Fairytales and fantasy are full of heroes and heroines with superpowers. We love to witness a character discovering their own powers and unleashing them at just the right moment.
Weaknesses become strengths, one challenge after another is overcome, and conflict is resolved. It’s satisfying.
Each fictional superstar has a special blend of superpowers that make them unique and memorable. Maybe they are unusually perceptive, funny or fearless. Maybe they can fly!
Did you know writers also have superpowers? How else do they whip up stories from nowhere?
Apart from those pens and keyboards, all mightier than the sword, what powers do most authors wield?
- Vivid imaginations
- Keen powers of observation that take in subtle dynamics in the interactions of others
- Persistence – how else do we weave together gazillions of words, edit them as often as necessary and, against so many odds, actually get them published? And then go back to write more!
- The compulsion to analyse everything endlessly – we sift and sift what we know, distilling it into something so enticing our readers can’t resist our worlds.
- What wild wielders of words we are! True wordsmiths!
If we’re open to feedback and improving our work, who can stop us but ourselves?
A Rejection? Pah!
A Day of Doubt? Phooey.
Bring on the challenges. We have superpowers!
Still unsure? The Australian Writers’ Centre questioned several authors about their individual superpowers. Here’s what they had to say.
And Robert Lee Brewer has shared 10 Incredible Writing Superpowers in Writer’s Digest.
What superpowers do you most like to bring to your own work?
Email me at AmberJakemanSydney@gmail.com and I’ll add suitable comments and links to your own author sites.
