50 Tips for Writing.

33. If you write vampire fiction

If you write vampire fiction, making your character walk into a dark alley at night will NOT get you many readers. It's overdone. It's too old. It doesn't sell anymore. Vampire fiction is great, Sophie is one of the masters of vampire fiction and I love her work, but if you think that having a mortal human girl kidnapped by a 'hot' powerful vampire, trapping her in a castle, blah blah, fall in love eventually, get into some fight with another vampire or girl runs away, blah blah blah You see where this is going? You won't get any readers this way. Be spontaneous. Sit down and think of something no one has done before. In situations where a vampire saves someone's life or meets them under full moon, again, it's too overdone. I've read one story about a vampire getting braces and I have to say it was brilliant, original and very refreshing. That was one of the rare vampire stories that are truly unique. How many people can boast that they've thought about that idea? Writing vampire fiction is not much different than writing any genre with normal humans, you have to use your noodle, think of something no one has done before and the whole betrothed to a vampire thing was intriguing the first five or ten times but now, it's just ridiculous how many people seem to jump the bandwagon. Only dead fish go with the flow, if you want to prove yourself, or want the chance to call yourself 'original', don't follow mainstream, sit down and start brainstorming. Yes, again. Don't look at me like that; you're the one who wanted to write a good story.