"Hades" And Finding Your Boons As A Writer

via Wikipedia

Outside of writing, I spend a lot of my free time gaming. Most recently, I finished Hades.

Or, at least, I thought I had finished it. Turns out there's an epilogue sequence I haven't gotten yet and romanceable characters, according to a friend who's actually finished the game in full.

In any case, towards the end of the main story, there was something about it that I thought was worthy of a blog post, so here we are.

Hades is a roguelike RPG. You play as Zagreus, son of Hades, on his quest to break out of the Underworld and find his birthmother, Persephone. Zagreus is far from alone in this endeavor, as he's got the Olympians on his side, aiding him with power-ups known as boons, granting Zagreus new combat abilities for the duration of the escape attempt.

It took me many, many, many attempts to complete my first run. After attempt number 30, I caved and activated God Mode, which essentially makes the game easier because it increases your defense with every death (capped at 80%, which I hit in no time).

Ignoring the fact that the game will not let you progress to the next chamber until you've collected the reward for defeating all of the enemies in your current one, it feels almost impossible to make it all the way through without the use of boons and using Nyx's mirror to level up. The only optional assists are encounters with characters like Chaos and Sisyphus because you can choose to not enter those chambers if an alternative is given. And if you really wanted to, you could sell off your boons.

At least in my experience, possibly because I'm just not good at the game, the boons were the only reason I was able to get through Hades. That feels by design, and also feels applicable to writing.

When I was first starting out as a writer, I was convinced that I already knew everything I needed to know about writing and that I'd have no trouble getting my books published. In fact, they'd be instant bestsellers with blockbuster film adaptations in the works before the ink on the New York Times's list was dry. That I didn't need any outside help. I was overprotective of my writing, letting nobody even so much as look at the beaten-up-to-Hell-and-back three-ring binder containing my prized handwritten manuscript—nobody was going to read that masterpiece until it was published, aside from the dozens of agents I would have clamoring to represent its undeniable brilliance.

Imagine the rude awakening I had in a college creative writing course, when I had my first peer workshop and didn't receive aaaaall the praise on my sample.

Going it solo as a writer, unwilling to seek feedback, creates an echo chamber you cannot grow in. You need that outside feedback to polish your writing, even if you are good at self-editing. You need to study other writers and books in your genre. You need to develop those skills, or create a circle of people who have those skills and will have your back along the way.

Just as you need boons from Olympus to traverse the Underworld.

It was only through dedicated research and seeking feedback that my writing has improved to where it is now. Because, truth be told, the book I was writing as a teenager and in my early 20s is more mess than masterpiece. I didn't have the skills to navigate the hellscape that publishing can be sometimes. My reluctance to accept the boons along the way hindered me big time.

Depending on how you publish, the components of a finished book will come together differently. For traditionally published authors, a lot of it will be done in-house through your publisher. Many indie authors, however, take these tasks on themselves, learning those skills on their own or enlisting skilled individuals to help bring their vision to life.

The boons in Hades come in all forms, whether it's more aggressive like Ares's Doom abilities or defensive deflection boons from Athena. For writers, boons aren't just the aforementioned skillsets. It might be a fellow writer offering to introduce you to a publishing acquaintance, your street team hyping up your book ahead of its release, or an indie bookstore stocking a few copies of it. It could be leaving a review on social media or recommending your book to a friend.

And if you have those skills under your belt, just like the boons in Hades, you can continue to level them up. In some cases, they even evolve into new, stronger abilities that deal even more damage. Especially when two Olympians team up for a Duo boon.

It's also worth noting that what works for one person may not work for another. A perfect example is Crystal Beam from Demeter. It's my ride-or-die boon, but it's actually one of my friend's least favorites. It makes sense since, apart from using Sir John Phallustaff* in Cyberpunk 2077—the only reason I will play as a masculine V from here on out—I'm not much of a melee player, preferring ranged attacks that keep my character out of the fray.

*There's just something stupidly satisfying about whackin' goons on the noggin with a neon-pink sex toy, okay?? Sue me.

With every new aspect endowed to your weapon, with every visit to Nyx's mirror, and with every boon granted, escaping Hades becomes easier. Sometimes, it's luck of the draw. Do you get a boon from Dionysus to start or Artemis? Is Side Hustle among the options when you get your first Hermes boon of the run or do you have to pick something else and hope it becomes available later on? But a lot of the time, your successes are built on a strong foundation made possible by seeking and being willing to embrace aid from others with the skills you yourself need to develop.