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In Which N Lists Down Writing Advice
Human/Vampire Relationships N Would Actually Read
Aside from actually giving the vampire a personality...

Give me a damn good reason for the vampire (especially if it is hundreds and hundreds of years old, as the case tends to be) to like the human. What makes this one human so special that they are so intrigued by her? Surely the vampire has met his share of innocent virgins, haughty bitches, normal everygirls, weird girls, boring girls, girls that struck his fancy, girls he ran away from really fast, fat girls, skinny girls, pretty girls, ugly girls. And he has probably eaten, or at least, taken some blood from each of the above. So what is it that strikes his heart? Some suggestions:

-Does she remind him of an old love he had centuries ago, and longs for that love to be rekindled (and a good twist is to have this fail, because this girl can never replace the girl he once loved. I would LOVE to read that)?

-Maybe her personality has a distinction that is highly attractive to him: maybe he wants someone who will fight back and can push him off when he goes for her throat, or maybe she has a way with words that draws him in, or maybe she is a fan of some obscure poetry that was popular in his time, but is dying out, and there are few people to talk about it with. Something.

-Do not make it something stupidly superficial. Beauty will only go so far with an older vampire; again, he has seen beauties come and go. And do not make her the only one with some special power/ability that draws him into her (*cough*Edward wanting to read Bella's mind and her smell*cough*). Show me something deeper than skin.

-If you want to go with the "she smells strongly to me" thing, give me a good reason why. I have seen vampires in all kinds of stories that like certain blood types (for example, Chibi Vampire/Karin has vampires who are attracted to people who have high quantities of their preferred emotion: stress, jealousy, love, etc.), and the best ones show numerous instances of the vampire going after these victims. Speaking of which, do NOT make the girl the ONLY person who smells like this/otherwise has this attractive feature. Show other characters who fit the bill (so, say your character is really stressed and it makes her blood sweeter. Maybe the vampire also fed on the mailman who is worried about losing his job earlier, and the retail worker who got overwhelmed). This forces you to think outside of the box for real reasons why these two should be together.

-Above all, show me the pain and pleasure on both sides. How dos the vampire feel, in-general, about changing people into vampires? Keep it consistent with this girl too. If he would change someone in a heartbeat, have him do it (and better yet, show the consequences of not thinking this through. Relationships fail all the time, and it is possible for the fledgling to learn to hate being a vampire, grow fond of being a vampire and leave that vampire in pursuit of power/someone else, and/or not mind, but simply grow out of love with the one who changed her). If he is uncomfortable, well, I have an entire rant for that:

-If your vampire is uncomfortable, give me reasons why. "I do not want to hurt you" only goes so far. Is the change painful? Is there a risk of death? Is being a vampire not all it is cracked up to be (and if this is the excuse, explain, explain, explain. Show me WHY being a vampire sucks)? Is the vampire simply afraid of commitment and using this girl as a one-night stand until she is no longer his "age" (i.e., the age he permanently is), and then simply moves onto the next girl?

-What about other vampires? Are there rules about adding humans to their numbers (I would hope so; vampires are [near] immortal, and too many of them can wipe out the food supply)? Would they kill a fledgling if they hated it? Would they disprove of a human/vampire relationship and thus try to kill the human (and there are many good reasons: keeping their secret safe, spite, they see humans as cattle and thus the relationship is akin to a human dating a monkey, etc.)? Is your vampire a higher-up and respected among his vampire peers? Do they hate him (and thus, another reason for the human to be in danger)?

-What about the human side of this? You girl could get herself killed just by knowing this guy. Is he worth this? Is she really in it for love (maybe she just wants power and/or immortality)? Can she protect herself if other vampires attack, or know someone who can protect her if her vampire beau cannot be there? What about other humans? Would she tell her friends about him? Would she hide that he was a vampire? If the friends know, how would they react (which, more people knowing = more people in danger)? Does she eventually realize that maybe this is NOT the guy she wants to spend eternity with? If she is religious, is this guy worth damnation? What does she feel about the consequences of changing? Etc., etc.

I could go on and on about things that piss me off in vampire/human romances, but those are my biggest issues.





 
 
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