A Readers View on the Werewolf Genre

The Werewolf Genre

I have always been drawn to and loved the supernatural, mythology, legends, and lore. Among all the possibilities, werewolves have always been my fondest and greatest love. It is possibly due in fact to a portion of my heritage and beliefs that this is so.

I have Native American in my bloodline, but technically I am a North American mutt. Simply means I have many nationalities in my bloodline... and proud of it. However I digress. Much of my spiritual beliefs follow that of the Native Americans; all life is connected, we have guardians (animal totems), there are two sides to everything, etc. For this particular project, it is the guardians to which I refer to. Our belief is that each individual has two main guardians (animal totems) that guide and protect one of the two sides of a person. One side is female (right brain, intuitive, also known as Mother Earth) and the other is male (left brain, analytical, also known as Father Sky). My totems are the horse, which represents power, and stands to my left while the wolf, which represents teacher, stands to my right. Needless to say I have always had a strong connection with these two animals in the real world.

Recently I became inspired by another author, Sannyaahhh, after reading one of her works, "Mated to the Alpha King", in starting this little project for the werewolf genre. I have to admit I have read more than a few novels and short stories as well as checked out some of the rpg games out there that include werewolves and to be frank I've never been truly satisfied with how they've been portrayed for a number of reasons (not even in movies). I suppose I should also mention I have studied real live wolves. Sannyaahhh, however, is one of the very first authors out there that has made it a personal goal to adjust (or change) how the werewolf genre is written and how werewolves in general are portrayed. What I like best about her writing is her sense of humor and that she is leading by example on where she would like to see the werewolf genre go. My hat is off to her and I strongly encourage her to continue down her chosen path. I believe she will do much more for fiction genre in general as well as for the werewolves.

This little project of mine is to kind of help her with that by pointing out a few obvious things that are overlooked by authors when portraying werewolves. Keep in mind this is from a reader's point of view although, yes, I do dabble in writing about these beautiful creatures as well from time to time.

Before I start, please know that if you do not agree with anything I put forth, that is fine. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion, for no two people are ever alike. I simply wish to share my opinion on this specific topic and if you would like to debate with me, please feel welcome to do so.

One of the first things I would like to point out in general is the fact that the werewolf genre falls under fiction and that fiction is enjoyed by millions. Fiction is where you are allowed to dream and imagine anything is possible. With some instances, what was once portrayed in fiction has actually come to pass into the real world, especially those things related to technology. Some examples of this are walking on the moon, super computers, space travel, and the list goes on. The main point I am trying to make here is that the masses seem to enjoy fiction all the more when there is a sliver of a possibility that it could come true or be true no matter how improbable it actually is. For me personally, that is part of the excitement and allure in reading and/or writing fiction for any genre under it, the "plausible possibility".

Another thing to keep in mind is that werewolves are portrayed as half human and half wolf; in movies one half or the other is in control, it is never a partnership, and in books they always seem to be portrayed to an extreme that is impossible to swallow constantly as a reader, thus making it difficult in most cases to even finish reading the work in question.

It is important for werewolf characters to have a certain amount of "plausible possibility" and the only way to ensure it, is to make sure to use different traits for the human half and wolf half that haven't been used before.