Thanks to playing a whole lot of Saints Row the Third (and maybe a little to do with having seen the Dark Knight Rises three times already), I have an overwhelming urge to write a story involving superheroes. I have a basic plot sketched out – it would be light-hearted, humourous, while poking fun at superhero stereotypes. I was going to set it in 1950s New York – because everything bad happens to New York – but as I know nothing about New York, it’s being set in Vancouver instead.
The main character, Clara Butler, is a twenty-something woman who cooks and cleans the house of a wealthy entrepreneur, and secretly has super strength and can shoot blasts of energy. Donning a costume, she goes out and performs vigilante justice. She can’t fly and can’t afford a nice car, so she has to wait through traffic in order to get to the heists and she’s a woman, so she’s an awful driver. However, stealing all the credit for her work is another costumed hero, this one a man who ends up being praised by the public and police, because he’s always there when the cops show, after Clara has left. She’s bitter, and goes about trying to stop him from stealing her thunder. Plus some other stuff, but we’ll keep that on the DL in case I actually finish this WIP.
So my issue is this: How does one name superheroes without sounding too hokey? It’s got to have some degree of ridiculousness, because I do intend to mock stereotypical heroes, and it’s just not a good superhero without a dumb name.
Does anyone have any thoughts on names? I’m currently empty-handed, and would love to hear whatever insane suggestions you all can come up with.
I have this thing we shall call writer’s block, and it is crippling me. For the past few weeks, I’ve been entirely incapable of writing anything – Changeling, which usually has a plethora of ideas bubbling about, has become stagnant; Of the Kingdoms, while at an interesting yet early part that kickstarts the plot, is doing little to keep me going. I’m writing little bits here and there, but nothing of any substance.
As for the Purity rewrite, I’m around 50 000 words in, and the main plots are all underway, but due to a technical issue, I have almost zero desire to write any more. More on that shortly.
I think part of this can be blamed on the summer sale on Steam. Thanks to glorious 50-75% off sales on most of their titles, I finally got the pets expansion to Sims 3, as well as the GOTY Morrowind. I have Morrowind for xbox, but I can’t play it, due to the horrible graphical and engine-related deficiencies in a game ten years old. So while they were installing, I found a Morrowind graphics and sounds overhaul package, and modded it in. So Morrowind looks great, and even though the engine is still difficult to play, I’ve worked around it and got into a sort of pattern. It helps that I play as a mage, so it’s easier to actually hit enemies and level.
Then, just yesterday, my brother pointed out that Saints Row the Third and all expansions etc, is on sale for $13. Regular $104. 87% off. How could I not, after how much I enjoyed Saints Row 2? That’s still downloading now, because I accidentally paused it overnight.
So with virtual kitties and horsies and puppies and Ashlanders and Caius and the Nerevarine, it seems to make sense that I haven’t been writing. It’s painful, but still.
Does anyone have any suggestions for overcoming writer’s block? I want to write, but I’ve stalled. Short of turning off my internet so I can’t get distracted by comics, social media, and video games (because, as it turns out, I can’t survive without constant access to the interwebz), is there anything anyone can suggest?
On a side note, one of my many t-shirts that I order online has come today: Vader vs Hitler from Epic Rap Battles of History. The others (Rub Some Bacon On It, Enchantment, Adept, and Mother of Dragons) are on their way still. Soon, hopefully!
Chillin’ like a villain. This is me on an average day.
Also, I’m going to do a review sort of of one of my favourite webcomics, Blue Milk Special (for that matter, maybe of my other favourite, Unsounded), and I feel like I had some other sort of post planned, but if I forgot it, must not be that important.
Oh, and the issue with Purity. When I went to write more the other day, I clicked on an past scene (as I’m writing it in Scrivener, rather than my usual lover, MS Word, and Scrivener separates each individual scene) and for whatever reason, Scrivener didn’t like that. I only clicked on it, for Heaven’s sake, and some sort of message popped up. It didn’t seem particularly aggressive or notable, and my only option was to click OK.
So I did, and promptly lost that ENTIRE SCENE. With NO way of getting it back other than rewriting it. So I’m pissed. I’m glad I haven’t actually bought Scrivener, because that’s just silly. I think I’ll stick with my baby, Word, from now on.
But yes. Help me with my writer’s block! Any suggestion is a good one at this point. I’m desperate, here.
JP Marshman 