Vampire Books Fans, Fangs and Writers discussion

Hi, I thought I had made up my mind to make a change to my book and the series I hope to make it into, but now I'm not so sure. My stories concern a group of teens trying to overcome problems with vampires. In the first book ("Blood of the Willing"), there are four kids in the group; in later books, there will be a few more. Up until recently, I have called them the Anti-Vampirism Society. They come up with the name during their first official meeting, after the main character Mary has discovered that the girl her boyfriend has left her for is a vampire and has bitten him. She throws out the idea of "Anti-Vampire" because she fears that the boy she loves may become a vampire himself and she doesn't want to be against him, especially if it means killing him. And "Anti-VampirISM" turns out to be a fitter word for the group because their approach soon shifts toward trying to find a CURE for vampirism.
The only part of the name that is up for debate now is the third word in the name. "Anti-Vampirism Society" is a long name, it has been pointed out. It may not matter very much because they are almost exclusively referred to by the initials AVS throughout the stories. But if it is more appropriate, the word I was thinking of changing it to is "League" (so it would be AVL).
A writer friend I met with Saturday felt strongly that I shouldn't change the name. She thought "Society" sounded better and seemed more appropriate for the time I'm probably setting the story, which is about 2001 (close to the year I started writing it). She reflected positively that it reminded her of "Dead Poets Society" (which, it just occurs to me, might be ironic if the kids are familiar with this movie title because the boy they are trying to save is a poet!)

Here are some pros and cons about changing Society to League:

1. I have already spent some time designing an AVS logo, which would take considerable work to redo or replace because I'm not a fast artist. But I'm not sure which would look best in the long run, and the art may need to be re-done by a REAL artist, anyway.

2. I looked up both words in the dictionary, and League seemed a little closer to the active group. Society sounded more like a social or study group--but the studying is one of the first thing that the kids do when they first get together, and they continue studying vampires and potential cures as well as work actively to prevent deaths and save Mary's ex-boyfriend from the becoming a vampire. Also, I recall the animals of the Rescue Aid Society books and movies; they were certainly active rather than a static social group. But they are pretty old stories, too.

3. If I make the change to League, I'll have to change all references in the manuscript, but this is fairly easy using Search and Replace, even though every chapter is in a separate file.

4. "Society" sounds more intellectual than "League." None of the 4 kids are brainiacs. But "League" sounds like a sports thing, and that may not have the right feel. In the story, I had Mary put out the AVS name and one of the kids says, "That sounds so--intellectual." Mary replies, "Well, we're going to have to get really smart really quick." They are sitting in a bedroom with piles of library books and Internet printouts about vampires they are going to pore through when she says this.

5. "League" also puts me in mind of superheroes, and of the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen"--a movie I don't think was out yet in 2001. These kids are far from superheroes, but Mary has extraordinary prophetic dreams that guide her throughout their quests.

6. AVL could be called "Avail" at times if the kids are so inclined. But whether they will avail much is more of a hope than a for-sure thing as they struggle through the darkness to come out the other side.

Whichever name I choose, it's important not just for the all references to it in the books themselves, but for the title of the whole series. I have been fiddling with graphics and some rudimentary cover ideas, and I have even picked out a text font for the series title to go with my logo. It would read on the cover of each book:
AVS The Anti-Vampirism Society

If I change it, it will be:
AVL The Anti-Vampirism League

I welcome all comments about this, and will also post these questions in the YA group I'm a member of.

Ahh... perfect: The Undead Poets Society, although the abbreviation would be unfortunate. (Although... "UPS - Deliver us from evil!")

Hehe! Yes, well, if the boy Hugh becomes undead, he will be the only member of UPS. Okay, now I get your pun! Very clever!

I don't think it's necessary to change Society to League. I think AVS sounds better than AVL. I think it was only the "Anti-Vampirism" that I was questioning originally because it's a 6-syllable da-d'-da-d'-da-d' phrase.

You must be a poet. Reminds me of one of the reasons for rejecting my first and last name together as a pen name (my last name is not posted on this site, and my pen name, Robin Layne, is my first and middle name). I felt that the beat of my "regular" name was two monotonous. Thank you for your input here.

Spelling out the pros and cons helps.
Anybody else want to give input?

True Blood Redeemers?
Nosferatu Regulators?
The RickRoll'd Vamp Society? Because if someone's been turned into a vampire they'll never give them up, let them down, run around and desert them.

Just throwing some ideas out there :)

Thanks for the ideas. After hearing from Francis again and from another writer friend of mine, I have decided to stick with Anti-Vampirism Society (AVS). By the way, I have discovered in another novel an organization called the A.V.A. (American Vampire Association). I am enjoying this book, The Vampire Kitty-Cat Chronicles. It's a lot of fun. It takes the disease view of vampirism. In my story, although the search is for "a cure," no one proves it is a disease as such. I leave the nature of the vampire open to interpretation between the characters. The vampire's protective mother looks at it as a disease and is seeking a cure even before the same idea occurs to the protagonist.

Your book sounds great! I don't mind the name and as long as you're happy with it no one else matters. If you ever do publish it or what ever please let us know!

Thanks, Geena! Nice to make your acquaintence. Is that a kitten hovering over a book in your profile picture? Cute!

Robin wrote: "Spelling out the pros and cons helps.
Anybody else want to give input?"

Society.

:) thats ok Robin and yes, yes it is!