Akuma from Street Fighter
Welcome to the Character Addition Center where we help you insert a new face into your existing story. We talked on the phone and you said your series needed a new hero. Is this a replacement, a temporary stand-in, or a long-term face? Option three, huh? Well, that’s a little trickier than a temp who doesn’t need much since they’ll be gone after a book or two. Replacement would have been bad if you needed it quickly. That usually requires at least a book to get people into the new guy and prepare them for the fall. In other words, we can help you and just need some information.
Now the first thing you need to do is examine your existing heroes. Is there a role you’re missing or a personality that doesn’t exist within the dynamic? Don’t concern yourself with relationships yet. Those will come naturally when you introduce the new face . . . if you want them to appear naked under a waterfall then that’s your funeral. I only pray there’s a reason for it. Shock value . . . I think I’m starting to remember when you were here for the first few heroes. Guess I owe Larry a hundred bucks since you made it beyond book one. Anyway, what do you have so far?
This is a tough one. You already have speed, smarts, strength, magic, and stealth. So your group is pretty well-rounded. Tossing someone else in could unbalance the entire thing, which means you need to focus on personality. I would suggest coming up with powers that are not held by anybody else, but try to find a void in the temperaments and characterizations of your heroes. You have short fuses, calm under pressure, and a lot of strong personalities. Maybe you can have somebody that is normally timid, but will explode when pushed too far. Though you need some friction when this person comes in. Not enough to destroy all chance of them being accepted, but just make the new face earn their place.
I can see you’re getting confused and ill. Use the bucket by you feet because we get that reaction a lot. Understand that adding a new figure into an established group comes with a lot of risks. It could push other characters to the background or destabilize a plot because the new hero can solve it immediately. You also need to find a reason for this person to butt heads with the villains. They need to have something at stake that brings them into the group. I haven’t even gotten to what could happen if the readers don’t like the new . . . ugh . . . clean up! I told you to use the bucket.
Legends of Windemere 
This was great!!!!!
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It was a fun little thing to piece together. Honestly, the Olde Shoppe stuff is getting hard to do for some reason.
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Well it sure came out nicely
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Ha ha! Loved this! Very thought provoking, since I’m adding characters to my book. I need a better mix of personalities, as you describe.
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It’s really tough to get the right mixture. Guess this is how writing is similar to cooking.
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It seems that way. Perhaps that’s why the Avengers succeeded too. A great mix of characters and abilities. (I hope to see Age of Ultron tomorrow.)
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Most superhero teams have that same combination. The leader, the monster, the femme fatale, the not from around here guy, the loner/egomaniac, and the guy that seemed to come with the headquarters. I’m curious to see how Vision fits into the team because they already have a lot of characters.
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The new guy is always a tough character to weave in.
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Very true. That’s why I plan for it at least a book in advance.
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Great! I loved it, truer words have never been written about how hard adding a character is.
Now if there was only a character addiction center for characters who have abdicated from the story.
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Thanks. Maybe there’s a place like there somewhere. 🙂
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Great humour to introduce a valid problem. I really enjoyed the way you laid out the pitfalls, and entertained us at the same time. A lot to think about! 🙂
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Thanks. I like doing these kinds of posts. Though they aren’t easy to pull off at times. 🙂
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