Minnie & Philo's Transformation

Earlier this week, I plotted the first book in the new Minnie Kim Vampire Girl series, but before I could do that, I had to figure out Minnie and Philo’s “transformation”, or the way they will change and grow through the story.

At the moment, I’m imagining this series to be four or five books long. Minnie and Philo need to grow in every book, but experience overarching growth throughout the series. For instance, if Minnie were to become a god by the end of the series, then each book would show her reaching some pinnacle until the natural next step is godhood. (Don’t worry. I don’t plan on either Philo or Minnie to become gods. Except that, for all intents and purposes, Minnie already is one!)

The name of this series is Minnie Kim: Master of Vampires, so I think I want the conclusion to show her truly embracing that role. I’d say more, but...spoilers!

At the end of the Vampire Girl series, Minnie had just become the Master and the world is in turmoil because supernatural creatures have been “outed” against their will. It’s chaos—and it’s only going to get worse. But before she can hope to do anything to solve the bigger issue, she needs to “clean house” so to speak among her own people.

I mean, here she is, a girl who’s only been a vampire for for a year, and was only sixteen when she was reMade. Her own Great-Grand Sire, David Aristos was one of the first vampires ever made—but now she’s his master? As you can imagine, that’s not going to go over very well. Minnie needs to figure out what kind of master she wants to be, and how she’s going to live her life. Then she needs to put it all into action. That’s a lot for anyone to do, never mind someone as young as Minnie. Good thing she’s no ordinary girl and has always been ahead of the curve!

So in this first book (Book 1, as it’s yet unnamed), I want Minnie to bring the vampires to heel. Doesn’t mean it has to be all sunshine and lollipops, but she needs to make the decisions and stand up for herself. Now that I know that, I can proceed with the Book 1 Character Transformation.

MINNIE

Her Want:

Minnie wants vampires to set an example for all the world—both humans and supernaturals—that vampires are “people too”.

Her Flaw/Her Goal:

She is so fixated on her belief that vampires are the same people they always were—as capable of good and evil as any other person. She needs to believe that for herself because she can’t accept her parents’ rejection of her, or the way the kids at school treated her. She needs to prove it to be true, and she needs the vamps to quit being evil bloodsuckers and just be human for once.

Her Need:

Minnie needs to learn that she can only really speak for herself. Even if she can one day scientifically prove that the soul, the essence of a person, remains with the vampire once they’ve been Made, that doesn’t mean that a person’s personality might not change. The only thing she can be certain of is herself. Even if she is the spokesperson for the entire vampire community, it doesn’t mean she “speaks for them”.

I’m not sure I’m doing a good job of showing what her need is, but I think I have enough here to get started. I know that Minnie needs to be humbled a little bit. Even as the Master, with all his memories and abilities belong to her now, she is still only seventeen. She still has a lot to learn.

PHILO

His Want:

Philo wants to be useful to Minnie.

His Flaw/Goal:

He suffered under the Master’s hand when he was held captive, and now that being lives within his girlfriend. Try as he might, he can’t fully separate the two in his mind, which puts distance between him and Minnie. He decides to have his memories of his time with the Master locked away in his mind, so he never has to think of them again. That way, he can be there for Minnie without reservation.

His Need:

Locking the memories and emotions away is NOT the answer. The pain seems to seep into his psyche from his very bones and the box that holds his memories immediately begins leaking. Philo won’t have true peace until he confronts his abuser—who just happens to be Minnie. Sort of. The only way to the other side is through.

I’m excited about the transformations these characters will experience in Book 1 and can already feel the emotional weight of it all. It’s going to make for some awesome scenes!

Later 'Gators!