Stan Lee rewrote the principles of what heroism might appear like.
For many years, his pen stitched collectively flawed characters with cosmic destinies, grounded in on a regular basis issues and elevated by snappy dialogue. He constructed a supercool universe.
Whether or not it was Peter Parker sweating over lease or the X-Males grappling with discrimination, Stan Lee’s tales labored as a result of they punched with model and landed with coronary heart.
Writers nonetheless quote him and examine him as a result of he remodeled comedian books right into a storytelling bible that teaches you the best way to convey extra by displaying much less, and the best way to navigate large concepts with out ever dropping sight of the human beneath the masks.
This text breaks down ten writing rules Stan Lee lived by—only a good old style recommendation from the person who turned radioactive accidents into character arcs.
1. Make Your Characters Relatable
Stan Lee wrote larger-than-life folks with human issues. Spider-Man might keep on with partitions and dodge bullets, however he couldn’t dodge guilt or homework. Tony Stark constructed a swimsuit of armor to guard himself, however couldn’t defend his relationships.
In case your character doesn’t have a transparent emotional anchor—one thing the reader acknowledges in themselves—then all of the explosions on the earth received’t matter. Stan Lee ensured his heroes had baggage, like insecurity, conceitedness, trauma, and remorse. He gave them the facility to avoid wasting the world, after which made them late for dinner.
Relatable doesn’t must be boring. Give your characters one thing actual to wrestle with, and even the wildest fantasy turns into private.
2. Maintain Your Story Transferring Ahead
Stan Lee wasn’t large on meandering. His comics took off, not often letting up. That’s pacing.
Momentum issues. A narrative doesn’t must be nonstop motion, but it surely ought to by no means really feel prefer it’s caught in visitors. Minimize the scenes that go nowhere. Trim the dialogue that repeats what we already know. Each web page, each line, and each panel ought to drive towards a aim.
The Marvel universe grew large, however Lee all the time stored the engine operating. The stakes developed, the characters modified, however the tales by no means hit snooze. Study to construct stress and ship payoffs prefer it’s your job (as a result of for those who’re writing, it’s).
3. Write with Ardour and Conviction
Stan Lee’s voice was unmistakable. If we contemplate his tales a mirror of his persona, you may think about a vivacious, eccentric man with a baby’s spirit.
You don’t want to jot down like Lee. However you do must care like him. Readers can sniff out phoned-in writing quicker than Wolverine smells hassle. Once you’re genuinely excited a few scene, a joke, or a personality arc, that vitality hits the web page.
Lee additionally knew the best way to snort at himself. His movie cameos have been extra winks than fan service. For those who’re bored writing it, the reader can be twice as bored studying it. Basic math.
‘Iron Man’ Credit score: Disney
4. Collaborate, however Keep True to Your Imaginative and prescient
Stan Lee famously popularized “The Marvel Methodology,” the place artists would draw the motion first, and he’d fill within the dialogue after. Sounds chaotic, but it surely labored as a result of it was constructed on belief, flexibility, and shared objective.
Working with legends like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko meant checking your ego on the door. Nonetheless, Lee nonetheless ensured that the story got here first. For those who’re collaborating, whether or not with artists, editors, or different writers, be open to concepts, however don’t let your imaginative and prescient get steamrolled.
Artistic friction isn’t the enemy. Compromise on particulars, not course. The Marvel Methodology was much less about giving up management and extra about realizing when to let others carry the ball.
5. Create Memorable Catchphrases
“Hulk smash!” “I’m Iron Man.” “With nice energy…” These have been, sure, cool traces, however much more so, these have been id capsules. They summed up the character in 5 phrases or much less.
Catchphrases work as a result of they echo. They offer readers one thing to latch onto, to repeat, to recollect. However they solely land once they match the voice of the character. The Factor yelling “It’s clobberin’ time!” works as a result of it feels like him. You possibly can’t power it.
Desire a memorable line? Boil the characters right down to their essence. Write 10 unhealthy variations. Say it out loud. If it appears like one thing they’d shout mid-fight or whisper mid-crisis, you’re shut. If not, again to the lab.
6. Have interaction Immediately with Your Viewers
Stan Lee, as a substitute of hiding behind his tales, spoke on to readers in editor’s notes, on letters pages, and in playful narration that generally broke the fourth wall, like Deadpool. He made readers really feel like a part of the membership.
That form of intimacy builds loyalty. Once you write such as you’re speaking to somebody, not performing for them, the entire tone shifts. You’re inviting. Even now, in a world of newsletters, podcasts, and interactive storytelling, this lesson holds.
Don’t be afraid to indicate up in your work as a presence. Readers don’t simply need the story. They need the storyteller, too.
7. Small Particulars Can Have a Massive Impression
Stan Lee’s cameos have been fast, bizarre, and unforgettable. A supply man. A safety guard. A barber on an alien planet. None of those scenes drove the plot, however they added taste and shock. That’s world-building finished proper.
Particulars are the place your story will get its fingerprints. A facet character who returns in Chapter 8. A operating gag that pays off three arcs later. A visible clue that hints at future twists. All of it provides as much as a world that feels lived in.
Don’t overload your writing with filler. However a couple of well-placed Easter eggs could be the issues followers bear in mind lengthy after the plot fades.
8. Write Nice Antagonists
Stan Lee didn’t deal with villains like props. He gave them depth, motives, and allure, generally much more than the heroes. Physician Doom was a lot greater than only a mad scientist. He was a wounded ego wrapped in armor. Magneto wasn’t born evil. He was formed by trauma and survival.
villain doesn’t get up and say, “Time to be evil right now.” They suppose they’re proper. That stress between their view and the hero’s is what fuels actual battle. You don’t must justify their actions, however you must perceive them.
So don’t write unhealthy guys who twirl mustaches and vanish. Write ones who problem your protagonist to suppose twice.
9. Know When to Let the Artwork Converse for Itself
Stan Lee might write paragraphs of inside monologue, however he additionally knew when to zip it. Among the strongest comedian panels had no phrases in any respect—simply emotion, motion, and silence.
In prose, which means trusting the reader. Present a personality clenching their jaw as a substitute of claiming “he was offended.” Let the subtext carry the load. Minimize the over-explaining.
Visible storytelling of comics is for any author who is aware of the best way to paint with verbs as a substitute of adjectives.
10. Construct a Model
Stan Lee gave Marvel a voice, and it wasn’t company or sanitized. That voice was energetic, oddball, a bit of chaotic, however unmistakably them. And over time, that voice grew to become a model.
As a author, your tone, themes, and storytelling quirks are a part of your signature. Personal them. Develop them. Keep constant sufficient that folks acknowledge you, however by no means so inflexible that you would be able to’t evolve.
Lee constructed a model that would adapt throughout many years, genres, and codecs. Maintain your core values, and maintain pushing.
Your Pleasant Neighborhood Writing Information
You don’t want to jot down about superheroes to be taught from Stan Lee. Simply write characters who really feel actual. Maintain the story shifting. Discuss to your viewers. Take dangers. And have a blast doing it.
So go on—write one thing marvelous. Excelsior!
