Dear Naomi Kritzer:
It’s Not All About Romance
By Ellyonna Glenn
One day whilst scrolling through Buzzfeed
(a.k.a. the mecca of procrastination) at my usual 12:20 p.m. I found this gem:
While all of what Adam Tots points out in
his comic is hilarious, the section about the two white dudes being in love
with the extremely plain, but gorgeous protagonist left me cackling on the floor - because it was true! True to not only
dystopian, but many other forms of Science Fiction/Fantasy (SFF) fiction. What
makes a lot of humor good is its elements of truth, and, more often than not,
in popular YA SFF novels you’ll find some facet of romance. Don’t get me wrong,
something can be said for having the right “ship,” as fangirls call it, between
two characters to flock readers to your book. The thing is, all too often I see
authors fall into utilizing predictable, formulaic devices to create their
character’s relationships.
For example, what do Twilight, The Infernal Devices, The Hunger Games, Throne of Glass, and Matched all have in common, other than
all being SFF and YA? *Ding, ding, ding* They all have the classic love
triangle! It’s become so prevalent that when I pick up a sparkly new YA novel
at the bookstore I’m shocked if it doesn’t contain the angst-filled trio. On
top of that ( looking at you, The
Infernal Devices) they frequently have the “love at first sight” aspect
that tags along with the love triangle.
These methods were once dramatic and
great for the screen, but has come to the point where it no longer feels
believable or realistic. The love triangle has slowly evolved into a cheap
baiting trick to try to sink it’s hook into the reader until the end of the
series, when they finally makes a decision- and, for me, I’m over it. I crave
the strong protagonist that is still a complete person standing alone, and
where romance plays more of a supporting role to the plot rather than the star
of the show. I want the relationship that takes time to grow and form, like the
love between Percy and Annabeth in Percy
Jackson and the Olympians instead of wham, bam, thank-you ma’am, I’m ready
to abandon my entire previous life for you right now (á la Twilight). I’ve
never once in my day-to-day life seen a love triangle as cortisol-triggering as
the one between Bella Swan, Edward Cullen, and Jacob Black, and simultaneously
the only purpose driving a person forward. While the presence of a love
triangle does not immediately mean a weak plot, as I actually believe The Hunger Games balances this well,
I’ve seen too many SFF YA heavily rely on the love triangle to propel the story
forward, like Kiera Cass’ The Selection (I
guess that’s, like, a love triacontakaipentagon).
In essence, I wish fiction, specifically
YA since that’s the book you wish to write, reflected more realistic
relationships between lovers, or at the very least play less of a role in the
progression of the story. I read YA and SFF for the world, the adventure, the
action, and then the romance, but
rarely is a YA SFF book actually about the plot as much as it is about the
romance anymore. My advice to you is to take heed of the growing YA trend Adam
Tots outlines above and instead be the start of a new trend of relatable
protagonists that aren’t just as worried about getting laid as doing the task at
hand in an SFF world. Cat Pictures Please
was a piece we read in class that I loved, and I think would be an excellent
launching point for a novel of this type. For more examples to get a sense of
what I mean, Riordan’s Percy Jackson and
the Olympians series, the Harry
Potter books, and Scott Westerfeld’s
Leviathan series executed the type of novel I am attempting to explain, because,
coming from a teenage girl, if I wanted a romance novel I’d hit up Nicholas
Sparks, but when I pick up YA SFF I’m expecting more than just two people to
eventually hook up while the world is ending.
Dear Elly,
ReplyDeleteOhh, your blog post to author's eyes, I hope. Reducing romantic relationships -- or even infatuations -- to the all-consuming force in a character's life is something of a sand trap for readers and writers both, especially when that trap means all the edges of a character get eroded away in the sand. It's certainly possible to craft a credible relationship on the page, but it takes time, just as you note in your examples. The idea, also, that YA lit/its creators thinks that the defining experience of youth is falling in love ignores a lot of the other things that shape young people into adults, too.
Best,
TT