Jun 27, 2008 07:30 AM
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We've all been there, sitting at home in our robot-patterned pajamas, eating old cereal and obsessing about the fact that the greatest superhero epic ever is right there in our heads, ready to make us millionaires, if only we could get the damn thing down on paper. But how to write a superhero story?
For those who need more than "Guys in tights punch each other a lot," there's always Superhero Nation, a website that offers your very own guide to becoming the next Stan Lee.
It's not just that Superhero Nation gives you a list of potential superpowers to give your protagonists (Although, really, does "resourcefulness" really count as a superpower?), it also walks you all the way through the writing process, from how to write a superhero fight scene:
I highly recommend capping your fights to 3 people at a time. If you really want more combatants, I’d recommend writing the battle as a series of 2-3 person duels rather than a battle royale with 8+ fighters. This was a problem in Soon I Will Be Invincible.
to common problems with psychic characters:
You’d have to explain why a telekinetic character doesn’t make the most of his powers by rearranging his enemies’ organs.
The site is at its best when giving advice that you wouldn't necessarily expect, but nonetheless appreciate:
When you tell the reader that your book is going to have dragons and ninjas or aliens and battlecruisers, those are part of the premise. One sample premise is “a dragon must learn the ways of the ninja to save the city.” That’s definitely unusual, but not much more unusual than the bestselling “a dragon must learn the ways of the British Navy to save London.” Or “turtles must learn the ways of the ninja to save New York City.” To be sure, some prospective readers won’t like an unusual premise and they’ll read something else. That’s good! 100% of the people that start reading your book like your premise. It’s not “weird” to them, any more than LOTR is “weird” to its readers.
Suddenly I foresee a rash of stories about one-on-one dragon/turtle ninja superheroes. And I mean this in a good way.
How To Write A Superhero Story [Superhero Nation]
Send an email to Graeme McMillan, the author of this post, at graeme@io9.com.
Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.
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