Please see the comments below.  Thanks!

One of the most common mental mistakes that plagues writers is the logical fallacy that if they do or prefer something, their target audience does too.  Not necessarily!  Here are a few ways in which readers tend to differ from authors.

1.  Readers are usually less patient than writers. As a result, they tend to get aggravated when the author doesn’t give them enough information.  (Rule of thumb: the readers are entitled to anything relevant that the POV knows).  Many writers like being cryptic because they think that hiding the POV’s information from the reader will create intrigue.  Most readers do not like reading cryptic works.

2.  Readers start at page 1 and typically will put down the book as soon as they are dissatisfied. Ahem–they aren’t patient.  This means that the quality of the opening few pages is absolutely critical to readers. In contrast, writers often phone in the beginning because they want to get to the “meat” of the story or whatever.  THAT IS A MISTAKE.  Most readers will not plod along in the hopes that the story will get interesting or clear.  They will put down the book unless it is interesting and clear from page one.

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In the sidebar on the left side of SN, I’ve separated it into two lists, one for my favorite sites about writing and another for my favorite sites about superheroes and/or comic books.  I’ve also added a few links.  Check it out! 

I’m also starting a new free blog-review/linking service.  If you would like me to consider linking a website, please send me a link and I’ll get right on it. If you submit your own website, I will also throw in a free review (what works, suggestions for improvement, etc). If you’re interested in submitting a site(s), please leave a comment here or e-mail me at superheronation[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks!

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Here’s an amusing excerpt from a Washington Post article…

“We are at a point where no one could have even imagined 15 years ago,” said Albert J. Lurigio, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Loyola University who has written about electronic monitoring and privacy since a New Mexico judge, inspired by Spider-Man comics, became the first to sentence a defendant to home confinement with an electronic monitor. 

Does this mean we’re on the verge of surgically implanting explosive nanites in dangerous parolees? In your face, recidivism!

In most cases, a comic book writer will have the text describe what is visually shown in the panels.   For example, if two characters are speaking, usually the panel will show the characters as they speak.  But there are some great reasons you might want to consider using removed narration, where the speakers are out of the panel. 

For example, Gotham Central includes a scene where an officer is describing a raid to Internal Affairs off-panel.  On-panel, we see the raid happen in a totally different way.  That’s effective storytelling because (short-answer) it shows us that the cop is lying about what happened.  If we only saw the cop as he talked, it wouldn’t be as clear or as striking as seeing the truth. 

Here are some reasons you might want to consider removed narration. 

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Tom first addressed how to write for readers aged 8-13 here.  Here are more suggestions. 

1.  Don’t make your language more complicated than necessary.  I don’t think that you need to dumb down your vocabulary, but your book must be easy to read.  If your readers struggle with twisting sentences and flowery language, they will probably put down the book.  That’s particularly important if your book is meant to be read as entertainment (read: not assigned in classes).  

2.  Relatability is key.  This does not mean that your protagonist has to be a 8-13 year old student facing typical school issues.  But something about the character and his struggles has to resonate with readers.  Hopefully there are at least some parallels between what your characters are facing that will make it feel familiar to your audience.  For example, Luke Skywalker argued with his uncle about argued with his uncle over where he’d go to school and what he’d study.  I think that relatability is always important, but it’s particularly tricky for authors writing for young readers because the readers don’t have as many life experiences to relate things to– they’ve never had a job and they’ve only seen one side of family life, for example.  So, if the characters are removed from a school-like environment, the relationships are probably critical.  For example, kids can’t relate to the life of a superhero per se, but The Incredibles and (to some extent) Fantastic Four tried to make it relatable by focusing on the family angle. 

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Please see the comments below.  Thanks.

1.  Well-constructed characters generally do not need weaknesses. If you have to resort to something like a vulnerability to Kryptonite or the color yellow or whatever, it’s probably because the character is too powerful to begin with.  Something like Kryptonite is not a satisfying or particularly effective way to resolve that.  For one thing, going from “largely unchallengeable” to “helpless rag-doll” does not make for great fight scenes.  Also, relying on Kryptonite may force writers to pull goofy Kryptonite Ex Machinas where minor criminals somehow have access to rare and random substances. 

2.  From a business/publishing standpoint, I think you will go a bit farther without any weaknesses.  In the past twenty or thirty years, there haven’t been many major superheroes that have been successfully introduced with Kryptonite-style weaknesses. 

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“John almost slapped his wife.”

It rarely matters what the character is not doing, or is almost doing, or whatever. Positive actions– what the character is doing or has done– are almost always more powerful.

One of the problems is that telling us what almost happened is usually dull narratorial exposition. If what the character almost does is really that important, please at least show it with an action rather than narrate it. (Show, don’t tell!) For example, instead of “Mary almost shot Jamal,” it would be much more effective to show her hand wavering as she holds the gun on Jamal. First, it’s more visceral and easier to visualize. Second, it’s very awkward to switch from a character almost doing something to actually doing it.  That’s a problem because saying that someone almost does something essentially takes the action off the table, which damages the suspense.  In contrast, when Mary’s shakily holding the gun against Jamal, we don’t know whether she will shoot. It gives us more to wonder about.

Another problem is that telling us what doesn’t happen is rarely necessary. If it is truly notable that the character does not do something, the reader will notice whether or not you explicitly say it. For example, here’s an author explicitly telling us that a husband doesn’t respond to a serious accusation.

“You’ve been cheating on me,” she said.

He didn’t say anything.

“He didn’t say anything” is wasted space that could have been used to develop his emotional state and personality. Check out these alternatives.

“You’ve been cheating on me,” she said.

He buttered his toast. OR He studied his shoes. OR He shrugged.

In each of these cases, the reader will still notice that the husband doesn’t say anything. But the positive action adds emotional depth. The character that butters his toast is eerily nonchalant and will probably come off as callous. The guy that studies his shoes is understandably embarrassed. If the author just leaves it at “he didn’t say anything,” we don’t pick up any of these emotional cues.

You can see the Associated Press’ take here and The Wall Street Journal has more here (subscription required?).   I have a few thoughts below.

• Disney is paying roughly $50 per share, which is a 29% premium over Friday’s closing.  If you own Marvel stock, you will come out ahead quite nicely on this.  It was trading around $25 earlier this year.
• I am cautiously optimistic that Disney knows how to buy a successful firm without ruining what made it successful.  For example, Pixar’s movies didn’t drop in quality after the Disney buyout.  (Nor have they released a lot of straight-to-DVD sequels to successful movies).
• I doubt this will have a noticeable impact on Marvel’s products.  Even the movies.
• I think Disney is the biggest loser here.  It’s betting 4 billion dollars that it can leverage Marvel’s characters better than Marvel did.  I’m skeptical.