Divine Inspiration

As a writer, I feel inspiration can come from anywhere. Music, television, reading, the people around you. However, I feel that along those lines you can have divine inspiration for your characters by watching the way people respond to others. I have been having a mental block with one of my latest characters. He's moody, hateful, psychotic, yet madly in love with my lead character. For months I have been trying to figure him out, figure out where his story is headed and wouldn't you know... spawned from a fan-fiction I wrote based off of the character Damon Salvatore... I figured out exactly what I want for this character.

Lately I have been watching MARATHONS (self-induced thanks to Netflix) of Vampire Diaries and in doing so I have fallen for Damon. There is something so essentially GOOD about his character. Yes, he's a raving lunatic but if you pay close attention, it's not hard to see why. Everyone betrays him, he's cut off from everyone he loves (in some form or fashion), he constantly seeks approval but nearly always falls short, and when he befriends someone... let's just say it's more out of necessity than an actual need to reach out.

Damon was raped of his innocence and left to his own devices. He was fueled by hatred and love (which of course is a fine line). His passion is played out in every move he makes and he stops at nothing to ensure he gets what he wants... unless it hurts someone he cares about. He is fearless, not because he is arrogant but because he never chose the life he has been given. He has a hunger for life but is afraid to take advantage of the opportunities that would TRULY allow him to live.

I will stop here for fear of giving too much away but I will also say... Mr. Somerhalder, you are one BEAUTIFUL man!