vampire

Of Vampires, Sex and Fear

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Vampyr ill artlibre jnl

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This morning, while reading the news, one piece caught my attention – a teenager that was arrested for breaking in and trying to assault a woman he did not know.  What was odd about this was that he pretended to be a vampire and was hissing and growling while trying to suck the woman’s blood.

Vampires used to be scary, freaky, and plain ugly.  Todays vampires are sexy, good-looking, and they even have feelings.  They still scare viewers but in a sexy way.  Fear and sexy or fear and sex have found common ground in today’s vampires.  The old-time Dracula or Nosferatu was hardly a hottie; he was meant to be repulsive and scary-looking, the total opposite of today’s vampire.  Today’s vampire is a dangerous potion to attract its victim – good looks, money, and mystery.

The evolution of the vampire has been a slow one, but one that was necessary to revive the creature’s appeal.  At one point, vampires were almost passe.  Thanks to some good writers they have been brought back in a different light; however, there is a constant in this evolution – if yesterday’s vamp was dangerous, today’s vamp is more so.  Nosferatu made you run away; Edward Cullen or Stephan Salvatore doesn’t necessarily do so.  Some fans may actually find themselves running towards them.  And that my friends, is the beauty of writing!

Writer’s Wisdom 63

/ inkspeare

The story that I love …

Who do you write for?  Although books are categorized or targeted for sale to particular groups of readers, such as young adults … I keep hearing best-selling authors saying during interviews that they sat down to write a story that they would love.  Some of them say that they wrote the story for themselves.  This is a very important point since it determines how you approach the writing of a piece. 

If you sit down to write the story that you love, you will be connected with that piece much more that if you think that you are writing for such and such group of readers – a bit of pressure there.  Of course some authors will take advantage of a trend, such as the trend of vampires.  It seems that since Stephenie Meyer wrote Twilight and the sequels and it was a hit with young readers as well as adults, everyone is writing about vampires and werewolves now.  The vampire has been awakened again.  And that is fine.

So next time you sit down to write, ask yourself this question:  “Am I writing the story that I love?”

The Evolution of the Vampire – From Monster to Hottie

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Our obsession with vampires dates back to ancient times.  Many ancient civilizations like the Assyrians, Babylonians and other orient cultures included the bloodsucker in their mythology.  Although variations of the vampire exist in different cultures, the similarities outweigh them.  The vampire has evolved throughout history from a despicable killer- monster (fueled by mass hysteria and the recordings of a few historians, also fueled by mass hysteria) to the romanticized image of the beautiful and mysterious being that is capable of feeling love (plus he has a healthy bank account).  We have given back a soul to this vile creature.  We have humanized him again, and we have accepted him in our circle.  There is a big gap between Nosferatu, Dracula, and Edward Cullen.  So, how did vampires become hot?  How did we manage to switch from fear, disgust, and repugnancy, to acceptance?  Simply put, by looking in the mirror.

The things that we feared most about a vampire, turned out to be the ones that we desire most.  A vampire represents our aspirations and where we are headed as a society.  Our technological advances are geared to promote a futuristic society that values beauty, power, money, sexuality, and immortality (or at least longevity).  All these are evolved characteristics of the modern vampire.  Think of all the products out there that are dedicated to the attainment of these vampiric qualities.  Pretty much every product or service advertised is designed to target one of those.  So, we have commercialized Dracula, we have made him what we dream of becoming.

On the other side, as we become more spiritually oriented, he has become immune to crucifixes and holy water.   One characteristic remains unchanged – his dissatisfaction, the longing for something he cannot have, the constant pain of the separation from the object of his desire.  And that is the unifying quality that as humans, we share with him, making the vampire redeemable.  Throughout history we have take him from damnation to redemption.  We have saved the vampire, but at what price?  In one way, we have sucked his identity and given him ours.  We have made him human.  We have given him an image in the mirror (our ideal of beauty, power, sex, love, money, life).  Our aspirations as a society have become his reality.  We have become like him, and he has become more like us.  Taking all said into consideration, what’s not to love?