the vampire diaries fanfic writing tips

✧ introducing new supernatural creatures

so sometimes you want to write your oc as a supernatural creature not done in the vampire diaries. here are some tips on how to do that.

1. do as much research as you can. gather what you can. remember that a lot of these species are very very different in story to story. for example, werewolves in the vampire diaries and teen wolf are so different. you don't have to follow just one story. you can pull from multiple. for example, my oc is a psychic. when i was researching psychics, i took notes of the various things that interested me. i took some stuff from silas, i thought about what i wanted it to look like.

2. stuck in the realm of vampires, werewolves, and witches. i wouldn't go too far out there.

for example, one of the biggest complaints i've seen about legacies was the monsters. they don't seem to blend into the world well, they're more in the realm of teen wolf or other shows.

i remember seeing some people they didn't like the introduction of hell in the vampire diaries either.

3. i would stick to things that are more "human" if that makes sense. as in they can still appear as a human and would still blend in. even if using their supernatural abilities, there's still something human about them. for example, i wouldn't make my oc something like a dragon. of course do what you want, but not everyone is gonna take that seriously or as being accurate to the show.

4. explain clearly the rules of the supernatural character. what are their weaknesses? strengths? do they change in any way when they use their powers (like how vampires have fangs etc)? what can they do? what can't they do? does age matter? are some more powerful than others? are they born or turned?

5. keep it simple. don't overthink it. you don't even need to get into why the supernatural creature exists. we didn't know how vampire came to be until season 3 and werewolves until season 4 of the originals. if you can't come up with something good, i really wouldn't stress about it. as long as you're clear about what it is, that shouldn't be a problem for your readers.

6. think about older characters like the originals, do they know about this supernatural creature? they've been around for a thousand years, so they could. if not, if they aren't well heard of, why?

7. how do they get along with other supernatural creatures? for example, witches and vampires don't get along. are they seen as being against nature like how witches see vampires? does your character follow what's expected of them?

8. how do they exist? not sure how to ask this exactly, but i mean do they typically stick together? for example, witches have covens and werewolves have packs, while a lot of vampires we meet are on their own, but some do work together.

8. how are they affected by other supernatural creatures? can they be compelled? does magic work on them? is a werewolf bite toxic? that type of thing.

9. think about what stage you want your character to be in. are they recently turned/their powers were just activated? so everything is new and they have to learn? or are they confident and have known for a while?

10. think about whether or not they're mortal or immortal. some ar , like vampires, some aren't. think about what makes sense.