You know, the world building aspect of fantasy was easy. There was so much I could just make up in my head and go with it. That's why I like Sci-Fi/Fantasy. As long as it is believable, the sky's the limit.
With paranormal creatures and horror, all the folklore that goes into it is very basic, mainstream knowledge, so there isn't much work to do, so you can focus on the story.
Or can you?
The thing about writing anything supernatural, whether it be witches, werewolves or otherwise, you're going to have a LOT of people out there either just waiting to point out mistakes OR looking for something new.
Now, I am going to say this right now, I am not, nor will I ever, judge anyone who writes romance or erotica. I personally do not like to read erotica, at all. Romance, well, I will give it a try IF IT HAS A GOOD STORY.
For instance, and shoot me if you must, Nora Roberts. That cookie cutter writer has it in the bag. Granted, most romance I read, I skip the "smoochy" parts and move on with the story. I have several of Nora Roberts books and at one point I liked Amanda Quick, but after a while, the plots seemed too similar.
Anyway, my point is, paranormal and supernatural creatures have become great fodder for the romance world. Even in Buffy the Vampire Slayer series, Angel was a vampire trying to regain his humanity and loved Buffy.
But this is my thing with that, and it honestly may be JUST me. Vampires are undead. They've been turned into these wrecking machines. They're ruthless, bestial killers. They HAVE to drink blood in order to survive. They can keep humans as food, pets, bodyguards or just kill them outright, but the love of the hunt drives them to torture, sometimes.
Werewolves, same thing. They aren't fluffy little puppies running around. They actually have to deal with what they feel is a curse. Kind of like women around "that time of the month". Ha!
Witches. Not all are bad, some are good. It's not the magic of the witch that makes them good or bad, it's the person wielding the magic. And there are LOTS of different types of witches.
Angels and demons... well, angels can fall, demons cannot regain their humanity. At least in my mind.
But there is so much more to paranormal worlds than just these guys. These guys go in and out of style, but horror and paranormal hangs on like a fat leech.
If you dig into other cultures and look at their folklore, and not just what is in Wikipedia, you can find some pretty cool stuff. If you have to, ask people you know in other countries what beasties they have in their cultural background and write about it! There are some VERY interesting stories to be told with these beings.
In your world, make it different, make it unique. If you like fluffy werewolves and angsty vampires, then write about them and I won't judge. I promise.
What are your thoughts on the supernatural/paranormal creatures? What can you think of to make them different or interesting? Please drop a comment and let's discuss! Or, find me on Twitter @MelMcC7 and we can discuss it there.
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