#powerful characters

This is a common trope with films with the Most Competent Woman who has to train the For Some Reason More Important Man and then swiftly gets outpaced by him despite having years or decades of experience, but I also see it a fair amount in books.

Namely, it shows up when a character is supposed to be the best fighter / assassin / thief / negotiator, but to have them actually succeed at their task would make the plot of the book fall apart, so they end up being written as kind of incompetent.

There are a few ways to avoid this problem:

Don't have the story tell us that they are the best. It's more believable that they're not immediately succeeding when they're good but not amazing than when they're supposed to be the most successful ever

Have them be stopped by reasonable forces. It can be a trap or an ambush, or it can be something else that they had no way to predict or plan for, or it can be such overwhelming force that it doesn't matter how good they are. Maybe a natural disaster strikes!

like, sure some demigods are just naturally like that like percy or annabeth and they’re just intimidating in general.

but give me demigods who fade into the background at CHB who may not seem like much start commanding an entire room and everyone just immediately listening. who can give a glare cold as ice. who makes crowds split before them as they walk.

and they don’t think they’re doing anything because back at camp there are more powerful people who could do even more. but to mortals? they don’t know how, but that person should not be messed with.

Think someone going to strike at a character and them not having the reflexes quick enough to stop it. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, their teammate known to be weak (maybe the only one who stays out of the action) not only protects them, but lunges at the attacker with a cold look on their face the team has never seen before. Them winning, to the surprise of the team, but getting slightly hurt in the midst of the battle. Afterwards, the character being highly in shock over the unfamiliar actions of the teammate and worrying over their graze as they convince themself that they must be going crazy. There’s no way their innocent, feeble teammate could be capable of something like that.

The teammate lightly commenting that they had hardly noticed the injury and instead turning their attention to making sure the character is safe. Them wanting to care for the stuttering, confused character, suddenly seeming much bigger and more mature than ever before, but being stopped in their tracks by the approaching team. The team, who had been taken aback by the sudden change in the teammate, confronting them about their actions and true strength, while simultaneously trying to discreetly lead them to an area to get treated. The teammate eventually realizing this and saying that the injury was hardly a scratch the couldn’t even notice and that they’d had far worse. The team becoming horrified at the notion that their “weakest” member could ever have handled worse. Shocked because they thought of the teammate as someone they always needed to protect, someone they couldn’t imagine getting even slightly hurt.

Okay y'all this is one of my absolute favorite tropes / character arcs / whatever you want to call it. I’ve written at least two characters that end up twisted and deranged… While it’s fun to do, it can be a little difficult to nail down, so I thought I’d share some tips! 

From Avatar the Last Airbender’s Azula to Gollum, characters often think that they can handle the Ultimate Power™ when they really can’t. These corrupted characters and their character arcs can be tricky to write, so here’s some pointers! 

The character to be corrupted should have a one track mind. Your character needs to have a goal in mind, one that (at least in their eyes) requires the Ultimate Power™. This goal can be as simple as world domination, or as complex as “I need to get revenge on this specific person in this specific manner, or else I won’t be satisfied.” It’s up to you, but you need to make sure that your character’s every action revolves around this central goal.

Or, if your character has two motivations, like reconciling themselves to their family while simultaneously saving the world, make sure they can only do one of them! This will cause lots of conflict and it will be great..

Get used to writing internal conflict. In one of my novels, the main character has the power to clean the world’s water supplies, but her friends disapprove for…complicated reasons. She has something of a mental breakdown, wondering if she should be doing what she is. Internal conflict is a great way to show your character being pulled in two different directions; after all, tearing our characters apart is the name of the game. 

Make sure your character thinks that they are using their Ultimate Power for good. Even if they’re not. Especially if they’re not. When you can follow a villain’s logic and understand why they are doing the horrific things they are, they become that much creepier.

The Ultimate Power must be so attractive that your character can’t help but use it. The only way your character can be corrupted by power is if they use this power. Therefore, they must use it often. Whether this be a superpower, power that comes from the crown on their head, or dark magic, make sure your reader gets plentiful helpings of seeing the character use it.

Don’t be afraid to take it slow. Characters descend into madness, they don’t plummet into it. Let your character spiral slowly downwards, let them saunter casually into their twisted ways of thinking.

If they can’t be redeemed, they should probably die. Characters that have gone power mad really only have two options: redemption or death. Sometimes your character can pull out of their downward spiral and recognize their mistakes. This may lead to them siding with the very people they had been against, like Magneto teaming up with Prof X to fight a Bigger Baddie. Or they could just admit their mistakes and go on their way, like Mystique occasionally does.

But if you can’t find a way to redeem your character (or don’t want to), then you should probably consider killing them off. Characters mad with Ultimate Power™ are usually unsustainable, and will usually self destruct at some point.

A character who descends into their madness and power-craziness and has a descent that is really well written can be super engaging. They are, at least, my personal favorite to write and read about. Have fun, and happy writing!

Even better, when they’re forced to finally use them / show their skills but are very reluctant.