When even evil has standards...

[Ireth]

It would be great if the hero came upon her again, once he understands better what her existence means and why it's a crime. If that sounds good then it might work best to approach it from the question of where in the hero's travels and travails would she make sense. An elite kiddy assassin squad? Frozen in a lake (a lake of lost souls, if you will)? Locked in a closet? Taken in by other semi-feral vampire children who run as a pack?

That just gave me an idea. ^^

The hero meets the vampire child around the middle of the book, and escapes the city not long after that, while committing a crime of his own (rescuing his father, a captive, after being commanded to eat him). Conall sends some lackeys after the hero and the father, resulting in a fight scene just when they thought they were safe. I could easily have the vampire child be among the lackeys, whether as an excuse to get her out of Conall's hair for a while, or because he thinks she'll actually be of use (or maybe he's just hoping she'll get killed and he won't have to worry about her anymore). That would put the hero in a predicament of whether or not to harm or kill a child, even to protect himself and his father. (I could even increase the hero's qualms by giving the little girl an unfortunate resemblance to his little sister who died years ago, of disease rather than vampire attack.)

 

[Anders Ämting]

...which is basically what I'm trying to come up with. XD It's clearly not a first-time thing for the characters to have to deal with this, but it is for their writer.

Again, my suggestion would be to try to imagine what these vampires are most likely to decide to do. Maybe they just kill the vampire child? That's certainly the easiest solution. They consider this a terrible thing to do? Well, that's why turning children is illegal in the first place.

Or they have some other solution. But I don't think this is going to be very complicated - they'll probably pick a quick and simple solution that minimizes potential damage, rather than go out of their way for the sake of this one kid they clearly don't care enough about to take care of.

 

[Ireth]

Again, my suggestion would be to try to imagine what these vampires are most likely to decide to do. Maybe they just kill the vampire child? That's certainly the easiest solution. They consider this a terrible thing to do? Well, that's why turning children is illegal in the first place.

Or they have some other solution. But I don't think this is going to be very complicated - they'll probably pick a quick and simple solution that minimizes potential damage, rather than go out of their way for the sake of this one kid they clearly don't care enough about to take care of.

Very good points. ^^ I'll keep thinking about this.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

(Shame she isn't a major character, this has all kinds of potential to be fascinating.)

And there's your sequel, right there. Lock her up, for now. Then, in the next book... ;-)

 

[Penpilot]

This is one of those moments where what Conall does will say volumes about him. If he breaks or bends the rules it says one thing about his character. If he spares the child, it says another thing. What type of character is Conall in your eyes?

This seems like a delicious problem to give someone. I could see the sparing of the child comming back to bite him. Or even helping him depending on what you want. What ever his choice make it have consequences, good or bad.

 

[wordwalker]

This is one of those moments where what Conall does will say volumes about him. If he breaks or bends the rules it says one thing about his character. If he spares the child, it says another thing. What type of character is Conall in your eyes?

This seems like a delicious problem to give someone. I could see the sparing of the child comming back to bite him. Or even helping him depending on what you want. What ever his choice make it have consequences, good or bad.

Especially, you've said Conall's insane, and relies on his cards. This sounds like a defining moment to show how, compared to what he's done before, just what kind of insane he really is when he's pushed this way. Follow his code to the point of seeming "goodness" but show that being adopted by a villain is no blessing? Follow it but with a nasty twist, like Eternity In The Closet? Or someone like the Joker (non-movie version) would respond to pressure with some whimsical copout that removed the problem (almost certainly nastily) and laugh all the way to the next scheme. And especially, how much does he follow or twist or defy that card system that ought to have the readers fascinated?

He may not be the hero, but he's still a major character at a crossroads. Like they say, never waste a crisis.

 

[Mindfire]

I honestly think you should keep her. The idea of a vampire child has potential. You might find out you need her for something later. Never burn bridges if you can help it.

 

[wordwalker]

I honestly think you should keep her. The idea of a vampire child has potential. You might find out you need her for something later. Never burn bridges if you can help it.

I don't know, I think half of writing is made up of strategically burned bridges, whenever the statement it makes then is worth the opening lost later. (Okay, maybe a quarter, but the juiciest quarter in a book.)

So: "kiddie vampasassin squad/ waif in a closet" or "the villain's just that bad"? Whichever's better for the villain and the story... unless you've decided it's the child's story after all.

 

[Ireth]

After thinking about this some more, I think this could open up a lot of opportunity for the hero as well. Perhaps he takes pity on the child and volunteers to care for her so she won't have to be killed, or cared for by someone like Conall who'll lead her down a destructive path. He might even try to take her aboveground with him when he rescues his father, which could add a whole new layer of complication to that plotline. Could be very interesting any way I take it. ^^

 

[Penpilot]

After thinking about this some more, I think this could open up a lot of opportunity for the hero as well. Perhaps he takes pity on the child and volunteers to care for her so she won't have to be killed, or cared for by someone like Conall who'll lead her down a destructive path. He might even try to take her aboveground with him when he rescues his father, which could add a whole new layer of complication to that plotline. Could be very interesting any way I take it. ^^

Exactly what I was getting at. There's so much story potential there.

 

[Ireth]

Exactly what I was getting at. There's so much story potential there.

Indeed. I'm not sure whether I want to try outlining any one plotline now, or wait for the story to grow organically when I reach that point in my writing. Any advice?

 

[Shockley]

Some thoughts:

- While you seem set on keeping the child, perhaps there is a very good reason for there to be a rule against turning children outside of population concerns. Since they're tiny, pure, young, what have you - something about them is particularly problematic for the vampires. Perhaps they're just rather unstable and quickly decline, wasting away to non-existence without dying (which removes them as an issue, solving the moral quandary in the first place), or maybe they become an uncontrollable abomination that threatens the existing population. Maybe a child's blood is particularly problematic for a vampire, creating a kind of illness that transmits from the child to the vampire by blood but then goes from vampire to vampire as a pneumatic illness.

Lots of possibilities here.

- Bury the child in a grave. It fits with the vampire motif, and lacks the ease of escape that exists with a mausoleum or crypt. Kid is sealed underground and no way of escape - they won't die, per se, but they certainly won't matter at any point in the future (unless someone digs them up - possible plot point).

- This is just a reality question: If this guy is so insane, why on earth is in he in charge of the community?

 

[Penpilot]

Indeed. I'm not sure whether I want to try outlining any one plotline now, or wait for the story to grow organically when I reach that point in my writing. Any advice?

Personally, I'd do a rough outline and see where each path could lead you. Make the outline quick and dirty and don't dwell on it if you're not sure about things. Just choose a path and outline it. Your not committed to anything. After, mull over it as you go about your day and as you writing toward that point. For me when I do that, ideas will start to appear. Good ideas pop up to replace the bad ones and more ideas flow out to fill the holes in the outline.

It's a way to get your unconscious mind to think about the issue. Maybe once you catch up to that point in your writing, you'll have a completely different take on what you want to do OR possibly you'll see one of your outlined choices feels like more of a right choice.

 

[wordwalker]

Personally, I'd do a rough outline and see where each path could lead you. Make the outline quick and dirty and don't dwell on it if you're not sure about things. Just choose a path and outline it. Your not committed to anything. After, mull over it as you go about your day and as you writing toward that point. For me when I do that, ideas will start to appear. Good ideas pop up to replace the bad ones and more ideas flow out to fill the holes in the outline.

It's a way to get your unconscious mind to think about the issue. Maybe once you catch up to that point in your writing, you'll have a completely different take on what you want to do OR possibly you'll see one of your outlined choices feels like more of a right choice.

A good idea, sometimes. A trick I've used sometimes is:

Pick a few turning points or key decisions in a concept. Then outline at least three different ways to do the story, making sure to make those points very different and following the process just far enough to start to get into what it might lead to. The hope is that making each plan separate and distinct from the other, and having not just one alternative but at least a couple to distract from the early view, helps loosen up the mind.

Then again, there's a lot to be said for the City Slickers approach ("Nothing matters in life except one thing (that you choose yourself)"): pick one effect you want the story to max out and always build toward that. Though that works mostly when you think you've already done enough exploring to pick the key.

 

[Ireth]

Some thoughts:

- While you seem set on keeping the child, perhaps there is a very good reason for there to be a rule against turning children outside of population concerns. Since they're tiny, pure, young, what have you - something about them is particularly problematic for the vampires. Perhaps they're just rather unstable and quickly decline, wasting away to non-existence without dying (which removes them as an issue, solving the moral quandary in the first place), or maybe they become an uncontrollable abomination that threatens the existing population. Maybe a child's blood is particularly problematic for a vampire, creating a kind of illness that transmits from the child to the vampire by blood but then goes from vampire to vampire as a pneumatic illness.

Lots of possibilities here.

- Bury the child in a grave. It fits with the vampire motif, and lacks the ease of escape that exists with a mausoleum or crypt. Kid is sealed underground and no way of escape - they won't die, per se, but they certainly won't matter at any point in the future (unless someone digs them up - possible plot point).

- This is just a reality question: If this guy is so insane, why on earth is in he in charge of the community?

Ooh, those are good ideas. ^^ As for why Conall's the leader if he's so insane, that's because he's the oldest and possibly the strongest of the vampires, and he uses force and magic to keep his people in line. He used to have a co-ruler, his brother-in-arms Luthais, who did his best to rein Conall in and keep him from making all of his people as corrupt and crazy as he is (which, sadly didn't always work). But as Conall grew more and more crazy over the centuries, he stopped listening to Luthais, making the title of co-ruler nothing more than a name. Luthais won't have power until Conall dies.

Personally, I'd do a rough outline and see where each path could lead you. Make the outline quick and dirty and don't dwell on it if you're not sure about things. Just choose a path and outline it. Your not committed to anything. After, mull over it as you go about your day and as you writing toward that point. For me when I do that, ideas will start to appear. Good ideas pop up to replace the bad ones and more ideas flow out to fill the holes in the outline.

It's a way to get your unconscious mind to think about the issue. Maybe once you catch up to that point in your writing, you'll have a completely different take on what you want to do OR possibly you'll see one of your outlined choices feels like more of a right choice.

A good idea, sometimes. A trick I've used sometimes is:

Pick a few turning points or key decisions in a concept. Then outline at least three different ways to do the story, making sure to make those points very different and following the process just far enough to start to get into what it might lead to. The hope is that making each plan separate and distinct from the other, and having not just one alternative but at least a couple to distract from the early view, helps loosen up the mind.

Then again, there's a lot to be said for the City Slickers approach ("Nothing matters in life except one thing (that you choose yourself)"): pick one effect you want the story to max out and always build toward that. Though that works mostly when you think you've already done enough exploring to pick the key.

Good ideas. ^^ We'll see which one works better for me. Thanks!

 

[Varamyrr]

Hmmm, I would say that if you ruler is such an evil person. Would it be better if you gave your situation a twisted end?
It was not clear to me why the child was bitten in the first place(could be my fault) but if their is a emotional connection between the two you could let the 'biter' execute her. Torment the guy psychologically before he gets his final punishment.