Warrior.

Featured on Beneath the Tangles

Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)

Oooh!  Yes!  I love kisses.  Kisses are where it all starts ;).

Okay, first, remember that a kiss is much, much more than just lips.  It is lips, but also tongues, teeth, eyes, faces, hands, noses, bodies, heartbeats,  breath, voice- and most importantly, a kiss is emotions.  A kiss without emotion is just wet mushy lips stuck together.  Ew.  Gross.  The most important part of a kiss isn’t the how, but the who- because of the emotions between the two people.

Okay so:

lips- Lips can slide, glide over each other smoothly, or they can be chapped and rough and dry and get stuck on each other.  They can match, top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, or they can overlap, with one person’s top or bottom lip captured between the other person’s lips (yummy).  If there is lipstick or chapstick there is lipstick or chapstick flavor, otherwise, lips don’t have a taste (can you taste yours?).  Lips also can smack- the sound of two of them coming together or pulling apart, because they’re wet and warm and soft. 

tongue- Tongues are always wet, and always warm.  They’re very versatile.  They can trace over lips, teeth, or another tongue.  They can be smooth and graceful or teasing and flicking.  When tongues are involved, there is drool.  It’s only sexy when you like the person you’re kissing, or else it’s kinda gross. :P

teeth- teeth can clack together awkwardly, or teeth can bite down sensually.  A person biting their own lip is cute, a person biting another’s lips is sexy.  A person biting gently is sensual, a person biting roughly is sexual. 

eyes- Eyes can be wide open with surprise, half-lidded with desire, fully closed with pleasure.  Eyes can gaze lovingly, lustfully, wistfully, hungrily, seductively- it all depends upon the emotions of your characters.  Have them do whatever you like, but don’t leave them out- give them at least a mention!

faces- Faces are what the lips are attached to.  Noses bump, cheeks flush, ears turn red, foreheads either wrinkle or relax.  Kisses can leave lips, quite easily, and become kisses on chins, cheeks, noses, foreheads, ears, necks, throats.  Kisses on noses or foreheads are cute and adorable, kisses on cheeks are sweet, kisses on chins, ears, and throats are very sexual.  And a kiss on the lips can be all of those! <3

hands- Hands are super-important.  In order to describe a kiss, usually you want to also describe the hands.  Where are they?  Does one character have their hand behind the other’s head or back, holding them close?  Are they on someone’s shoulders pulling them near, or pushing them away?  Fingers brushing someone’s cheek or palms grabbing someone’s ass convey two very different kinds of situations, even if the kiss itself is exactly the same.

noses- Noses are annoying.  They easily get in the way, especially for first kisses!  People have to tilt their head to one side or the other, and if they don’t, noses bump.  I’d only mention noses if a kiss is supposed to be awkward or uncertain or nervous.

bodies- bodies are either close together, or far away.  Someone can be surrounded comfortingly by someone’s arms, or terrifyingly trapped by them.  Bodies are warm or hot, they are calm or nervous, relaxed or tense.  Body language says a lot.  Is your character pulling away, or moving closer?

heartbeat- Hearts can beat fast or slow, and that’s about all they can do- but there are lots of reasons why they do!  A heart can beat fast with fear or excitement or nervousness; a heart can pound with lust or race with terror or sing with joy.  Hearts can glow, cower, or shatter.  When you really want to drive the emotions of a character home, mention the heart.

breath- To me, the most consuming part of a kiss is the breath.  The air that someone else has just breathed going deep into your lungs is very intimate.  Lips and tongues don’t have a taste, but breath does.  Each person’s breath tastes different, smells different, and surrounds a person differently than anyone else’s breath.  Breath can be warm and sweet, breath can be hot and sexy, breath can be hot and frightening.  It is something that is very present and should not be left out.  A lot of writers leave breath out.  And it’s so important; it’s the most intimate part of a kiss.  Someone else is breathing into your lungs, and it’s either heaven or it’s hell.

voice- Voice conveys much, even without words.  A voice can groan, whimper, gasp, moan, catch, whine, scream, sigh.  Voice can convey emotion powerfully, and while some kisses are silent, usually they’re not. 

emotion-  Emotion is the most important- and the thing you try not to say.  You want to describe it, through all of the things above, so that it’s perfectly clear what your characters are feeling, without you ever using the “feelings words”.  If they’re in love, their bodies will lean close, their eyes will smile, their voices will giggle softly.  If they’re nervous, their palms will sweat, their noses will bump, their voices will shudder.  If they’re afraid, their muscles will be tense, their faces will grimace, their lips will not open.  Emotion is the color that you keep inside your mind as you write; it’s the base line that drives the description behind everything else you say.

Wow, that was a lot!  Gosh I hope it wasn’t too much!  Keep in mind not every kiss has all these things- this is just a list of things to consider when writing a kiss, and based on how long of a kiss you want to make.  Keep in mind that typing “they kissed for a long time”…that’s six words, it takes half a second to read, so that’s a short kiss!  If you want a long kiss, you need long sentences that make the reader linger. 

LEVI AND ERWIN’S INTERVIEW (PART 1) TRANSLATED

It seems an anon has translated their interviews from a Chinese source. Rest of it is under the read more.

The long awaiting Scouting Legion’s Top Dogs have finally spoken.

Commander Erwin Smith，as his stout figure lies in the sofa, is waiting for the upcoming inquiries. His eyes are as blue as the sky and freedom humanity thirsts for. Meanwhile, the Scouting Legion’s captain, Levi, lays his legs on a chair and seems very bored. However, he is nonetheless scanning his surrounding with sharp eyes, giving off an unapproachable aura. We finally get the occasion to interview the two cores of the Scouting Legion. Closeup Interview-Erwin Smith: I’ll answer anything for the sake of the Corps.

Erwin and Levi’s fully translated interview is here!

In part 1 of the interview, we were able to learn more about Scouting Legion’s commander and captain’s missions and private lives. In pat two, we separated them in two rooms and interviewed them individually. We successfully obtained their impressions towards each other, allowing them to speak up their heart content in their own privacy… Levi: Is Erwin really scary… Those soldiers amongst ordinary ranks must have spent a good time examining him, I see.

The rest is under this:

Cheat Sheets

Body Language Cheat Sheet (archetypewriting)

Body Language Cheat Sheet (writerswrite1)

Writing-Specific Guides

Using Body Language to Create Believable Characters

Character Emotion Written All Over Their Face

Ideas For Using Knowledge of Body Language in Your Writing

Elaboration: The Power Punch of “Body Language” Detail

How to Read a Person Like a Book

Body Language: An Artistic Writing Tool

Body Language Basics

41 Flavors of Body Language for Writers (very nice guide/reference)

Reveal Character Through Body Language (a good quick reference with emotions and behaviors associated with them)

Non-Writing Specific Guides

Dimensions of Body Language (very extensive with pictures)

Nonverbal Dictionary

Body Language Index (lots of tables, resources, and terms. I highly recommend checking out this link)

Body Language Wikipedia Page

Important Features of Body Language

Exercises

Creative Writing Exercises: Body Language

An Exercise in Character Differentiation 

This is an ultimate masterlist of many resources that could be helpful for writers. I apologize in advance for any not working links. Check out the ultimate writing resource masterlist here (x) and my “novel” tag here (x).

✑ PLANNING

Outlining & Organizing

For the Architects: The Planning Process

Rough Drafts

How do you plan a novel?

Plot Development: Climax, Resolution, and Your Main Character

Plotting and Planing

I Have An Idea for a Novel! Now What?

Choosing the Best Outline Method

How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method

Effectively Outlining Your Plot

Conflict and Character within Story Structure

Outlining Your Plot

Ideas, Plots & Using the Premise Sheets

✑ INSPIRATION

Finding story ideas

Choosing ideas and endings

When a plot isn’t strong enough to make a whole story

Writing a story that’s doomed to suck

How to Finish What You Start: A Five-Step Plan for Writers

Finishing Your Novel

Finish Your Novel

How to Finish Your Novel when You Want to Quit

How To Push Past The Bullshit And Write That Goddamn Novel: A Very Simple No-Fuckery Writing Plan

✑ PLOT

In General

25 Turns, Pivots and Twists to Complicate Your Story

The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development

Originality Is Overrated

How to Create a Plot Outline in Eight Easy Steps

Finding Plot: Idea Nets

The Story Goal: Your Key to Creating a Solid Plot Structure

Make your reader root for your main character

Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations

Adding Subplots to a Novel

Weaving Subplots into a Novel

7 Ways to Add Subplots to Your Novel

Crafting a Successful Romance Subplot

How to Improve your Writing: Subplots and Subtext

Understanding the Role of Subplots

How to Use Subtext in your Writing

The Secret Life of Subtext

How to Use Subtext

Beginning

Creating a Process: Getting Your Ideas onto Paper (And into a Story)

Why First Chapters?

Starting with a Bang

In the Beginning

The Beginning of your Novel that isn’t the Beginning of your Novel

A Beginning from the Middle

Starting with a Bang

First Chapters: What To Include @ The Beginning Writer

23 Clichés to Avoid When Beginning Your Story

Start Writing Now

Done Planning. What Now?

Continuing Your Long-Format Story

How to Start a Novel 

100 best first lines from novels

The First Sentence of a Book Report

How To Write A Killer First Sentence To Open Your Book

How to Write the First Sentence of a Book

The Most Important Sentence: How to Write a Killer Opening

Hook Your Reader from the First Sentence: How to Write Great Beginnings

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing and the Red Hering

Narrative Elements: Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing and Suspense

Foreshadowing Key Details

Writing Fiction: Foreshadowing

The Literary Device of Foreshadowing

All About Foreshadowing in Fiction

Foreshadowing

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing — How and Why to Use It In Your Writing

Setting

Four Ways to Bring Settings to Life

Write a Setting for a Book

Writing Dynamic Settings

How To Make Your Setting a Character

Guide for Setting

5 Tips for Writing Better Settings

Building a Novel’s Setting

Ending

A Novel Ending

How to End Your Novel

How to End Your Novel 2

How to End a Novel With a Punch

How to End a Novel

How to Finish a Novel

How to Write The Ending of Your Novel

Keys to Great Endings

3 Things That End A Story Well

Ending a Novel: Five Things to Avoid

Endings that Ruin Your Novel

Closing Time: The Ending

✑ CHARACTER

Names

Behind the Name

Surname Meanings and Origins

Surname Meanings and Origins - A Free Dictionary of Surnames

Common US Surnames & Their Meanings

Last Name Meanings & Origins

Name Generators

Name Playground

Different Types of Characters

Ways To Describe a Personality

Character Traits Meme

Types of Characters

Types of Characters in Fiction

Seven Common Character Types

Six Types of Courageous Characters

Creating Fictional Characters (Masterlist)

Building Fictional Characters

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Character Building Workshop

Tips for Characterization

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Advantages, Disadvantages and Skills 

Males

Strong Male Characters

The History and Nature of Man Friendships

Friendship for Guys (No Tears!)

‘I Love You, Man’ and the rules of male friendship

Male Friendship

Understanding Male Friendship

Straight male friendship, now with more cuddling

Character Development

P.O.V. And Background

Writing a Character: Questionnaire

10 Days of Character Building

Getting to Know Your Characters

Character Development Exercises

✑ STYLE

Chapters

How Many Chapters is the Right Amount of Chapters?

The Arbitrary Nature of the Chapter

How Long is a Chapter?

How Long Should Novel Chapters Be?

Chapter & Novel Lengths 

Section vs. Scene Breaks

Dialogue 

The Passion of Dialogue

25 Things You Should Know About Dialogue

Dialogue Writing Tips

Punctuation Dialogue

How to Write Believable Dialogue

Writing Dialogue: The Music of Speech

Writing Scenes with Many Characters

It’s Not What They Say …

Top 10 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Speaking of Dialogue

Dialogue Tips

Interrupted Dialogue

Two Tips for Interrupted Dialogue

Show, Don’t Tell (Description)

“Tell” Makes a Great Placeholder

The Literary Merit of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bad Creative Writing Advice

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do

DailyWritingTips: Show, Don’t Tell

GrammarGirl: Show, Don’t Tell

Writing Style: What Is It?

Detail Enhances Your Fiction

Using Sensory Details

Description in Fiction

Using Concrete Detail

Depth Through Perception

Showing Emotions & Feelings

Character Description

Describing Your Characters (by inkfish7 on DeviantArt)

Help with Character Development

Creating Characters that Jump Off the Page

Omitting Character Description

Introducing Your Character(s): DON’T

Character Crafting

Writer’s Relief Blog: “Character Development In Stories And Novels”

Article: How Do You Think Up Your Characters?

5 Character Points You May Be Ignoring

List of colors, hair types and hairstyles

List of words to use in a character’s description 

200 words to describe hair

How to describe hair

Words used to describe the state of people’s hair

How to describe your haircut

Hair color sharts

Four Ways to Reveal Backstory

Words Used to Describe Clothes

Flashbacks

Using Flashbacks in Writing

Flashbacks by All Write

Using Flashback in Fiction

Fatal Backstory

Flashbacks as opening gambit

Don’t Begin at the Beginning

Flashbacks in Books

TVTropes: Flashback

Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear: Flashback Techniques in Fiction

3 Tips for Writing Successful Flashbacks

The 5 Rules of Writing Effective Flashbacks

How to Handle Flashbacks In Writing

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Reddit Forum: Is a flashback in the first chapter a good idea?

Forum Discussing Flackbacks

P.O.V

You, Me, and XE - Points of View

What’s Your Point of View?

Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character”

How to Start Writing in the Third Person

The Opposite Gender P.O.V.

LANGUAGE

 How To Say Said

200 Words Instead of Said

Words to Use Instead of Said

A List of Words to Use Instead of Said

Alternatives to “Walk”

60 Synonyms for “Walk”

✑ USEFUL WEBSITES/LINKS

Grammar Monster

Google Scholar

GodChecker

Tip Of My Tounge

Speech Tags

Pixar Story Rules

Written? Kitten!

TED Talks

DarkCopy

Family Echo

Some Words About Word Count

How Long Should My Novel Be?

The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

Writer’s “Cheat Sheets”

The hardest part about finding grammar and writing guides is finding ones that are actually correct. As you may know, a lot of content on the Internet is severely misinformed and wrong. It is hard to tell which websites were created by genuine experts and institutions, and which were created by people wanting to add their contribution to the net.

After months of research and fact checking, here is a list of some of the best and most genuinely correct grammar and writing guides and resources. These are either from academic institutions with a good reputation, or are websites that are filled with accurate and usable content. The websites and guides have not been rated as they all offer something slightly different and useful.

English Practice

This is a truly great resource for learning the rules of grammar. It starts with the most basic concepts and moves all the way up to advanced rules and exceptions to the rules. It is very easy-to-understand and is perfect for children, younger students, students with gaps in their knowledge and people with English as their second language. It works as both a starting point and a refresher course, it is free, and navigation of the website is fairly easy.

Using English - The English Reference Section

This is a website for people with English as their second language, and it has an English reference section that will help you avoid the most commonly seen errors when it comes to English grammar. If you want to improve your writing skills in general, where you have no specific weakness you want to improve, you should try the English reference section on this website.

Guide to Grammar and Writing

This is a website set up by a community college. They have clearly filled it with very accurate information on grammar and writing, but sadly, they have put it on a website that is hard to navigate. If you are looking to improve your writing and grammar in a serious way, then reading through this entire website will totally help you a lot.

Essaymama Essay Writing Guide

Essaymama Essay Writing Guide can truly help you improve the quality of your written work. It suggests well-structured and informative tips on writing starting from topic selection and finishing with editing and proofreading. Besides, who knows how to improve writing skills better than people that write essays for a living? They are the ones that come up with the essay writing guide and offer the fruits of their knowledge in this way.

Grammar Monster

You may have a few weak spots when it comes to grammar and writing, and may even have a few holes in your current knowledge. This is a website resource that you can pick up and drop in order to fill the holes in your knowledge. It is broken up into sections – so all you need to do is find the concept you are weakest on and read up on it. You do not have to read the entire website or massive articles in order to understand what it is trying to convey – which is what makes it a great reference website.

Writer’s Workshop - Writer Resources

If you want to improve your grammar and writing, then go to the writer’s workshop section on this website and look for writer’s resources. It covers some foundation principles in very simple and easy-to-understand terms. The grammar handbook gives you foundation principles that help you avoid basic errors, which then helps you avoid making repetitive mistakes (which is the sort of thing why you may lose points on writing contests).

Quill Free Learning Tools

This is a website that offers both free and paid learning services. You can use a few of the tools and improve your writing and grammar skills, or you can take more intensive courses and become a real expert on writing and grammar.

Owl - Online Writing Lab

This should be your port of call every time you have a grammar, style or formatting question. It is probably the most accurate resource for such things as grammar, style and formatting on the Internet. Their style guides incorporate the differences between various interpretations and they give you links to further resources if you want to do more research.

Oxford Dictionaries

Word misuse is a common grammatical error, and this website will help you lower your error rate if you use it correctly. Once you have finished your writing, you need to go over the words that look correct but that may be incorrectly used, such as principal or principle. Pop the word into the dictionary search engine and find out if you have used it correctly.

You can improve your writing skills only by learning

It is pointless trying to rely only on your spelling and grammar checker to improve your writing for two reasons. The first is because no current spelling and grammar checker can understand the content of your paper, which means each checker can only work based on mathematical probabilities that what you just wrote was incorrect.

Color Palette Generator

Check the big list below and click the name you want:

Galano Grotesque by Rene Bieder

Nexa Rust by Fontfabric

Glober by Fontfabric

Adorn by Laura Worthington

Selfie by Lián Types

Trend Rough by Latinotype

Lulo Clean by Yellow Design Studio

Harman by Ahmet Altun

Brandon Printed by HVD Fonts

Texta by Latinotype

Campton by Rene Bieder

Quickpen by Trial by Cupcakes

Distillery by Sudtipos

Eveleth by Yellow Design Studio

Boucherie by Laura Worthington

True North by Cultivated Mind

Core Circus Rough by S-Core

Signyard by Albatross

Local Market by Cultivated Mind

Ropa Soft Pro by lettersoup

Stereotesque by Stereotypes

Scripta Pro by John Moore Type Foundry

Catalina by Kimmy Design

Choplin by Rene Bieder

Gist by Yellow Design Studio

Microbrew by Albatross

Festivo LC by Ahmet Altun

Risotto Script by Calderón Estudio Type Foundry

Westcoast Letters by Cultivated Mind

Brix Sans by HVD Fonts

Ilya FY by Fontyou

Voltage by Laura Worthington

Mariné by TipoType

Estandar Rounded by Latinotype

Libertad by TipoType

Wonderhand by Martina Flor

Courtesy Script Pro by Sudtipos

Nautica by Resistenza

Cereal by Andinistas

Newcastle by FaceType

Horizontes Script by Sudtipos

Showcase by Lationtype

Macarons by Lationtype

Pinto by FaceType

Garden by Los Andes

Arquitecta by Latinotype

Hollyhock by Angie Makes

Australis Pro Swash

Fantasy by Typesenses

Bowling Script by Sudtipos

Ridewell by Intelligent Design

Gloriola by Suitcase Type Foundry

Flirt Script by Positype

Din Next Slab by Linotype

Nanami Handmade by Thinkdust

Elise by Context

Uberschrift by FDI

Emblema Headline by Corradine Fonts

Suarez by GRIN3(Nowak)

Abelina by Sudtipos

Rufina by TipType

Roper by Andrew Footit

Factoria by Fort Foundry

Adria Slab by FaceType

Wollen by Magpie Paper Works

Adagio Sans by Borutta

Silver by Fenotype

Aguda by Graviton

Bookeyed Martin by Tart Workshop

Darwing by Los Andes

Industry Inc by Fort Foundry

The Carpenter by Fenotype

National Champion by Kyle Wayne Benson

Larry by Fenotype

XXII YeahScript by DoubleTwo

Kansas Casual by Kyle Wayne Benson

Ciao Bella by Cultivated Mind

Amoretta by Tart Workshop

Veronia by Cultivated Mind

Naive Inline Sans by La Goupil Paris

Accura Sans by dooType

Sparhawk by Albatross

In An Out by Fenotype

Minimo by Ahmet Altun

Powder Script by Fenotype

Dream Script by Lián Types

Sanelma by Mika Melvas

Servus Slab by Dada Studio

Dalle by Stawix

Montague Script Bold by Stephen Rapp

Gubia by Graviton

Ganache by Laura Worthington

Samui Script by Schizotype

Predige by Type Dynamic

Filson Pro by Mostardesign

Logotype Frenzy by Decade Typefoundry

Brilant Typeface

King Bloser by Misprinted Type

Tansy by Eurotype

Lichtspielhaus Handmade by Typocalypse

Check the details of every font here: http://fontsoftheyear.com/

You can always check betype.co/fonts to see the daily new fonts or follow us on 

How bodies decompose

Wilderness survival skills

Mob mentality

Other cultures

What it takes for a human to die in a given situation

Common tropes in your genre

How bodies decompose

Wilderness survival skills

Mob mentality

Other cultures

What it takes for a human to die in a given situation

Common tropes for your genre

BASICS

Horror is considered a separate genre, but these three genres often overlap.

Sub Genres:

Paranormal Romance: Romance with a paranormal element. However, the romance outweighs the paranormal aspect in most cases, but is still an integral part to the story.

Urban Fantasy: Urban fantasy is often used interchangeably with “paranormal”. It takes place in urban areas and has fantasy, paranormal, or supernatural elements.

Dark Fantasy: This genre is a cross over between horror and fantasy. It has fantasy and horror elements, but does not focus on them as heavily as other genres. This would be considered paranormal rather than supernatural.

Gothic Horror: This used to be the name for the horror genre. This genre is not related to the goth fashion style. There are several forms of this genre (English, American, southern) that may involve romance or a sense of being “trapped”. Paranormal creatures (like ghosts and other creatures associated with the afterlife or death) are quite popular in this genre.

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HORROR

See Basic Horror Writing Guide for a general overview and some resources.

There is often a paranormal or supernatural element in horror, most likely some form of ghosts. However, there are also other elements present.

Certain abilities given to humans may fall within this category. This can include telekinesis, clairvoyance, and telepathy, among others. However, these abilities often come secondary to the horror element or the main horror creatures (ghosts, psychological torture, etc.). They should come second if horror is the main aspect of the story. Once these elements become primary, you’ve left the horror genre (primarily).

But, as with horror, including paranormal and supernatural elements must be there to further the thrill, suspense, or horror of the story. With supernatural and paranormal fiction, those elements should be integral to the story.

Using Magic in Horror Fiction

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PARANORMAL VS SUPERNATURAL

This is a personal opinion

Supernatural: Something inexplicable that defies the laws of nature or something that was once a part of nature, only to defy it.

Paranormal: Something that shows signs of being beyond scientific understanding.

As noted in the definitions above, supernatural deals with transformation from the ordinary to the impossible. Paranormal deals with something beyond us, like clairvoyance.

Paranormal fiction tends to be lighter and it often has a romantic feel to it. When I say “romantic”, I do not necessarily mean love, but showing something in a light that makes it better than it actually is. Supernatural fiction tends to fall on the side of gritty horror more often than not.

What falls under each definition depends on who you ask, but abilities (for example, telekinesis) are generally considered paranormal while certain creatures (werewolves and vampires) are considered supernatural.

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CREATURES & CLICHES

With this genre comes otherworldly creatures. Right now, the genre is heavy with angels, demons, vampires, and werewolves. While there’s nothing wrong with writing about those creatures, it’s good to expand. After all, supernatural and paranormal are forms of fantasy. You can do anything.

Research some underused creatures and put a new twist on them. Use them as a base for a creature of your own creation. Go nuts with these creatures and make them unique.

They can thrive in one environment and suffer in another. They can be subject to evolution. They can be associated with a certain element or symbol. Give them odd abilities and give them reasons for this. Make up your own mythologies.

Yet with the four main creatures mentioned above comes cliches. We’re all sick of them and you should challenge yourself to write outside these cliches, though you can still rework a cliche and make it unique. There is a group of cliches in paranormal romance that stand out from the rest because they are harmful. For example, male love interests who are brooding, possessive, and creepy yet written as desirable. An important point to remember when you’re creating creatures is not to go so far that these become something else entirely. You can’t take away the fundamental characteristics if you’re trying to be unique. That destroys the creature. Your vampires don’t have to sleep in coffins or turn into bats, but you can’t really take away the blood drinking thing, can you? That’s the main characteristic of vampiric creatures (and there are many).

More:

Ten Worst Vampire Cliches

The A-Typical Vampire

Supernatural Creatures Inspiration/Definitions

Vampire Cliches

Werewolf Cliches

Werewolf Genre Pet Peeves

Writing an Overused Supernatural Creature

Vampire Tropes

A Guide on Zombies

Guide to Ghosts

Describing Fantastic Creatures

How to Make Your Supernatural Characters Unique Myths, Creatures, and Folklore

Werebeast Tropes

Tropes of the Living Dead

Writing Zombies

Sea Creatures

Birds: Mythology

Cliches in Paranormal Novels

Is Your YA Paranormal Romance Cliche Enough? (chart)

Cliches in Paranormal Romance

Top 13 Paranormal Romance Cliches

YA Common Cliches: Paranormal Romance

Overplayed Urban Fantasy Cliche 1 2 3 4

Fantasy/Urban Fantasy Cliches

Mythical Creatures List

Mythical Creatures A-Z

List of Mythical Creatures

Magical/Mythical Creatures

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MUSIC

Some music to listen to while writing:

Bad Moon Rising | Black River Killer | Blood Circus | Come Little Children | Davy Jones Music Box | Ghost Riders in the Sky | Hell | Hell Hound Blues | Herr Drosselmeye’s Doll | Hotel California | House of the Rising Sun | The Killing Moon | Mr Crowley | Oogie Boogie’s Song | Sympathy for the Devil | This House is Haunted | This is Halloween | Void

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BOOKS

Supernatural Romance

Books with Angels, Gods, or Demons

Best Gothic Books of All Time

Ghost Stories

Angels & Demons

Vampires

Favorite Ghost Stories

Best Books About Faeries

Paranormal’s/Urban Fantasies That Don’t Suck

Haunted Houses

Paranormal in New Orleans

Best Gothic Novels/Suspense Novels

Forbidden Love in Fantasy/Paranormal/Supernatural

Supernatural and Addictive Fantasy

Best Shapeshifters

Books with Supernatural Females

Bone Chilling Paranormal Romance

Anything But Vampires

19th Century Supernatural Horror

Gay Horror

I See Dead People

Killer Ghost Stories

Uncommon Supernatural Creatures

Gothic Paranormal

Best Adult Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance

Indie Books - Paranormal Fiction

Humorous Paranormal Books

Hot Paranormal Romance

Werewolf and Shifter Romance

Paranormal Book Lists

Not the “Normal” Paranormal

Literary Fiction Meets Paranormal Romance

Gay Paranormal Romance

Lesbian Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

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MORE

Writing the Supernatural Action-Thriller

Five Tips to Writing a Believable Supernatural Themed Book

Elements of a Paranormal Novel

Supernatural Genre

Magic-Like Psychic Abilities

Introduction to Writing the Paranormal Novel

Arcade – a row of arches supported by columns or free-standing

Arrow slit – a vertical window, narrow on the outside and expanding on the inside so one could shoot arrows out with relative ease, but shooting in was much more difficult

Bailey – the area of ground enclosed by the main defensive walls of a castle, especially in the earliest mott-and-bailey castles. In later stone castles, the bailey was often called the ward

Barbican/hornwork – A defensive outerwork, consisting of walls and towers, which surround a castle gate and were designed to protect it

Barrel vault – cylindrical roof

Bartizan – an overhanging corner turret

Bastion fort – A low, thick-walled fort designed to withstand cannon fire. Such structures proliferated in the late Middle Ages, following the advent of gunpowder and cannon. In place of the towers of earlier castles, these fortifications incorporated low, projecting structures known as bastions

Bastle house – small tower house with a living room over a byre

Batter/talus/plinth – the sharp angle at the base of all walls and towers along their exterior surface

Battlements – narrow wall build along the outer edge of the ramparts to protect soldiers from attack

Berm – flat ground between the curtain wall and the inner edge of the moat

Bivalate – a hillfort defended by two concentric ditches

Breastwork – heavy parapet between two gate towers; wall defense over the portcullis

Cap-house – small chamber at the top of a spiral staircase in a tower or turret, leading to the open wall-walk on the roof

Castellan – the lord of the castle. In some cases, the castellan (or his ancestor) built the castle himself; in others he (or his ancestors) was given it to hold by a count or duke.

Cesspit – an area in the ground where waste from garderobes was collected

Citadel – heavily fortified, independent defensive structure within city walls; the strongest part of a fort

Corbiestepped/crowstepped – square stones forming steps on the gable

Counterscarp – outer slope of a ditch

Crenelation – a notched battlement made of alternating crenels (openings) and merlons (square teeth)

Crownwork – freestanding bastioned fortification in front of the main defenses

Curtain wall – the outer wall of a castle, which by the late 12th century usually incorporated multiple towers, and into which were built, on the inner side, stables, storehouses, and sleeping quarters