How to Write Werewolves Better

There is a lot of werewolf lore, and a lot of it contradicts itself. Some werewolves change with the moon, while others change whenever they want. Some werewolves require objects like a wolfskin belt to effect the change, while others do fine on their own. There are even debates on their relative intelligence once they’ve changed, and the debates on which specific forms they have can get…interesting. However, with a little forethought, writing werewolves can be a lot simpler.

[While this article is all about werewolves, most of the points apply to most other animal-based shapeshifters. You should be thinking in terms of what works with your story rather than reader expectations; you should be more worried about crafting an entertaining story than following some rules that seem to change from culture to culture (if that worries you, then pick a culture and figure out its rules). In short, it’s your story; do what you want with it. Just remember to be consistent with whatever rules you decide on and you’ll do okay.]

The All-Important Moon

One of the biggest choices you need to make is whether or not the Moon is important to your weres. In common folklore, werewolves change when the full moon makes its appearance, usually each night for several nights a month. However, this has been dropped in favor of werewolves that can change whenever they want. In general, more supernatural werewolves tend to change with the full moon, while more science-based werewolves tend to change whenever they want. As a compromise, you can have the werewolves grow more irritable as the full moon waxes and calmer as it wanes.

The Curse Spreads

Obviously, you need to decide if it’s a supernatural curse or a genetic condition. This will help tone, and from a more practical perspective, how the condition can be cured and how it’s spread. You can always use whatever method you want to cure the condition (or not have a cure), but you should decide how it’s spread (or not). The most common method is by tooth and claw, but bodily fluids work as well. You can also decide that the condition isn’t spread, and either requires a specific focus or potion to become one, or it requires being born into the right family.

This also helps up the suspense ante if it’s known that targets succumb to it. It’s just a matter of deciding limits, like a few hours, a few days, or at the next full moon, and how permanent it is (if you make it to the full moon without killing someone, it passes or if you need to kill the person who bit you to cure it). If the disease is seen as “undesirable,” then that also heightens the suspense, especially if the weres change with the full moon; that provides a convenient deadline. If it’s desirable (the weres serve as honored guardians or in the military), then the suspense comes from waiting until the change happens.

[This is also why solo wolves are even scarier: You don’t know if they’ll kill their target or if the target will survive, becoming a werewolf himself. Worse, fears of epidemics come into play if the wolf is intent on spreading the disease, except that the disease is all the more horrible because, while the death is horrible, the life is even more so.]

Shape Of Things

You also need to decide on the form of the werewolf, as well as how traumatic the shift is. There’s almost no default here, as some shift into a regular wolf form, others into a monstrous half-human form, and others into a giant dire wolf; you can always have multiple forms available. Again, the form depends on the type of story you’re telling: More horror-themed stories will tend towards the wolf, while more militaristic stories tend to the humanoid form.

Interestingly, the level of trauma also depends on the genre. As per movies like “An American Werewolf In London,” pieces stressing the body horror, specifically the lack of control over their body, have extremely traumatic changes; an interesting take is “Being Human,” where a medical student details the process. Works that emphasize guardianship and military service, however, make the change as painless as possible, sometimes even allowing multiple changes in the same night or partial changes, such as a taloned hand or a widened maw. The more you need horror, go for bestial and traumatic; the more you need it honorable, go for humanoid and painless.

Beast or Man

The mentality of the changed shape needs to be considered as well. However, this is more of a spectrum, with the two endpoints being bestial versus mostly intelligent. The bestial side is obvious: The changer takes on a more bestial, less rational form, one more likely to react to physical and emotional stimuli. The “mostly intelligent” is more rational, but also more likely to respond to emotional stimuli; this is just a way of saying that passions will be deeper and anger will be closer to the surface. Other options are a more cunning wolf, one that avoids obvious traps and sets ambushes, or someone who changes shapes to experience things deeper.

Again, look at this as more of a spectrum, but decide where your wolves are on the spectrum. And keep in mind that you can carry over some of those traits to the human side; more bestial wolves, for example, are likelier to be walking egos in their human form, intent on bullying others, experiencing a hedonistic lifestyle, and wanting to seduce anyone they have an interest in.

The Pack

While there’s no scientific basis for pack behavior, the pack structure does need to be considered. This means that a leader (alpha) needs to be established, who his second (beta) is, and who the leader’s mate is. For intelligent wolves, or those whose mentality carries over from the wolf side, this pack structure will carry over, with more ambitious types seeking the alpha position and everyone wanting to avoid the omega position (some may even seek self-harm if relegated to that position).

While it may seem like a limitation, this gives you a lot of opportunities for pack politics and a nifty shorthand for those new to your world. It helps set up romances easily, as well as adding stakes to even the most trivial interaction (“What will the Alpha think of me taking the last donut?”). It gets better when two packs interact and dominance needs to be established, or if the pack is part of a bigger tribe with its own chain of command. If you think this is fun, apply it to a small family business, a corporation, or even an island group.

There are two things to avoid: Dictator alphas and women without agency. Try to avoid packs where the word of the alpha is law. The best leaders listen to their followers and try to allow for their wants and needs. However, if you do go in for such a dictatorship, keep in mind that the leader is likely to meet a rather ignoble end, especially if that’s how he got the position. Also, female weres should exist for more reasons than to be prizes for the male, although it is a great way to show how evil the alpha is.

Oh, and don’t forget the solo werewolf. A werewolf without pack is a greater menace because they have nothing to lose. While they may be trying to hide in a populace (a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” as it were), they are usually on the fringes, allowing them to hunt humans with fewer problems. They may, however, have integrated into society, acting as an enforcer or other muscle, and may use their position as an excuse to kill. Worse are those who have used their animal instincts to rise to the top; this allows them to act however they want and get away with whatever they want. Solo werewolves may even be trying to spread their curse to create others of their kind, hopefully spreading the chaos.

Pack Integration

You should also be debating how well integrated the pack is into the local non-werewolf community. In general, the more integrated, the stricter the rules and the greater the conflict between older and younger members of the pack (you're likely to either have the younger set things up and the elders resent it OR the elders enforce it and the younger want to rebel against it). Conversely, the less integrated, the more the pack will see the community as potential prey. There is also the backwoods family that barely interacts with the local village.

These all work well for horror as well as the extremes of warrior culture, and could lead to the warrior culture seeking to become rulers of those they defend. Also, look at how well pack structure works in a corporate one. It’s worth questioning whether or not integration is a good thing, especially when one side has so much more power than the other one. Integration may seem like you’re trying to dull the beast side of the equation, but when used correctly, this can actually emphasize the difference between the wolf and human sides well.

Oh, The Symbolism

Obviously, you need to debate how thick the symbolism will get. The pack structure will give you plenty of opportunities to explore leadership and its effects on the lower ranks, while the duality of the animal and human in one person gives you plenty of ways to discuss the inherent issues of humanity. You can even explore the native state of man versus the civilized state. If you’re looking for an excuse to explore indigenous culture versus modern, you now have the leeway to do so. In short, for those looking for more literary angles, there is plenty to have fun with.

Writing about werewolves can be fun if you have fun with it. You need to pay attention to the world-building to fully exploit that, but it’s well worth the extra time. Take your time, and you’ll do it right every time.