Superheroes

I'm on a superhero buzz at the moment. Like, more so than usual. I've been mulling over an idea for a book for a while now, thinking through the plot and the characters and the way the universe works, and eventually it led to me picking up a book I'd bought a few months (or a year) ago, called The Physics of Superheroes. It's a surprisingly interesting read, though, of course, it combines two of my favourite interests: superheroes and science. (Is it bad that I like science so much while studying at God College?)

Anyway, one thing led to another, and I started looking up different books about superheroes. This is to add to my physics book, and the books I have about various superheroes from the Marvel universe, and the vast history of comic books and plots I've picked up over the years (and that I can acquire from the Internet).

So, I'm reading up on superheroes a lot more than usual. I suppose this is my way of compensating for the failure what was World War X. The story, I liked. My execution, however, was sorely lacking. As in, I didn't write anything after a while. There was so much to focus on, such a large world to build, and I didn't feel like I owned any of it.

This time around, I'm going back to my roots and utilizing some ideas that were mine from the start. The story is much more exciting and dynamic than the World War X plot, though I always have the possibility of using some of the characters and ideas I was coming up with for that story. I can put my own personal spin on things, and explore the humanity behind the superhero complex, along with the ethics and morals and the great big ideas of heroism that people support in their minds when they feel like they have the power to do the right thing.

It's a massive bundle of crazy at the moment, still only in the planning stages and developing wildly of its own accord. That planning is going well, though, and once I have my reading done for the book I'll be able to develop a massive system within which to develop the best possible superhero novel I can come up with.

In my opinion, it's going to be awesome.

But then, that's slightly biased. Okay, more than slightly. It's biased by the combination of superhero fun and, you know, my decidedly high opinion of myself (because I don't always have to be self-deprecating.)

Anyway, I think this story stands to be enjoyed by a lot of people if it ever makes it out into the wide world. It's not just about superheroes and superpowers, but about the effects these powers have on what had been otherwise stable lives, the opportunities offered, the problems that arise; in short, it's about the people behind the powers.

Plus, if it was a movie there would be lots of bright lights and flashy explosions. That's always fun.

Now I just need to plan the book and do all my reading for it. Then I can actually start writing it!

Weekend War, Part 2

I lost, I think. Eileen updated me on her weekend, and she seems to have trumped mine. Unless a thousand people suddenly vote for me in the Shorty Awards or become fans of the fundraising page for Our Lady's Children's Hosptial, Crumlin, then my weekend is officially worse than hers.

However, it wasn't bad. Pretty good in fact, as far as my weekends normally go. Last night, as I mentioned, was Ciarán's birthday get-together, a lads night, a time when people who hadn't seen each other in a good long while got to just hang out. It was great! We laughed, a lot. And talked, a lot. And loudly, on both accounts. Ciarán liked his present (which I can now reveal to be two books - Obama's Blackberry and The Average American Male - and the latest Mighty Boosh Live DVD, which is the show we all went to see when it came to Dublin!). It was definitely a good night. And there was pizza. Delicious pizza.

I slept in. That's always fun. Actually, it's more accurate to say I had a lie-in, because I wasn't actually going anywhere. I didn't send my letter to America, or buy books, but I can do those things tomorrow.

I cleaned my room. I know that might not sound like a good thing, but now my dad will stop bothering me about it. Win!

I also got to watch Heroes, after an amazing Sunday Roast dinner. The episode was less exciting than the first two (which aired last Saturday), but it was essential in terms of character introduction, development, and power demonstration, and it furthered the plot, continued story arks, and brought about a whole new level of suspense. Fantastic!

Had a relaxing day, overall. Nothing too strenuous. I did, however, give a possible candidate more info on the Sooper Sekrit Project my followers on Twitter have been hearing about so much. Nice guy, lives in America.

Might as well tell all readers here - the project, details remaining secret for now, requires one person to work on it with me who likes to read and is comfortable talking to a camera. Specific types of books are in mind, so if you're applying for this sooper fun project, please bare don't feel bad if you get turned away for reading something else. It's just not the type of books I'm going for with this, at least not this year.

Nice finish to the weekend - seeing the follower numbers for the Poetry Against Cancer Facebook page (the fundraising page already mentioned) with 680 followers! That's over 400 followers since Monday. How cool is that? Take that World Suck!

I Need New Heroes!

Imagine that title as the replacement lyrics to "I Need A Hero." Then have an explosion after that line. That's what I'm thinking right now; a parody song with explosions.

According to my laptop, as I'm typing this sentence, I only have to wait one hour and fifty seven minutes before I no longer have to look for something to do. At this point, Heroes Season 4, Volume 5, Redemption begins on BBC2, and my nine month long wait of pain ends (I think it was nine months anyway... it ended in May?)

Seriously, I've been waiting a long time for this episode. I aired originally in the US on ABC in September. That's right, September! The States got the show a whole four months before us, and we had to avoid all the chat rooms, the Heroes Wiki site and every email regarding Heroes all in an effort to avoid spoilers. I had to stop buying the Heroes magazine so that I wouldn't read what happens in the episodes to come, and so that I wasn't spending money on something that was becoming less and less use to me by the week. There was also the matter that I didn't have time to get into Town to buy it, but that's a different story (Drama - there, I told a story within a story; take that Evangelist Mark!)

Now with just over an hour to go, my long long wait is coming to an end, and I get to share this wonderous moment with my twins brother, because we both love the show! Love it love it love it love it love it! (Okay, so I'm a little excited about this!)

Also... seven out of nine days blogged this year! Woo hoo!

Geneticide - Getting the Info #2

Time for installment number two! I had an epiphany the other night. I had just finished watching The Phantom of the Opera and realised that Geneticide was not dark enough. Sure, Number One puts the lives of many in the balance, and he's essentially a dark soul, but I'm not happy with him. He could be crueler. And furthermore, there needs to be a darkness outside of him, one that outs "mutants" in danger.

My thoughts - not-so-short stories about characters, mutants I might add, and the dangers they face for being the way they are. One is a blogger, though he never writes it. Another is an unqualified doctor. The third is about a killer and two private detectives bent on taking him down. The fourth is a golem, an iron soldier, a cloud of dust and more. Vague descriptions? that's what I'm aiming for. I will not be revealing the abilities of these characters. Nor will I be revealing their names.

So that's one step to creating a darker Geneticide. And obviously I will be making the villains more evil. I'm going to drop some of the earlier dramatics, go into more depth on my descriptions, and hopefully come out with something that contains the heroics of X-Men, the care of Heroes and the madness of my own mind. A good end result!

Be aware, there will be a re-write!

Geneticide - Getting the Info #1

Geneticide is my latest novel in the making. What I describe as a mesh between Heroes, X-Men and my own personal madness, is a story of real life heroes, with extraordinary abilities. To keep things on a small scale, the characters cannot overuse their abilities (Ted Sprague's induced radioactivity in Heroes and just about every X-Man are examples of when abilities have been used to breaking point.) Should a character overexert him/herself, they would first begin to have headaches, followed by a nose bleed, and leading into crying tears of blood. A sign of strain I often use in the book, particularly when one character, a teleporter, uses his ability too frequently.

In one extreme case, overexertion caused one character to lose his ability temporarily. That man is known to the world as Number One, a name he gave himself. With visions of grandeur and an ability of induced evolution (the simplest term many of the characters have come to believe gave them their ability), Number One tries to take over the world. His army of haf-turned humans cannot use their abilities to harm him, and only a small number are naturally gifted. The half-turned suffer from the process by receiving a change to their vocal chords and a change in colour of the iris of their eyes. Each one has a peculiar voice and violet eyes, though males are more prone to dramatic changes in the former.

In combat against Number One are the unwilling heroes of Geneticide. The first we encounter, and indeed a series favourite, is Emily Quigley, a young woman with the ability to walk through solid objects. She lives with her friend Brock, a fire thrower (his ability is known as pyrokinesis), in a small apartment that acts as their base of operations. From there, they are trying to take down a company known as Horizon Inc. The secret to their mission lies in a story known as Welcome to the World of Emily Quigley.

WWEQ is but one story of many I have planned that will form a book known as Geneticide: Origins. Yes, the name comes from Heroes: Origins, although the idea is much different. Heroes planned to use Origins to introduce new characters into the show. Geneticide is simply giving the origin of the characters in their own individual plot. So far there are three written - WWEQ, The Secret Life of Stephen Doyle, and Eva Untouched. Eva is a secret, so don't bother asking.

Geneticide has a large cast of characters - last time I checked, the series had 97 characters on record, though the full plot so far spans a time of 80 years. Why that is, I cannot tell you. I'd be revealing some plot secrets doing that. I can tell you that the plot will have some serious bangs!

There will be more on Geneticide in the future. Until then, feel free to read the chapters I have online by clicking the title of this post!

Slán go foill.