Comments | mariko_writing: Star-crossed lovers

mariko_writing

Star-crossed lovers

Mar 26, 2009 22:21

It sucks in real life, but my goodness it's appealing in literature.

Right now I'm trying to think of a good reason why my teenaged characters can absolutely, point-blank, not end up together, or even get together at all, despite however much I would want to write it otherwise. I'm talking way beyond something along the lines of "one of them ( Read more... )

plot, characters

Comments 10

hanfastolfe March 27 2009, 15:34:29 UTC

Is this the post-apocalyptic story where even us poor Canadians are thrashed mercilessly? :O

mariko_writing March 27 2009, 17:34:31 UTC

Nnnnnnn...ooo. Yikes though!

the_sly_wink March 27 2009, 23:51:09 UTC

Lol, no; it is I who will not spare Canada from the ravages of time and social decay.

zevieblack March 27 2009, 17:20:02 UTC

How about sexual preference? Or perceived sexual preference anyway, and that's always a hugely debatable "fiction of society" issue. It always seems to be my go-to "cause" lol, but honestly it's one of the Big Issues of our generation. Yuck, please excuse all the ironic and pretentious punctuation and capitalization here lol.

Or race, a la Snow Falling on Cedars? Of course, you and me both stand in living proof against that, but our parents ain't everyone lol. Or religion ... omg, the fallouts I've seen between couples because of religious affiliation. Not different religions but religious versus not religious?

I shouldn't give you ideas lol ... you'll figure it out better yourself. Are you going to let us read any of this when you write it? Star-crossed lovers now ... it's getting more and more appealing. ;)

mariko_writing March 27 2009, 17:34:04 UTC

Of course I'll let y'all read it! I just need to, um ... write anything first because right now it's just a bunch of vague ideas scribbled down on some yellow legal pads.

You know, my first instinct was to make one of the characters gay. I don't know how well that would work though, since one is a boy and one is a girl and best friends and it would just make sense for them to get together (if only as a ruse, or both of them trying to convince themselves that they have a "normal" relationship). I suppose I just don't have the experience of trying to make myself romantically love someone I'm not sexually attracted to, though the idea of trying to make oneself love is hardly specific to one group of people....

Both the characters are white (in the sense that any given stranger would ascribe whiteness to them). Maybe religion, although both are completely apathetic about religion (perhaps nominally Christian) ... gah. That's my problem with creating characters before getting a plot together!

hanfastolfe March 27 2009, 19:58:19 UTC

I agree that it's a bit cliche-ish to make one of them gay but it could stand in amusing counterpoint to all the people who write fics in which the guy has a token 'fag hag' who's perfectly happy with the situation and blah blah. How about all the times in which a gay guy has had a girl interested in him and it wrecked the friendship when she had to deal with the situation and couldn't handle it?

zevieblack March 28 2009, 00:11:53 UTC

I was thinking that it would be one of those anomalies where both parties are in love with each other - nothing forced, nothing pretend - but it is doomed because of mismatched genitalia. (Maybe even like Bad Boy lol - AJ sooo would have gotten with Tully if he'd been a she.) But then you have to want to make that point about sexuality and love either being different or inextricably tied or blah, blah, blah ... The thing with an uncontrollable thing that separates them is that the story is probably going to be about that issue - religion, sexuality, whatever.

Sooooo ... I guess that means, what is your story about? lol sorry, Mariko, your LJ is just providing too much food for thought ... or babbling lol.

Thread 5

the_sly_wink March 28 2009, 00:17:40 UTC

Do these characters desire a relationship they cannot have, or are they merely male and female and you need a compelling, natural reason for them not to float together into a neat relationship ( ... )

mariko_writing March 28 2009, 06:48:41 UTC

PREACH. I wish I could write check marks next to everything I agreed with in your comment.

I have one boy and one girl who are best friends, and I need a compelling and natural reason for them to never work romantically -- despite however much one or both of them might desire a romantic relationship. Although I think there will be some societal factors (different economic backgrounds, religious affiliations maybe?) the huge, tragic A-factor will be an irreconcilable personal quality or qualities. Now I just need to hit on something good....