Before I begin, a bit of a plotting update from last week's entry: two days ago, I cracked through the problems I was having with plotting the sequel to THE ACCIDENTAL WARLOCK. I realized that things needed to start going wrong right from the beginning, not on a slow burn like I'd planned. I have the plot roughed out, and yesterday's work went very well. If all goes well, I'll start writing the book in September.
I've blogged about love triangles before, back in this blog's early days, and I still feel much the same about them. But a book I'm plotting deals with three main characters, and even in these early stages, I can see how things are going to go for them, and how close they're going to become.
Before anyone asks, no, I'm not talking about the sequel to TAW. I feel very sorry for anyone who tries to talk either Shiloh or Alexi into sharing. O_o
This leads me into something I've never tried to write before: a very close relationship between three people. I don't know if it'll be a sexual one, as I haven't plotted much beyond the first book, but it could happen. But for now, it's more about the bond they share and how they support and depend upon each other. It's more than just growing close under fire or spending lots of time together - as one character's culture defines it, it's a kind of deep bond between people who put their lives in each others’ hands on a regular basis. It’s a kind of love that comes from surviving together.
It's one of those situations that I realized had to happen and then sat back and thought, damn, how the hell am I going to make this work?
"Write what you know" won't cover this - despite the myth that all guys want threesomes, I don't think for a second that I'd be able to handle a relationship with two women. And not just because I've been single since dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Close relationships complicate things, and that gets exponentially more so when there are three people involved.
This is one of those Weird Writer Situations (another blog title that could have been) where I'm just going to have to write it and see what happens. I can tell already how some of the characters are going to react; let's just say there will be varying degrees of them being okay or not with it as things go on. It's just that, after my various successes and failures at writing relationships, I know this one's going to be more difficult than most. And I really want it to work out right. I'm just going to have to trust the characters to work things out between them, and to not freak out and run when one character puts their arms around both the others.
Though I do know that one character will dictate a sleeping
arrangement order so everyone gets a chance to be in the middle, and for
some reason, I think that's hilarious.
And on a final note, if you haven't heard Weird Al's "Word Crimes", please go do so. Right now, if possible. It could be a theme song for so many of us. ^_^
The idea of two women is far greater than the reality. I can barely handle one and I know it. Good luck writing about it.
ReplyDeleteGlad you figured out the plotting issue with your sequel.
Yeah, I feel like people who want that haven't thought about what it would actually be like. And some people want harems. O_o
DeleteAnd thanks. It's been going really well, I'm very pleased with it so far.
Sounds like you're getting a lot of things ironed out! That not all the details are already falling into place is normal. I'm sure the characters will get themselves sorted out somehow. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Though it might be more interesting if they don't get themselves sorted out. Heh heh heh. ^_^
DeleteI think you'll figure things out eventually. And as far as love triangles go, this may not help you at all, but there's this movie called Savages where two friends have the same girlfriend. The movie's kind of gory in some places, but it might be worth it for you to check it out to see how the writer handles it. Anyhoo, good luck to you. I hope you're able to get the project done by September, just as you plan.
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing previews for that movie. Not sure if it's my thing, but it is good to see more variable kinds of relationships showing up in media nowadays.
DeleteLove that Weird Al song. It has supplanted White And Nerdy as my Favorite Weird Al Song. LOVE.
ReplyDeleteEeyup. ^_^ "White and Nerdy" will always be a geek anthem, but "Word Crimes" feels like it was written just for people like us.
DeleteIt's odd how some things work themselves out as your write. Hope you get lucky with the love triangle. (Not THAT kind of lucky! :P)
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Word Crimes. I even have a joke for you.
What do you call a fast editor?
A cunning linguist. *giggle*
Hah! I read once about a World of Warcraft guild called "Cunning Linguists". That was deemed inappropriate, and the game's customer service people changed the name to "Censored Linguists", and gave the guild an option to choose a new name. The guild decided to keep it. ^_^
Delete=) I swear I left a comment last week. Hm. (The interwebs have been swallowing my wizdoms.) Anyhow... Writing definitely takes us to some unique places, eh? There are some places I will never go, but for the most part, you have to follow the muse and type while it's talking. I'm hoping your new angle comes out nicely.
ReplyDeleteYou left a reply in last week's entry, does that count? :P
DeleteAnd yeah, this is one of those things I never thought I'd be writing about. But when I started to see the characters interacting as they do, I knew I couldn't fight it, or the story wouldn't work as it was supposed to.
Ok, first of all, big YAYS for the sequel to TAW coming along, and for Shiloh and Alexi not sharing :)
ReplyDeleteYou are an adventurous writer, Mason. I really respect and admire that. You're definitely willing to go places with character and relationship that are fairly taboo, or even just not done very much. I love this idea, and will be fascinated to see how it works. In my life I've had threesomes (NON SEXUAL, thank goodness; I can't handle two people at once, either!) that have been the best friendships I've ever had. We all balanced each other in beautiful ways, and did a really good job of avoiding jealousy - something that can be hard among three people.
Thanks. ^_^
DeleteI've always liked writing unusual relationships - a pairing that's interspecies or same-sex just seems so much more interesting to me. I have a feeling these three characters are going to go to some unusual places, relationship-speaking, before they straighten everything out, if they ever do. But thank you, it's good to have support for this kind of thing.