Write Your Book: 2012

Tuesday 10 July 2012

Write Your Book: Act 11- Normal Powers or… SUPER Powers!

Write Your Book: Act 11- Normal Powers or… SUPER Powers!

There are some things that I think American Comics do better at than Manga, and that is the establishment of super powers. Comics seem to delve into the mythos of these powers. They may manifest themselves abruptly and implausibly, e.g. from nuclear power plant explosions, but as long as there is some sort of explanation I’m happy.

There are many examples where Manga does not try to justify their peculiar story settings and character. They can have a whole of school of ninjas, samurais, martial artists, psychics, sorcerers, super geniuses etc. without offer so much as where they came from. Sure, swordplay is embedded in Japanese culture but it seems improbable that their samurais can perform aerial acrobats and slice through rock. There should be a limit to exaggeration. Furthermore, Manga’s concentration of super powers, more often than not makes them not so super. All I’m asking is for super powers to be used sparingly. What’s special should stay special… if that makes any sense…

Iron Man is not a Manga, but there is something to be learnt from the movie’s depiction of super powers. Iron Man is no more than a man in a high-tech suit, yet the process of building and acquiring such powers makes the story believable. On many levels, Iron Man is only as strong as the man inside the suit. Super powers and supervillians need a humble beginning. The audience need answers. Unless, a fantasy world is developed and elaborated to perfection, it needs some ground in reality.

I’m not saying we can’t have an underground sect of magical, shape-shifting, super aliens whom plot to enslave the human race. You can, but the following questions need answering:

Write Your Book: Question of Power

a.) Where did they come from?

b.) Why do they have powers?

c.) How did they arrive on Earth? Have they always been there? If so, how come they have yet to successfully dominat the surface world?

d.) How did this secret sect come to be? How has it remained a secret for this long?

e.) Why are these creatures hell-bent on antagonising humans? What do they hope to gain?

f.) How did the humans first learn of this ‘secret’ sect?

g.) What are the humans doing to combat this threat? How have they managed to fend against this invasion for so long?

h.) Is it possible that the humans have powers too?

…And so the questions go on…

Super powers have limitless potential and can make for a very interesting read. But as they say: “With great powers, comes great responsibility”. (Write your Book)
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Monday 9 July 2012

Write Your Book: Act 10- Only Human

I am not going to deny that quite a lot of story protagonists, are not human. But then again, I feel that it is important for a character to have identifiable human failings. Even, Superman is hindered by his own sense of humane justice. Superman’s weakness to Kryptonite plays second fiddle to how he gets himself exposed to it in the first place. I doubt supervillians would be targeting him in the first place if it were not for the fact that he feels obliged to help innocent civilians.

So here’s a list of human weaknesses to match last lesson’s list of human abilities.

Write Your Book: Top 8 Human Failings

1.) Arrogance: Your character is deluded into thinking that the world revolves around them. In their mind, no one is more important. Your character has a superiority complex and so snubs the thought of teamwork.

2.) Reputation: Your character is the core of rumours and accusations. Decent folks don’t want to be associated with your character. Whether your character is as bad as others say, is not the point. Life is going to be difficult for him/ her.

3.) Cowardice: Your character prefers fleeing over fighting. In their mind, its better to live to fight another day and to generally avoid confrontation. People label him/ her a ‘coward’. Perhaps, that is true.

4.) Dependency: Your character has an acute addiction/ obsession. It could be physical or it could be psychological. Cravings can occur randomly or at set intervals. Your character feels a void that can only be filled by their object of desire.

5.) Lecherous: Your character is Ken Akamatsu.

6.) Love: There is someone that your character holds very dear. Their ambitions will be incomplete without their loved one. This can inhibit them but they would not have it any other way.

7.) Poverty: Money is not the most important thing in life but life is sure difficult for your character. Making ends meet is a constant struggle. Your character would be very content with two meals a day. They feel embarrassed by their underprivileged status.

8.) Temper: Conflict seems a regular occurrence with your character. They simply get too angry too quickly. They can’t help are easily lured into arguments with mere taunts.

The above are but a few examples that I have selected. There are many, many more. Now that you’ve got the point, hurry up with that character creation.

More next lesson. (Write your Book)

Saturday 7 July 2012

Write Your Book: Act 06- Nice Guys Finish Last

Story writing is ridden with assumptions regarding perfect character creation. I am here to bust another myth in writing your book.

There is one design concept that goes: “a reader’s sympathy can be gained when the protagonist is portrayed as a black sheep- the misunderstood everyman”. I would especially like to highlight this point because it is one that annoys me personally. It is a character device that is simply overused. The “black sheep” in this sense, does not refer to the waywardness of the protagonist but rather the negative, recessive traits.

A person who has based their entire work systematically on this device is Ken Akamatsu. However, he is not the only one. There seems to be a growing trend whereby the protagonist, a man, is scorned my others as a klutz, an idiot, or a combination of the two. I imagine the idea is to produce a character that is an underdog and also ‘painfully human’ in their failures. However, what it tends to do is make the creator’s faults and failings all too obvious.

The time when we used to feel sympathy for the klutz (or ‘idiot-pervert’ in Japanese storytelling) is long over. The concept has been exhausted. A character is usually universally scorned for a reason. There isn’t a silver lining at the end of it. When a character is an idiot, that should be the end of it. They don’t have redeeming qualities. For a character-type that is built around finding new and inventive ways to blunder everything up, redeeming qualities seem strained. We don’t need to know what a nice person he is. This effort to induce ‘sympathy’ amongst readers does not sit well with me. Please do not do this when you write your book.

Write Your Book: How to spot the Idiot-Pervert

a.) Described by other characters as “extremely kind-hearted”

b.) Has a “well-meaning” personality

c.) Luckless with/ around women

d.) Gets into situations whereby he “accidently” sees characters of the opposite sex naked or “trips” and touches them inappropriately. (Yeah… …that happen A LOT)

e.) Resilient to taking beatings from female characters. -Taking it like a pro in a masochistic fashion.

f.) Makes the below expression when caught in the act of perving:

It is important to understand that we are in a new era of dynamic characters. I have read Manga where the main character is a complete asshole with no redeeming qualities, save his good looks. But he doesn’t apologise for his existence. An interesting character does not necessary need to be a good guy. The idiotic, loveable fool is a tired cliché and has, frankly, become a soulless character device. Don't do this when you come to write your book.