My Spidey Senses
With great power comes great responsibility. Anyone who's seen Spiderman or likes comics knows this.
Right now, I am working on Book #1 of the Gemini Conspiracy. In the first book of the trilogy, it's about a woman who is psychic--not because of an innate gift, but because of human experiments performed on her when she was a foster child. On the one hand, it would be easy to make her just this superhuman chick.
But boring.
Because with great power comes great responsibility. You wouldn't really want to be psychic. It's a burden. That new show Heroes is very much about those burdens. So are all of our superhero movies.
And I think that's the key when depicting ALL heroes and heroines in mysteries or thrillers or romantic suspense or paranormals. The hero or heroine can be a cop, a firefighter, a teacher, a detective, a P.I., a forensics investigator. But unless you show the internal burden of what they do, it's all paint-by-numbers. They have to feel the weight of what they do. Of their gifts--superhuman or otherwise.
As for me, no superhuman powers. Unless you count python wrangling, nursing babies through colds and flu, High Priestess of Homework, and assorted other talents.
And you? What kind of extraordinary abilities does your main character have--what burdens do they carry because of them?
Right now, I am working on Book #1 of the Gemini Conspiracy. In the first book of the trilogy, it's about a woman who is psychic--not because of an innate gift, but because of human experiments performed on her when she was a foster child. On the one hand, it would be easy to make her just this superhuman chick.
But boring.
Because with great power comes great responsibility. You wouldn't really want to be psychic. It's a burden. That new show Heroes is very much about those burdens. So are all of our superhero movies.
And I think that's the key when depicting ALL heroes and heroines in mysteries or thrillers or romantic suspense or paranormals. The hero or heroine can be a cop, a firefighter, a teacher, a detective, a P.I., a forensics investigator. But unless you show the internal burden of what they do, it's all paint-by-numbers. They have to feel the weight of what they do. Of their gifts--superhuman or otherwise.
As for me, no superhuman powers. Unless you count python wrangling, nursing babies through colds and flu, High Priestess of Homework, and assorted other talents.
And you? What kind of extraordinary abilities does your main character have--what burdens do they carry because of them?
posted by Erica Orloff at 5:44 PM
6 Comments:
Awesome post, Erica. Really got me thinking about this.
I love the scene in the movie Stand by Me where one of the boys asks, "If Superman and Mighty Mouse got in a fight, who would win?"
Another boy acts like that's an unbelievably stupid question, because Mighty Mouse is just a cartoon, while Superman is a real guy. Of course Superman would win!
My protag is a real guy.
He doesn't have any super powers, per se, no extraordinary talents that you can put your finger on. He has a soft spot for wayward teens, a unique way of looking at the world, an intense loyalty to his family of friends, and a dogged persistence once he's on something.
Maybe that's his power, and his burden: Not being capable of giving up. Always going the extra mile for a cause he believes in. A one-track mind in search of The Truth.
A real guy who's determined as hell can whip a cartoon any day, IMO.
Jude:
I think those sorts of character can be superhuman. And I really think it's important for character development to know what is their Dark Night of the Soul. When no one else is around, and it's two a.m., and they're sitting there with a bottle of Jack Daniel's FEELING the weight of their journey . . . what is it that is their burden.
I wish I could claim it, but Christopher Hitchens one wrote he doesn't trust any man who hasn't suffered for his faith. It shouldn't come easy. It's about the human struggle.
Good luck with Colt!
E
Colt doesn't drink Jack Daniels. He drinks Old Fitzgerald, because he know the only REAL whiskey is made in Kentucky, with a nod toward Scotland for a good try. :)
One of his emotional burdens: His mother died when he was six, and he was raised by an abusive and alcoholic stepfather (who commited suicide when Colt was sixteen). His real father is still alive, but has never given him the time of day. He feels the heavy burden of rejection from his biological father. Colt regrets never having children of his own, and to prove his own worth as an adult he is compelled to help runaways and kids who have suffered abuse.
His super power, if you can call it that, is empathy. And, while he doesn't have a true photographic memory, he has nearly total recall.
Jude:
I like him more and more every time I find out something new about him.
E
Oh boy. You know the hero of my current wip and what his power is. It's a terrible power, one that has driven him away from civilization because of it. It terrifies him. It's why he has such a tight grip on his emotions.
My heroine's power (lo! I discovered she has powers too!) is empathic. So hee! A hero who maintains such a tight grip on emotions, and a woman who can sense emotions.
Wow. I just came up with that. Just now. Are you some kind of muse or something? Matilda? Is that you???
karm:
No Matilda here. LOL!
But I think it's great you see both their gifts/burdens.
E
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