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First of all, I really want to thank you

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for letting me speak to TEDxGateway[br]in India about superheroes.

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I wish I could be there in person,[br]but this is the next best thing.

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I would really love to share

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some of the things[br]I've learned over the years

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and share them with any artists[br]and writers in India

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who might be wanting[br]to create new superheroes

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and new superhero adventures.

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India has been on my mind a lot lately[br]because I've been working

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with my good friend Sharad Devarajan[br]and with Graphic India

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to create a new Indian superhero[br]named Chakra The Invincible,

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who lives in Mumbai.

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My goal with Chakra was really simple.

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I wanted to bring an Eastern[br]concept, like the chakras,

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to the Western world of superheroes.

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And for me, superheroes[br]will always spark the imagination

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of people around the world[br]regardless of their background,

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because I think that people[br]are always looking for something

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that represents the ideal person[br]or the ideal situation.

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Almost all of us have loved fairy tales[br]when we were young.

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Just remember stories[br]of giants and witches

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and wizards and monsters

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and things that were so colorful[br]and bigger than life.

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But then, you get a little older[br]and you're too old to read fairy tales.

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But you never outgrow[br]your love of that type of story.

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And if you think about it,

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superheroes stories today are really[br]like fairy tales for grown-ups.

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The characters are bigger than life,[br]just like in fairy tales.

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They have the same type of superpowers:

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some can fly, some are extra-strong,[br]some can be invisible.

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It gives the viewer and the reader

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a chance to relive the excitement[br]he or she had when they were young.

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They're really reading[br]fairy tales for grown-ups

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when they read or when they see[br]superhero stories today,

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and that's why I love them so.

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To me, the human aspect of superheroes

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has always been, perhaps,[br]the most important part.

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By that, I mean: OK, we assume[br]your superhero might be extra-strong,

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or might be able to fly[br]or run as fast as a comet,

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but unless you care[br]about the superhero's personal life,

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you're just reading a shallow story.

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Just because a person has a superpower

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doesn't mean he might not[br]have the same personal problems

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that you or I might have.

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Maybe he doesn't have enough money,

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maybe he has a family problem,

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maybe the girl he loves doesn't love him.

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Or maybe the girl he loves doesn't want[br]to be involved with a superhero.

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There are so many things you can think of

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that round out the character[br]and the personality,

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so the superhero isn't just[br]one or two dimensional.

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You want a three-dimensional superhero[br]who lives and breathes and worries

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and experiences things[br]just the way you and I do

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except for the fact[br]that she or he has a superpower.

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One thing I might mention, most writers -

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and I think it's an unfortunate thing -

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they try to write something

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that they think a certain[br]audience might enjoy.

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I've never been able to do that

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because I can't put myself[br]in the mind of other people.

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I only know what I enjoy,[br]so every time I've written a story,

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I've always tried to write[br]the sort of story

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that I, myself would enjoy reading,

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a story that would interest me[br]while I'm writing it

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as I'm waiting to find out[br]what happens next.

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And I can't know what other people think,

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but I can know what I think,

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and I feel I'm not that unusual[br]if there's a type of story I like.

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There must be lots of people[br]who like the same type of stories.

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Therefore, I have always[br]written to please myself,

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not to please a certain type of audience,

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because you can't know the audience[br]as well as you know yourself.

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And if I write a story[br]that I'm enjoying while I'm writing it

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and I can't wait to see what happens next,

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then I'm hoping that a large[br]proportion of the public

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will feel the same way,[br]and they'll enjoy it too.

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So to sum it up, I have always tried[br]to please myself, not other people.

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And somehow, it seems to have worked

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because I guess I'm not[br]that different than other people.

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So, to wrap it up.

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What I suggest is, use your imagination,

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don't be afraid to come up[br]with the wildest thought in the world

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if what you create is truly[br]different and colorful,

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and if it's written well,[br]people will enjoy it.

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Now when I say "written well,"

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what I mean is you might have[br]the most fantastic notion in the world,

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suddenly you have a man who[br]can fly faster than the speed of light.

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That could be interesting,

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but you have to make him believable,

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you have to give[br]the reader or the audience

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some reason to think[br]he really has the ability to do that.

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How did he get that power?[br]

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Origins of superpowers[br]are always very interesting.

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If you get the right origin,

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like, for example, Spiderman[br]being bitten by a radioactive spider,

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at least, then the viewer[br]has something to hold on to

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and to say, "Well, it might have[br]happened, now I'll enjoy it."

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So even though you're writing

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what amounts to[br]a fairy tale for grown-ups,

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try to keep enough facts[br]and try to give enough detail

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that the reader or the audience will say,[br]"Well, it could have happened,"

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and then your public[br]goes along with the fun.

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But if you make it too wild,

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and you don't give any reason[br]why it is as wild as it is,

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then sometimes it can be overkill.

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So what I'm trying to say is,[br]let your imagination flow freely,

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but always base what happens[br]on some sort of provable fact

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so that the reader or the viewer[br]will go along with it

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and enjoy it as much[br]as you enjoy writing it.

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So good luck to you!

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Thanks for listening[br]and I really enjoyed talking to you.

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Excelsior!