Totally get the safety thing but you gotta quit cold turkey, it kills all the fun and thats why you're bored at club. Try picking a short book you don't care about and just read it straight through, the surprise gets easier after like two or three books.

Quarter inch trim is dead on @bailey.sam, thin slices cold will change everything.

Funny how this works in real life too. When I catch myself spinning about some big scary thing coming up, like a job interview or a hard talk with someone, the worry usually comes from asking "what if this goes wrong" over and over. The second I flip it to "what do I want to walk away with" my brain actually has something to chew on instead of just spiraling. Stories and people aren't that different, we all move toward something, even if we can't name it yet. That shift from plot to want is probably why it unstuck you, because a character with a want will just start doing things on her own. What does your vampire want, if you don't mind sharing?