Also, I like that they casted Zachary Quinto (Sylar from Heroes) as Spock.  Except for  James Lee (Ando), he’s the only Heroes actor that strikes me as remotely talented. However, Quinto will probably go farther in Hollywood because he has the crucial advantage of being non-Asian.  Nobody’s Asian in the Movies, except for kung fu stars and ninjas. 

We just got up to 10,000 comments. Congratulations to Holliequ.

1. A hero’s gadgets are only interesting when he uses them in an exciting and/or unexpected way. No one will say “Wow, he had shark repellent!” But they will be impressed if your hero comes up with a clever way to apply a general tool. Versatile, general tools tend to be more interesting than gadgets that are only useful in a particular situation.

2. Narrow tools may force you to write an Eigen plot. Eigen plots are contrived set-ups where the superhero gets opportunities to use gadgets and/or superpowers that are typically useless. Eigen plots typically come off as cheesy. When the hero catches a golden opportunity to use his shark repellent, it won’t make him look good… it will probably just make you look bad.

3. Tools tend to be more creative and versatile when they draw on the scenery. For example, a grappling device lets the hero use the setting and scenery in ways he couldn’t before. He can set ambushes, try alternate entrances and exits, etc. A cutting tool can do many things depending on the situation. The hero may be able to cut through doors and other hard obstacles, or fashion bandages out of a shirt, or maybe even knock a streetlamp onto an enemy.

4. I recommend sticking with gadgets that are easy to understand. Gadgets that are really high-tech may require more explanation.

Your proposal needs to accomplish two main goals:  1) show that there are readers out there and 2) show that you are well-poised to grab them.  First, sell your strengths, the factors that make your concept more likely to succeed.  Second, cover your weaknesses.  There probably will be some, particularly if you’re a first-time author.

To get you started, I’ll run you through how I would go about planning a proposal for a nonfiction book about how to write fan-fiction. (If you’d like to write such a book, go for it).

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If you’re looking to get a novel published, I think that understanding the Boston Globe’s difficulties will help you.

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• Why Supervillains are Sexy— there’s actually a neurological explanation for this.  [This explains so much– Jacob].
  
• Why You Shouldn’t See the New Wolverine Movie— poor action, worse writing.
• Writing Prompts— Writer’s Digest provides a list of prompts to stimulate your writing processes.
• The Teen’s Guide to Getting Published. It’s well-written and professional, but poorly-aimed and unfocused.  My book about how to write superhero stories has to be better.

1.  Make it clear what you offer and why readers should stick around. For example, if you wandered across Superhero Nation, you might stick around because you wanted superhero writing advice or because you want my observations about writing.  The trick is to make this as blatant as possible:  for example, I repeat myself in the title, in the header art, in the page headings, in the side-bar, etc.  Everyone focuses on different elements of the page, so it pays to be redundant.

2.  Stay away from adspeak and flowery language. For example, our title includes the phrase “how to write superhero novels and comic books.”  That’s much more user-friendly than something like “superhero writing insights.”  What’s an insight?  Don’t make readers struggle to translate what you’ve written.

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Jesse Walker of Reason Magazine did an article on the role of politics in superhero stories.

It describes an interesting phenomenon: how superhero stories can brazenly delve into political issues without turning off at least half of the audience.   For example, The Dark Knight and Ironman and Team America all brought up political issues without infuriating either conservatives or liberals.  In contrast, political polemicists like Michael Moore and Ann Coulter can’t even blink without angering the other side.

How is it that superhero stories can do what political writers can’t?  Here are some explanations.

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I started this website to market a superhero novel I was writing three years ago.  150,000 readers, 6000 hours of writing and editing, 1100 articles, 35 months, four query drafts, three trolls, two changes of genre and one manuscript later… I finally sent a nonfiction proposal to a literary agent today.

If that goes well, I will probably find an agent and a publisher within several months.  Then the hard stuff begins.  Hopefully you will be able to buy a copy of Don’t Forget the Death-Ray!  How to Write Superhero Novels and Comic Books within a year.

Have I mentioned that getting published is pretty hard?

I finally came up with a title that I like enough to use in my proposal.  Don’t Forget the Death-Ray!  Everything You Need to Write Superhero Novels and Comic Books. What do you think?

Moira Allen provides useful information about pseudonyms here.  Here’s a summary of the best reasons to use a pseudonym.

1.  Your writing could interfere with your day job. If you’re interested in working in a political science or government position and every Google search for your name points to your book about how to write superhero stories, that could be problematic.

2.  You’ve published in a different genre or field and want to distinguish your new work. Your readership might get confused if you’ve always written romance and suddenly you write a sci-fi thriller.  Using a pen-name will help keep those parts of your audience separate.

3.  You suspect that your name will make it harder for readers to relate to you. For example, if you’re a guy writing for women (or vice versa), you might find it helpful to use a gender-neutral name or your initial.  In particular, military action readers are more receptive to male authors and romance readers are more receptive to women.

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Summer Fun Cthulhu! Speaking of summer, it looks like that guy in the back of the photo could use some extra sunlight.

According to Google Analytics, we have about 10,000 serial lurkers: readers that have come here 25 or more times without leaving any comments.  Our population of serial lurkers doubles about every two months.

Before publishing me, a prospective publisher will want to know more about you.  Are you interested in my book about how to write superhero stories?  Would you prefer information tailored to novelists, comic book writers or both?

I would really appreciate 5 minutes of your help.  Thanks!

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Shaun Hill covered $10 e-books yesterday. Harper-Collins tried to justify this outlandishly high price by saying that the paper, binding and other physical costs of a single hardcover copy usually run out to about $2.

Shaun points out a few good reasons why $10 is well above an optimal price point. I’ll expand on these a bit.

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From Dr. Horrible.

I have a few misgivings about mailing lists, so let’s get those out of the way.

1. I will only send you release information for my book about how to write superhero stories.
2. I will send you at most three e-mails.
3. I will not give or sell your e-mail address to anyone else.

Thanks for your time!  Publishers will probably be more receptive if I have hundreds of readers waiting for release information.  I appreciate your help and interest.

Don’t wait to be given an opportunity. Make your own.

Hello again! If you haven’t taken our survey yet, I would really appreciate if you gave us 5-10 minutes of your time. You can take it by clicking here or by clicking beneath the fold.
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When you write a novel query, publishers may ask you to describe some similar, competing titles. Ideally you can come up with a few similar titles that were successful; that suggests that your title will be successful as well. If you’re pitching a superhero novel, here are a few titles that might be comparable to yours.  NOTE: If you’re looking to get a short story with superheroes published, check out this list of publishers instead.

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When a hero runs into an obstacle, there is usually one of two reasons: 1) what he has done and 2) who he is.  Persecuted heroes, like the X-Men, face major obstacles because of who they are.  Here are a few problems with persecuted heroes.

1.  Persecution usually makes stories more grim and less fun.  This could be problematic.  People usually read fiction because they want to have fun.  Is there some other reason people will want to read your work?

2.  Being persecuted may compromise the hero’s likability.  Even though the persecution is probably beyond his control, being persecuted will probably cast a cloud of angst over him.  In particular, the hero will become very unlikable if he comes off whiny or starts moping.

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It’s hard to handle backstory (what has happened in the past of the story). Most authors just use dull exposition. “Twelve years ago, John McGruesome was a mob hitman…” Here are a few common problems with backstory.

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Here are a few tricks to help you keep writing after you get stuck.

1.  Switch problems. Writer’s block often sets after a hero has resolved a problem and it’s not clear where the story is headed.  Are there any problems left?  Could you introduce a new problem?

2.  Add a complication. Last chapter, it may have looked like the hero’s solution worked perfectly.  Well, that was last chapter.  What went wrong? For example, perhaps the hero inadvertently made a new enemy or the villain is quickly working to undo the hero’s action.  Maybe two protagonists disagree about something in a major way (e.g. Lucius resigning in Dark Knight).

3. Switch solutions. Have your hero try to look at his problems in a new way.  Maybe he has to use ingenuity instead of brute force, or diplomacy instead of coercion, or careful planning rather than impulsiveness.  (Or vice versa).  For example, Heroes took away the characters’ powers from from time to time.

4.  Switch scenes. “Meanwhile, thousands of miles away…”  Moving the story very far will probably feel disjointed at first, but you can add a smoother transition after you determine where the story is going.

5.  Look at an important character in a new way. Perhaps there’s some aspect to your hero that could be developed more.  (Motivations? Personality? Key traits/flaws?  Where the character’s key traits/flaws came from? Background?)

6.  Give up on perfectionism. If you’re worried about being perfect, it will be very hard for you to start writing.  Don’t set ridiculously high standards for yourself on the first draft.  Think of the first draft as a scaffolding that you can build on rather than anything approaching the standards of the final product. (No one writes rough drafts that are good enough to publish).  It is much easier to write a few pages a day–even if they aren’t any good–and later rewrite them into something publishable.   One highly effective technique is to set aside 30-60 minutes each day to write a page or two.  You can use a free writing website like Write or Die to time you and give helpful reminders if you temporarily stop writing.  (If you averaged 400 words a day, you’d have a first draft of a novel manuscript ready within six months).

7.  Remove anything that distracts you from writing.  For example, if you’re typing away at your computer but find that you’re getting distracted, just turn off the Internet (or use a program like Write or Die that helps keep your focus).  If you’re spending too much time looking through notes or research, put them aside while you’re writing the first draft.

8.  If you’re truly desperate, consider throwing in a new antagonist or obstacle. This may reduce plot coherence, but the most important thing is to keep writing.  You can smooth out the connections later.

9.  If the plot has totally stalled, consider switching your angle. Sometimes, writers pick an angle because it’s conventional.  “I want to write about a magical university, so my story will be about a young wizard who studies there and eventually saves the world from great evil.”  Well, okay, but Harry Potter’s approach isn’t the only possibility.  What if you told a story about the teachers?  Or campus security? Or the admissions office?  Or the Ministry of Magic?  Or the bad guys?  Or the broom-flying instructors?  Or the headmaster?  Your story almost certainly has many such possibilities.  At the very least, any of these perspectives could add another chapter or character to help you develop your main character in a different direction.

Did you find this article helpful? If so, please check out How to Beat Writer’s Block, Part 2. Thanks!

I’ve written before that blogging is a really useful marketing tool and is one of the only ways for a first-time author to establish an audience before he gets published.  When you pitch your book to publishers, they will be really encouraged if you already have an audience.  But how can you attract an audience to your website?

1.  Pick a niche.  If do a general writing blog, you’re competing against hundreds  of thousands of similar sites.  Try blogging about something more specific instead, like a blog about how to write a romance or a superhero story or a young adult fantasy, etc.  If you’re planning on using this blog to market a book, the niche should be related to the book.

2.  Pick a title that identifies your niche. For example, if you Google something like “writing a superhero comic book,” the first result will be a site that calls itself “Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books.”  Our name makes it really clear why you should click on us.  We offer superhero writing advice.  In contrast, if our name were something like “B. Mac’s Superhero Site,” that wouldn’t work at all.  If readers aren’t sure what kind of information you provide, they will skip past you.  Also, please do not use your name in the title unless you are a celebrity.

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If you find quality content that will interest your readers, link to it.

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Hi.  I’m about to pitch a book about how to write a superhero story to publishers.  In the near-future, I’d like to do an audience survey to help describe my readers to prospective publishers.  These are some of the questions I’m considering.  I’d appreciate any suggestions.

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1.  Your protagonist is Rick Blurry, a cigar-smoking, eyepatch-wearing superspy.  When Marvel’s lawyers call, perhaps you should have a better defense ready than “but he wears his eyepatch on his right eye!”

2. Your pitch includes the line:  “This is just like your other series, but good.”

3.  You are aroused by any of the characters.  (Yes, we can tell).

4.  It involves time-travel.

5.  You’re not sure whether you want a protagonist to live or not, so you put it to a vote.

• Cliche Finder is an interesting resource that will help writers that rely on puns.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation has valuable information about fair use and copyright law here.
• How Readers Read on the Web.  This article will help you format online content more effectively.  I agree with its conclusion that “promotional language imposes a cognitive burden on users who have to… filter out the hyperbole to get at the facts.”  However, it handles the issue of bolded text poorly.  Bolding should be used very sparingly.

Susan Boyle is a 47 year-old, unemployed singer that is on the latest season of Britain’s Got Talent.  She is astonishingly talented.  Watching her compete in this contest will probably be like seeing Michael Phelps– or an alligator– participate in a high school swimming meet.

I bring up Doyle because I think that first-time novelists and comic book writers, especially young ones, face similar challenges.  Doyle doesn’t look like a singing sensation; teens don’t look like they’re worth publishing.  Doyle doesn’t have singing credentials; young authors are unpublished and often lack a college degree. When a publisher’s assistant reads through a young author’s query, there are twenty different sirens going off in his head, all screaming “this guy has no talent.”

Your window of opportunity to demonstrate your talent is exceedingly brief.  If your query is forgettable, the publisher will reject you without even looking at the sample.  If your first page is forgettable, you are done.  Etc.  If you have any reservoir of freakish talent, tap it sooner rather than later.  If your first paragraph is poor, it doesn’t matter how awesome your ending is because no publisher will read that far.

Finally, I’d like to draw your attention to something Simon asked Susan.  “Why hasn’t your singing career worked out so far?”  That’s similar to the question on every publisher’s mind: “do you have an audience already?” If not, why not? If you were good enough to have an audience, wouldn’t you have one already? Publishers would much rather work with an author that has already established he is good enough to draw readers.  Who would want to spend (at least) ten thousand dollars publishing a book by a completely unproven author?

The two easiest ways to build an audience are to either start a blog and/or write for some professional outlet (like a magazine or newspaper).  That will help you prove that you are worth reading and that you are already producing at a professional level.

Spill.com did a mock script showing how Michael Bay (the guy who did Pearl Harbor and Transformers) might have tried The Dark Knight.

I recommend that you read all of it, but this is my favorite part.

BRUCE WAYNE is standing in front of a mirror, flexing his sculpted, shirtless torso.

BRUCE: Let’s do this.

Cue AC/DC’s “Back in Black.”  A series of quick shots show BRUCE gearing up: putting on the boots, slapping on the gloves, a brief glance across those beautiful pecs.  Finally, there is no longer BRUCE WAYNE, but BATMAN standing before us.

BATMAN: Back in black.

Pyrotechnics erupt in the distance.  Wailing guitar solo.