Andrew Bitner wrote:
"You're right, Joakim-- a writer just starting out would be better off sticking with the basics and not trying for Advanced Plotting 505 right off the bat. It takes a lot of work, which seems to surprise most people, to craft a story worth reading.

Anything that affects a character's backstory in a significant way should be approached like plutonium: dangerous and capable of causing a huge explosion."

I agree, Andrew. And even more, the writer in question needs to acknowledge what he is writing. While I'd never agree that a writer writing "his own stuff" by default wouldn't have to apply the laws of storytelling or still need a lot of skills and practice to wield more complex narrative devices (there's far too much badly written fiction out there to argue that that'd be the case), there is after all a fundamental difference in writing something which the writer himself is more free to set up and move along, than to write within the parameters of frnachise writing, where he/she needs to 1) deal with already existing characters and stay true to them, 2) develop plots and stories out of set parameters, including character and already existing plot elements, and 3) remember not to upset the franchise beyond irridemable repair. Much of the latter, I would argue, is why franchise writing (whether for television, comics or books) provides the editors with much more prominent positions. They need to be there to keep everything in check.

In that sense, it's not only the fault of the writer who probably should have stayed out of franchise writing (or at least one specific kind, perhaps), but also that of the editor who not only allowed him/her into the play pen, but also let him/her break all the toys for his/her own pleasure.

Lars Johansson wrote (in response to yours truly):
"I don't know if 'the lie' is a heavy device, but it might look like it, when it's badly wrtten. Writing so that it looks as if it was easy to write it is what I would call real heavy duty."

I agree. Most things that look easy in any artform tend to be particularly hard. And anyone who can make things seem easy to do also attracts followers with far too little skill. The everything you knew is a lie (which is a device I really enjoy when handled correctly, especially in films like The Ususal Suspects) is not necessarily the most complex device, but it does require a keen eye for detail and logic to make it hold together. Also, I think it's a much heavier device within ongoing, serialised franchise-writing, since not only the need for logical detail is even more extreme, but you also have the added difficulty of fore-seeing how it effects the future of the franchise.

Ed Love wrote:
"Instead of writing a story that grows out of the character, he's changing the character to fit the story he wants to write."

And maybe that's the key to writing good franchise writing... be sure of writing stories out of the pre-existing characters rather than writing characters into "pre-existing" story ideas.

If story A is a good story that needs a character who does certain things, there are requirements put on the character by the story, and it may not be appropriate to throw in the hero of your choice, and it should most likely not be a Spider-Man story.
If story B is good story is a good story because it is rooted in the character of Spider-Man and how he will handle a specific crisis (personal or superhero), the stoy requirements come out of the character, and it would in all likelihood not be good if it wasn't a Spider-Man story.