How The Vampire Diaries can Make Our Writing Better

I love the show The Vampire Diaries. Human Elena falls for the hunky new boy at school - who just so happens to be a vampire. Enter sexy older vampire brother, a best witch best friend, darkness, blood, drama, and love - that's the gist of The Vampire Dairies.

Yes, both brothers like Elena, but this is definitely not Twilight. The vampires are mean, often downright cruel in TVD. It's so much darker.

One thing I loved most about TVD, especially the first season, was the last few seconds of each episode.

The writers left you hanging. A twist, something you never saw coming. A hint at a new revalation. Danger, intrigue. It always left me yearning for more. I couldn't wait for the next episode!

And that's what we should do at the end of each chapter with our stories. We don't want our readers to reach the end of a chapter, to put our book down and forget to pick it back up. No, we want them to read the end of a chapter and practically rip the page getting to the next chapter. (or press the arrow on an ereader or scroll down.)

Watching/writing about gorgeous characters doesn't hurt.

The trials and tribulations of teenagers are well portrayed in the show. Elena and Jeremy's parents died before the first episode. To cope, Jeremy has started down a dark path into drugs. So what can we take from this? If you're writing for teens, know teens. Know how they talk, act, react. Understand their thought process, their grief. This will make for realistic characters and dialogue.

Do you watch TVD? What shows do you take tips from for your writing? What tips do you take away from your favorite shows?