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| Photo credit: alvarezperea on Flickr |
I’ve already written about the parenticide trend, so I guess I shouldn’t have been all that surprised, but I hadn’t really thought about just how much it permeates kid lit in well over a year (when I wrote that last post).
That being said, with some help from lovely Twitter friends, I managed to think of a grand total of three awesome parental figures. Which…isn’t much, but it’s a start.
In no particular order!
- Harry Potter (J.K. Rowling): Arthur and Molly Weasley
Where to begin with the Weasleys? On top of being overall wonderful parents to their extraordinarily large family, they also pseudo-adopted Harry, have the best combination of quirks, and are badass wizards when they need to be. They were the loving parents Harry didn’t have in his childhood, and they even had time to knit embarrassing Christmas sweaters for all of them every year. - The Mortal Instruments (Cassandra Clare): Lucian (“Luke”) Graymark and Jocelyn Fray
Technically, Luke is Clary’s kinda-not-really-step-dad because Clary’s biological dad is decidedly not awesome (at least, not at parenting). But Luke has really grown on me throughout the series (note: I’ve only read the first three books so far). Without spoiling the extent of his badassness to those who haven’t read the books or watched the movie yet, all I’ll say is he’s the perfect blend of caring step-dad and awesome character.
Jocelyn, on the other hand, is a little MIA for a while, but the more you learn about her, the more you realize the full extent of what a wonderful (and pretty darn cool) mother she is. - Artemis Fowl (Eoin Colfer): Butler
So, ok, Butler isn’t Artemis’s father—and his parents are actually in the series, but, well, they’re not exactly my favorite. But Butler! If you ask me, he’s more of a father figure to Artemis than his actual father is, and he’s certainly sacrificed a hell of a lot more for Artemis than the Senior Fowl. So in my book, Butler wins the Awesome Parent of the Year award.
What do you think? Are fictional parents an obstacle or a missed opportunity?
Twitter-sized bites:
Writer @Ava_Jae muses on parenticide and some of kid lit's best parents. Do you agree? (Click to tweet)
Are fictional parents an obstacle or a missed opportunity? Join the discussion at @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)
I think it's both. For me it comes easy because of the kind of MCs I write.
ReplyDeleteBoth? Interesting...care to elaborate?
ReplyDeleteI think it's an obstacle because in real life we don't always pay attention to how our parents are. It's a missed opportunity because you could see you don't always need to be independent. That they are the biggest blessing or lesson in the MC's life.
ReplyDeleteAs for my writing my MC is Muslim and needs an adult if she wants to start courtship or needs an adult to deal with school authority against your outfit.
There are times parents really enrich the story, in the way they lift up (or take down) the main character and are their own plot minefield. There are other times (like Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, etc.) parents are "unnecessary" because the parental arena (or reach) isn't what the story is about.
ReplyDeleteIt was always an interesting facet of, say, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and similar genre pieces that Buffy was the Chosen One™ and risking her life and all that...and still had math homework, and a curfew imposed by her mom, etc. It's an interesting juggling act.
I'm guilty of parenticide in my earlier WIPs, but I've gotten better at it. The one I'm working on now, the MC's dad is always on her case about her grades, while she's sneaking in and out of school handling magic business in secret. Take it to eleven when said business trickles into her private life and her dopey dad gets kidnapped.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they're definitely not for every book, especially books like Alice that have plots outside of a parental setting, like you said. But I also agree that for certain books, they can really add to them, whether positively or negatively for the character.
ReplyDeleteThe juggling act is also a great example—that's something I've enjoyed the few times I've seen it. It can really add another fun aspect to an already enjoyable book.
I will openly admit that I'm very guilty of parenticide, even in newer manuscripts. But I'm much more aware of it now than I used to be, so I only use it when it's necessary for the plot. Otherwise, I like the idea of using parents to really add to the plot (and the way you're doing it in your new WIP sounds fun). :)
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting way of looking at it! I think you're right that teens often don't pay attention to parents—but I think even that could work as an added layer to a manuscript, rather than killing them off for the sake of removing the parental obstacle.
ReplyDeleteAs for your MS, I can definitely see how that'd make parents an important part of your plot. :)
I think the problem is that sometimes those characters are the easiest way to get the plot moving... if they had good parents that were alive then most of them would be at home living a good life and there really wouldn't be much of a story... sometimes I think it's better to have killed off good parents in order to have spurred the character on to go on whatever quest than to give them bad parents they have to run away from... because bad parents just makes it sad though sometimes it is a reflection of obstacles some people have to go through though... but if they have a good home life sadly that means that the story won't be nearly as interesting... although if you read the Dreamhouse Kings the parents are good and a very integral part of the story... even the Percy Jackson books his parents do a lot in there even though one is a god... so they are out there...but I think lots of times when you're writing about kids the parents have to be in some way out of the picture for them to get to do the crazy things that good parents would never allow...
ReplyDeleteI'm amazed you found three! I understand why writers kill off the parents so often - I have a tendency to do it myself - but it's always a nice surprise when you find a real one in a book.
ReplyDeleteMy MC's one parent is truly awesome and very there for her. But it's only one and up until recently, she was surrounded by people with torn-apart parents. I've diversified things since.
ReplyDeleteA lot of books have parents who were thought to be dysfunctional, but as the book goers on, we discover outside circumstances prevented them from being there.
The Divergent parents, while because of society and that faction, weren't caring, but in the end, were. So, I guess, there's that.
This comes at an interesting time as I'm contemplating what to do with the parents of my new novel. They must be overprotective due to the nature of the heroine but does that mean they have to be weak willed boring fussy bodies? I hope I can work in some awesomeness. Just not sure how yet.
ReplyDeleteThe lack if parents in books is interesting. It's an obvious but cliched motivator to create a young, strong hero but also I think it allows writers to bypass all the niggles readers might have like "how is she allowed to be out so late very day?"
I totally understand the reasoning behind parenticide or absent parents—especially for adventure-type books or books that require young people doing out there things, the easiest way to get them out the door is often to get the parents out of the picture (because otherwise, what parents would let them do their shenanigans?)
ReplyDeleteBut on the other hand, I don't think that a good home life automatically equates to a boring story. I think if given the chance, parents could add an interesting layer to the right book—but of course, whether or not it works definitely varies manuscript to manuscript.
As for your examples, I haven't read Dreamhouse Kings, but I did read the Percy Jackson series. I found that while I liked the mom in the earlier books, I slowly came to realize that she mostly just...stayed out of the way and let Percy do whatever.
It was ridiculously hard to think of three—I needed help ha ha. And I'm definitely guilty of parenticide myself, but I agree that it's really nice when you can see the parents in action.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great point about different parental units—it's not always a married couple and there are quite a few plausible scenarios.
ReplyDeleteThe Divergent parents are a good example—they're kind of similar to the situation with Clary's Mom in The Mortal Instruments—sort of MIA, but you learn more about them afterwards and come to realize that they were actually much stronger and more complex than you originally imagined. Which I think is pretty neat.
I listen to music depending on the scene being written. For example, in a scene I was writing Japanese teenager Kasumi was in a car, driving to her new family's house in America after being adopted. I listened to 'Yumeno Hajima Ring Ring' by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. It has a nostalgic feel about saying good bye and growing up. For example, it has references to Kyarys old videos and a main line is "Goodbye Teachers, my friends." It's like leaving childhood behind kinda. But I only have 55 songs on my iPod :3
ReplyDeleteThat's so cute! I like the idea of matching songs to scenes, even if it's not something I really do myself (though I've been known to change a song that wasn't the right mood, particularly when writing emotionally-heavy scenes). And 55 songs! That makes my music library look pretty ginormous ha ha.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I can write in silence, if I'm very, very caught up with the writing. A lot of the time, I pick a song which fits the mood of what I'm writing and play it on repeat. (I actually start blocking out the music as I write, but when I pause or take a break, the song or lyrics can provide good inspiration.)
ReplyDeleteSometimes, what I write may be inspired from a particular song I'm hearing, so I play that on repeat as I write so that my piece can fit the mood of the song! :D
But my Dad always gets angry with me when I listen to music as I read or do work or something, and that really annoys me. For me it's just atmosphere and I often find I actually don't process the music so much as the work I'm doing, so...
I recommend headphones—they allow you to block out the rest of the world while also not disturbing anyone. :) But at any rate, I also find I usually block out the music when I'm reading (that's how I know I'm really in the zone—when I'm no longer paying much attention to the music). But I agree it can be great atmospherically and help set a tone.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing! :)
That's true that listening to K-Pop provides nice music without lyrics distracting you, and that's what I used to do. However, you're completely right about the random English lines, (and me being Chinese, the occasional Chinese song), and running out of skips.
ReplyDeleteWhat with memorizing the Korean Hangul by accident, after many repetitions of the song; it's totally normal.
Sometimes I could be writing, but a song comes on that I know and then next thing I know I'm humming along to Ring Ding Dong and singing the chorus.
:/
(But that doesn't stop me from playing EXO in Pandora when I write. XD)
I'll have you know when I read this comment, I immediately ended up with "Ring Ding Dong" stuck in my head for a while. (I didn't mind. It's a fun song.)
ReplyDeleteAnyway! I think you're right that it's normal to start to memorize the Korean Hangul after several repetitions (and probably inevitable). It's been a while since I've listened to K-pop (and written this post) actually...I might have to listen to some again, now. :)
And, yeah, the random English? I don't even know. lol
So my question was when I'm listening to a great song on my iPhone 6 Plus is there anyway I could see the lyrics so I can really get into it!!!!
ReplyDeleteI haven't done this in a while, but if I remember correctly, you can copy and paste lyrics into iTunes (by going into the song properties), then after you sync, they should be visible in your phone when you're playing the song (I think you just swipe sideways over the album art). At least, that's how it was a few years ago...
ReplyDelete