Rah, Rah for Vamps

Hi all,

In the past twenty years or so, there’s been an explosion of vampires in film, in literature and on tv. However, the challenge for me, as a huge vampire fan, has been to find that which supports and promotes vampirism as being a positive thing. You know, the joke around my writing community is the phrase “you say vampire like it’s a bad thing”. But I digress…..

So, yeah, I read vampire stuff, I write vampire stuff. At my core, I am pro vampirism. And the important question I have to keep asking myself as a writer is “Why?”, that is, I have to keep challenging my beliefs and try to dig down to explore just why I think it is at least equal to being human. Which is what you should do in general. Every now and then, challenge yourself to think about why you believe certain things that you do.

This can be a problem because there has been so much written that is negative about vampirism. From the simple change in dietary habit to the forever damned loss of a soul idea, vampires seem to have it rough. So why do some vampires, particularly those in my universe, like being vampires?

For me, this is a complex question with a many faceted answer. I feel like I’m cheating in that I’m not going to write the answer to my question here. But really, I can’t. It isn’t simple and can’t be done in one page. Or even, in one book for that matter. I see the answer as being not only multi-layered but also being different from vampire to vampire. So, really, to write a response would actually be cheating here in that the ‘answer’ would not be the ‘real’/’true’ answer.

Now, on the flip side, I don’t think being a human is necessarily superior to vampirism. Well, some of my characters do but then, they are them and I am me. Right now, as a writer, I feel they’re both about equal.

I guess then, what I want to do with my universe is to explore the upside as well as the downside of vampirism. What makes vampires tick or not (in my universe, their hearts don’t beat). And exploring that issue is what makes writing fun for me. And hopefully, enjoyable for my fans to read.

They always say “Life is not a destination but a journey”. I think you can apply that idea to writing as well:)

Take care all,
Chris

PS--Up next: My thoughts on writing moral vampire characters.