A Superhero novel that isn't in Physics

writing
#1

Hello everyone ! I’m reaching out for some help.
I’ve been trying to storyform my novel for some times. Currently it’s a Failure/Good with my MC standing in Present, my IC in Conscious, my RS in Learning and my OS in Conceiving.

I want to explore issues partaining to Permission, Need, Expediency and Deficiency with all the overall characters and events, and maintain the issues of Prerequisites, Preconditions, Strategy and Analysis for the sisterly relationship between my MC and IC. But I want this novel to be an epic adventure, while still having the inequity being fueled by the way people think. Yet somehow it feels like a Psychology Domain for the OS will prevent the story from having many interesting activites (like, I don’t know, time travel, fighting bad guys, that kind of things ; because these activities aren’t fueling an inequity). That being said, when looking at the Plot Sequence Report, I saw that the OS issues are explored in terms of issues pertaining to the Physics domain. Can I use that in some way ? Am I overthinking this and just pondering about storytelling matters, instead of storyforming ones ?

Thanks a lot !

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#2

There’s a lot i’d like to discuss on this topic because I started a superhero story last year for my daughter but haven’t finished it yet. For now I just want to say give advice that @LunarDynasty has given multiple times on this forum. Dramatica is about the source of the problem, not the storytelling. I went to look at Gists for the Psychology Domain. The first one I saw was ‘being a bully’. I can easily see a super powerful bad guy coming in to ‘be a bully’ to a group, or city, or whatever. Or a group of superheroes who start acting like bullies. Being a bully or stopping a bully could have all kinds of fighting and time traveling and whatever other action involved. The actions wouldn’t be the source of the problems here, though. It would be the manner of thinking that leads to one being a bully.

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#3

I haven’t read that many superhero novels, but this one I quite enjoyed, and I was pretty sure the OS was in Psychology:

X-Generation 1

It also had a really great Relationship Story.

Now that story didn’t have a huge amount of action (I think the author even mentions it’s more focused on character development so that people won’t be disappointed). But it still had a fair bit. And anyway I agree with Greg that you can include lots of action in your Psychology story if you want, as long as the SOURCE of the conflict is still manners of thinking.

Just realize that because of the different source of conflict, your story will have a different “feel” to it than most other superhero stories or epic adventures. But I think that can be a huge boon, a different take on the genre. Also, if that’s the story you’re passionate about telling, then go for it!!

I’ll try to post more thoughts later. I’m writing a sci-fi novel right now that has space opera / Star Wars like elements in the storytelling, yet the OS is in Psychology.

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#4

Thank you for your answers, it helps a lot ! So it is indeed more of a storytelling concern so I guess I’m just overthinking it. By the way thank you for your book recommandation @mlucas !

Also, I have one last question. Let’s say my OS Concern / Goal is Conceiving, and the Issue is Need. Since it’s Failure/Good, does that mean the OS characters never actually let go of their concern of Conceiving / issue of Need (they keep on needing something and aren’t fulfilled, yet somehow they are good with that) ; or does it mean that they DO let go of this concern / issue, only they don’t have the result they were striving for and would have obtained if the orginal goal was achieved ? (they stop needing something even if it comes with a consequence, more or less heavy depending on who was for / against the original goal ; but in the end it makes them more fulfilled and thus they see it as a good thing ?) Or is it again up to the author’s muse ?

#5

Regarding the Plot Sequence for the OS exploring Physics, yes, you should be able to use this. The plot sequence is described as being what the story looks like from inside the story. So I think that while your OS is exploring problems with a manner of thinking, your OS characters should be seeing it as an exploration of Physics. So to play off the previous example, if your OS problem is a superhero team turned bully, from within the story-from the characters’ perspectives-they will maybe see the activity of bullying or being bullied as the issue. They’ll explore the issues of Psychology, but they’ll maybe talk about the unpleasant activities. There should be lots of ways to play with the PSR in order to work some Physics issues in.

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#6

For what it’s worth, Pixar’s The Incredibles has an OS in Psychology. That’s part of what I love about it - lots of action but a feeling that’s different from your standard superhero plot.

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#7

Indeed, this movie is… well, incredibly unique for it’s genre !

#8

First, I think you have to describe the Goal a little more clearly, so that it can be something that is achieved or not. Remember the Goal is not the same as the OS Concern – while they are the same Type, the Goal is a specific thing that can be achieved. While the Concern is a more general source of conflict and can actually be illustrated separately for separate OS characters if that fits your story better.

Once you know the Goal, that’s the specific thing that you know fails in a Failure story. Then it’s up to your author’s intuition on how that failure plays out with the OS Concern and Issue, and the Story Judgment of Good. I think any of the suggestions you made would work. (But of course you do have to make sure the Learning Consequence comes into effect, or remains in effect if it was already present.)

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#9

Thanks for the shout-out! But I owe everything I know on this topic to @jhull

#10

Speaking of which: one of Jim’s great litmus tests is the method of subtraction. If you take away the problematic domain, will your story still be at unrest, or will it revert to inertia?

So if you want to nail down where your Superhero OS lies, test it by removing suspected domains from the story, i.e. if the cast ceased their problematic ways of thinking, will the conflict be over? Or will it be over if problematic activities (like fighting and destroying) stopped?

Consider Lord of the Flies. None of the issues the boys face would even exist if they were not stuck on the island; they wouldn’t be dealing with proto-civilization problems if they were still at home (thus OS Situation)

Here you have to think in terms of inertia vs change, rather than happy vs unfulfilled, as well as be honest with yourself and your story. Your goal might be to create a superhero story focused on Psychology problems, but make sure you take a hard look at the Activities in your story and ask, “if these went away, would the story essentially be over?” If the answer’s yes, then you have some tweaking to do.

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#11

They could try to figure out the psychology of the person who set the bomb in order to diffuse it. When they snipped the wrong wire the bomb didn’t go off. The villain had tried to psych/figure out what they would do, so anticipating them, switched the wires. Hence, it was a fail but a good result with the bomb not going off.

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#12

@LunarDynasty That’s what I did some times ago, made me realize the OS wasn’t actually in Universe but in Psychology. I believe it still stands because if these activities went away, there’d still be the problem coming from how people think - which triggers these activities in the first place. Thanks for your advice !