• For example, generally, it’s a mistake to try capturing a hero rather than just killing him (because the hero will always escape).   However, if the villain needs a human shield right now, an intelligent villain might plausibly decide that leaving the hero alive for now is his best plan.
• It’s generally a bad idea to have vents that are big enough for a man to crawl through, because someone like Batman will exploit them.  In The Taxman Must Die, one very intelligent villain knows that large vents are dangerous, but builds a holding cell with large vents to pump in enough cold air to suppress a hero vulnerable to cold.
• Building a walkway above a vat of highly dangerous chemicals can lead to all sorts of accidents.  In TTMD, one villain does, but just so that he can kill off an unruly employee with an “accident” if he has to.  In contrast, it’d just be idiotic if the villain built the walkway for no reason and got himself pushed into the vat.

2. If the villain does make a mistake, hopefully the hero forced him into a difficult decision.   For example, if the hero has stolen and hidden some critical piece of equipment, it’d make sense if a villain really wanted to take him alive rather than kill him on sight.  In that case, killing the hero would cost the villain something (he’d have to find the equipment himself rather than just torture the information out of the hero).

3. If the supervillain’s signature flaw(s) causes the villain to make a mistake, hopefully the hero exploited the flaw.  For example, if an incredibly proud villain captures the hero’s superweapon or power-suit, it wouldn’t be very satisfying if he relaxed his guard on his own just because he thought he had won.  One example that would be more interesting is if the heroes planted misinformation that made the villain think that the fighting was all but over.  (E.g. if the Justice League’s headquarters has been bugged, maybe the Justice League members could hold a fake meeting where they break up the group because supposedly it’s too dangerous to keep fighting.  A proud supervillain may think the real fighting is all but over and get caught off-guard when the heroes actually attack).  I would generally recommend giving your heroes as large of a role as possible in the downfall of the villains.

4. A brilliant villain might make a “mistake” that is actually a trap.  For example, you know those scenes where the heroes successfully guess the villain’s password and steal all of the incriminating evidence?  A brilliant villain might set up his computer so that it pretends to log in successfully after a certain number of incorrect passwords, but only gives the heroes access to reams of incorrect information.  This incorrect information might frame other important characters, which could cause the heroes to do something that angers characters that wouldn’t otherwise have been a problem.  (For example, instead of giving the heroes any sort of valuable information in Watchmen, maybe Ozymandias’ computer could have given false information implicating President Nixon and/or the Soviets in Ozymandias’ scheme?  It would have distracted the heroes from what was actually going on and might have drawn them into conflict with a powerful third party).  Another cool, intelligent thing a villain can do with passwords is have his computer immediately notify security if it registers an incorrect log-in attempt.  (Depending on the situation, it might make sense to immediately attack the intruders, but if the intruders are police officers, then it might be better to feed them misleading information than try to kill them).

Are there any particularly clever subversions you’ve used in your superhero stories?  Please let me know in the comments below.

1. You can use supersenses to develop an unusual point of view.  For example, maybe a nonhuman is supernaturally talented at perceiving something highly relevant to his species and/or culture.  (E.g. if an alien comes from a desert world, maybe he’s supernaturally aware of temperature and moisture and can apply those to social interactions—a human’s body temperature increases in stressful situations, for example).   Alternately, perhaps the character is a skilled hunter (e.g. Wolverine).  A musically-inclined characters might be able to hear emotions in a character’s voice that most people couldn’t, which may be useful in high-stakes social situations.

1.1. If the character has developed superpowers fairly recently, he/she may be blown away by extremely strong sensory experiences.  That is one possible way to show how a character’s superpowers affect his/her perspective.  Hat-tip to R.G. in the comments below.

2. You can do a scene or plot arc that hinges on only one character perceiving something.  For example, Daredevil’s senses allow him to figure out who’s lying pretty quickly, but he still has to prove it to actually break the case.  Alternately, you could do a plot where only one character can perceive a particular threat and needs to either deal with it himself or convince others that he’s not crazy.

3. Superpowers can cover a few inconvenient plot holes, especially for superhero stories.  

• How did Superman know that the bank was being robbed just then? (He heard the alarm from across town). 
• How does the superhero beat the police to finding the supervillain?  Supersenses may play a role here—a hero might glean information from a crime scene that they missed, or pick up a trail that they missed.  Note that this doesn’t actually have to be a superpower.  For example, Sherlock Holmes and Bruce Wayne are both attentive but it’s not supernatural, unlike (say) x-ray vision.  Alternately, maybe the hero’s senses aren’t that much better, but the hero has resources and/or tactics and/or contacts the police don’t have and/or won’t consider.  
• A highly perceptive character might be more aware to characters surreptitiously trying to communicate something while being observed by hostiles.  For example, if Clark Kent calls Lois Lane and she says she’s okay but sounds subtly distressed, that might tip him off that she’s actually being held at gunpoint by a kidnapper or burglar.   Another possibility is that heightened senses can help partners/teammates coordinate while being observed.  For example, in a superhero story, if a supervillain and his goons meet the superheroes in an attempt to blackmail the heroes, one hero might cue another that he’s about to attack.  It could be useful in maintaining the element of surprise.   

4. Heightened senses (superhuman or otherwise) can play a variety of roles in a story, particularly a detective story. 

• Senses can tip off a character to another character’s intentions and/or a dangerous situation.  For example, if a mysterious person approaches the protagonist, the ability to perceive a concealed weapon could really help the hero understand what’s going on.
• Heightened senses can really help in studying a crime scene and figuring out what happened.   For example, if the police are stumped about how a victim was murdered in his house without any sign of forced entry, a lingering waft of perfume at the crime scene might indicate to a highly perceptive protagonist that the murderer was probably romantically involved with the victim.

PS: Biologically speaking, Marvel mutants probably count as the same species as humans.  If two organisms can have fertile offspring, they are (biologically speaking) part of the same species.

I haven’t read it, so I can’t comment on the writing, but I think the cover is very informative. I’m not particularly interested in the genre, but I think it does a very good job of marketing itself to readers that would be interested.  Even the logo is eye-catching.

• The character’s personality comes across in his appearance.
• I like the twists on actual medical symbols (Caduceus’s snakes become demonic leeches, the medical staff is replaced with a bloody sword, and even the Red Cross gets subverted).
• The red, white and black color scheme is striking.
• The art is actually similar to what you’ll see inside the book.  One thing I find annoying is when the cover looks really solid but the art inside is at best mediocre.

2.  Make your cover letter as specific as possible–what have you achieved?  I’d much rather read examples showing traits you have than you just telling me which traits you have.  For example, rather than just telling me you have drive, describe a job where you demonstrated drive.  Instead of telling me you’re creative and/or a problem-solver, tell me about a time you creatively solved a major problem.  (Alternately, if it’s applicable to the position*, look at what they’re producing and offer a concrete suggestion for improvement.  I was pleasantly surprised that one candidate looked at our website and offered an idea that was worth considering–it gives me a better idea that the candidate has something to contribute and will fit in better into our creative process).

*But keep it as tailored to the position as possible.  Entry-level employees generally aren’t hired for their ability to make huge strategic decisions and it might look pretentious for a prospective intern without any experience in the field to propose changes that would be better-suited for the board of directors.

3. Be friendly, not unlikable.  For example, if a company has a silly application requirement (like a “if you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?” essay question), your options are either 1) fulfill the requirement in a professional way or 2) don’t apply to that company if you dislike the requirement that much. Applying with an essay about how much you hated writing the essay and/or found it pointless would be a waste of time.  If the job description was absolutely idiotic, perhaps because it was written by a Human Resources professional that was not at all familiar with the position, be classy and professional.

• PROFESSIONAL: “I believe I’d be a very good fit for this position, having 5 years of experience programming for [company] in HAXIMUS, although I do not yet have the required 10 years of experience with HAXIMUS.  There may have been a typo in the job description, since HAXIMUS was introduced 8 years ago.  [Follow up with a paragraph about a notable project you've successfully completed with HAXIMUS].”
• REJECTED: “Whoever wrote that job description is obviously an idiot.”  This candidate should think more about how he/she is demonstrating his ability to work with and assist coworkers that have bitten off more than they can chew, especially considering that the person that wrote the idiotic job description is probably a Human Resources staffer reading the applications.

4. Please make sure that you tailor your cover letter and resume for each particular position.  One easy way to do so is to take 2 or 3 traits and/or key responsibilities from the job description and spend a paragraph covering specific achievements that show you have each trait or have demonstrated the ability to perform the job responsibility.  If you do so in a remotely coherent way (and are at least remotely qualified), I can pretty much guarantee that the reader will at least glance at your resume.

Target audience: “I’m not sure what the target audience would be…I’m suspecting male teenagers would be the primary audience for this sort of thing, but there is a chance that an older audience might find it interesting, as well as a female audience.”

“’Don’t sugar-coat your advice, but please try to be polite.’ While this is my first time posting something like this on an open forum, I really want to know what others think about this premise/idea.”

1. A lack of money.  Superheroics can result in injuries, but anybody with a secret identity probably wouldn’t want to reveal those injuries to an insurance company.  (Otherwise, they’d need to lie to the insurance company or reveal their secret identity).  Second, a lot of superheroes spend what must be substantial amounts of money on their superheroics.  For example, Peter Parker is practically on the verge of starvation (and has been evicted at least once), but even he’s buying high-grade flame-retardant fabric for costumes. Even a wealthier team like the Fantastic Four could have financial difficulties sometimes.  Their headquarter alone would probably cost hundreds of millions of dollars a year (in financing/interest, property taxes, maintenance, insurance to protect nearby buildings from FF science, building upgrades, etc).

1.1. Troubles at work and/or school.  Superheroes don’t have very much control over when supervillains attack, so they frequently have trouble maintaining a regular work schedule.  Superheroes can take some steps to minimize the damage to their day jobs, but a worker that’s frequently late and/or absent without leave will probably get in trouble with his/her boss and/or school.

2. Physical stresses of a highly dangerous job.  For example, injuries stemming from fights or overexertion, a lack of sleep and/or time to recuperate, exposure to highly dangerous chemicals or alien symbiotes, mild aging (Batman’s at least in his 40s), etc.

3. Pressure from friends/family/loved ones to give up or minimize superheroic activities.  They may be concerned about the superhero’s well-being because it’s such a dangerous job and/or the superhero might not be well-suited for the job.  Alternately, a spouse or lover may feel that the toll on their relationship is getting too high, particularly if he/she has been kidnapped or nearly killed before.

4. Disagreements with other protagonists (superpowered or otherwise).  For example, Lucius parted ways with Batman over philosophical differences.  Superheroes might privately and/or publicly hold each other accountable if a mission goes awry. Alternately, if there’s a crime or disaster where multiple superhero groups respond, the groups might have trouble cooperating–the teams might be very different philosophically, tactically, demographically, etc.  If a super-SWAT team and a team of superpowered high school students both respond to a hostage crisis, there are a variety of reasons the SWAT commandos would not want to trust the students with any responsibility.  Peter Parker is good at many things, but he’s not extremely methodical and probably doesn’t have much experience with hostage situations.  Alternately, the high school students might have trouble cooperating with the SWAT team, if they’re convinced that the SWAT team is so gung-ho they’re going to get a lot of hostages killed and/or the SWAT commandos don’t have the right superpowers for this situation and/or are using a more standard set of strategies against a completely unpredictable adversary.

5. Impermanent superpowers.  In most superhero stories, superpowers are permanent.  Some stories take away superpowers for short periods (for example, Kryptonite temporarily drains Superman’s powers), but you could also make the problem more long-term.  What if the character’s powers are naturally fading away because of aging, overuse or a weakening of the power source? Maybe the price of recharging his powers is so high that the character isn’t willing to go through with it?

6. Superpowers that don’t handle low-level situations well.  For example, some superpowers would be tricky to use in a situation that wasn’t life-or-death.  If the Human Torch tries to stop a minor scuffle like a bar brawl, he’d have to think creatively about how to get involved without torching someone that is probably more of a nuisance than a superpowered threat to humanity.  He’d probably also want to think about any potential harm to bystanders.  It’d be highly risky to break out fire in a crowded building because it could trigger the fire alarm and set off a fatal stampede.

6.1. Imprecise superpowers.  Most people aren’t 100% accurate at anything.  What would make one person less accurate/precise than another?

• Some characters might not have as much fine control as others do, even though their powers might be similar.  For example, one telekinetic might be able to mentally pluck bullets from the air or turn a screw, whereas another telekinetic might be more powerful but less precise.
• Some superpowers are naturally harder to aim, especially at a distance.  If a criminal is 50 feet away and running, a superstrong character would probably have a harder time stopping him than a psychic or an elemental controller would.  Even at point-blank range, a superstrong character might have trouble exploiting a tiny vulnerability (like, say, the clasps on Juggernaut’s helmet).
• Some superpowers have splash damage that is hard to control.  For example, a superstrong attack is likely to cause reverberations that could be dangerous to passersby.  Even if a fire-based attack is aimed perfectly at a hostage-taker, the hostage would probably get burned even if the fire doesn’t touch him.
• The superpowers may require concentration and/or careful aim.  In a stressful situation, it’s easy to get distracted and/or nervous and/or make unsound split-second decisions.  A character with less training and less experience is more likely to make interesting mistakes here.
• Other factors that might matter: whether the shooter is moving, whether the target is moving, whether the target has cover and/or a human shield, distance, visibility, weather conditions, whether there are superpowers in play that interrupt or disrupt other superpowers, etc.

7.  Unreasonably high expectations on the part of the hero and/or other protagonists and/or public at large.  Superman or not, Metropolis will have murders.  Even Superman can’t be everywhere.  That said, a hero might have trouble looking at it like that without feeling like he/she was writing people off and/or making excuses for failure.  Members of the public may get bitter if a loved one gets killed because they might (justifiably) feel there’s a double standard at work.  Let’s face it–if murder victim Jane Doe had been dating a superhero, the superhero would have prevented the murder.  “Superheroes may say they don’t have time to save everybody, but they always seem to have time to save the people they care about.”  Alternately, a more powerful and/or skilled superhero may expect too much of other characters.  A superhero that has the ability to summon a horde of celestial super-beings might be disappointed if his partner the BMX Bandit can’t keep up.  Alternately, the BMX Bandit might get annoyed because he feels like he’s getting shown up by his partner and/or isn’t getting enough of an opportunity to put his skills to use.

8. Side-effects of superpowers. Whatever caused the character to get superpowers could also result in obstacles down the road.  For example:

• Physical–for example, maybe the person’s body can’t handle the superpowers and/or the body changes in some way that causes complications.  Tony Stark has medical issues related to his origin and Slate is far too heavy to use an elevator or chair.
• Mental–for example, the person’s personality shifts or he has a Hulk-style personality split.
• Social–for example, discrimination against mutants.

9. Team-related conflict.  It’d be impossible to design a company where there wasn’t some sort of potential friction between employees and/or leaders.  In a highly stressful field like superheroics, the media would create some even if there weren’t much to begin with.

10. Conflict with society at large (the public, the police, the press, government as a whole, etc).  Superheroes tend to commit many felonies, so you have room to run with this if you’d like.

Fortunately, Word makes it extremely easy to break your novel manuscript into easily navigable chapters.  This should take fewer than 10 seconds a chapter, once you get the hang of it.

Step 1: Open your navigation pane if it isn’t already.  It’s in the View tab.

Step 2: Apply the style “Header 1″ to your chapter titles.  It’s in the Home tab.  Just highlight your chapter title and click on Heading 1 (or Heading 2, if you prefer).

Optional Step 3: When you’re ready to add a new chapter, I recommend doing a page break so that each chapter will always start on its own page.  To insert a page break, you can either use the short cut Ctrl + Enter or clicking the Page Break button in the Insert tab.

Step 4: Apply Steps 2-3 to each of your chapter titles.  After doing so, your navigation pane is a table of contents with a button that you can click to skip immediately to that chapter.  It’s much easier than having a bajillion documents open at once or figuring out which folder you’ve saved Chapter 10 in or which version of Chapter 10 is the most recent.

Problem 1: The character doesn’t have a distinct personality.

A) Make sure the character has distinct traits.  Can you name 3-4 adjectives that fit your character really well but not most other protagonists in your genre?  If not, please see this list of character traits for some possibilities and this article about how to use traits to develop characters.

B) Give him at least one flaw, a trait that makes it harder for him to achieve his goals and preferably leads to some conflict with sympathetic characters.   Some authors back into rarely-interesting “flaws” like being overly modest or “caring too much.”  If you can use those flaw(s) to create conflict or obstacles, that’s fine.  For example, maybe he wants to succeed in a job where modesty is an obstacle (e.g. marketing, sales or politics).  If you can’t use the flaw to create conflict, I’d recommend trying a different flaw instead or possibly rewriting the plot to accommodate the character.  For example, if you were really dead-set on a character whose signature flaw was his total inability to play the didgeridoo, maybe he’s growing up in a culture where mastering the didgeridoo is a critical rite of passage and/or the main way to pick up ladies.  For more on flaws and challenging characters, please see this article.

C) If all else fails, play up traits to the extreme.  Anything is better than having your character do and say “whatever the author feels like today,” and unfortunately I see many WTAFLT characters.  It’s generally easier to rewrite a character whose traits are too strong than one whose traits are too bland/unclear.

D) Make sure your plot gives your protagonists chances to make unusual choices. If 99% of protagonists from your genre would act the same way if they were in your plot, you’re not giving your protagonist a chance to distinguish himself.  If there’s a goal, a principle or a possession your character values much more than most other protagonists would, your character might make an unusual decision to protect/advance it.  For example, the fugitive protagonist of Point of Impact breaks into an FBI-guarded morgue to reclaim and properly bury his dead dog. It’s a memorable scene because the character is putting himself on the line for a goal that wouldn’t matter to most action protagonists–almost every protagonist would just skip to getting revenge or clearing his name.

E) Flesh out his perspective–what are some things he would notice or comment on that most other people wouldn’t?  What are some things he would draw connections between that most people wouldn’t?  For example, in a superhero-style world where people like Lois Lane or Mary Jane get kidnapped repeatedly, a veteran superhero (or investigator) might guess that anyone that’s been kidnapped by a supervillain for no readily obvious reason is probably very close to a superhero.

F) Force your main character to do or say at least one thing per page that he would do but you wouldn’t.  Don’t let your character get hemmed in by what you would do–most authors aren’t interesting or honest/circumspect enough to make an autobiography work.  Also, if at all possible, please force your main character to do/say at least one thing per page that your other characters wouldn’t.  That will really help the main character feel distinct.  If that’s not possible, I would recommend reevaluating whether the character has distinct traits and whether the plot is giving him opportunities to show those traits.

Problem 2: The character doesn’t have a pressing goal. 

A. If the character doesn’t already have a pressing goal, give him one.  If the character did have a goal but it petered out or he accomplished it too quickly, either create a new obstacle that endangers his accomplishment or transition into a new goal.

B. The goal doesn’t need to be life or death, but the character needs to feel the stakes are high.  If the character can just walk away, the plot is liable to fall apart.  Here are some tips on ways to motivate a character.

C. If you’re near the start of the book and aren’t willing/able to introduce the main goal yet, at least use an intermediate goal to propel the story.  For example, Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World uses Scott’s relationship with Knives Chau to establish that Scott has major problems (he’s dealing with a hard break-up and is dating a high school girl) before we’re introduced to the main love interest and the Seven Evil Exes that are trying to keep Scott from the main love interest. In Iron-Man, we’re introduced to an intermediate villain (the terrorist that kidnapped Tony Stark) well before Tony realizes the identity of the main villain.  The Taxman Must Die starts with an intermediate villain trying to assassinate an IRS protagonist, but the actual villain is someone else altogether.

Problem 3: Nothing’s at stake and/or there isn’t any chance of failure. 

A. Show us that failure is possible by letting the character make a big mistake.  For example, Peter Parker’s most interesting decision–and possibly the most interesting thing about him altogether–is that he didn’t stop the robber, which got Uncle Ben killed.  A taste of failure raises the stakes on whether the character will actually succeed.

B. When a character fails, make sure there are real consequences.  If there are no consequences to failure, then it doesn’t really matter whether the character succeeds or not.  For example, some possible consequences of intermediate failures might include:

• Suffering a major setback on the way to accomplishing his goal, preferably one that will make it harder for him to accomplish the goal next time.
• A significant loss of status (like public humiliation or a demotion).
• Suffering a major setback in an important relationship (like a breakup or a sidekick deciding to part ways).
• The villain accomplishes some (usually intermediate) goal to raise the stakes.
• Something unpleasant happens  to a loved one or bystanders.  This may be physical (like a hostage getting shot if a superhero screws up), but it might not be.  For example, if Al does something that causes Brenda to break up with him, and Brenda starts dating Carl to make Al feel jealous, Carl is collateral damage.
• The hero loses faith and/or faces a new mental obstacle and/or exacerbates an old mental obstacle.
• Allies become less committed to the hero, prospective allies are lost and/or new enemies emerge.
• Serious injury.
• The villain and/or the hero’s loved one(s) learn information that ends up damaging the hero.
• An important resource is lost, damaged or destroyed.  For example, in one Seinfeld episode, George used a photograph of a beautiful woman (supposedly his dearly departed wife) to gain admission into a super-exclusive club for supermodels… until he accidentally set the photograph on fire.
• Getting fired.
• Punishment.

C. Increase the challenge level so that the character will fail occasionally.  For more ideas there, please see this article.

D. What are 1-2 things this character wants to accomplish that readers wouldn’t want him to? You can have him approach those precipices to raise doubt about what, exactly, he/she will accomplish.  For example, a romance protagonist might start falling for a false love interest to raise doubt about whether he/she will find a way to be with a more sympathetic character.

Problem 4: The character is too passive.

A. Cut the whining–have the character act to solve his problems.  Complaining is very rarely an interesting course of action.  I’d much rather read about, say, a drafted superhero trying to get himself fired or blackmail his boss into letting him go than someone who just complains about how much he hates being drafted.  In particular, I’d recommend being creative with your young characters–e.g. if a kid wants something but his parents won’t buy it for him, have him try to enact some sort of plan to get it anyway rather than just complaining about how mean his parents are.  Whatever he tries (persuasion/reasoning, stealth/theft, coercion/extortion/blackmail, hard work, holding a series of bake-sales until he has $130 for a deactivated bazooka and a DVD about how to reactivate a deactivated bazooka, etc), it will surely be more interesting than complaining.

B. Raise the costs of inaction.  For example, pretty much all of the consequences for failure above could convince a character to act.  Alternately, perhaps the plot incorporates a ticking clock and there’s no time to sit around.  My favorite example of a ticking clock so far is D.O.A., a story about a poisoned detective who has two days to solve his own murder.

• The characters’ personalities and key traits.
• Their goals.
• Their unusual decisions.
• Their voices.
• The scenes the characters use the superpowers in.
• Secondarily, any unique touches on your superpowers and how you portray them.

SN guest writer Jeremy Melloul is trying to raise funds for his upcoming comic book on KickStarter.  Screws Loose is a supernatural military thriller about a team of mercenaries that finds a mysterious crate.  Even a $10 donation gets you a copy of the comic (when it comes out) and a $25 donation gets you a copy and character designs.  I have donated $150 in the off-hand chance that the mysterious crate holds a bathtub full of rabid mongeese.  “That’ll teach you to be a mercenary in a supernatural thriller!”

(I wonder if there’s any chance his thank you card will have a sketch of his characters fighting off a bathtub of rabid mongeese.  That would be the most badass thank you card I’ve ever seen).