The Unlimiter

I woke up with this crazy desire to go back to the manuscript I put down four months ago. I thought about it all day, piecing it together like a puzzle, and I think I've settled on something good. The thing is, it's completely different.

Well, not completely, but enough that I don't know if I'll be able to reuse a single chapter. I have the characters and the setting, though. I know them. I won't need to go through that process again.

Most importantly, I'm excited about it again. And I know it takes me about three months to turn out a decent rough draft from this point.

I've developed a habit of writing queryesque blurbs about books before starting on them. (Just to make sure I have an actual plot.) It's kind of fun.

So, here's Brian explaining his problem. If you want to see how it looked before, click the In Memory tab near the top of the page, just under the blog title.

I’m not particularly talented. I do well in school, make friends easily, keep out of trouble. There is one thing that sets me apart. 
I make superheroes. Occasionally a supervillain. 
I know. It’s crazy. Maybe a bit of an exaggeration—but not much. Take my girlfriend, for instance. She can control people’s emotions. I gave her that ability. 
Okay, again I exaggerate. Esha was born with a gift, you might say. But how far does talent get you? I mean, even with a lot of work and perseverance, talent still has limits, right? 
Not Esha’s. I unlimited her. 
I guess that’s my talent. I bring out the best in people. 
So imagine my surprise when the girl Esha rescued from suicide blamed all her troubles on me. I knew Leah. (Had a crush on her in middle school, in fact.) Weirdly, she knew about my talent. She says I unlimited her years before I even knew I could. It was an accident. 
Now she claims unlimiting drove her mad, and that it will do the same to Esha—and Peter, and everyone else I’ve unlimited. She says madness will drive Peter to homicide, and I have good reason to believe her.  
There’s only one way to stop him, but I can’t do it alone. I make super-people. Only Esha can unmake them.  
That’s exactly why Peter wants her dead.

Comments

  1. Jaimie TeekellMay 30, 2011 at 9:07 PM

    This not only makes more sense, it's more interesting. (Maybe those two are congruent.)

    The thought crossed my mind that this might appeal to the Stranger Than Fiction writer-glorification crowd, as well as the superhero crowd.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Krista Van DolzerMay 30, 2011 at 10:45 PM

    Ooh, I like it. This has exciting possibilities, and like Jaimie said, it both makes more sense and is more interesting. Plus, it gives Brian something to do:)

    I'm glad you're excited about it again, Ben. That's the most important thing. If you're not excited about a revision, it's (a lot) more work than play (because it's always a little work).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ben SpendloveMay 31, 2011 at 6:46 AM

    Jaimie, I thought, "What does this have to do with Stranger Than Fiction? Oh, right. I make superheroes." Too meta. :)

    Krista, the balance has to be tilted toward play. It's not like I'm getting paid to do this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jolene PerryMay 31, 2011 at 11:23 AM

    Awesome.

    You'll have a LOT of fun with this re-write. The concept is UNREAL cool. Jump in while you're still excited :D I wanna read it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. PerriJune 2, 2011 at 10:01 AM

    Really interesting bit. Thanks for sharing it.

    I've taken to writing queryesque blurbs before starting a new project to-- keeps me focused.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Christina LeeJune 3, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    Is there a better feeling than that one? And I've always been intrigued by this story!!

    Hey I draft in three months and write my "query/jacket cover" beforehand too! We are on the same wavelength--yay!!

    ReplyDelete

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