The WIP Report: Animal Friends
- Dan
- Jul 23
- 2 min read
Another missive from the edges of sanity—it's WIP Report time! I planned to give Robbie, the protagonist in the Vampire Dragons WIP, a dog at home that he misses while away at a soccer tournament. While writing the draft, I decided to give another canine a more prominent role.
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The WIP Report: Animal Friends
Perhaps because the newest addition to the family, Coco, has grown on me, I decided a canine needed a more prominent role in the Vampire Dragons WIP than I originally planned. Initially, I only intended Robbie to miss his treasured dog, Ruffles, while traveling for a soccer tournament. This is part of his backstory. Ruffles would never appear on page in real time, only in fond recollections. Okay, well, maybe the dog might make an appearance at the very end, in the denouement.
As I knocked out chapter after chapter, perhaps because my TikTok is full of protective German shepherds and ferocious Belgian malinois, I thought, what if Robbie found and adopted a stray dog? That would be cool. It would make my teenage characters more relatable, at least to animal lovers, and open the door for canine antics.
So I decided to introduce Cinder, a lovely golden retriever, determined to protect her newfound pack against the monsters that smell like a kill left to bake in the sun and something else, something otherworldly. Cinder might be gifted with preternatural powers that aid her in her cause.
I think introducing Cinder puts me in good company. I recall a German shepherd playing a prominent role in Stephen King's Fairytale, and Dean Koontz has an entire book centered around telepathic dogs. Honestly, a well-written animal character is almost impossible to dislike. That's why so many picture books feature them!
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