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Limits on Phenomenal Cosmic Powers

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MacPhoenix:
In writing for myself (though publishing might be cool one day)  I have found I love to give my heroes "the golden gun"
When it comes to ability, powers, and or badassery. Is the only way to limit
such power: flaws, progressive upgrades, and or one up bad guys? I know the
real reason is my inability to create flaws/ limits.

This is more about writing techniques than creative ideas!

The Deposed King:

--- Quote from: MacPhoenix on January 23, 2014, 03:25:30 AM ---In writing for myself (though publishing might be cool one day)  I have found I love to give my heroes "the golden gun"
When it comes to ability, powers, and or badassery. Is the only way to limit
such power: flaws, progressive upgrades, and or one up bad guys? I know the
real reason is my inability to create flaws/ limits.

This is more about writing techniques than creative ideas!

--- End quote ---

Up until Book three of Spineward Sectors series the Hero pretty much ran the tables.  He fought, he bled, he got knocked around to within an inch of his life but always managed to gut out a win.  Coming back each time slightly or more than slightly stronger than before.

But in Book 3 things changed for the MC.  He still went in with his usual MO.  He charged hard, doubled downed on his bets, made all his cool plans and when those were disrupted he lead with his gut.  Alas this time he couldn't simply gut it out and the bad guys gunned him down, took his Flag ship, threw him in the brig after realizing he was still alive and not dead as originally expected after being shot in the neck.  They then proceeded to abaondon the rest of his heavily outnumbered followers on outlaw station literally crawling with pirates.

Things couldn't seem to get much worse for our hero, and in book four he was dragged up before the the government to be judged for his crimes (tryin to protect the border worlds without official government sanction, at least in their eyes).

I killed off more than a few primary secondary characters, left the audience questioning the survival of the MC and placed him in the power of his enemies.

And that's how I answered the Golden Gun conundrum.  He goes in like its any other day and he's going to kick ass and take names.  And instead of gutting out the win against long odds, the odds catch up to him and he looses just about everything.

He can still rebuild and come back better than ever when his surviving crew come to bust him out.  But no one is crying, oh god, another gimme for the MC, as usual he simply cannot lose.  Phenominal cosmic whatever (eye roll).

In this case he can and has lost.  So success is not a guarantee.

But do it however you want, there are may roads to rome.



The Deposed King

MacPhoenix:
I thank you for your entish reply.

MacPhoenix:
Another conundrum is does jam packing an mc with abilities ruin his ability to connect with an audience or just make it harder to manage?

The Deposed King:

--- Quote from: MacPhoenix on January 23, 2014, 09:39:41 PM ---Another conundrum is does jam packing an mc with abilities ruin his ability to connect with an audience or just make it harder to manage?

--- End quote ---

Its harder to manage because.... think of it like Dragon Ball Z.  How many times can you defeat the Ultimate threat in the Universe before the more discerning viewer is rolling their eyes?

To my mind its always better if the Hero has to work for it.  The other thing I would add is look at the Dresden Series?  Harry keeps improving his skills and powers doesn't he?  Yet he's never the coolest, baddest or most powerful.  He does improve but either his buffs come with curses or he's had to spend several books as a yoda like instructor honing his skills by instruction of the Padawan.

It seems to me that most authors want to take all the Harry Dresden progression and shove it into one book.  Making their character not just a super hero (because those guys are essentially one trick phenomienal ponies) but a multi-powered, ever more powerful Super Hero.




The Deposed King

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