The sun has gone down and a chill pervades the air. Bats stir and flap screeching into the night, their shrill squeaks heading this way and that. A full moon sheds the only light upon the land. A noise erupts, tearing open the night. It is a long protracted howl that isn't quite right. Another, distant from the first, sends the barely quieting heart, galloping along from the first shock, to hammer harder yet. A third sees to no end of horror in this shattered hour. They are out hunting, and they have cornered their prey. Werewolves stalk this land and claim it as their own. They are the best of the beast and the worst of the man. Instinct permitted by arrogance. Savage and cunning.
Since I always focus on the horror version, werewolves are monsters who prey on any they will. Humans are their cattle and they don't mind playing with their food. They walk amongst us by day and willingly give into their hungers by night when and if they want. They are perfectly capable of live and let live, but why should they bow to their lessers. They are the leaders of the pack outside of their own packs--if they chose to form such a thing.
Werewolves may or may not be forced to change when the moon is full, but they can transform as they will at any time. I don't know where it hearkens back to, but I do not suggest giving them the ability to command people. When they want something they take it. They use intimidation and good old fashioned charisma. They exude confidence and self-ease. This confidence stems from a lack of introspection into their condition. They are primal and they react. They plan only as needed and let experience work for them on the fly.
They seem to be on top of the pile when it comes to the near human horrors. Strong, athletic--both endurance and agility--and equipped with fangs and claws. I suggest only a dual form capability with human and towering hybrid beast. They fear only silver for death and fire for pain. A purposeful attempt to destroy the body with fire is the only way fire assures that they do not rise the same as if they'd been shot or stabbed. Severing the head works, but lost limbs will regrow. Make them sturdier than humans, but the right kinds of head and heart shots put them down the same as anyone else. They just refuse to stay dead without silver, incineration, or losing their heads. If not dispatched correctly then it's three days later and they are back as good as new.
There will be no new posts in August. I usually take May off to work on the programming bits across all of my sites. I had to rebuild my software on a new computer at the first of the year and that delayed everything. See you in September.
Music: Book Of Thel by Bruce Dickinson. Or get MP3s.
They had power. They ruled. They had weaknesses best kept secret. What was it like though to be one of the classic vampires? There are options available to you when creating your own classic vampires. Is yours civilised through and through, the gentleman or lady to the core? Or is the civility and the glamour only skin deep and cast aside like a beautiful mask when away from prying eyes? Speaking of masks, is your vampire only long canine teeth away from normal when it's time to bite or is the change in appearance and facial structure more dramatic? Perhaps it's all a matter of demeanour and a snarling predatory expression speaks more horror than any bat-nose and rictus grin. The baleful expression speaks more to the character of the blood drinking beast that may lurk inside of your vampire. The more inhuman the face the less it conveys the human(-like) emotions, and isn't necessarily indicative of what lies beneath the surface.
How patient do you want your vampire? How in control is the blood lust? Is blood even an important factor or merely an indulgence based on only a small need for continued existence? Is that the only lust that drives the character? Can your vampire satisfy those needs other than blood, or is it a point of internal conflict and a driver of destructive rage waiting to boil over?
What is a typical night in the undeath of this vampire like? Is it an endless array of galas and parties? Is it a string of conquests, or a trail of bodies? Is it filled with lonely hunting or companionship and camaraderie? That last begs the question of how many vampires are found together at any time and what the pecking order is among them. Is there a single master or a band of equals? There are so many options to consider.
Expectation is a multi-pronged weapon that spears everyone, even the wielder. It is both the anticipation and the result, often against the will of those for whom it is their stock in trade. When writing you can use expectation to excite the reader and give them what they want. You can surprise them by working against expectation. A third consideration that may come less often is that you can play with expectations within the story from the perspective of different characters.Two characters can have two different expectations of the results of some event or the result of specific conditions being met. They can be played off of each other for more tension.
Also, though, one can have the other kind of expectation which is to see the result in a certain light that isn't necessarily true either due to the bias of the expectant person or because they did not think it through. Expectation as a point of conflict can, as you'd expect, occur both before and after situations have completed. Misunderstandings and sticking by false conclusion work here as well.
Be aware that parallels drawn between expectations and morals create points of division in the readership as well as at a fiction/character level. You can't expect every outcome, but try to avoid fallacies that can be damaging to the result you desire with your work. The same is true when you are advertising, and when you represent your work everywhere, which is what we all do all of the time we're in the public eye and the social networks.
Music: When The Wild Wind Blows by Iron Maiden. Or get MP3s.
