I don't hate Twilight, but it doesn't gel with me as a vampire story. I like horror stories, and Twilight is not horror. I decided to write my own horror story, and after much re-plotting and re-thinking, I finally decided on a vampire horror novel, and I have the heroes of the story mostly worked out, but I don't have a whole lot for the villain. She's a female vampire and she's loosely inspired by Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. Here's the thing - vampires in my story are more like wicked fairies. They're dangerous forces of nature, as well as being undead humans. I'm trying to figure out what's motivating THIS vampire, MY vampire, to interact with the heroes of the story, what it is that she wants, what she hopes to gain ultimately. Vampires do not spawn easily in my world. It takes a lot of energy on the part of the Alpha vampire to create a Beta vampire, and the transformation only works about 1 in 5 times. There are no hidden vampire societies, no Masquerade to "fit in" among humans, not enough vampires to fill a school auditorium. At the same time, the world will never be rid of vampires because they can also be created by a wicked person committing suicide in the "appropriate" manner and rising again. I'm basically posting this because I'd like to know what questions someone might have, to help me develop my world and my vampire a little better. Also, any suggestions, comments, complaints, or pointing out I'm an idiot for not thinking of all of this BEFORE I started plotting my novel would be welcome!
the act of plotting is figuring out the details of events. having to rethink aspects of a story is not uncommon, whether it is realizing you missed some details, or details that aren't working for where you want the story to go. How does the MC see normal humans? As cattle? How does the MC fit into whatever society the vampires have? Does the MC want to replace the alpha, and see the heros as dupes to accomplish that goal? To me it sounds like you have the world building done at a concept level, but haven't fleshed it out completely. It isn't a bad thing, just a sign you have more work to do. Better to catch it now than to realize it during the editing process.
I think any of the usual motives for the antagonist would work, whether that's a thirst for power, or revenge, or jealousy, or just plain old hatred stemming from some psychology to be revealed in the story. Then it's up to your imagination to, once you've decided on the motive, come up with the plot points that fit that motive.
Only about half serious with this, but if you go back to the legends, what if the victim is seen as ill. But not raising any alarms, until a dinner of the victim's favorite meal, spaghetti. The garlic in the sauce causing a reaction. Just tossing out an idea, use or ignore as you like.
i think this falls into the plot of the story. if your vampire is the main character, then these questions would have been answered. Whats is the inciting incident? what happens to this vampire that make her want to go on this journey/what happens to this vampire that is worth developing a story around? if the vampire is a secondary character, then what is the MC doing? how are they affecting her? the Mercy Thompson series has a great vampires in it. Depending on the book they are either villains or allies. Examples below but hidden because, apparently, im notoriously known for spoiling things Spoiler: Mercy Thompson vamps The first book we are introduced to a hippy vampire. he lives on his own away from his nest and he is friends with the MC. his coven is like the mafia. they seek payment for their protection against the supernatural. and they also dont take too kindly to one of their own leaving the "mafia" and befriending a non-vampire. this puts the head of the coven at odds with the MC. She doesnt like Mercy. that vampire goes missing and Mercy gets involved with the Coven to get him back. BUT a few books later, Mercy and the vampires help each other out because another coven is encroaching on their territory and killing people. Mercy wants them out, and the female vampire wants them gone, too, so they join forces. in another book, they are enemies and her coven are actively after her because, one vampire in particular, is pretty much blood crazy and put a hit out on her. The vampire coven that live in Mercy's city arent "bad" but the situations dictate what their role is. There are other vampires who ARE bad, and they are only bad because they threaten Mercy's way of life by either hunting her friends or killing innocent people to feed their hunger
Are you going with the classic vampires concept, or a more modern one? If it's classic, what vampires want is blood. Of course that represents life, the thing they lack, because they're symbolic of people who have grown so detached and 'bloodless' that they have no inner life of their own, so they have to parasite it off others in a way that destroys them and makes them either dead or just like the vampires. It works as a metaphor for various types of abusers or toxic relationships, but it can work for other things as well. Victims of abuse often become abusers themselves—this is very similar to 'People bitten by vampires become vampires if it doesn't kill them.' What does vampirism represent in this story world? That's what you need to think about. Unless you're not using any metaphor or symbolism (which is becoming more prevalent in this increasingly simplified era of entertainment). Monsters all represent different things. Werewolves are the wild beast we all have inside that can come out at times. Vampires are essentially (classic Dracula-style vampires anyway) dominators, using their romantic and sexual charm to seduce victims, then instead of a kiss they bite the vulnerable throat (the seduction rendered the victim hypnotized and vulnerable) and impart their disease onto the victim. This is basically what Carmilla was about, built around lesbian desire. The reason they need to be invited in is because this is how it works with human users/abusers. You need to let them into your life, give them your trust, or they can't manipulate you the way they want to. So they charm, seduce, and manipulate their way into your trust and then give you the fatal sting. Increasingly this is lost now, as vampires become just bad boys or bad girls with superpowers and sparkly abilities, and as we become an increasingly materialistic society that misses the symbolic and the dramatic and goes instead for mere biological realism, disenchanted of any deeper symbolic meaning.
It seems to me that this is an issue of wants. What does your vampire MC want, now that she's a vampire? 1. Vampires are by nature drawn to feast on others. 2. She wants love, but her vampire nature is making her seek this in messed up ways. 3. She wants to create an army of vampires that serve her. 4. She wants to rule the vampires. 5. She craves magic, and is using the idea of vampires to become an immortal wizard. 6. She wants to be human again. 7. She becomes an anti-suicide worker teaching people to love life. The horror aspect comes from the people that don't want to listen to her. 8. She's slowly losing her mind over time and will end up becoming a monster that kills without sentience if she doesn't do something. 9. The natural life cycle of the vampire is to turn into a tree, and she doesn't want to be a tree. 10. She hates everything, is angry at her existence, and wants to make it everybody's problem.
I had never heard of the book Carmilla before. I'll have to read it. The only reference I had before was a Hammer film from about 1970 starring Ingrid Pitt. From summaries I read of Carmilla, and based on the movie, it sounds rather like LGBT+ issues should be in the forefront of your motivations if you use it as a reference.
Of course, you could go the STP route and have your vampire try to fit into human society. Most of STP's vampires are doing this because they are trying to find a place where people won't immediately stake them and cut their heads off. On the other claw, some of them (see Carpe Jugulum) are lulling their victims into a sense of false security -- vampires are very good at this -- and then ... How classic is 'classic', Xoic? Are you thinking 19th century or older? If it's 19th century, then of course blood is the motivator. However, OP (Quill Mistress) can go older than that, back to medieval -- especially Central European -- mythology, where a vampire was simply another name for an undead creature. They didn't go around in fancy waistcoats (for the guys) or sheer dresses (for the gals). Instead, they were simply incredibly strong former humans (much like zombies in Caribbean myth or draugr in Scandinavian myth), but they have also retained their minds, which made them even more dangerous. Important (but slightly digressing) note: it's vital not to compare European or Caribbean undead with Egyptian mummies. The idea that a mummy could return from the dead is completely antithetical to Egyptian thought on the afterlife. (On the other hand, if you're writing fiction, go nuts). Having said that, OP, if there are no 'hidden vampire societies' and no Masquerade to "fit in" among humans (as you write), how does your vampire hide her condition from humans? Remember, she is horribly outnumbered. She can't go around flashing her fangs, etc. -- any human who saw her doing that would instantly fight back or run away screaming. Without the support structure that a 'hidden society' or Masquerade would give her, how would your vampire survive day-to-day? How would she avoid going insane from the isolation? It's a daunting prospect.
I notice that no one has mentioned Anne Rice, and her Lestat series in this thread. For purposes of this discussion I think "The Vampire Lestat" would be the best reference since it discusses Lestat over many centuries and his changes.
