Character Development

One of the more difficult tasks of writing a story is developing the characters that reside in that story.  How would they feel in a given situation?  What would they want to do?  What would they actually be capable of doing?  How much of the difference between the two is their mental state, and how much of it is physical?  How would a different character react in the same situation?  How would the story move if the roles were changed or reversed?  All of these decisions have an effect on how a story grows and develops.  None of the decisions have to be made right away.  Some of the answers may even puzzle or surprise the characters themselves.

It all started a few weeks ago. I can't say exactly what day the change came over me, it was such a gradual thing. I began feeling stronger. My muscles weren't any bigger, I couldn't lift any more weight, my daily runs weren't getting any longer or less exhausting, but I could feel something more coursing through my body. It was nearly impossible to describe more what, it was just more.

How much I was changing really hit me one day. The last few days of work had been difficult and more stressful than normal. My daily run was just as much a chance to vent my frustrations as it was a way to keep in shape. The heavens unleashed a downpour as my run brought me by a stretch of abandoned warehouses. I figured the storm would blow itself out quickly, so I ducked between two slightly opened giant doors to take some shelter. My footsteps echoed in the vastness that surrounded me. Dust motes glided on the slivers of dirty light struggling to get through dirty glass windows.

The size and industrial beauty completely missed me. I was too frustrated by the way things had been going combined with the sudden need to hide from the weather. Out of anger and a lack of anything else to do, I picked up a piece of scrap metal from the floor and threw it as hard as I could. The feat of strength this required escaped me until I heard the scrap metal hit a support pillar over half way down the warehouse's length. I looked up and a chill ran through me as I spotted an I-beam sticking through the large support pillar like a pencil stuck through a piece of paper. The air was filled with a slight hum as the two pieces of metal vibrated sympathetically from the impact.

That first day had me shocked. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was in that warehouse trying to pick up other pieces of steel and other metals for almost an hour before I figured out it was my emotions that triggered the increase in strength. My initial frustration at the weather forcing me into the place had allowed me to hurl the steel I-beam before I even knew how heavy the thing was.

Since then, I have cut my runs short and spend more time inside the abandoned warehouse experimenting and testing to see what else I can do. New powers and abilities seem to be growing in me gradually. I am not invincible, but injuries heal faster than before. When I am wounded, I don't feel normal pain, more of a sense of something is out of balance in a certain area. I'm almost afraid to test how far this particular pair of abilities can stretch.

I am able to run faster than I ever could before, but my endurance hasn't increased much. What's strange, is I can run for the same amount of time regardless of how fast I go. Running faster doesn't lower my endurance any more than running slow does.

On an impulse, I decided to try flying one day. I can levitate myself a little above the ground, but nothing I would consider really flying. At least not yet. Once I get a little more altitude, maybe I will try moving around some.

I have found that these new abilities are connected to my feelings.  The angrier I get, the stronger I am.  A powerful sense of fear lets me run faster.  Being happy and laughing allow me to levitate.  Calming myself and relaxing seem to accelerate my healing.  Who knew actually having emotions could one day prove useful?

One thing I keep wondering, more than where these abilities and powers come from, is what shall I do with them? I'm comfortable financially and don't really feel the need to start robbing banks. Taking over the world might be easy, but I'm not so sure I would want the job of running it all once I did. I have no inclination to become a superhero, tights never really looked good on me anyway. Professional athletics are out, my performance would lead to too many questions and “random” tests for performance enhancing drugs. I had considered doing something about the wars that keep popping up in different parts of the world, but then some government may want more answers than I would want to provide. Besides, I've never been a fan of needles and I'm sure someone would love to set up a lab just to stick me full of them. Maybe some day I will figure out what to do with myself.

How should this person continue?  How soon must he make a decision on the use of his powers?  Should he experiment more and try to find more abilities?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think or how you would react to suddenly becoming more powerful.