I promised you that I would keep you updated on the progress of my new fiction novel Fallen Star and then … nothing. Well, as happens much of the time, life got in the way but it looks like clear sailing ahead.
Knock on wood.
Anyway, I am starting on my second draft of Fallen Star and, for those who are not writers, that is harder than it sounds. Basically, the first draft is me just typing away while smiling obliviously and putting all my story down on the paper, sending my characters to hell and back, until I finally say “The End.”
Now, it is time to start to slice and dice and cut up everything I thought was good and turn it into something that really is good. That is nowhere near as fun as writing a book and creating a story but it is the most important step in making sure that you – my readers – love it.
For those who are new, I have broken down the book into one simple logline.
A police detective with a tortured past has to to catch and stop a serial killer who is targeting protestors of superhero rights before the world turns against all heroes.
As always, I look for input and suggestions, so if anyone has any comments about that log line, feel free to chat me up in the comment section below or over on my official Facebook page, which you can Follow here.
I also plan on starting a Facebook group soon because I think I can talk to you guys better there than I can on a Facebook page since they love to bury pages where no one can ever see updates unless I pay Facebook money. I will keep you updated on that as well.
So, onto the actual reason for the title of today’s post.
Of course, as my logline suggests, my novel and the series that it will launch takes place in a world where superhumans actually exist in the real world. My hero is a cop who has no superpowers but was, at one time, a partner to one of the most beloved and honored superheroes in the world.
Because of this, I am dealing with what the real world would be like if there were superhumans out there fighting each other, or in some cases, just living a regular life despite their powers. I am very well-versed in comic book movies and have seen most of them, and those that I have missed, I am catching up on now. I have also read comic books since I was a child in the ’70s.
I have noticed one underlying motif and it is something that really drives me nuts. It is a pet peeve of mine when watching superhero movies and reading comics. It is the fact that the police seem more interested in catching and stopping superheroes than they do in stopping and catching villains.
Let me give you an example.
The movie is The Amazing Spider-Man. This is the reboot directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield. Now, I really like this movie but it has the pet peeve I am talking about. The police have made it almost a priority to stop and bring in Spider-Man because he is a vigilante who is doing their job for them.
There is even a scene where Peter Parker is having dinner with Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and her family. Peter gets to talking about Spider-Man and all the good he is doing which sets off Gwen’s dad, George Stacy, who happens to be a cop (Denis Leary).
George just goes off on how they can’t let someone in a mask run around doing what he is doing. He even claims anyone that wears a mask is hiding something. Later in the movie, as a GIANT FREAKING LIZARD is tearing through downtown and people are dying, George tells his men they have to stop and bring down Spider-Man.
What?
Are you kidding me?
In the real world, the cops would love to have someone – anyone – even someone in a mask – to help them stop a giant lizard creature who bullets don’t seem to harm.
This has never made any sense to me at all. In any way. I hate this so much and this will end up being a theme that I touch on in my book series.
It helps that I have chosen a human cop as my main protagonist and hero in the stories in Steve Samson. It also helps that Steve grew close to his former partner while they worked together and really has great respect for superheroes in general. It gives me someone inside the police force who the readers can see through the eyes of.
One underlying theme in my first novel, Fallen Star, is that there are people out there who protest the entire existence of superhumans. They don’t want them around and believe they are a danger to the world. This is something that has been told in comics before but I want to use my book to show this through the eyes of a cop who knows that in a world where superhumans exist – without heroes, there would be chaos.
The animated movies The Dark Knight Returns deals with this as well, but it is in a Gotham City that has just closed their eyes to the evil that rose when Batman disappeared. Honestly, I hated the characters in that movie because they acted stupidly.
The one thing I want to achieve in my novels is to show real people who react in ways you would expect them to. I want to introduce characters that can make normally good people go against their better judgment. I don’t want to insult your intelligence. I want to present my stories in a believable manner.
But, more than anything, I want to entertain you.
Let me know what you love about superhero tales in movies, comics, and TV shows, and some of your pet peeves as well. What drives you nuts that you would love to see excised from this form of entertainment.
As always, leave comments below or just leave me a message on my Facebook page right here.
Until next time, keep reading.
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