Heres My Superhero Idea: Guy Whos Pretty Much Normal, But Is Immune To Anyone With Superpowers. If Supervillains

heres my superhero idea: guy who’s pretty much normal, but is immune to anyone with superpowers. if supervillains try to attack him, he’s immune to their powers. if supervillains with powers try to punch him he’s immune. what he’s not immune to, though, is getting regular beaten up by a completely normal man

Prompt #2317

“I have this power,” the Chosen One sighed, “to make people comply with my words alone. I suspect I was supposed to discover it in my hour of greatest need in suitably dramatic fashion, but I developed it early. Told the soldiers to turn around and go home, told the dark lord to kill himself.”

“Well…that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Far fewer people had to die-“

“And I can’t talk to anyone for fear of controlling them. Yeah, it’s fucking great.”

Random mansion generator

The Procgen Mansion Generator produces large three-dee dwellings to toy with your imagination, offering various architectural styles and other options. Each mansion even comes with floorplans:

https://boingboing.net/2019/07/12/random-mansion-generator.html

here have 10 pieces of writing advice that have stuck with me over the years

every character’s first line should be an introduction to who they are as a person

even if you only wrote one sentence on a really bad day, that’s still one sentence more than you had yesterday

exercise restraint when using swear words and extra punctuation in order for them to pack a punch when you do use them

if your characters have to kiss to show they’re in love, then they’re not in love

make every scene interesting (or make every scene your favorite scene), otherwise your readers will be just as bored as you

if you’re stuck on a scene, delete the last line you wrote and go in a different direction, or leave in brackets as placeholders

don’t compare your first draft to published books that could be anywhere from 3rd to 103rd drafts

i promise you the story you want to tell can fit into 100k words or less

sometimes the book isn’t working because it’s not ready to be written or you’re not ready to write it yet; let it marinate for a bit so the idea can develop as you become a better writer

a story written in chronological order takes a lot more discipline and is usually easier to understand than a story written with flashbacks

Writing vs Storytelling Skills

When talking about story writing, “writing skill” typically refers to everything that entails the creation of a story from brainstorming to drafting to editing, and while it’s fine to have a catch-all term for that kind of thing, it can be a bit misleading.

There’s a point many newer writers reach where they can tell that something is generally wrong but they can’t figure out what. To most effectively work on a skill you need to be able to identify what the problem is, and a good place to start is to take a look at yourself and ask if your skills are better as a writer or a storyteller.

(Editing is like a 3rd category because doing it well requires a good critical eye and strong technical skills, but for the sake of non-professional, personal editing, it can fit under “writing”.)

Writing and storytelling skills aren’t mutually exclusive. For very specific skills they’re divisible, but in general they affect each other and working on one tends to see some form of improvement in the other. Like with all skills, you can easily reach a point where you’re good at both, but most people have a natural inclination toward one or the other and it’s always good to know where you fall. 

Writing skill is more technical. It’s concerned with elements like sentence flow, diction, structure, and other literary techniques. These writers usually work best with paper in front of them and practical application.

Storytelling skill is more conceptual. It’s concerned with plot, meaning, and entertainment. These writers usually work best in their mind and with theoretical ideas.

There are some signs that may help you discover where your natural strength lies, but remember that it’s possible to have a mix of skills and that some of the signs are situational and can be influenced by other factors. Mileage may vary on how rigidly these apply.

Signs of writing skills being more your strength:

Writer’s block may more frequently come from not knowing what to write or where to go, rather than not knowing how to write it.**

These writers tend to be good with essays or explaining ideas with the written word.

These writers tend to prefer planning stories before starting so they can focus on the writing rather than immediately making up where they have to go.

Editing brings out more issues with plot or story concepts rather than unclear writing or grammar. 

They tend to write more detailed descriptions, better exposition, and have a good understanding of technical literary techniques like diction.

More likely to understand exactly what tweaking a scene needs to convey a specific concept or idea, particularity when rereading for editing.

Signs of storytelling skills being more your strength:

Writer’s block may more frequently come from not knowing how to write something rather than what needs to happen.**

Coming up with the sequence of plot events is easier than finding the words to describe it.

These writers tend to not need as much planning because their mind is wired to connect plot points and concepts on the fly.

Editing tends to brings out issues with poorer clarity of explanations, skeleton writing (not enough description; too much plot), or simplistic wording. 

They tend to better understand plot cause-effect, tension and entertainment, and have a good understanding of thematic literary techniques like plot structure.

Ideas and plots are more naturally structured for the medium they’ll be used for, rather than frequently found to better off on TV or in another type of storytelling.

(**Writer’s block can be a complicated issue that, compared to the other points, has the highest level of variation for why it occurs.)

There’s no such thing as being too skilled in one area, but a severe imbalance can show up in ways like:

If writing skill is much higher than storytelling skill, the writing will be structurally sound and pleasant to read, but the plot may be full of holes and not that enthralling. 

If storytelling skill is much higher than writing skill, the premise of the story may be interesting and well thought-out but the writing may be dull and/or disconnecting to the audience.

The exact implications of the imbalance will vary per story and per degree of issue.

In the end, there’s no such thing as a perfect writer. A division of skillsets doesn’t mean you can’t have varying abilities in both, but knowing where you tend to fall as a writer can be a first step toward finding better resources for what you need to improve. So take a look at which side of the fence you tend to fall on; your future progress will thank you.

Thinking of asking a question? Please read the Rules and Considerations to make sure I’m the right resource, and check the Tag List to see if your question has already been asked. Also taking donations via Venmo Username: JustAWritingAid

My only real and valid writing tip is that you google every word you make up for your fantasy stories. That's It