Love Triangle Woes

                Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and it can be a sad time if you’re single. Luckily we can live vicariously through our favorite characters in our books and movies. And everything is great. They’re happy and madly in love, it’s only a matter of time until they get their happily ever after.

                But wait, who’s this guy? Why is she spending so much time with him and questioning her relationship? No, wait, you belong with the other guy not him! AGH!

                Love triangles can suck. Our happy couple is no longer quite so happy. He’s trying to prove his love, while she’s trying to figure out who it is that she wants to be with. Outside of the story, the fandom is splitting at its seams. Teams have formed, ship wars are being waged, and suddenly things aren’t quite as happy as they were before.

                As a writer, is this something that I want for my storyline? Do I want to venture into the realm of love triangles? I know who I want my main character to end up with. I also know that there is a chance that one of the platonic relationships could be misread as something else. What if readers think that these two would be better together than the intended endgame I have?

                I know that some might would recommend a love triangle to add in some drama and angst, but honestly, as a reader, I’m really getting tired of them.

                Sometimes they’re not too bad. I didn’t mind the love triangle in the first three novels of Keira Cass’s Selection series. All of the characters had their good moments, and it wasn’t dragged out too terribly long. It also might have helped that she ended up with the guy I wanted.

                Other times I get really frustrated.

                Take the Stephanie Plum series for example. I love the books, they’re humorous and a good light read, and I would definitely recommend checking them out. The only complaint I have is how long the love triangle has lasted. The series is going on 23 books now, and Stephanie still keeps going back and forth between Joe and Ranger. Honestly at this point I don’t think Janet Evanovich can really end the love triangle without alienating a large portion of her fanbase.

                After all these years, the fandom has grown and you have a large group of Cupcakes (Joe/Stephanie supporters) and a large group of Babes (Ranger/Stephanie supporters). And then you also have some who don’t care either way. Personally I am a Babe, and I have it worked out in my mind what it could be like if Stephanie and Ranger wind up together and the adventures they could have. This is a book series I have invested a lot of time in, and honestly, the series will probably be over for me if she goes with Joe.

                I’ll admit that I get very attached to characters. I know that it might sound unreasonable to quit something just because things didn’t turn out the way I wanted, but at the same time I don’t want to spend money or time on something that doesn’t appeal to me anymore. It’s happened to me before.

 

                I loved Once Upon a Time during its first two seasons, and during season two I became a Swanfire shipper. I loved Neal and Emma’s story and I really wanted to see them work things out. Neal actually became one of my favorite characters. Then the love triangle happened. Captain Swan vs Swanfire, and I’ll be honest and say that I might would have been fine with Captain Swan if Neal had still gotten a happy ending. Instead he was killed and my interest in the show died with him.

Gif  from ask-neal-baelfire.tumblr.com

                In a way, it doesn’t feel like a satisfying conclusion to a love triangle because one side just wins by default due to a tragedy. Or maybe it was satisfying to some and I’m just bitter.

                So what should be done when it comes to love triangles? I’m not saying that they’re completely bad, because they can be done well in the right hands.

In the end I think that the writer needs to hold firm. We may write for our readers, but we also write for ourselves. If a love triangle is planned, then it shall happen. If one is not destined to appear, then don’t force it to happen. There’s a good chance that things may get out of control if you step off course. Just try to stick with your guns, and keep with the story you’ve planned all along.  Even if you do end up making fangirls everywhere cry. I’ll admit I’ve shed some tears myself over a fictional breakup. I hope someday I can write such lovable characters, that they’ll affect people that way.