1. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    Introducing New Characters

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Antaus, Nov 19, 2017.

    I'm really just looking for some advice here. I'm writing a super-hero style story that revolves around a young girl named Mercedes who develops powers in her mind-teens and the lovely little disaster that ensues when she decides to become a costumed superhero. What I needed advice on was introducing a character that will eventually become her mentor. The character in question is a retired villain that decides to help Mercedes. I know that might sound a little odd, but the villain was more about making money than hurting people or taking over the world. To them stealing from the rich and giving to themselves was really more of a day job than anything else.

    What I'm looking for help with is how to go about working this into the story. I don't want to simply have the person show up and be like 'here I am'. I'm thinking maybe introduce the retired villain as a support character in the story leading a normal life to start? The government never did discover the villain's secret identity, so after they retired they just kinda disappeared.
     
  2. BayView

    BayView Huh. Interesting. Contributor

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    Are you planning to shift POV to the mentor? Otherwise, I don't see how the "normal life" part is going to work too well. Unless you mean s/he would be a person in Mercedes' life (the librarian, say) who steps in when needed? I guess that could work, if you establish that the mentor has been watching Mercedes long enough to have gotten closer to her. But unless Mercedes has a pretty close relationship with her librarian (or whatever), I think you're going to have a pretty hard time telling readers very much about him/her until the big reveal.

    Also, what's with the gender-neutral pronouns? Do you not know if the character is male or female? Fleshing out the character will probably help you figure out how to fit him/her into Mercedes' life.
     
  3. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    The GNPs are just something of a habit when I'm describing things. I already have substantial info about the former life of the mentor, and so on, she's one of Mercedes' high school teachers. The main thing I'm mulling over is how to put the teacher into the story in a way that makes her a solid supporting character, but at the same time not focus directly on her, derail the story, or be otherwise invasive and/or disruptive.
     
  4. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    Making her a high school teacher seems to already solve the problem of putting her in Mercedes' life...?
     
  5. Jak of Hearts

    Jak of Hearts Active Member

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    Well there are several ways that you could bring them into the story. Perhaps Mercedes figures out their identity and confronts them? Perhaps the teacher realizes what Mercedes is doing and as a genuinely concerned citizen in their later years pulls her aside and is like "Hey, if you're going to do this you need guidance or you're gonna end up hurting yourself." As for how they enter the story its really going to be dependant on your POV. I would say your best bet is to establish the teacher as a character; let the reader's know they are important to the story before you reveal who they are, possibly even giving clues that there is more to them than you think (students whispering rumors about what they did before they became a teacher, etc). Then when they became that staple character, the reader is already prepared for them to be around. The best example I can think of (I like Harry Potter becasue most people have read it) when Remus is introduced, they spend a lot of time developing him into the MC's lives before we even really know who he is or why he is important to the story, but once its revealed we are ready for it because we know he is important.
     
  6. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    @Jak of Hearts See, that's where I'm having problems. The character actually turned out to be her guidance counselor, and I'm having problems putting them into the story in a meaningful manner without it seeming like the character is being shoehorned into a scene they really don't belong in.
     
  7. Jak of Hearts

    Jak of Hearts Active Member

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    It wouldn't be shoehorned if there is a logical explanation. Why are they a guidance counselor? Is there a reason they are at the same school (e.g. is there a lot of superhero activity in the area?). Take those threads and start connecting them and you will find something that was "too coincidental" might be there for a reason. Perhaps there is a greater force at play that put the two together? Perhaps they became a guidance counselor because they knew they would be needed there (divine foresight, etc?). Is what gave them both powers located in that area? If the villain had always been a guidance counselor even before and during her villain streak, would be it so much of a stretch that at some point in her career one of her students develops powers? Or worst case scenario, change the details. Add/subtract/change something in the story to make it seem more cohesive. I think with a little thought it'll come to you. Try writing a different part of the story and when you're not even focusing on that, it'll hit you like a truck.
     
  8. Antaus

    Antaus Active Member

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    @Jak of Hearts Maybe a little more context would help give a better picture. The guidance counselor is at the school because she's actually a retired villain (not the world domination, hurt innocents type, more money oriented, bank jobs and jewelry heists, and actually didn't hurt people) in her early sixties. When the story starts Diana (the counselor) had hung up her costume and settled into a normal life before Mercedes was even born, and been out of the game for some time. She was also able to avoid legal problems because the government never learned her real identity. Diana for her part is just trying to live her life and help the kids at the high school with personal problems they might be having and with deciding on career options to consider after they graduate. Mercedes powers are based on kinetic energy manipulation, and Diana can control magnetism.

    I'm still doing the first draft, so there will be changes with things being added, axed, and so on. If worse comes to worse I might give Diana a different career to put her into a better position to be more active in the story.
     
  9. Jak of Hearts

    Jak of Hearts Active Member

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    I honestly don't see a problem with it. You have a mentor that is a retired villain, you have a student that is a new superhero. I think you are overthinking it.
     

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