Female Archetypes We Haven't Talked About: Dark vs. Pale Beauties

There has been a lot of discussion lately on the subject of female characters, particularly in YA circles, and it brought to my mind two archetypes we often discussed in my college English lit classes--but which I haven't seen mentioned in relation to the current female characters of YA Fiction.

I'm surprised we don't talk more about the subject of Dark vs. Pale Beauties in YA literature today (or has this discussion been strictly confined to undergrad literary criticism classes? I wouldn't be surprised.) Sure, we talk an awful lot about Strong Female Characters vs. Manic Pixie Dream Girls and a host of other hot, controversial catchphrases--but that of Dark and Pale Beauties is such an interesting dichotomy that I think it would really add to our discussion of female characters in general, especially now, when Female Leads are gaining popularity not only in literature but in film. So if I may, I'll drag out this old topic, dust it off, and try to glean some relevant discussion out of it.

Basics first. Let's all get on the same page here, in case we're not all Lit-Crit majors. Google is no help at all--search these terms and all it can offer is results on skin color, which is so not what these terms mean. I repeat: THESE TERMS DO NOT REFER TO SKIN TONE. Nor does the term "beauty" here mean the characters are necessarily physically attractive (I think it was originally coined to be more ironic than anything else, indicating the classical idealized female characters often portrayed in pre-20th-century literature).


So here are some brief definitions:

Dark Beauty

Does not mean: dark-haired, dark-skinned, or anything else to do with physical appearance.

Does mean: A female character who is "experienced," either in worldly matters, sexuality, violence, etc. She is independent, knowledgeable, jaded, often older (than a corresponding pale beauty), with some degree of power or at least semblance of power. She's likely to be strong-natured. She prefers to hide her weaknesses and exert authority over others. Her power is achieved through various means: physical ability, sexuality, manipulation, strength of character, vision, or will. Though she is often perceived to be the more villainous of these two archetypes, this is very often untrue of her. She's "street-smart." She will either disdain or envy the pale beauty, and in some cases seek to either "rescue" her from her innocence or protect her from becoming like herself.


Some examples of Dark Beauties:

- Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins) (though arguably with some Pale characteristics)
- Isabelle Lightwood (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare)
- Genya (Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo)
- Ridley Duchannes (Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl)
- Maela (Crewel by Gennifer Albin)
- Fire (Fire by Kristin Cashore)
- Katsa (Graceling by Kristin Cashore)
- Meg (Disney's Hercules)
- Scarlett O'Hara (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell)
- River Song (Doctor Who)

Pale Beauty

Does not mean: fair-haired, fair-skinned, or anything else to do with physical appearance

Does mean: A female character who is primarily naive, inexperienced, sheltered, perhaps idealistic. She is dependent on others, though she may seek to break free and establish her autonomy. She may be a daydreamer, and if often mistaken to be meek and mild, or is pushed to be so. She is the "caged bird," often pressured to remain innocent and childlike. Seen as the embodiment of purity and sweetness, conflict often arises if she attempts to "grow up," or to shed her innocence. Many stories are built around a Pale Beauty attempting and either succeeding or failing to exchange her innocence for experience. Those around her who wish for her to remain pure will often speak for her, thus the Pale Beauty is often depicted without a voice--this does not mean she is weak, but rather that someone is attempting to press her into the Pale Beauty mold (interestingly, often they do so out of love, like the Elinor/Merida relationship in Pixar's Brave). This is the crux of "coming-of-age" stories. She will often either envy, despise, or attempt to emulate the Dark Beauty.

Examples:

- Primrose Everdeen (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)
- Elisa (The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson) (though she does evolve as the story progresses)
- Clary Fray (The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare) (another dynamic character!)
- Tris (Divergent) (yet another dynamic character--she is an example of a Pale Beauty attempting to exert the Dark Beauty she believes herself to be)
- Cassia (The Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie)
- Kathy (Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro)
- Bitterblue (Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore) (another dynamic character--there are a lot of these in today's YA!)
- Rapunzel (Disney's Tangled)
- Christine (The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux)
- Dorothy Gale (The Wizard of Oz)

Something I love about current YA fiction is that the lines between these two types of characters are often blurred. I've seen many female characters who are experienced in survival but innocent in love (Katniss) or who might only appear to be innocent Pale Beauties until the story conflict cracks open their shell and releases the Dark Beauty inside. Many times this is the result of the character herself striving to break free of the Pale Beauty archetype (Tris or Bitterblue), but other times this transformation is made reluctantly, and they must be pushed by outside forces to achieve independence and experience (Elisa from The Girl of Fire and Thorns).

The reason I'm bringing these two archetypes up at all is because I think they shed an interesting and useful light on character development and, since characters drive stories, plot development. While not all female characters fit into these archetypes, they can be useful in discovering the personal motivation and plot line for our girls.

Is your character a Pale Beauty attempting to break free of her girlhood and establish herself as an autonomous Dark Beauty?

Does your character wish to remain a Pale Beauty, but is forced by circumstances to put her innocence and purity aside and become a Dark Beauty in order to survive? 

Is your character a Dark Beauty who has committed some wrong, sacrificing her innocence, and does she seek to somehow redeem herself? Is she envious of the Pale Beauty's purity? 

Does your story contain both? Do you have a Pale Beauty striving to remain pure while set against a Dark Beauty who strives to either control or destroy her? (Like in the classic Snow White story) 

Are you taking a story which classically focused on a Pale Beauty and retelling it with the character recast as a Dark Beauty? (This often happens in fairy-tale retellings, such as Cinder by Marissa Meyer).

There are so many fascinating conflicts that can arise out of the juxtaposition of these stereotypes, whether those stereotypes occur in the same character or whether they arise between two opposite ones. It brings up some intriguing questions:

Will Pale Beauties always eventually become Dark, or can purity be retained through adulthood? 

Is there room for both archetypes to exist simultaneously in one character?

Can a Pale Beauty be strong and independent without sacrificing her innocence?

What characteristics can be found with both archetypes? 

What characteristics of these archetypes are true attributes, and which are projected onto the character by others?

These aren't questions I necessarily have answers to, but I'm fascinated by them and by stories that deal with them. Being conscious of these archetypes and applying them to our characters can help us achieve a strong level of emotional development.

These archetypes are particularly relevant to Young Adult literature, I feel, because so much of YA is about coming-of-age, the loss of innocence, the quest for autonomy, and the reinvention of one's self. If you look at all of the YA character examples above, you'll find that most of them don't begin and end as the same type of character. Elisa (A Girl of Fire and Thorns), Clary (TMI), and Triss (Divergent) are all prime examples of girls who start out sheltered, innocent, and dependent but who through the course of their stories become independent, experienced characters more in line with the Dark Beauty archetype than the Pale Beauty they started as.

Something I do not want to suggest is that Dark Beauties are synonymous with "Strong" female characters while Pale Beauties are synonymous with "Weak" ones. That is a different discussion altogether, and though Pale-to-Dark character transformations do often coincide with "weak-to-strong," this isn't always true and these transformations are not mutually requisite. For example, giving Snow White a sword and armor does not turn her from a Pale Beauty to a Dark One, though it does (to some degree) turn her from a weak character to a strong one. She retains her purity and idealism despite becoming strong--which goes to show that a character need not be a Dark Beauty in order to display strength of will and character. Pale Beauties can have these traits, though others may attempt to strip them away.

Nor do I suggest that either archetype is more or less morally "good" than the other, though the semblance of goodness is attributed more to the Pale Beauty by other characters in her society (whether or not it is true, it is nevertheless inherent in the archetype and can provide an interesting source of drama if you have a Pale Beauty who is not quite as good as everything thinks she is). For example, one of my favorite pairings in pop culture: Galinda and Elphaba from Wicked. Galinda embodies the innocent purity of the Pale Beauty while Elphaba's Dark Beauty-like autonomy earns her the hatred of Oz's populace--yet if you are familiar with their story, you'll know that these archetypes have little bearing on each girl's actual morality (other than to provide delicious irony).

Pushing these two archetypes to the extreme results in stereotypes and caricatures of the Disney variety, which, though is acceptable to a degree in children's cartoons, is to be avoided in literature. What proves to be far more realistic and interesting is the blends created by these two archetypes rather than the black-and-white contrast of the Good Pale Beauty vs. the Evil Dark Beauty as in, say, Cinderella vs. The Wicked Stepmother.

Sorry for how ridiculously long this post is! I could probably go on another yard of blog-space before running out of steam on this topic. What I hope you take away from this is a character development tool you can apply to your own writing--particularly the questions I list above, and others like them.

If you're interested, I have two Pinterest boards dedicated to these two archetypes!
Dark Beauties Board
Pale Beauties Board

In the comments, I'd love to hear your thoughts! 

• Can you apply these archetypes to any other characters in YA literature? 
• What are some books you've enjoyed which contain the juxtaposition of the Dark vs. Pale Beauties?
•  Do you think these archetypes are relevant to YA today?

The Traveling Story - Season 1 - Episode 2

I had the huge honor of being part of the first installment of the Traveling Story! We five authors have been biting our nails waiting to share this with all of you--I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

THE TRAVELING STORY!

What is the Traveling Story?

5 Authors. 5 Days. 1 Story.

Each season of The Traveling Story will feature 5 well-known authors collaborating on one original, kick-ass story, with each author writing one of five episodes.

The full story will be revealed over the course of a week, with each episode appearing on the blog of the author who wrote it.

How Does it Work?

There are only three rules for The Traveling Story:

1) No brainstorming, outlining, or discussion of plot ahead of time. The first author writes the first episode of ANY kind of story they want and the next author picks up where that episode leaves off, taking it WHEREVER they want to go! The last author ends the story however they see fit!

2) An author cannot make changes to any previous episode. Each author has total creative control over their OWN episode only, but it has to continue where the last episode leaves off.

3) HAVE FUN! As you’ll see from the awesome story that came out of this, we don’t take ourselves too seriously! The Traveling Story is meant to be fun for the writers but especially for the readers!

Season 1 Authors:

Jessica Brody
Jessica Khoury
Emmy Laybourne
Lish McBride
Gretchen McNeil

*Don’t forget to LIKE The Traveling Story on Facebook where we’ll be posting links to EVERY episode, so you never miss out on a piece of the story!

And to further entice you, we’ll be giving away an awesome Traveling Story prize pack featuring a book from EACH of the season 1 authors (enter at the bottom of this post.)

I want to take a quick moment to say THANK YOU to author-extraordinaire Jessica Brody for her hard work in making this happen! She is the brains behind the whole operation and has gone the extra mile in making this story super special. *applause*

If you missed the first part of this story, find it now on Jessica Brody's blog!!

Don't forget to check out the Traveling Story Pinterest board!

And without further ado…here is THE TRAVELING STORY SEASON 1!

---

Episode 2

by Jessica Khoury

Keeping my eyes trained on the doors of the coffee shop, I leaned against the wall, out of the way of the rushing pedestrians that flowed up and down the street like blood rushing from an open wound, never stopping, never slowing, making my head ache. I hated New York. I could hear Gretchen’s words to me that morning, replaying like a song lyric in my head: Just hang in there, my boy, and get the job done, and you can be on a plane and out of there by midnight.

I flicked the watch on my wrist out from under the sleeve of my sports coat. 5:10. Just as Gretchen said he would, the guy I was tailing left the coffee shop sans one silver box, his hands in his pockets, girls practically dropping as he passed, their eyes mooning after him. He was in a hurry, jostling his way down the busy sidewalk, and he nearly bumped into a stroller pushed by a mom in jean capris and Crocs, to whom he apologized with his British accent. Cheesy as hell. And also as fake as the “Rolexes” the guy behind me was trying to sell to a pair of Korean tourists, but the mom didn’t seem to realize that. She blushed and ended up apologizing to him, but he’d already moved on, disappearing into the crowd. Whatever. I had it all on tape. I hit stop on the handheld recorder I’d been surreptitiously filming with and slipped it into the Jansport backpack I had slung over my shoulder. I wasn’t there for the so-called Brit; I was there for the box. And whatever sucker he’d passed it to.

I waited. I checked my watch again. 5:11. A group of hipsters ambled out of the coffee shop, but none of them seemed to be my target. One of them blinked at me over her faux-vintage sunglasses and said, “Nice scarf.” I scowled and my hand went to the keffiyeh around my neck, and she shrugged and pushed her glasses up her nose, turned to join her friends.

5:12. I shot a glance at the watch dealer. The Koreans must have caught on. They were moving away, but he was following them and waving a watch, all smiles and charm. Then he caught me looking and met my eyes—and my stomach jerked. His eyes shifted, just faintly, just for a breath of a moment, but enough for me to realize this was no New Yorker. This watch dealer was as phony as his goods. He wasn’t even from this galaxy.

I cursed myself inwardly for not seeing it sooner, because now that I knew what he was, I noticed all the signs—the limp in his step, the smell of burnt rubber, the way he flinched whenever someone walked by him. He was here for the same reason I was—that silver box, or rather what was inside it. And I’d rather die than let him lay one scaly finger on it.

“By all that is holy,” I muttered, fumbling for the camera, wishing it was a gun, not sure what I intended to do with it. “You frickin bast—“

BOOM.

The explosion of sound ripped the space where the watch dealer had been standing. I’d seen a teleport before, but never so close, and the sound is enough to stop your heart. There wasn’t any smoke or flames or that kind of movie-effect stuff; it’s just the guy was there—and then he wasn’t. The boom was the sound of the air closing in on the space where he had been and the dimension walls slamming shut behind him. At least, that’s what Gretchen theorized. And as I knew all too well, Gretchen had been wrong before.

Everyone around me was freaking out. They had to think it was a bomb or something, some terror attack, probably. There were people cowering behind trash cans, hydrants, running into and out of buildings, looking around in bewilderment as they wondered what they were supposed to be running from. No one seemed to have noticed the watch dealer’s sudden disappearance. My ears were ringing still, but I had to move. There was no way my target hadn’t heard the boom of the guy teleporting, and he—or she—would be on the move for sure. Several people were spilling out of the coffee shop, one of them a tall, built guy in leather and denim, his head tattooed. Could that be him? No way to tell. Too much confusion, too much noise. He headed north, away from me, and I leapt into action, rushing after.

But before I could get three steps, a girl came careening through the coffee shop doors and barreled straight into me with the force of a frickin rhinoceros. She and I tangled up, falling, yelling. My knees bit the concrete and my palms got all scuzzed up in that painful way that doesn’t look bad but hurts like hell. The camera flew out of my bag and skidded across the pavement, nearly getting trampled by a suited businessman.

“Are you crazy?” I asked, and at the same time, she said, “What was that noise?”

I grabbed the camera and thrust it back into my bag. There was still a lot of screaming and mayhem in the street. The tattooed baldie had disappeared. I cursed again, this time aloud. As I disentangled myself from the girl, I realized my keffiyeh was drawing some attention—narrow glares, suspicious whispers, pointing fingers. Typical Americans, assuming the nearest Arab had to be the terrorist. Then a hand slipped into my line of sight, distracting me from the stares turning my way.

It was the girl, standing over me and offering me a hand up, which I took. Leggy, brunette, enormous blue eyes behind oversized tortoiseshell glasses. Cute, in a kind of nerdy way. I found I was glad I hadn't smashed those glasses when I knocked her over. Which was stupid; I didn’t have time to hang around worrying about some clumsy chick’s glasses—I had to find my guy. Gretchen’s fury would be nothing compared to the consequences of that silver box falling into the wrong hands.

“Generally,” the girl was saying, her words background noise to the riot of panic in my head, “I like to at least know a guy’s name before he invites me to play Twister.”

“Rasul,” I said absently, and then I grimaced and pressed the tips of my fingers to the bridge of my nose. Of all the idiotic, rookie mistakes! The fall must have knocked my brain clean off its axis—I couldn’t believe I’d just spilled my name to her like that. For all I knew, she was my guy.

And that’s when my eyes dropped to her hands, to the silver box she was clutching.

“Ah,” I said slowly, my eyes fixed on the box as the chaos around me fell away, as if I were on a boat pulling swiftly away from a crowded shore. This is her? This is my target? I couldn’t believe it. She was no older than me—and as Gretchen all too often reminded me, even I was too young for this kind of job. I squinted at the girl. Maybe she was older than she looked. Maybe if she took off those glasses, she’d suddenly age ten years, changing identities Clark Kent style. If so, she was a hell of an agent—probably one of the best. “And what did you say your name was?”

            

She must have noticed me staring, because she looked down at the box. “Oh.” She paused, as if unsure how to reply. Then, lifting her face, her eyes confusedly tracking the mania behind me, she said, “Lucy. I’m Lucy.” As if she were reminding herself of it.

An alias if I ever heard one. The pause was a dead giveaway.

Well, whoever this Lucy really was, I’d royally screwed up by not only smacking into her but giving her my frickin name. If Gretchen could see me, she’d probably be hemorrhaging. I needed to follow this Lucy, see where she was taking the box, so we could finally figure out who we were up against here, what the competition was, but now she’d be spooked. She’d lay low, cover her tracks, and the trail would go cold.

“Some kind of car wreck?” she asked, her eyes still scanning the street. I turned, saw that things were starting to quiet down. Police had arrived and were sniffing around, a couple of them shooting me suspicious looks. Most of the spectators had grown bored and moved on, looking mildly disappointed the source of the noise hadn’t been something more interestingly destructive. Idiots. You’d think they’d rather it was a bomb or something.

But I knew better.

I knew the truth was much worse.

To be continued…

---

Follow the Traveling Story! Below is the post schedule:

Episode 1 – July 15 – Jessica Brody

Episode 2 – July 16 – Jessica Khoury

Episode 3 – July 17 –  Lish McBride

Episode 4 – July 18 – Gretchen McNeil

Episode 5 – July 19 – Emmy Laybourne

And as promised, here is the giveaway (Open Internationally)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

How to Travel Like a Writer

One of my most absolute favorite things to do is travel, especially if it's to a place that's new and completely out of my comfort zone. If the people there speak another language, all the better. If it's a bit rough and wild and has a lot of really cool wildlife--perfect!

If you're going to be a writer, it's essential that you try new things, whether it's food, books, or places. In my opinion, one of the best ways to ignite the creative spark and lure your muse from hiding is by traveling. There's something about a totally new environment that opens our eyes and our writing pores so that we can't help but be inspired.

I believe that I do my best writing when I'm not at home. I drew more inspiration from a month in Kyoto or a week in Germany than I ever did in an entire year in my hometown. I think there's a kind of shutting down of the senses that happens when you're in one place for a long time, when you start to see less, hear less, notice less, because everything around you is so familiar and expected. And noticing what's around you is absolutely critical to good writing, because before we can write interesting things, we have to see and learn and do interesting things. That inspiration has to come from somewhere. Even if every book you ever write is set within a two-block radius of your current address, you can still benefit from getting away and seeing the world. Travel opens your mind and expands your capacity for creativity in a way few other things can--it's like the ultimate imagination steroid!

Here are some ways that you, as a writer, can best utilize your travel-time:

1. JOURNAL
This is a must. When you're out and about wandering new streets and trying new foods whose names you can't pronounce, the writer in you is guaranteed to stir. It's essential that you capture the flavors and emotions of these new experiences right away, before their impact fades and the details become blurry in your memory. Carry a journal at all times, and never let a day pass without describing everything you can think of, even the silly little occurrences that appear to have no significance. Even if you never use the exact information you recorded, I promise you this exercise will not have been in vain. This discipline--particularly if carried out every day, even at home--teaches your brain to turn what you see, hear, and otherwise experience into words, sentences, stories. This is what differentiates you from the other tourists, who are there to simply consume an experience. As a writer, you can never just consume--you have to go on to create. By journaling as you go, you are becoming better at transforming experiences into art.

2. ASK QUESTIONS
It's easy to get overwhelmed by the new-ness of a place and simply let it wash over you while you sit passively by. But don't let that happen! Engage with your surroundings. If you have the benefit of a tour guide or local companion, pepper them with questions. You might feel silly--and yes, you might look a bit silly too--but who cares, really? I've never met anyone who wasn't delighted to expound on the stories and details of their hometown or country. We want to share our worlds with other people, so don't be shy. Anyway, if you meet some rare disgruntled local who doesn't want to talk you can always run away and find someone more approachable. You've got to learn all you can, because it's entirely possible that your next great story will be inspired by some crucial piece of information you don't yet know--but the bus driver or the waiter or the fruit vendor on the street corner does. Always live with the expectation that the next person you meet will lead you to your next great story--and you'll only find that story by asking questions.

3. BE DARING
This makes me think of the writer played by Jodi Foster in the film Nim's Island, who writes fantastic adventure stories--but is terrified of even leaving her own apartment! You mustn't let fear stop you from living new experiences. Push yourself and actively seek to step outside your comfort zone. Does the thought of talking to a stranger scare you? Does the prospect of a country where everyone speaks another language put a knot in your stomach? Are you terrified of sleeping outdoors or jumping out of airplanes or eating a squid with its tentacles still intact? Then these are the things you must do. Your writing should terrify you. It should stretch you and lure you into frightening new territory. Face these fears physically, and your daring will be reflected in your writing.

4. SEEK AUTHENTICITY
It's easy to get caught up in cheesy commercial tourism. You know what I mean--the places that are built specifically to cater to wide-eyed, slack-jawed tourists with the floral shirts and oversized cameras and sunscreen rubbed not quite all the way into their faces. This sort of travel can certainly be inspiring, and I won't say that it can't be fun--because it can be--but if possible, take the road less traveled. Seek authentic experiences instead of the ones that might be a tad bit, um, how shall we say, exaggerated or even entirely manufactured to feed the expectations of tourists. I'm talking about shows, tours, or attractions that are based on stereotypes instead of a country or region's actual cultural or ecological circumstances. Hokey imitations will never be as fulfilling as the genuine article, whether we're talking about purses from Dooney and Bourke or safaris in the Serengeti. Wander off the beaten path, get in touch with a country's true heartbeat, talk to the real people who live there, find the unexplored places and the wild countryside. Authentic writing, even if it's ultimately set on the fantasy moon of the planet Gilgorax, is based on authentic people, places, and stories.

5. TRAVEL RESPONSIBLY
Tourism both fuels and kills economies, cultures, and ecosystems. Though it can create a lot of jobs and financially stimulate an area, it has the unfortunate possibility of destroying the very thing that makes it such a desirable travel location. Mt. Everest is called "the highest junkyard on Earth" due to the amounts of garbage left on its slopes. Yellowstone is riddled with tourists' names carved on trees and landmarks. The Great Wall of China is being slowly eroded by tourists taking pieces home and developers turning parts of it into theme park-like areas. Mass tourism to certain wildernesses can ultimately drive away the wild game that was the original attraction. Tourism growth can drive up property values in a town, making it much more difficult for the town's native residents to live there. Thankfully, there are alternative ways to travel that are both fun, inspiring, and environmentally and culturally responsible. Some of these are ecotourism, agritourism, and voluntourism. If you're looking into traveling in the near future, I encourage you to look up these alternatives to mass, commercial tourism, and the advantages they offer to you, the local communities, and the local ecosystems. I'll admit, this point doesn't have as much tie-in with writing--it's just something I am passionate about! =) And just to prove how amazing ecotourism can be, check out this list of amazing ecolodges around the world!

I hope you'll consider the advantages and inspiration that traveling can offer you as a writer, and that wherever your road takes you, you'll be ready with a journal in hand! Happy traveling and happy writing!

Cheers!
Jess

Photo credit: Petar Milošević / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Photo credit: betta design / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Photo credit: Tomas.Quinones / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Photo credit: Ryan Harvey / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Photo credit: Jane DH / Foter.com / CC BY-NC

Photo credit: JKDs / Foter.com / CC BY

Ship it like FedEx--What Writers Can Learn from the Fandoms

SHIP, noun, derived from the word "relationship", is a general term for fans' emotional and/or intellectual involvement with the ongoing development of romance [I rudely interject here to expand definition to any relationship, not just romantic] in a work of fiction.

(according to Wiki Answers, anyway) 

 From John/Sherlock to Doctor/Rose, Hermione/Ron to Edward/Bella, Katara/Zuko to Rapunzel/Jack Frost, ships are as varied as the fans who exist to create them. The term was coined from the word relationship, and is used as in "I totally ship Elena and Damon in The Vampire Diaries" or "do you get the whole Mericcup ship? Because I don't." (but seriously I do--because ADORBZZ)

Though these terms are relatively new, we've been falling in love with couples for as long as we've  been telling stories. And in my opinion (and for the sake of this post) ships don't have to just apply to romantic relationships--they can also include platonic but nevertheless compelling bromances and friendships (John/Sherlock or Merlin/Arthur) or even rivalries (Sherlock/Moriarty). 

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a lecture on fandom subculture, but rather a look at what we as writers can learn from the emotional investment inspired by ships. First, I want to note--as a writer of an original piece of fiction, you'll have pretty much no control over the ships fans might create with your characters, so be prepared: anything (and anyone) can happen. So I'm not talking about ways to create ships that fans will carry on--no, quite the opposite. What I want us to do is look at our works with our own ships in mind.

Who do you ship in your current WIP? Have you thought about it? See, I think what defines a ship isn't the individuals involved in it--but the new character their interaction creates. A ship is a like a whole new character in and of itself; it's the hybridization of the characters' personalities. The inside jokes, the shared looks, the history between them--all that drama and interaction that makes their relationship a living, breathing character of its own.

John Watson and Sherlock Holmes have one of the oldest bromances in history (Sherlockians have been around for over a hundred years!) because their relationship is so compelling (even without being romantic, which brings us to one of my greatest pet peeves--the wholly unnecessary romanticization of friendships like Holmes/Sherlock or Harry/Hermione--friendship is powerful enough without having to be romantic!--but for your sake I'll nip this rant before it buds but don't be surprised if you come back to this blog at some future time and see my opinions on this topic blathered all over the place with vehement abandon). 

Eccentric Holmes is brilliant and aloof, but what makes him relatable is his need for a friend--Watson--who humanizes him and keeps him anchored. Obversely, haunted by the ghosts of the war he's fought in, Watson presents a character struggling to reintegrate himself into normal life but in desperate need of someone who will inspire him with a new purpose. Two compelling characters brought together like this create an even more compelling relationship, and the appeal of the Sherlock Holmes stories revolves on their quirky friendship (which does NOT need to be romantic--oh, wait, sorry, I promised I wouldn't go into this rant).

Anyway. Ships are something we writers can look at when creating our stories. We ought to develop relationships with the same care and forethought as we do our characters and worlds. Don't just think about who your characters are individually--but who are they when they're together? How do they change each other? How is their interaction special and compelling?

You can use this lens to view not only the romantic pairings in your story, but also the friendships and even the rivalries. Almost as compelling as Holmes/Watson is Holmes/Moriarty, the hero vs. his arch nemesis. Their rivalry is fascinating--the contest between two ingenius masterminds, one for evil, one for good, transcends the ordinary hero/villain relationship. Each is fascinated by the other and their verbal battles are as interesting as their physical ones.

Stories take on whole new levels of meaning and intrigue when characters are defined by their relationships to other characters--and this adds a certain realistic bent as well. Think about yourself: what matters most to you? Most of us would answer in terms of our relationships, the people we love (not, probably, so much the people we hate--the real world seems to be regrettably lacking in arch nemeses these days, wouldn't you say? Thank God for fiction!) We tend to define ourselves in terms of the people around us, by our parents, our friends, our significant others. You are not an island and neither should your characters be. 

Maybe the general rule in writing characters should be this: Where two are gathered, three are present. Character A, Character B, and the Relationship Between Them. As the fandoms have zealously shown, it's relationships above all else that readers and fans will connect to and love. It's the relationships which are most human and most intriguing that we love most. They are the source of the greatest drama, the deepest emotion, and the strongest motivation. So use them to their fullest! Don't just create characters--create the links between them with equal care.

And be creative in the kinds of relationships your story can include or center on. Here are some examples of my favorite pairings and their dynamics:

Friendship
Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
Shawn Spencer/Burton Guster, from Psych
Elphaba/Galinda, from Wicked
Calvin/Hobbes
Claus Valca/Lavie Head, from Last Exile

Master/Servant
Jeeves/Wooster, from the books by P. G. Wodehouse
Merlin/Arthur, from the BBC show Merlin

Romantic
Tenth Doctor/Rose, from Doctor Who
Clark Kent/Lois Lane, from Smallville
Aang/Katara, from Avatar: The Last Airbender

Rivalry
Sherlock Holmes/James Moriarty
Superman/Lex Luthor
Harry Potter/Voldemort

Siblings
Katara/Sokka, from Avatar: The Last Airbender
Meg/Charles Wallace, from A Wrinkle in Time
Fred/George Weasley, from Harry Potter
Frank/ Joe Hardy, (I'll always love those Hardy Boys!)

I think most of us would agree that non-romantic relationships can often be as endearing as romantic ones, so don't be afraid to develop your characters' friendships and rivalries as much as their romances.

Writing exercise:
1) Make a list of your favorite pairings; try to find one for each category. Then describe their relationship--not the individual characters, but who they are together. 

2) Do the same with characters in your current WIP. Here are some questions to get you started:

- what does each character in my pairing love most/hate most about the other?

- what would each character's response be if the other died?

- how would another character, not in the pairing, describe the two characters when they're together?

- what would each character change about the other's personality?

- what does each character envy most about the other?

These are just to get you started. Be creative! Explore the relationships of your story as you would the characters, the world, the plot. Don't just assume that because you throw two individuals together, a relationship will just happen. It takes care and intentional work on your part, just as it would if you were building a relationship in real life.

What do you think?

I'd love to hear some of your favorite ships and character pairings! Sound off in the comments, and share why you love those pairings in particular.

Book Updates: Invisibility & Vitro

Two books to talk about:

1. I finished reading Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan, and I loved it. It's the story of a boy who's been invisible his entire life, and what happens when he meets the only person--a girl his own age--who is able to see him. The moment I heard what the book was about, I knew I had to read it, and was lucky enough to snag an ARC. Guys--it rocked! It was sweet, surprising, intense, and triumphant--a fast-moving read with fresh, likable characters and two distinct voices (the story is told alternatively through Stephen's and Elizabeth's perspectives). The pub date for this book is May 7--I know, I know, absolute ages!! But you should totally pre-order it because it is worth it. In fact, to justify my own pre-order of the hardcover, I'm giving away the ARC below--so be sure to drop your name in the hat if you want an early peek! 

2. I finally got to reveal the title and synopsis of my next book!! It's called Vitro and it's coming out early winter 2014. It's not a sequel to Origin but it is set in the same universe, so you'll see one familiar character from Origin. Haven't revealed the cover yet (but I've been sitting on it since last summer so I'm really dying to share--all that to come!). Anyway, you can read the synopsis and add it to your to-read list here!

Contest ends March 26. Winner will be contact by email and will have 14 days to respond or your prize will be forfeited. US and Canada only, please!

a Rafflecopter giveaway