The Smiling Vampire

Dear Reader,

                I was at a party a while back, I know, it is hard to believe. A writer who goes outside to meet people it a rare thing indeed, but if you must know, I went, not for the people, but for the beer. You can never turn down free beer it is a mortal sin. It is the truth, go ask any Irish, they will tell you, it is one of the greatest sins you can commit. So, to save my mortal soul, I had to go for the beer.

                And while I was there, I was talking to some of my old writer friends from back when we had the same class. One of my friends were asking me how I come up with my characters and after explaining it, I thought I would share what I do to come up with some of my characters.

                Let me introduce all of you to Virgil Godkim A.K.A the Smiling Vampire, you might remember him from A Long Night in London, and if you missed that story, then, by all means, go read it. (It’s not out yet.) I would hate to have to put a cruse on you for not reading my story. It would make me sad and your day worse.

                Mister Godkim is a hero in Paladin, but he is also a vampire, yes, they I want to suck your blood kind, but the main difference about Virgil is the fact he enjoys being a vampire. He has been live for a long time which gives him a lot of time to learn skills and travel the world.

                Want to learn how to be a ninja? Then spent a couple of long years in Japan like Virgil did.

                Want to learn how to be the best shot in the world? Be a living target for the best sniper in the world and why not enjoy the fact you can live forever? Virgil does even to the dismay of his friends.

                So, how did I come up with my smiling vampire and what did I do to make him into a real person? (This is not a sure-fire way to make any character, but it helps me.)

                Well, I know I wanted a vampire in my story, but I got tired of the sad, emo, ones. I kept asking myself what if there was a vampire who was the happy-go-luckily kid in class? Once, I got the idea that I wanted him to be happy, I then had to think of a name for this person. I normally write a small list of names out and read them out loud until I feel like one will work.

                After I find a name, I make a character sheet for the person. (The sheet will be at the bottom of the post.)

                But this doesn’t mean the character is a person yet or walking around with ideas and so forth. So, I have to come up with a way to make them real, to me, before I can make them real to you. What I do is this, I will write out what I call ‘A day in the life of – so and so.’ These little stories are no more than a thousand word long and all they are, are what the title says, a day in the life of…

                It could be something as mundane as Virgil standing in line at the gas station. How does a vampire who lives a long-time deal with the old man in front of him with shaken hands? Does he sigh with annoyance or laugh because he got all the time in the world?

                What does he do when he is faced with someone he loves? How was his first kiss before he was the undead? How was his first kiss after he was turned?

                I write these stories to help me feel out who the character is at the core. I also, write more important parts of their lives, like what Virgil did to get made into the living-undead, but the key to these little tales to learn the character. Let the character move you or well, me along to find out who they are in the end.

                A lot of these tales are not meant to be read but what drives the character in the main story. Why did Virgil run into a burning building to save a cat? Well, you as the reader may not find out that his little sister had a cat who died in a fire. You might not find this out because Virgil does not talk about his little sister anymore. In fact, he doesn’t talk about his family at all before he was the Smiling Vampire. Those little driving moments in his life are for me, and it helps me to understand who my character is deep down.

                The trick is what I tell you as the reader, and I might not tell you that much. There are things we don’t like telling other people because they meant for us and us alone. Actually, the best way to see what I am talking is to watch this scene in Saving Private Ryan (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_iXD1Gcoek). You can see the difference in letting the viewer see more of a character and see how important it is to keep things from them.

                It is a hard trick to pull off, but this scene is my favorite scene in the whole movie.

                I hope you enjoyed the insight a little, cheers.

Chase

Virgil Godkim

Hero Name: Virgil Godkim A.K.A the Smiling Vampire

Real Name: Virgil Godkim

Age: 245 (1773)           Sex: Male

Religious Views: Christian sometime Paganism

Race: Vampire

Description:

·         Stand at 5’7

·         Long blonde hair

·         One blue eye and one green eye

·         Very thin

·         Long nose and long jawline

History:

·         He was born in the year 1773 in Charlestown, SC

o   To a wealthy slave owner

·         When he was 26 years old, he saved a begged on the street who turned out to be a Vampire

o   The Vampire was named Louis Townsend

o   The 1^st man he killed was his brother’s best friend, Edmond Morris

§  Who haunts him to this day as a ghost

·         He traveled the world with his master for 77 years before his master left him

·         He quickly started to travel on his own learning as many things as possible and becoming a skilled fighter

o   He was one of Japan’s best ninjas for a long time and still carries his sword

·         He moved to China and spent several years of his life in the mountains there until War World II broke out

o   In the war, he joined the Allies and joined the Crusaders (which become Paladin Division during the Cold War)

§  He was the main player in the fight against the Nazi’s Supernatural Division

·         Afterward, he went back into hiding for a little while (88 years) and then started to help Paladin

o   Where he is today  

Other Things of Notes

·         He is super rich

·         His daytime mask is a full elegant masquerade mask (think of Kingdom of Heaven King Baldwin)

·         He does not kill people when he bites them

Personality Traits:

·         He is a very friendly

·         He is an outgoing person

·         He is always smiling

·         He is always looking at the best of life

·         He does not talk down to people nor does he show his wisdom about things

·         He is childlike

·         He has a great curiosity about everything

·         He loves wearing fancy clothes at night

Likes:

·         He loves to learn

·         Reading

·         Listening

·         Radio/Music/ Podcasts

·         Laughing about what people get wrong in history

·         Cooking

·         Ice cream

·         Sailing

·         Woodwork

Dislikes:

·         The rain

·         Sad people

·         Horror movies

·         Fire, because it can kill him

·         Arrogance

·         Not having something to do

·         The sun, because it also can kill him

Powers:

All of his race he has; super speed, super strength, enhanced senses, shapeshift into wolves or bats, a bloodlust, and the ability to see into women’s minds, (not men unless they are female). He can also easily seduce the opposite sex. When he bites someone, his abilities increase for a few hours. Also, he gains their memories during that time. He cannot drink dead blood.