NaNoJouMo: Thoughts on Romantic Subplots and some Tribonds

[hymnia]

The Harry Potter shipping war has, I think, forever changed the way I look at romantic subplots in any fiction I consume. Meet cute. UST. Show, don't tell. I learned these things from HP fandom, and primarily from the shipping debate corner of fandom. Now I find myself analyzing the ways in which writers do-or don't-signal romantic vibes between

Comments

[angua9]

Yes, let the love stories be free!

1. Had a brother (or brothers) who died?

2. Partially raised by their uncle?

[major_dallas]

no, fully raised by their uncles ;p

[hymnia]

Right on both!

this is very interesting- but one point- really?

[nevrafire]

how is two characters interacting little on/off screen more realistic? I don't get it

Re: this is very interesting- but one point- really?

[hymnia]

Thanks for your response. As to how it may be more realistic to only see the characters interact a little: Basically, if the story is not focused on romance, if it's an adventure story, for example, or a war story, it would be realistic because people don't often marry/pair off with the person they are on an adventure with or fight in a war with. They may end up with someone who was left behind while they go on their journey, or who they meet someone after they get back or possibly near the end of their journey.

I mean, for maybe the most obvious example, take a look at war stories. War tends to be fought primarily by men, at least traditionally (and probably not less than 90% or so of those men would be straight), so there isn't even much potential for romance between characters who interact in the story, esp. if the story is focused on front line fighting. (There's more scope for in-story romance in a story like, say, Pearl Harbor where more attention is paid to the support personnel, e.g. nurses.) So for example, some people

[ginny_t]

Show don't tell is a hugely important bit of advice that far too many writers fail to heed.

I think UST is grossly overused. I chalk that up as a symptom of the fact that many storytellers substitute antipathy for chemistry and don't really know how to bring two characters together romantically. Also, I want far more stories that involve a couple that is solidly together and dealing with other stuff. Too often, a couple gets together and then their bond is tested. Okay, maybe once a bond could be tested, but over and over? Ugh.

While I'm complaining (sorry; I didn't mean to do it), I would like to remind characters that there are 7 billion people in the world. Yes, about half of them are not your preferred gender (unless you're bi or pan), and a whole lot of them are really far away, but chances are, you have more options than this guy who's awful to you or this guy who's kinda creepy or this guy who… (Yeah, I'm talking about Hot Gimmick all of a sudden.)

[hymnia]

Show don't tell is a hugely important bit of advice that far too many writers fail to heed.

Yes, I don't disagree, but I tend to feel more forgiving about it than a lot of fans that I've encountered over the years. The thing is, the writers can't show everything, can they? I mean, important as this rule of writing is, it has to be applied judiciously. I'm reminded of a review of Goblet of Fire that joked about the fact that his fourth year of school was the first time Harry Potter had taken a bath! I mean, it was nonsense, of course, and I believe--and I certianly hope--it wasn't a serious criticism, but sometimes I see complaints by fans that an author has supposedly violated this rule that are almost that silly. Not everything needs to be shown. The things that are most closely tied to the themes and to the basic core of who the characters are must be shown, but depending on the focus, the genre, and other factors, some things may reasonably be relegated to a passing mention. (Of course there will inevitably be different opinions