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Green Lantern-ess- Shifters For Dummies

Shifters For Dummies

         I'm @shadowcrossing/ Green Lantern-ess here on Wattpad and I've signed myself up to write and explain all the in's and out's of a popular genre here on Wattpad, shifters! Better known as werewolves/ werecats and any other animal you can stick a were' in front of.

     Just so I don't confuse anyone I'll only be writing about shifters that can change at will, not werewolves who are forced to change under a full moon. Just to clarify, however, I will be referring to  shifters as werewolves throughout my articles, just because I (now) feel they all belong in the same group.

         (Please note, everything in these articles I've gathered off the internet and spit out in my own words. So if ever you were curious about anything I was speaking of just use my good ol' friend Google to find out more info).

 Q. What is a shifter? 

A. A shifter is an individual (human) that has the ability to shift into the form of any animal that they desire. Depending on which country you are in (and their folklores) dictates the range of animals that an individual can mimic or change into. Shifter myth's vary from the skinwalkers of North America to berserkers of Old Germany and each myth describes different ways in which a person can morph into an animal.

Other types of shifters include the spiritual shifter. These types of shifter don't have the ability to physically shift into an animal, instead they have a totemic spirit guardian that will guide them through situations and such (again, they cannot physically shift into an animal). Witches and warlocks with malicious intent are also recorded as being able to shift and/ or place curses on other individuals.

Q. How do you become a shifter?

A. There are several ways someone can become a shifter, most belong to myth but as new ideas are popping up constantly there are other ways as well.

Born - Self explanatory really. The ability to shift is passed from parent to child.

Bitten - Though this is typically reserved for werewolves I've decided to add it here as an option. Once bitten (and the virus is accepted by the host body) the victim then has a chance to shift at will.

Cursed - Also self explanatory. The curse could come from a witch/ wizard/ warlock, it could come from a jilted lover. Anyone with malicious intent can curse an individual (where there's a will there's a way).

Ritual - Changes achieved through ritual (ritual usually performed by witch/ warlock).

Morphing - Wearing a piece of animal fur, animal teeth or claws will allow you to morph into that animal. The wolf belt is a well known belief in this category.

There are also more uncommon and likely not so well known ways of shifting into an animal.

Full Moon - There is the belief in some countries that is a child is conceived or born under a full moon they are werewolves/ shifters.

7 - There are two superstitions here, one being that the seventh consecutive child born will likely be a werewolf. The other is that the seventh son of seven sons will also likely be a werewolf (this means that if a couple have seven sons in a row the last is a werewolf).

Flowers - Eating a lycanthropous flower will change those that have consumed it into werewolves.

Devil/ God - I found this one to be a curious thing. It was believed by some that werewolves were the 'hounds of God' while in other countries the transformation into a werewolf could only be achieved through entering a pact with the devil.

So I think everyone gets the picture, there are so many different ways an individual can become a werewolf or shifter that it's crazy ridiculous! I hope you guys and gals find this helpful :)

Q. Where do shifters originate from?

A. As some of you might have figured out, shifters...or the idea of shifters don't originate from one specific country. The entire concept seems to be universal, from Europe to Australia. I think the one thing people should remember is that not all myths are the same, shifters in each country and from each culture have restrictions in terms of what they can change into and how. So that list above does not apply to each and every country. So if you're trying to give backstory to your shifters in a story then you might like to research and link main characters and/ or families to said country of origin.

Q. If I wanted to write a shifter story, where would I begin?

A. That is an easy answer, research. 

If you're only going to copy another writers shifters then you will only know as much as they wrote...so why not expand and research? It's not too hard and if you know your way around the internet it's a breeze. Give it a go, there are endless amounts of good sites with ample information on shifters.

Q. Are there only werewolves and werecats?

A. Nope. As I said above, skinwalkers can change into whichever creature they want but they need to have a piece of the animal. So a skinwalker changing into a unicorn is probably a little far fetched.

So don't limit your imagination to what you think everyone else wants to see/ read, make the genre your own. You never know, you might just write the next trend.

         So, next publication I will get into different shifter species. I'll start off with werewolves/ wolf shifters and focus on a different species/ group each publication thereafter. If you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me on shadowcrossing and I will answer them in the next article.