I have a confession to make. I'm happily married, but I've been reading a lot of cheating wives stories here on SOL. Like, a LOT. A well done cheating wife story makes you feel a whole range of emotions, from joy to grief. When written well, it's very compelling stuff. Also, most (but certainly not all) cheating wife stories end with the protagonist "trading up" to someone more loyal, loving--and usually more attractive--than the cheating wife. Perversely, well done cheating wife stories are actually stories of hope, demonstrating that pain is temporary and life gets better.
With that background in mind, I can explain that I've been a lurker here on SOL for a few years now and lately I've felt like I should write something to give back to the community, but I've been stuck as to what. There is no shortage of cheating wife stories here at SOL and I didn't feel like I had anything new or original to add.
That brings us to the morning a month or so ago at the gym. My mind was wandering as I tried to keep from dying on the stair climber and my thoughts landed on And Soon My Evil Plan will be Complete by Stultus. If you liked my story Reflector and haven't read this, stop immediately and check it out. This is one of those stories that grows on me more each time I read it, and I've probably read it half a dozen times. It is probably my favorite story on SOL. It's just pitch perfect.
Anyhow, there I was musing this superhero-genre story whilst struggling to control my breathing on the infernal stair machine, when I was struck like a bolt from the blue. Out of all the cheating wives stories I'd read, I hadn't read a single one wrapped in a superhero setting. Finally I'd found something new to say.
Warning, if you have NOT read Reflector yet, stop reading here as the rest of this post contains spoilers. You have been warned.
Another element of cheating wives stories is the cheater experiencing some sort of justice. Maybe it's because in real life there are all sorts of injustices that go unanswered (or if they are answered it's not in a way we can see or appreciate). "Burn the bitch" is a whole SOL sub-genre, but even in reconciliation stories the cheater has to at least feel genuine remorse for the reader to feel satisfaction. Here in a superhero story I could explore the ultimate karma, for the hero to make the cheating wife feel all the grief that she had caused.
With the idea set, the rest quickly fell into place. I knew I wanted our hero to end up with two women to make up for the one he lost because I'm a guy and susceptible to guy fantasy math: if one is good then more is better. (In real life though, never in a million years.) By the end of the day I'd written an outline of 10 scenes and started hammering out the story. There were a few minor changes along the way, but for the most part what you read is what I envisioned from the beginning.
In a day or two I'll post some behind the scenes stuff about the superhero setting. This is the first superhero story I've ever written and I had some revelations along the way.