How to Write a Vampire Novel (Such as Vampire Kisses Blood Relatives or Glory)

“Nice story, Grandpa; could have used a vampire, though.”
– Bart Simpson, The Simpsons©

Everyone loves a good vampire story like Vampire Kisses Blood Relatives or Glory. So, how do you go about writing one?

1. Read a wide variety of vampire fiction, and then decide what type you want to write. Base your decision on what genre you most enjoy reading. Your options include romance, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, erotica, crime, horror, chick-lit, gay, western, comedy, juvenile, young adult…even Christian. Any genre can support a vampire theme.

2. Develop a story idea that’s fresh and outline a plot that’s dynamic. The plot encapsulates the conflict of the story. Without carefully constructed conflict, no matter how alluring your characters, the reader will be bored.

3. Create excellent characters. Without wonderful characters, no matter how interesting your plot, your reader will be bored.

4. Who is your protagonist? Which of your characters is telling the story? Will it be told in first-person or third-person? Is your protagonist sympathetic? If your reader doesn’t care about the hero, your reader won’t care about your story.

5. Is your vampire a hero or a villain? Never make your heroes too perfect or your villains too evil, otherwise they become cardboard caricatures.

6. Show, don’t tell. Make your tale of the undead come to life by having your characters tell the story via their feelings, actions, and words, rather than through your exposition.

7. Don’t make your vampire a cliché. The beauty of writing about vampires is there are no rules. Anything goes. Your vampire doesn’t have to only come out at night, be averse to garlic, sleep in a coffin, fear silver crosses, or even glitter in the sunlight. Invent your own vampire universe, but be careful that you never deviate from the myth you establish.

8. That said, the one given you can’t avoid in a vampire tale is that these types of beings survive by consuming the life-force of others, either in the form of blood or energy (as in psychic vampires). This is the age-old vampiric quality that has fascinated readers. How are you going to handle it?

9. Are there too many vampire novels? No. That said, both a top-flight literary agent and a movie producer I know have told me that soon angels will be the new vampires. Perhaps. However, like vampires themselves, it is likely that human interest in vampire tales will never die.

Devin O’Branagan is the author of the novels Witch Hunt, Spirit Warriors, Red Hot Property, and Glory. Glory is a young adult vampire novel.www.DevinWrites.com

We would also like to introduce you to the latest vampire novel written by an up-and-coming author, Devin O’Branagan! I red this book and was blown away. Ms O’Branagan writes with a different twist that is completely refreshing in today’s copy cat world. You’ll love that the vampire is a hero in this book along with 3 other guardians of immense power. She captured me on page one and kept me all the way to the end. See below for details!

Seventeen year old Glory Templeton’s blood holds the cure for a deadly pandemic-plague and she embarks on a quest to save humanity. When evil forces conspire to stop her, three supernatural beings are assigned to be her guardians. Forbidden love, ancient secret societies, mysterious astronomical monuments, vampires, witches, angels and demons all contribute to the high adventure that tests the character of this remarkable young woman.
The legend of Glory begins!
“Twilight meets The DaVinci Code…”