than warranted, and how that can be a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
     
    S A Lee likes this.
  7. S A Lee

    S A Lee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2017
    Messages:
    1,070
    Likes Received:
    1,396
    Location:
    Greater London, England
    Lol, in my WIP the protagonist sides with the vampire to fight genocidal maniacs in her own way. She sees visions of the past and worships Lilith in secret.

    For me, the annoying part is how they seem to want to be human the way the ones do in A Little Vampire. Crispin Freeman did a talk about Joss Whedon and Twilight and he commented that he wouldn't even believe a chick denying the advantages of vampirism.

    My big issue is that they don't show this inherent sense of danger that comes with them. My vampire is shown to be a ruthless killer who'll string along people in an emotionally vulnerable state to steal some blood from them. He puts up with the female lead because he sees her alignment towards the dark as an asset, being female she can listen out in places he can't. However, as they work together, she changes, and in the process, he starts to acknowledge her as a partner.

    Not counting him using his carnal knowledge to pull her out of a depressed funk, she makes the first move to make them an item.

    Wow, sounds like we're on a similar page there.

    With me, they've hidden away as a course for survival, but human nature has prompted even previously hostile races to come to a truce. Jack the Ripper prompted the belief that covering their tracks on bodies was going to get harder, and after WWII they pretty much agreed that humanity finding out they were around for real would be the end of all of them.
     
    DK3654 likes this.
  8. DK3654

    DK3654 Almost a Productive Member of Society Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2018
    Messages:
    1,244
    Likes Received:
    1,384
    Location:
    In the vibe zone
    Lilith is pretty rad.

    A related point that's also definitely annoying. Having all the good vampires want to be human helps enforce the idea that vampires might not be evil but they're still basically people but worse.

    What, exactly, do you mean by this?

    I will take this as definitive proof that I am correct!!! :p
     
  9. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    So, what you're describing is Vampire as Metaphorical Stand-in for Jordan Catalano.

    Heartstopingly beautiful.

    Tragically broken.

    Oh, but if I can fix him, our babies will be pretty much Tolkien Elves.

    I certainly agree that the appeal of this is overrated in the sense that its temporally fixed to a certain point in a person's life. Some don't ever grow out of the pining for broken boys, but most realize that the effort is too costly for something so ephemeral as youthful prettiness, which would seem to make sense as regards vampires serving as stand-in for this real-life phenomenon, because they would be immortally beautiful (in whatever sense the reader uses to mean 'beautiful') and thus more worth the herculean effort of fixing what's broken. Holding on to that into later years does feel rather pathological, though. o_O But, if/when the work is aimed at that particular slice of reader, that time in one's life, the appeal of breathtaking broken boys cannot be underestimated.

    Screen Shot 2018-09-08 at 9.11.29 AM.png
     
    DK3654 likes this.
  10. S A Lee

    S A Lee Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2017
    Messages:
    1,070
    Likes Received:
    1,396
    Location:
    Greater London, England
    Getting involved with vampires should be like dancing with death itself. But if you look at Edward Cullen you are merely told it.
     
  11. DK3654

    DK3654 Almost a Productive Member of Society Contributor

    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2018
    Messages:
    1,244
    Likes Received:
    1,384
    Location:
    In the vibe zone
    I actually plan on, in my WIP, teasing a potential relationship of this nature with Sarah (the #1 MC)- a supernatural being with issues- and John- an ordinary and generally well adjusted person. It starts with both being normal people, but Sarah has mental health problems which John wants to help her with. Then we kick it up a notch as Sarah's supernatural thing emerges, and it transitions into a 'secret identity' type relationship, where Sarah's problems get worse. Sarah decides she wants to tell John the truth, which would really bring it into the 'can I fix them?' territory. However, Sarah gets shut the fuck down by the big boss character- Wesker- of the story, who isn't having none of that shit. He tells her it almost certainly wouldn't work in the end. She doesn't believe him, but can't act without authorization (else major consequences), so is helpless as her relationship falls apart. But then in hindsight she realizes it's for the best and that this type of relationship isn't usually particularly healthy.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice