Question

I have to write a short-story about a superhero for my creative writing class, but I'm having a bit of writer's block. This assignment is the first of the year. I know roughly where I want the story to go, but I'm having trouble articulating it and putting it into words.
Any help, criticism, constructive criticism, praise, or anything else would be much appreciated!! Thank you so much for reading <3
it's too big to fit here, so i'll post it in the comments

Answer 1

Bleak. Lonely. Desolate.

Such was a world without Hyper. Experimenting one day with a new formula for coffee, our unfortunate (or, dare I say, fortunate) hero concocted a mix that altered his chemistry, infusing his DNA with caffeine. Ever since, he has been the ever-vigilant watchman we all need to feel safe: sleepless, brave, quick, and able to whip up any piping hot or seriously cool coffee in less than a minute.

He was the hero we never expected, but all love.

…

The streets were quiet as he strolled; not even the local veteran thieves dared tango with Hyper on the prowl. He had kept the streets clean since he had come into his power, making sure the citizens of his hometown of Capulus felt safe. How fitting the name of his town was, he would never know since he hadn’t paid attention in his Latin class. All the same, he had patrolled his home and kept it trouble-free for a while now.

But tonight felt… different. Slightly menacing, like a fearless chihuahua with its little teeth bared. Long gone was the serene, secure feeling of safety Hyper had created, instead replaced by a ticking sense of foreboding. He could feel it twisting inside him as his jitters started slowing down; His eyelids betrayed him, beginning to droop, something they had never done before; He finally began to sway, a strange urge settling upon him as a figure slowly sauntered.

“Well… well… well… Who… do we have here?” The shadow lulled, making sure to take his sweet time as he spoke, though he sounded as though he could seriously do with a good nap. As he slunk from the shadows, a silver S shone on the chest of a sleek suit. A… villain?

“Who…?” Hyper questioned, though it was difficult to finish the inquiry as he was busy fighting to keep his head from nodding off, overcome with a powerful wave of drowsiness. He kept drifting between the states of fatigue and acuity, struggling to remain alert against whatever force was attempting to weaken him. He didn’t like where this was headed.

As he finally finished his journey toward Hyper, the villain let a slow, sly smile spread across his face. “Siesta.” He curtly introduced himself with a short nod, though he made no movement to extend his hand. “Pleasure.”

“Hm?” Hyper echoed, confused. He hadn’t listened in Spanish either. “Siesta?”

“Ah, sleeping in Spanish class, were we?” Siesta chuckled, “Tsk, tsk, tsk

(and this is where i got stuck)

Answer 2

nice writing it's like professional !

Answer 3

thank you!!

Answer 4

i'm thinking of adding a villain monologue to introduce his character but any tips or suggestions would be appreciated!

Answer 5

You seem to be doing well, I don't have any tips for writers block. But I just know it generally comes to you eventually c:
Goodluck on your assignment cx

Answer 6

nothing you think i should edit or add in or anything?

thank you!

Answer 7

@cyborgmeat Does it have to be a superhero story, or just any kind of story?

Answer 8

unfortunately it has to be a superhero story otherwise i would have written about something else. superheroes aren't really my thing lmao

Answer 9

i posted what i have so far as the first comment @Shadow

Answer 10

That does place a particular constraint on the nature of the story, yet much is still up to you. You don't have to write the story from the perspective of the superhero, you must simply have him(or her) in it. Perhaps you could take on the perspective of the villain, or a bystander to the his feats of strength, and so on.

Answer 11

Your story is looking great so far!

Answer 12

I'll take a look at what you have so far, but you can consider that for a moment.

Answer 13

no, i have to have the main character as a superhero. it was an unspoken rule of the assignment, as we started by making a superhero as a short 10-minute writing prompt, then worked our way into writing them a story

Answer 14

Ah. Then I must say, this doesn't seem to be much of a "creative writing class" haha. I suppose it does measure what you can do with a constraint, which so far as I have read, is quite good.

Your introduction to the hero, Hyper, is nice. It's both pleasant and warm, lending your hero an item everyone knows (coffee), thus making his power seem familiar and not nearly as alien as some superheros may come off as.

I especially like the last sentence of the introduction (: Also I like how you leave two questions in the readers mind: what is Hyper's power? What will he do with it?

Answer 15

Although "sleepless" could have been a nod to his power, I will venture on.

Answer 16

she said this assignment is going to be a benchmark for our writing, but we've been working on it for two weeks, and it's not due until friday so that's a long time just for a benchmark of how we write. also writing with restraints, but i digress

yeah i plan to introduce his powers during the fight (though that may be because i havent fully decided on what i want them to be hehe)

thank you so much for the feedback so far! and thank you for going into detail, i really appreciate it

Answer 17

Okay I admit my ideas for superheros is VARY limited. I mostly do murder and other crime stories myself. But I would say let your villain be a class rival (although its been done a lot it still works) Try to envision in the aspect of a film. How do you want your villain to look like? Is that person more popular? Simple stuff. Shadow is right on your introduction, Its built really well, like nearly too well XD

Answer 18

Then I have a suggestion for you. The story as you have it now is placed in the middle of Hyper's timeline. He has already obtained his powers, acclimated to them, and established territorial dominance in his town (which the reader must assume is what lured Siesta to Capulus).

This isn't a particularly bad place to start writing your story, yet it is awry. Most superheros stories (think Spiderman, Superman, Batman, etc) begin at their genesis. Who are they? By what means did they obtained their powers? What drives them? What is their cornerstone? What adversity does he/she face? How will it be overcome?

Many of these questions are surmounted by starting in the middle of the heroes timeline, as opposed to at the genesis. You can off course address these questions but it won't be as natural as start at the beginning, which is what I would recommend. Since as you admit, you know not all that of which Hyper is, perhaps it is best you start at his genesis so that you can discover who he is with him.

Answer 19

thank you! i've had a lot of time to think and edit this story. like seriously i've just been staring it and editing a word here or there, but with stories sometimes that can make all the difference

also i keep accidentally making alliterations i.e. this whole paragraph with the S alliteration and consonance "The shadow lulled, making sure to take his sweet time as he spoke, though he sounded as though he could seriously do with a good nap. As he slunk from the shadows, a silver S shone on the chest of a sleek suit. A… villain?"
usually heroes have alliterative names so i guess i was thinking that subconsciously? idk man that's a lot of S sounds

Answer 20

At their core, stories are a journey...an adventure. If you want to capture a reader, give them a road to walk along from start to finish. So that they can recall where they began, and wonder about all the details that got them to the end, when they read your last sentence.

Answer 21

ah since it's a short story i thought i'd jump ahead to get to the heat of the action rather than just make an origin story, because if i made it that, it would be all i would have time for. since it's just a short story, it's supposed to be no more than a few pages and i thought an origin story might be too bland for what the character is

Answer 22

I mean, your own constraint is that the main character must be a superhero, and it must be a few pages. You could always leave off in the last paragraph, of how on Hyper's walk to his favorite cafe (or school, friends house, park, etc), the shadows seemed to wane disproportionately with the light, as if a figure were running through them. Then leave the reader with a storm of shadows engulfing his destination.

It shows your reader, and teacher, that all great writers know how to craft a cliffhanger. She might even beg you to write more about him.

Answer 23

tl;dr an origin story ending with the introduction of his first villain.

Answer 24

mm yeah i was planning on leaving it on a cliffhanger but i dont particularly want to completely start over when i've already gotten so far. i've put a looot of work into crafting the words of what i have so far

Answer 25

I understand. I think that's the best advice I can give at this time. Let me know if there's something you want me to look at in particular.

Answer 26

i really do like your idea but i've already put time into what i have

Answer 27

Keep what you have, turn in whats required but in your spare time continue working in it, trust me the more you give it time the more ideas fester in your mind, I spent two years writing a horror story, then 2 months on a.....nvm what that one was about :)

Answer 28

oh they definitely do come on after a while of thinking, although i don't plan on continuing this as superheroes arent my forté

Answer 29

continuing it after i turn it in, i mean

Answer 30

It's a bit old school, but I bet if you listened to this series, your writer's block would be gone forever. Your writing reminds me of this. You have to scroll down to download the MP3's. Even @Shadow might like this: http://www.oldradioworld.com/shows/The_Shadow.php

Answer 31

haha does it really sound that old school?

Answer 32

You'll find out, won't you? :)

Answer 33

Oh Hero, back with the classics...`

Answer 34

wow it does sound a bit like that style. lmao thank you i really like this

Answer 35

Awesome, enjoy!

Answer 36

Looks epic.

Answer 37

thanks!