HOW TO DO LOVE TRIANGLES (the right way)
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- Опубліковано 11 лип 2024
- What's up, my friends? Today we're talking about one of the most-hated tropes in romance fiction: THE LOVE TRIANGLE. Is there a way to write a love triangle without getting crucified by your readers? That's what today's video is all about.
Comment below and tell me: have you ever seen a love triangle done well? Where?!
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lowkey a sucker for love triangles lol
Same
Love triangles are my guilty pleasure. I'm always afraid to admit I like them since so many people jump down this trope's throat, but when well written, it's My fave by far.
The Best Love triangles I've ever read were deeply involved with the character's internal conflicts.
same chanyeol, same.
I’m writing one write now.
I swear to god I'm in one right now 😭🤣
It’s all fun and games until you’re actually in one lmao
I was once lol
Thanks for the tips! This video really got me thinking.
I agree the downfall of love triangles is that they can be super shallow and not get to any internal conflict. Still, I can get behind a well-written (or just not-terribly-written) love triangle. I also think it's important to make sure the two characters the protagonist has to choose between have real flaws, they're not just perfect people with different hair colors. :P
"perfect people with different hair colors"
I think Stargate Atlantis did one with Ronan Dex and Rodney McKay going after the same girl. And the series handled it with our two guys agreeing to "may the best man win." If we use the two valued teammates with personal flaws version then we can have at least a beleivable setup.
I don't really "hate" love triangle, but... I simply don't like them haha. Mostly because they feel so unrealistic- BUT I think we can (most) agree one of the very few love triangles donde amazingly was the one in the Infernal Devices
Yes! That is the ultimate love triangle where you fall in love with ALL the characters.
I completely agree with you. Love triangles happen, and happen often (unfortunately), in real life. It's a sign of emotional immaturity and deserves to be handled in fiction as an opportunity for character development. It's so annoying when the character just all of sudden chooses some person and then they live happily ever after without any serious reflection on why they act they way they act. If you aren't willing to have your character look within themselves, they should not change for the better.
I hate love triangles with a burning passion... which is exactly why I try my damnedest to write one currently.
Thank you for the video, it really helped me.
I don't hate love triangles, although I do think they're really poorly done in some books and movies. I don't know if anyone will agree with me on this, but the Tessa-Jem-Will love triangle from The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare was one of my favorite love triangles! OH, AND HOW COULD I FORGET- STEFAN, ELENA, AND DAMON FROM TVD!!!!!
oh yes, Tess, Jem and Will were an awesome love triangle!
The thing with Tessa, Will and Jem is that the choice isn't Tessa's. They all love the other two and if they choose one the other will get hurt.
Look at Brooklyn, I heard their love triangle is amazing!
Yeah! stelena and dalena were my fave too
Stefan;Damon and Elena were an great love triangle #Team Damon 💗💗💗💗💜💖
I always transform a love triangle into a polyamorous relationship in my books 🤭
(One show that did this was Sense8)
But I LOVE the love triangleTessa-Jem-Will in The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare. I cry everytime I read!!!
What are the names of books and where can I find them?
I agreee
The name of the trilogy is called: the infernal device's and the names of the books in order are: clockwork Angel, clockwork prince, and clockwork princess
Now I need to read your books
I watched Sense8 and I really was annoyed by the love triangle, until she chose both and I died. The best part seriously.
3 Will Be Free also did it this way! My fav love triangle, the only one I like tbh
Nope I literally LOVE love triangles!!! If a book is good I always think it can be better with a love triangle lol. Not a hated trope at all. Love it! Love it! Love it!!
I think that even though I hate love the idea of love triangles, I still can admit to myself that having two people competing for me would be very flattering! So, I guess you could say that secretly I like them even if they offend my sensibilities!
I actually like the love triangle in the hunger games. Cause Katness just wants out. She's like, what do you mean I have to pick? I don't need either of you. Reading that, when the only other examples I have seen ARE the "which one shall I pick?" was extremely refreshing!
Also. My husband has downloading Poldark for me! I hope it's good as you say! I'll be analyzing it with all my new found character knowledge from your channel!
What I hate about love triangles is exactly their shallowness. The main character (usually a girl) has no personality of her own, and the story makes you believe that she absolutely has to choose one of them because, basically, she would be nothing without a man. Now let’s go to the two male parts of the triangle (usually); one of them is the classic “good boy” who is caring, attentive, and devote to the girl. He’s also always the one who’s gonna lose (because, you know, good boys are bOrInG😒). As for the second male part, it’s pretty obvious: he’s the bad boy, the one who treats everyone like trash (often even the girl), has anger issues, doesn’t trust anyone…. But, in the end, he’s ALWAYS the one who will get her, because bad boys are exciting😃😃!!
Yes, I’m looking at you, The Vampire Diaries.
That's your opinion
@@eugenaymakok2713 of course it is, no one is forced to think the same as me.
@Giulia I'm sorry if I offended you I just love triangles got nothing against you 😊😊❤️❣️
@@eugenaymakok2713 no problem, I actually would like them too, if the ones I’ve watched so far weren’t so damn poorly written.
I agree with this one. I did not find Elena falling in love with Damon believable. The moments he was 'kind' and someone that could be loved were wayyyy too brief.
I also think love triangles are overused--I'd prefer to see the main couple go through life and everyday struggles without throwing an extra person in there. That said, I did enjoy the love triangle in the Twilight Saga, haha--a bit of a guilty pleasure now, but when I was a teenager, I thought highly of this series. Until I got to the last book and didn't finish it.
NicoleMarieButterfly I have to say that I would have agreed with you about a main couple going through struggles without involving another person a couple of years ago. Until I recently experienced my own personal love triangle. So it’s really opened my eyes to what a realistic love triangle is truly capable of, which I’ll be tossing into my own book in the future, because I see now that we meet certain people in the world for deeper reasons we can’t fully fathom. But those interactions, whether we like it or not, are for our growth process through life. Yes it can be heart breaking and SO unbearably annoying to endure a series of emotional rollercoasters you feel trapped in, plus that inevitable shame/guilt toward the person you’re completely committed to already, but once you’re able to overcome all the crazy heartache...it is such an eye opener to why it all happened to begin with, literally, to those three individuals.
@@jasminepolanco3454 What's your book called? You've got me interested in reading it now! lol
Andrea Lewis Thank you very much! Lol I didn’t go into specifics of the plot but I’m happy you enjoyed the sound of that. I just had a heart breaking day yesterday so your comment really helped lift up my spirits. I keep being told how amazing my story is and I’ve also been told I should go into publishing, but life really does love to get in the way of that dream. I just checked out your video about the writing process and everything you said is so true and how you’d basically have to have no social life if you ever want to complete a book, which made me laugh, because it’s so damn true. I was in an open relationship dating this guy for 6 months, that literally just broke up with me today because of his own fear of not being good enough for me in the long run. I don’t regret things though and I’m trying to push myself to try and write my book again to put my experiences and pain in my work. I haven’t touched it since last month and I’m a mom to a 4 year old, too. But, anyway, thank you for lifting my spirits up. My book is called “Blood Type” but it’s not published, of course. If you’re still interested you can totally contact me. :)
@@jasminepolanco3454 Oh I am so glad I could make your day. I'm sorry your going through that, I hope it will get better and I'm sorry for everything getting in the way. Maybe it's all a sign that right now you should take a break from life and write. 😉 Well I've been so torn with my many interests and feeling so lonley still living at home and never having had a boyfriend I finally moved to LA January 2020 thankfully now I've been doing some socializeing. I don't know if I agree with completely making myself unhappy for the rest of my life for one book I want to finish so I'm sorry if compromising now, I'm also script writing etc, so I don't know if I completely agree with that video anymore not with sacrificing your mental health completely, ultimately it's up to the person's decision though.
Andrea Lewis Thank you. I’m a pretty stubborn girl so I’m thinking it will get better, lol. Hahaha you have no idea how amusing that was for me to see you say that because I also felt it was a sign too, thank you! :)) That’s exactly how I felt living in Mojave, CA. I felt like if I didn’t leave, I would be stuck in that place forever with my family. So I’m glad you decided to leave and your putting yourself out there. How has it been so far with your interests and living there? LA life is a lot to take in from my experience when I’d go there for fun or fly in from WA. I think I see your point, I just think being as introverted as I am made it difficult to have a social life. But then I kept finding people that just weren’t good people in the end as friends that made me forget about my book because I was having a social life. Being a mom also is sacrificing to your work and family at times if you actually want to get that work done, I just never pushed myself because of my physical pain (carpal tunnel and endometriosis/back pain). But I’m going try harder this year to heal my pain and finish my book. :)
I'm not sure if this could be considered as a "love triangle" but Anne Rice's "Interview With A Vampire" has Lestat/Claudia/Louis as probably one of the sickest but deeply emotional triangles. The essence that Claudia is essentially locked inside of a child's body but having those grown woman feelings...... The story is sad and gripping. It certainly wasn't boring and add in a fourth in Armand into a quartet...... I know for me I hate writing love triangles. I prefer to write complicated love affairs. There's always a brick wall in some of them and for the most part it's not a triangle, but a threesome. I don't write young adult. I write full throated adult stuff. But that's me. Thanks again for a unique video Abbie. I have sort of unsubbed from some of my other "authortube" people because they don't present topics quite the way you do. As a writer I appreciate the deeper questions you ask. Thank you so much. 💖💖💖
oh wow that sounds super complex! and oh my gosh I'm so glad you like my channel so much!! LITERALLY THAT MADE MY DAY HAHA 💛✨ thank you for your kind words, they are much appreciated :)
I have to read it again because I feel like I missed out a lot of details for it. But I loved the emotional conflicts that Interview and The Vampire Lestat had.
I am also a masterpiece theater geek and was super excited to hear you mention those beautiful shows! You just got yourself a subscriber 💕
When i write love triangles, i make sure the girl ends up with the second male lead and the first male lead would regret it
15th like
I am now watching Poldark because of you lol! Thank you, your insights are gold! 👍👏👏
To me, the biggest key to a successful love triangle is managing to keep the protagonist from looking like an entitled, selfish, manipulative jerk by leading on or both of the love interests on.
...I can see now how this is likely an effect of the causes you mention in this video, so 👍👍
Hey Abbie, great video. I plan on writing a love triangle in my future story so I appreciate this.
New subscriber here! Though I don't intend on writing any love triangles in the near future, this video has solid advice (as is the standard for your excellent videos).
I'm not well-versed in fiction so I can't compare this love triangle's quality to others, but one triangle that I find to be very deep is the one from Macross Plus. I don't want to spoil the anime for those who haven't seen it, but like Abbie said the triangle delves into each character's fears and internal struggles. The whole anime overall is spectacular, I'd highly recommend it.
Great video! ❤️ And why am I in love with your giggle?
Ooh, this video just gave me a new story idea! Thank you Abbie!
YAY!!
I know this is old, but just came across your channel and watched a half dozen of these in a row. Well thought out! New sub
A love triangle naturally developed in my story. But it wasn't planned and I didn't notice it until after. So I think it fits with a fresh flare. My favorite love triangle is Fruit Baskets (an anime).
I love your videos , Your so real and to the point , You make me happy thank you for everything
Oh my gosh, this comment brightened my day. thank you! 😊
I always saw Elizebeth-Wickam-Darcy thing as a love triangle, I don't know why...
When you said you'd do this one last week, I thought your example for today would be Pride and Prejudice. My bad.. I guess
I consider this a love triangle, and one of my favourite kinds. Lizzy likes Wickam but doesn't realise (or know) what a terrible person he is because she lets her emotions get in the way of better judgment. And she doesn't let herself like darcy because she uses all the bad things about him as an excuse not to admit her feelings to herself. I mean thats an extremely blunt way to look at it, but explained quickly thats the best I could do.
anyway, the reason i love it is because it shows so clearly what kind of person Lizzy is, and how she overcomes it all. a.k.a good story writing :)
OOF YOU GUYS ARE GOOD. seriously I love it when I see discussions start like this!! 😊💛 I didn't even think of this as a love triangle but now I can totally see it!! Jane Austen does write a lot of triangle-type relationships in her stories…and she does them really really well. 😍
The first two examples of well written love triangles I can think of are actually more like squares, sort of.
The 1994 remake of Sabrina; The main triangle is Sabrina, Linus, and David. But David's fiancée Elizabeth, gets the rare treatment of being more then a plot device even though she has minimal screen time in this fourth version of the story. (Novel, play, & two films) It is also a great example of characters making "the right" choice. It's a love story, sometimes it isn't a mater of being right, but just making a choice and commitment.
The second one is The Wedding Planner. There isn't any reason to doubt who the titular character is going to pick and who the groom will actually be in love with by the end of the film, however the other two people in this "love triangle" are again treated like people whose feelings matter. I never got invested in the main couple of this love story, but I LOVED how they took a side character, Massimo, from being annoying obsticle to a person with feelings that matter to the film and the MC by the 3rd act and the choice to not marry him was actually one out of kindness. Furthermore the Bride, Fran, is never evil just to make the MC appear better. Instead Fran & Steve had a good relationship that had started to already grow apart but neither one wanted to hurt their best friend by walking away from the romantic relationship. That third act was fantastic and the part I remember the most because of how well the "side" characters were treated by the main characters and the story.
I liked the video before I watched because I knew it would be epic! I want to write a love triangle about a girl who is liked by two guys, but only likes them as friends because I've personally experienced this and it is something I've never seen in a book or anything, honestly.
Awesome video!
Oooh I like that idea, Ivie!! I think you could totally pull it off ;) and ahhh thank you so much! so glad you liked this video 💛
Fisher vs Daniel love triangle was amazing and years after watching the show I still think about it. It’s great to hear that someone else loved it too!
I have an example! In the Novel "The violet Eden Chapters" there is a love triangle I didn't even realize was happening until the middle (my subconscious knew tho lol)
oooh that sounds awesome!
I am a Masterpiece nerd too! Though I hate the whole Ross and Elizabeth thing in the show, I do have to admit it makes perfect sense for the characters. They were in love before Ross went off to war. Now I have not watched much Lark Rise to Candleford yet but just seeing captions I am thinking the Daniel/Laura/Fisher thing is going to be done awesomely! Thank you so much for this video! I am currently editing my first novel that happens to have this trope and I want to write it well. Now I think I have some tools to do that better.
YAAAAS *fist bump * this gladdens my heart :'') yeah same!! I started really hating Ross after a while with his whole hangup over Elizabeth… but my storyteller heart has to admit that it is a well-written (albeit TOTALLY FRUSTRATING) love triangle because there's an inner battle for every character involved. The Lark Rise love triangle is also incredibly frustrating but I WON'T SPOIL IT FOR YOU. 😭❤️
Interesting. Thanks.
Love your hair in this video btw. My favorite love triangles are Damon, Elena and Stefan from The Vampire Diaries. Adam, Juliette and Warner from the Shatter Me series. I’m so glad you posted this early. Great way to start the morning. 😁
Aw thank you!! 💛 so glad you liked this video!
Shatter Me had an EXCELLENT love triangle 👏🏻👏🏻 So glad someone else mentioned it!
When you said "your probably rolling your eyes at me" you right the way reminded me of Sophie, Keefe and Fitz of Keepers of the lost cities 😅 But your grate and I love your Videos they’ve helped me so much! Thanks Abby❤
I remember you talking about this last week
The Poldark love triangle broke my heart for Demelza - how does she compete with an illusion of perfection? I hated Poldark after he slept with Elizabeth and then tried to excuse his behavior by telling Demelza it was "inevitable, don't do you see?" I never had any respect for him again. It just killed it for me. It was also controversial whether it was consensual.
I've just found your channel and I am so impressed and I am SO DIGGING IT. You are putting out excellent content. I just had to mention a love triangle that, while brief and predictable in its outcome, was very well done in my opinion. In New Girl, when Schmidt was dating Elizabeth and CeCe at the same time. He was genuinely torn and stressed out and really didn't want to hurt anyone, so he made a bad call and just chose them both as long as he could. The tension was good and it actually drove him closer to Cece in the end because they broke up in a complicated way and then got back together after fixing more of their issues.
OMG thank you so much, Caroline!! That seriously means so much to me 💛✨ I'm so glad you've been enjoying my videos! And ooh that sounds like a really unique and conflict-filled spin on a love triangle!
If you haven't seen New Girl then watch it!
P.S. Of course, thank you for being a really excellent youtuber. If I ever have the time to get my channel up and running like I'd like to I would be so pleased with myself to have anything half the quality as yours. Hats off, it's a lot of work.@@AbbieEmmons
OH MY GOSH I'm smiling so much right now - thank you!! :''')
Not gonna lie, my favorite love triangle is from Vampire Knight. Maybe it’s because I already knew about it, but either way, I was hooked and as conflicted as the main character until realization came to me. It came to the MC too but well.
But .. the siblings 🤢 I had to stop after that.
i think to all the boys ive loved before is a good example for a good love triangle!!
Omg you have to watch Mr. Sunshine on Netflix. 3 guys going after the MC girl. It's SO GOOD. It's a k drama and the whole story is amazing but the guys vying for the girl is 200% *sigh*
I really enjoyed the love triangle in Firelight by Sophie Jordan tbh. But yeah. Great tips! I'm writing a story about a harem atm so.... tricky.
recently, I'm trying to broaden critical thinking skills through writing, since I put myself in an author's shoes, love triangles intrigues me a lot. one of the reasons is what would make a love triangle so good? and for now, I don't see that yet. and im glad I found this video and now hopefully be able to come out with a good one.
Pivot Point by Kasie West was an INCREDIBLE love triangle to me! The whole time I was on the edge of my seat wondering who she would choose, which led to some awesome twists and turns in the storyline
Oh I guess I should check that out. Sounds like a good one!
I am a fan of love triangles! It is a trope I am drawn to but I agree that conflict of each character is important. The trope that I find is often too shallow is 'haters to lovers'. Often, their journey of falling in love is not believable. If the guy is a jerk the whole time, when exactly did she fall in love? Oh right - he was hot. Got it. LOL.
The love triangle in the second arc of Wings of Fire is pretty satisfying.
Super late to the game but I love the triangle between Heathcliff, Cathy, and Edgar in Wuthering Heights. I love that they are all sordid characters, and seem to bring out the worst in each other. I also love how unpredictable the story is.
If you like animated films, one of my favorites is Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas and the love triangle in that is 💋 chefs kiss 👌
I'm doing a Love-Triangle. As soon as I embraced the fact, I love it. Hey, can you do a video on romancing sickness and injury? My love interest has a hurt hip. Why do we get off on this?
JP Beaubian is cheering in the background.
"I know what this story needs--The Love Triangle!"
Oh my gosh!! This whole time watching this video I was thinking of Ross, Demelza, and Elizebeth! I wonder what you think of Colonel Brandon, Marianne, and Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility.
Your a masterpiece theater fan too?! Nice to see people still value a good historical fiction when they see one.
YES YES YES 💛👏 I'm obsessed with it lol
In my opinion the best love triangle is the film Casablanca- it thematically reflects the actual conflict of the story about picking sides/making choices, it forms out of believable circumstances, none of the characters caught in it are unsympathetic or flaky (unsurprising given they're all adults and the real villain of the story responsible for the situation is the outer conflict of the war around them- nobody in the triangle is to blame), and it's resolved in a way that's satisfying and not contrived.
For me one of my favorite love triangles is the one from fruits basket, it’s just so good, and while yes you do kinda know who’s going to win fairly quick, I still think that the journey to get there is simply magical to watch (fruits basket is also just one of my favorite shows of all time so I’m probably at least a little biased)
I like love triangles that get resolved earlier on in the story instead of being the whole focus of it- it shows the person at the center of the love triangle being proactive and figuring out what they want.
I admit that I struggle with love triangles, usually because the two males seeking the female MC's affection are horrible. Exhibit A for me is the passage in one of the Hunger Games when the brunette tells Katniss, "I hurt myself because it's the only way I can get your attention." And I the reader say, "Buddy, do you want to know why she has no respect for you?" Maybe it is because of my social training as a man, but I can't see how self-pity is attractive.
Very helpful. I'm trying to write a spin-off with a love triangle between Snow White, the Prince, and the huntsman. We'll see how that goes. 😅
Okay, even though this video is old (but new to me!), I have to comment with my #1 favorite love triangle because I didn't see anyone else mention it. Anita x Richard x Jean Claude from the early books of Anita Blake. IT'S THE BEST LOVE TRIANGLE I HAVE EVER READ. The reason it works so well is because each partner points to a different side of Anita that is important to her, so she's literally trying to choose between two versions of herself. Phenomenal.
A story with an amazing love triangle (well, actually two) that is overall amazingly well written is An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir. Seriously so amazing, y'all should check it out
I think we can all love people differently. So I think a good love triangle are between people who you love in a different way. It doesnt even have to be romantic. My male bestfriend grew up with me and we all struggled when I was dating my now husband. My bff is used to being the constant in my life and my husband had a hard time because when we all spend time with our friends, bff and I just have memories that he wasn't a part of. Both of them are civil and very respectful of each other but they are not friends and are only sharing the same space because of me. Husband believes that bff liked me romantically but never told me. My bff is a charming extravert who has serial gfs. Hubby is the exact opposite. He's good looking but extremely private and had only me as a gf. Actually, most people thought we'd break up and I'd somehow end up with my bff. Anyways, bff and I still keep in touch but husband and I moved overseas. Now I think about it, I could use that in my own story
I like the idea of a love triangle. But like you said, they're always so shallow. An example of a good love triangle, in my opinion, is ACUTE. ACUTE is a graphic novel based on Kurousa-P's song by the same name. One of the girls, has her worst fears realized when the guy seems to like the other girl better. The girl then seems to have a negative character arc that leads into the realization of the boy's fear.
I haven't read the book in a long time, so I haven't had the chance to analyze it. But from what I remember, it's really what makes a love triangle shine for me.
First view this week again
One love triangle I think was really well done is in the Webtoon "My Dear Cold-Blooded King" by Lifelight.
We can see and feel the inner conflicts of all three of the characters and their choices in the end make total sense.
I will not say more to not spoil because I highly recommend it ! The writing and the art style are amazing ! It is one of my favourite Webtoons.
One of my favorite endings to love triangles is when the two choices are not decided by the character. Instead, the character decides not to choose and leave the two choices. Or the two choices leave the character after being fed up with this love triangle. Or rather a third contestant comes in and wins the prize at the end.
You should really watch anime. Toradora has a nice love triangle. Granted it's an instant main girl protagonist ends with male but the characters are all so fun to see that I can watch that anime over and over. The journey is the focus part in that story and that's why it works so well. 💖 Now as for real anime love triangles, I can't say but I feel that is the standard for me lol. But it's not perfect, as the main female lead is kind of abusive but that is the anime trope for you.
You can't overthrow the dystopian evil empire until you figure out which boy you like best.
The love triangle in my script actually happens before the opening scene so it becomes the motivation for the villain to seek revenge on the character that married someone other than her.
I don't mind a love triangle, if done well, I find them truly exiting. I particularly like very much the love triangle in the Handmaid's Tale in between June, Nick and Luke. As we don't really know which one she will choose to stay with when everything is over. On a moral side of things, we would imagine that she stays with Luke, but we like so much the mysterious character of Nick and would rather prefer that she stays with him, for a more passionate relationship even though it would break Luke's kind heart.
Hunger Games has a brilliant love triangle! I mean, I didn't even know who Katniss would end up with: Gale or Peeta? Until the end of the series. Really, if you haven't read the Hunger Games series, then you are missing out. A LOT. Go check it out. Oh, and for those Hunger Games fans out there, please tell me what ship you prefer: Katniss/Gale or Katniss/Peeta? I personally ship Everlark.
Currently working through a love triangle between 8th graders...my protag is asexual (she doesn't realize it) with S T R O N G emotional/romantic feels for the new girl in class and confusing platonic feels for her best guy friend who gives her mixed signals because he loves her and gives lots of attention...but has high emotional walls..she confuses her feels of anxiety and fear of men for "normal attraction" to him, based on the support he gives her that is lacking in her home life
Lol I rolled my eyes and she said "your prolly rolling your eyes right now" and I did a double take so hard my chubby cheeks flopped 🤧
Can u make a video and give ideas on how to make the two main characters meet?
I clicked on this video because I wanted more writing experience (even though I personally hate romance) and I came out of it wanting to write about a love triangle or two. The Power Of Abbie
I’m writing my first novel, and it has a love triangle in the second act. The reader goes into it knowing who will be picked, but he’s engaged to the other person when the person he ultimately chooses, his former lover, comes back into his life after he thought he was dead for a couple years. It’s definitely all conflict, my characters are dealing with mental illness in the story which affects their relationships, it’s all just a big character study. It’s a tragic romance story. I’m glad to know that my love triangle has been validated by this video, I feel so much anxiety about this knowing it’s a third into my novel and I don’t want people to see that it’s just a love triangle and they close the novel.
I realized i had a love triangle in my book on accident but the plot needs it to work ao i can't cut it out now... So now i'm researching in order to nail it.
Most of the time a love triangle can either A) be fixed with a poly situation because sometimes you can ship them all together or B) the third wheel is super flat and irrelevant. My favourite love triangle is from XO Kitty which is a Netflix show sequel to To All The Boys I Used to Love. It's YA but her love choices are directly connected with her character journey and are not passive.
The best love triangle I've read thus far was The Truth Series, by Dawn Cook, aka Kim Harrison. I've never tried to write love triangles yet, but I'm currently outlining a story where one might fit in nicely.
I used to love the idea when I was naive and young but I heard it's overused and they're right but ironically, I'm writing one but I'm trying to make it less cringey. I hope it turns out all right. Thanks for sharing this, I'll follow your advice on this subject. This was interesting.
Thank you, Katherine! I'm sure your love triangle will ROCK. most authors don't put any thought into theirs so good on you for doing this 👏✨
Thanks! I wish I could share it with you.
I love the love triangle in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night
Thanks
I’m here taking advice for my fanfic lol
I really don't like the trope but I'd love to read a few books which actually took your advice in love triangles.
I like love triangles....but I prefer love hexagons lol. All the more complicated, which gives me more to write about!
The thing is that most books with love triangles be like person b and c are in love with a. When in reality should be a > b > c >a which means it should include at least a queer person 😅 the only love triangle I like is in the “my love mix up”. Manga ❤
Twilight Saga is my favorite love triangle and the only one I've seen.
Love triangles aren't a favorite of mine, however, I do like seeing what the end result is.
I just figured out why Cassandra Clare’s love triangle in The Infernal Devices works so well.
I know this is pretty late but any advice for my story?
So there's the ML and FL have to fake dating the enemies: ML dating VM [villain male] and FL dating VF [villain female]. ML and FL are in a rivals dynamic [that I plan to evolve to friends and to new lovers], who gradually resolve their rivalry and hopefully, their internal conflict together with the rest of the cast. ML and FL don't feel anything for the people they have to fake date, but VM and VF have feelings for their respective partners.
Does this even count as a love triangle? I'm not really sure actually... but at the same time I don't know if this is executed nicely. Thank you!
I do tend to favor the idea that if you sincerely love both of them and you're all good for each other, then you should have a freaking chat and come to an agreement on how to make this work for everyone instead of forcing monogamy where it would just make people miserable.
That being said, "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" is only in Season 1 and it's got a terrific love triangle.
Aside from Ross/Demelza/Elizabeth (which killed me), the only love triangle I can tolerate isn't even from a book, but the Jack/Anne/Max love triangle from Black Sails that is basically a really unique take on a poly relationship.
I like the Hunger Games Love Triangle. That is the first book to make me immediately get up and run to the book store to buy the second book.
ive never been one for the romance genre but in those that ive read or watched a love triangle take place, i always root for the underdog aka the one who was always there, however,,, in my story my protag is involved in a love triangle,,, and is leaning to the most recently introduced... how ironic right :'))))
the hunger games triangle had me amazed
Hello Abbie, this video is a lifesaver🙏. In the first chapter of my novel, I have included a fairly complex love triangle. The Protagonist has a one-time intimate moment with his sweetheart's younger sister( Much younger 10 years ...a college girl crush gone south). It was a one-time thing that left them both very guilty and with a load of discomfort each time they were all three of them present in a situation. For the entire novel, they will be in close proximity as they are all members of a subterranean cave exploration team. Im not sure if the truth be revealed or if should it just be a deep dark secret between the two? Help! Is there anybody out there?☹
Secrets and intrigue amke good plot devices, yes. But the "secrets" should be internal conflict, meaning whatever secrets they might have should be explred through their internal conflict, and like secrets often do; spill into reality and amke a mess.
Hope that helps.
I actually enjoy love triangles good or bad because as a little kid I thought this boy I knew and liked was my boyfriend and that actually started when I was three, we have it on video from when all my relatives felt the need to video three year old me every chance they had, which probably explains where I got my elementary-middle school ego from. my aunts always referred to him as my boyfriend despite us becoming cousins through marriage when we were six, it wasn’t until I was 14 that I was snapped out of that fantasy by him pretending he didn’t know me but I tended to find almost every guy I met attractive in elementary school, middle school, and even high school majority of them didn’t know me but I always felt like I was in a love triangle situation when it came to the ones that did, so even bad love triangles I related to because in my head I was always stuck in a love triangle trying to choose the right guy and usually getting rejected by both or eventually dumped (or dumping in one case) by one of them.
I actually am working on a manga that involves a mix of hate to love and a love triangle. Looking back after your tips it’s really done poorly as are most of my stories but I don’t really mind rewriting them. The fanfics I’m probably going to leave alone since I’m more focused on trying to be a professional writer and am trying to move away from the fan fiction genre. Anyway as I was watching I realized that the reason Marie, my protagonist has a hate to love relationship with Adrian who is technically her fiancé because of an arranged marriage their parents set up when they were about four is because despite being part demon herself, her grandfather the king of demons killed her parents and she wants to purify that from her bloodline by eventually having the human and Angel parts of her bloodline be greater than the demon part. Adrian is a half human half demon hybrid who as of the start of the manga has recently fallen for Marie and gained a high respect for her; however he is incredibly immature and his actions often put his friends and step siblings in danger pushing Marie away from him as not only his he part demon but the exact opposite of her dream guy in terms of personality and appearance especially height since he’s about an inch shorter than her and she has a thing for tall guys. Marie only starts noticing her feelings for Adrian after he almost gets killed taking a hit for her and her “dream guy” whom I still need to name and not just have an appearance for didn’t come to her rescue because according to him he was “too busy fighting a demon or vampire to get to her in time” when reality is he isn’t really the “Prince Charming” Marie believes him to be and is really just a gold digging coward trying to save his own skin, something Marie’s twin brother Hector figures out after noticing the inconsistencies in “Dream Guy’s” stories and after doing a bit of hacking to try and find “Dream Guys” school files from a school that trains demon hunters and hunters for other creatures of darkness.
Marie ultimately has to learn that her heritage doesn’t define who she or Adrian are and that they decide who they are for themselves and to loosen up a little and enjoy life as well though Adrian is basically the one to teach that to Marie rather than they both learn that.
I have always loved love-triangles
In my latest work, the love triangle leads to all three being together. The development of that situation is very far from simple. And at the same time they save a country, end a war and naturally grow as human beings. A traditional love triangle can be pretty predictable and shallow so it needs some twisting.
I really like the love triangle in My best friend's wedding.
I think this trope, as with most is not bad in and of itself, it's all about the execution of it.
I am seriously considering a love-triangle between a canon MC in a fanfic I'm planning, but more because I've created 2 OC's I think would be a great match for him: one is an opposites-attract relationship with a friend and the other is a enemy turned ally that is ironically a kindred spirit.
I probably need to think out my story before going with the love-triangle or not. More than likely it's going to be that he falls in love and eventually gets together with one of them, while the other has unrequited feelings for him (e.g. Éponine with Marius who has requited feelings for Cosette in "Les Misérables", etc).
I could have him struggle to choose between them, but I doubt that will work as I imagine the MC is afraid of falling in love. More-likely it will be that one of OC has unrequited feelings for him or possibly I scrap the idea and have them just being enemies to friends.
I would recommend reading that awkward magic on webtoon i think they have a great love triangle
Good video. Personally, I don't understand the appeal of love triangles hence why I don't write them. It can be interesting when two characters are in love with a third one, yes, but I won't have character three struggle to pick one. It'll ne a story between two characters with a third one who can be a rival, a benefactor, a villain...