demiurgent: (Leather! (by kidkappira))
demiurgent ([personal profile] demiurgent) wrote2007-12-22 03:52 pm

...oh....

So one of the things in the back of my head, while working on Justice Wing stuff, is "where can I go with this."

I mean, it's fun to write, but the major difference between it and Superguy (besides my being a significantly better writer now than I was back in the day) is it could go somewhere. I could actually publish a novel.

But... writing superhero fiction is dicey, because absent the characters that have already entered the culture, there's pretty steep barrier. You have to introduce everyone, set things, and also be engaging enough to be read.

And if you're going to write a novel about stuff like this... well, I realize, I'm a lit major, but... I'd like to write something with something under the surface a little deeper than "Power Guy smacked Evilite while Spandex Babe arched, her suit straining." I mean, it's not going to be The Great Gatsby but I'd rather it not be Remo Williams has sex and kills a dude too, you know?

And then it smacked me in my brain. Which means not only do I have my novel? But I'm already twelve thousand words into it.

And Christ knows how many I'll need to get out of it.

I guess I know what's going to dominate Banter Latte for the next few weeks.

[identity profile] masonk.livejournal.com 2007-12-22 08:55 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh no you don't. Oh no you don't! You promised me League after the next Justice Wing, which you've posted. Get back to work!

(Yes, my tongue is fully in my cheek, for those who don't know me...)

[identity profile] snowspinner.livejournal.com 2007-12-22 09:00 pm (UTC)(link)
The other problem that often arises when introducing superhero characters is that superhero comics have grown increasingly meta. There aren't many stories about a magical man who fell to earth, was raised by farmers, and went on to do wonderful things, or stories about a man who saw his parents killed in front of him and swore to avenge them by becoming a bat. The stories are about Superman and Batman as cultural symbols and as massively long-running stories. And even when you have new superhero stuff it's based heavily on the old archetypes, so that you're still telling a story about Superman or about Batman, just not using them.

[identity profile] lurkerwithout.livejournal.com 2007-12-22 11:27 pm (UTC)(link)
Have you checked out Soon I will be Invincible? Good book and it addresses some of the meta/archtype stuff...