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Sooner or Later: Which is Greater?

Just a quick question. I'm writing a sci-fi/mystery/romance comic with a superhero protagonist (Brianna), and when is the best time for her to tell the male lead the secret of her powers. Should it be earlier or later in the series? If it were earlier, it would leave more time for character development, but if he found out later, there'd be more suspense. Which would be better?

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  • Thank you!

    Mike Jacobs said:

    You might want to read 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. The hero's wife doesn't find out about the hero's dual identity until after she has unwittingly betrayed him to save her brother. It might be interesting for the love interest to find himself in the same predicament. Let him find out on his own and show how he handles the information.

    Sooner or Later: Which is Greater?
    Just a quick question. I'm writing a sci-fi/mystery/romance comic with a superhero protagonist (Brianna), and when is the best time for her to tell t…
  • You might want to read 'The Scarlet Pimpernel'. The hero's wife doesn't find out about the hero's dual identity until after she has unwittingly betrayed him to save her brother. It might be interesting for the love interest to find himself in the same predicament. Let him find out on his own and show how he handles the information.

  • Thank you, everyone! You've been a huge help!
  • I think it depends on Brianna's reasons for keeping her secret, and on the effect you intend for the reveal to have on their relationship. 

    Most heroes keep their secret from their colleagues and loved ones because they want to keep them out of harm's way, because of trust issues, out of fear that they might lose the relationship, or, as is the case with heroes who are involved with cops, politicians or lawyers, because that knowledge might make the law, public opinion or their own code of ethics a wedge between them. If it's an issue of safety, I'd say an early reveal isn't a bad thing: it lets you also explore the male lead's feelings about Brianna and her alter ego, whether he feels up to the task of being a part of her crazy world, and about his own code of ethics. If it's an issue of trust or fear, the slow reveal might work better so you can explore those issues fully, especially if there are a couple of times where she's just itching to tell him.

    In any case, this type of reveal is usually best suited for a turning point in the story: a major development in the case, a point where the male lead starts to get really suspicious of how Brianna is so helpful, or a point where everything seems to be going perfect for Brianna and the defense lawyer... but the dilemma the reveal creates would blow everything out of the water.

    Hope that helps!

  • There is also the issue of the main character using her powers to assist in the cases, so if I don't know if the character (a defense lawyer) should find out sooner.
  • I like suspense more.... But you would have to come up with something interesting that keeps the reader's attention while leading up to that. Sounds exciting!!!
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