In Provo, it's a little gray and dismal today, which means I'm writing and listening to Christmas music. Yes, I know it's August. No, I don't care. Listening to it now doesn't diminish my appreciation for it in December, and I think that any music that encourages joy and goodwill toward others is worth listening to any time of year.
Refraining from raining on my parade is appreciated.
So, this last Tuesday I visited Orem Library. It was great! I loved being there and talking to the kids. I love doing visits; it's one of my favorite perks of being a writer.
The other is writing about crazy bonkers ideas and the "research" that feeds said crazy bonkers ideas.
I have a new project. It's in very, very early stages (I'm drafting a first draft now) so I'm not going to go into too much detail. Suffice it to say, I dreamed (as in at night) up the plot so you know it's going to be strange, and it involves superheroes.
But not superpowers.
It's a weird one, but I'm having fun, and that's all that matters, right?
Anyway, writing a sort-of superhero story involves research. I love it when watching The Flash becomes research. I've also been training for this for years!
(Does this mean I should go see Spider-Man: Homecoming again? For research? I think it does!)
As I've been researching, I've noticed some interesting superhero tropes. We'll see if I play with any of them in my story or not, but either way, they're fun to notice. Educational, too. Like....
- So many characters have alliterative names. Peter Parker, Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, etc.
- Many heroes are scientifically inclined.
- However, the scientifically-inclined heroes fight the villains by brute force.
- Villains, on the other hand, tend to fight using technology and science (what does this say about how we see scientific research, I wonder?).
- The mask and costume are typically spangly and brightly colored.
- Heroes are stronger when united.
- Villains are stronger when alone, as teaming up tends to end in in-fighting and backstabbing.
- Even though heroes are stronger as a team, they tend to punch first, ask questions later, when dealing with conflict.
- Secrets. Secrets everywhere.
- No one (except Hawkeye) seems capable of holding down a spouse and kids.
- Superpowers have associate powers no one talks about. Like superspeed and super-endurance, so the physical body doesn't tear apart (skin needs to be strong, too).
- Superheroes are overwhelmingly on the young side of the spectrum.
- Villains range in age.
- Girl heroes tend to wear their hair down.
I'm going to cap it here. If you were hoping for some deep, meaningful blog post today, sorry to disappoint. I'm just exploring, prewriting, and sharing the things I observed with you. Some of which don't make much sense to me. If I'm going to play soccer, go for a run, or enter a jujitsu tournament, I tie my hair back so it doesn't get in my way. Why don't superhero women do the same? I guess Wonder Woman does have that headband.
So that's good.
Here is this week's debut:
Young Adult:
Mary Taranta - Shimmer and Burn (8/8)
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