Showing Power

The way to show power in a novel isn’t set in stone. In fact, there are many ways to go about it.

What sort of character is it that needs to be fleshed out on the power scale?

Do they break the rules of the magic system in any way?

In my Orchestrylus Odyssey series, battles are fought physically with instruments yet also in a mindscape of the psyche.

The reader is the only one aware of the poetry used to describe each attack, but a powerful character in my world can peer into another dimension where the poetry becomes real to them.

In my first novel in this series, one of the Golden Masks, Strumestia Harpscythe, attacks Stanzielle Quintette with poetry that is both cheeky and mind-bending.

Due to the medium that I used to describe the battles in my novels, I can play with the idea of meta-fictional narratives and character awareness.

It’s not that the specific characters know they’re in a story; it’s that the characters have room to play and do things that are otherwise impossible.

One of my panels has one of the Nine Golden Masks, named Acoustera Cellolance, exiting the paneling and manifesting her poetry as though she’s aware of it happening.

Who these characters are and why they can do these things will be revealed around book 15.

I have the series planned out far in advance, meaning I also have certain devices and literary tricks that are in said plans for utilization further down the line.

In what ways can you defy logic and flesh out a character’s potential danger level?

Maybe it won’t be by using meta-fictional narrative devices such as exiting panels or refusing to be paneled, but what vocabulary might they use? What reaction do other characters have in their presence?

Is there something in their backstory that makes them terrifying?

I believe that thinking these things out deeply leads to amazing results.

What interesting ways might you come up with to solidify a character as powerful?