Movie Reviews for Writers: You Are My Vampire

You Are My Vampire is a Korean rom-com about a lonely, socially awkward writer and a brilliant scientist who may or may not be a vampire. Gyu-Jung has had some minor success with writing either novels or scripts (it gets confusing, but apparently that's an issue with the way the movie was translated into captions, according to several sources on the 'Net). After the mysterious young scientist Nam-Gul moves into her father's apartment complex, she begins to suspect that he is one of the undead. He creeps around at night, doesn't go out during the day, requests all his food without garlic, and has elongated incisors, for example. Also, neighborhood pets are being found drained of blood. In an effort to create a better story, Gyu-Jung befriends him in an effort to beef up the details in the newest script she is writing -- a vampire movie, obviously. 

It's a very light fare, with likable leads and lots of charm. But, I know, that's not why you're here. You want to know what it says about this writing life. 

So, here we go. 

Let's talk about parents. Gyu-Jung's mom runs a corner shop and her dad is an inventor. Yet, neither supports her dreams of being a writer. In this exchange during the opening bit of the movie, her mom pretty much lays out her thoughts in no uncertain terms when she asks for a loan to pick up a new laptop, one that her dad has already said "No" to. 

Mom: He wants you to come to your senses.

Gyu-Jung: I'll do that after I write my vampire story. 

I can't speak for anyone else, but I've had conversations similar to this. Not about asking for money, because I have always tried to avoid that with family unless the straights were particularly dire. When we chase dreams it always scares people who love us, people who have different ideas about what's more important -- financial security or pursuit of dreams. Sure, they only want what's best for us, but often, non-artists just can't wrap their heads around the kinds of things that make us tick as artists and choices we make to do that in a way that doesn't send us directly to the poor house but still gives us the freedom to pursue our less practical endeavors (i.e., art).

One of my favorite exchanges from the film comes when Gyu-Jung is sitting in the police car with her boyfriend (or at least she thinks so). He asks her about when they first met.

Do you remember the first time we met? I went to your store and you asked me to handcuff you. You said you were writing about a detective. 

All BDSM jokes aside, that's a testament to a writer's commitment to research. I've always wanted to do a ride-along back when I was writing a procedural. When my wife and I were working on a (never finished) fantasy that featured creatures living in caves, we took a trip to Ruby Falls to do insane research stuff like close our eyes and feel the walls in order to better describe the setting in a world of darkness. But I'm not alone in this. I hear from other writers all the time about how they use both real-life and virtual Internet tours to learn about the places they're writing about.

I've heard it said that the three most important skills for a writer are (1) writing, (2) editing, and (3) research. I believe it. Writing and editing may help us deliver a story with technical and artistic prowess, but it's research that puts us in the right place and provides us the details that keep readers locked into the story instead of being jerked right out of it. Trust me, nothing pulls a reader out of even a gripping narrative faster than a blatantly wrong detail. (The Russians never used that kind of rifle in WWII! Hummingbirds can' fly that fast!)

After a long back and forth of will-they or won't-they, romance blooms eternal (but for whom -- no spoilers, darling). It's about that time when even non-supporter can be won over. While on the phone with a friend who more or less ridiculed her dreams earlier, she finds that same friend now can't get enough of it. She asks:

Friend: You used to tell me crazy stories when you were a writer. 

Gyu-Jung: You used to hate on them. 

Friend: Did you ever finish the vampire story?

Gyu-Jung: Why are you so interested now?

Eventually, those crazy stories can get from our brains into a place under other people's skins. Et voila! A new fan is born.