My Storytelling Superpower

Photo by Miguel Bruna (with my wording added)

Ever wondered what your storytelling superpower is? When I received an email from diy MFA asking just this question, I was intrigued.

The email was two-fold, offering a fun quiz but then asking us to celebrate our strengths as a writer.

My quiz result was this:

The Underdog

You are the quintessential underdog storyteller and your superpower is creating relate-able charaters who have a deep desire to change something in themselves or in the world around them. From rags-to-riches narratives to epic David-and-Goliath-style battles you craft stories with high stakes and compelling characters your readers can't help but love.

I wasn't sure if I liked this to begin with but then, as I began to apply the idea of 'underdog' to my novel, I realised that my result was spot on.

My teenage protagonist, Steve is bullied at school and when he's thrown into an underworld of magic and crime, he's way out of his depth. He feels powerless and yet he struggles to not only right the wrong that landed him in this dilemma but to solve his uncle's murder too.

I've always loved writers who 'can do character' as I call it, the ones who can make a protagonist, sidekick or even a villain feel real to the reader, so real that it seems we know them.

In turn, I've written my characters in a way that reveals who they are in not only the words they speak but their actions too, hopefully shaping 'people' my readers can warm to, or at least react to.

So what about you? What's your storytelling superpower? You can find the quiz here. I'd love to hear your result in the comments below.