Guest Post: Victoria Jackson

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Today, I am enormously pleased to present you with a guest post from the lovely Victoria @ The Endless Oceans of My Mind, wherein she explains why Spider-Man is like a writer. And once you've finished reading this, I highly recommend hopping on over to her blog and browsing her archives because her writing is equal parts brilliant and fabulous.  

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Spider-Man is like a writer. No, he doesn't actually, you know, write stuff (does emailing J. Jonah Jameson count as writing?) but stay with me here.

Imagine this: Spider-Man is swinging through Manhattan in an epic fashion (possibly while explosions go off in the background (which only serves to make him look more awesome)) when he notices a villain creating mischief for the poor souls on the street. (Side note: why does anyone live in New York? Seriously, HOW MANY TIMES HAS THAT CITY BLOWN UP? Granted, for a fan of explosions like myself it might be an entertaining place to live, but for normal people it's just one warzone after the other. Maybe it's just a good place for training for the zombie apocalypse?)

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Let's say Spidey comes across Electro (totally not because Electro is my favourite villain). If you've seen Marvel movies/TV shows or read the comics, I'm sure you can imagine the epic fist-fights, the exploding street lamps, the witty banter, the burning electrical wires, the bouncing, shattered glass, the sharp crack of electricity, etc. etc. as the two mortal enemies battle it out.

Electro starts to get the upper hand. He fries Spider-Man's webs, gets a few good punches in and throws the web head against the wall. People sprint away and scream as their hero is beaten to a pulp, and Electro stands over Spider-Man, a sizzling ball of electricity in his hand. 

Spider-Man takes a deep breath. He pushes himself off the ground. The onlookers cheer. With one (or maybe more than one) giant swing, he punches Electro in the face. Electro flies backwards, utterly defeated, then Spider-Man traps him in a web for the police. Courtesy of your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man. He then flicks his fantastic hair (The Amazing Spider-Man hair, not the trilogy one, mind you (and yes, you can flick your hair when it's under a mask. Don't question me)) and swings away, off to save the day yet again. 

Now before you ask, yes, there was an actual point to this.

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Spider-Man is like a writer. Writers waltz through life, trying not to trip over stuff, until they find a good story idea. They write it and an epic battle ensues, filled with character arcs and explosions and setting description and banter. 

Then there comes a point where you feel like you're failing. Maybe you recieved negative feedback, that villain got one too many punches in or you're beginning to hate your characters. For some reason, you find yourself on the ground, gasping for breath as the glass from the store windows digs into your face and you begin to wonder how you're going to make it out of this thing alive. Typing "The End" seems so far away, whether you're editing or drafting. 

But the thing is, writers are superheroes. We spin alternate realites with nothing but our words. We breathe life into people who wouldn't exist without us. We inspire and weave and destroy and create. 

Superheroes don't give up, and neither do writers. 

So go, get on your feet and give that villain, no matter what form he takes, a good punch in the face. 

What kind of villains are you fighting? Which Spider-Man villain is your favourite? (I would ask which superhero is your favourite, but it's obviously Spider-Man so I won't bother asking.)