Writer Group discussion

Debate about love triangles here.

Love triangles come under a lot of attack these days because they have become the craze in spammy teen fiction, but people seem to forget that they are a classic plotline which have been employed well from the Illiad (Paris, Hellen, and Menelaus) to the X-men (Cyclops, Jean Gray, and Wolverine).

Maybe if you read something other than teen spam...

*cough* I think *cough* I'm more of an xmen fan than Danny lol

Haha, I really do hate the modern love triangles. So many of them are a waste of space and time, but there is the occasional good one, which is...refreshing, maybe?

I don;t know, but whatever the case, those few good ones tend to restore my faith in humanity. Especially in teenage humans. :)

The Mighty Katara wrote: "ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Lerman Lover} wrote: "*cough* I think *cough* I'm more of an xmen fan than Danny lol"

Why, cause he misspelled Jean Grey?"

*smiles and nods sheepishly* yeeeeeah. I probably shouldn't tell you how I reacted to that.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Emily wrote: "Haha, I really do hate the modern love triangles. So many of them are a waste of space and time, but there is the occasional good one, which is...refreshing, maybe?

I don;t know, bu..."

Sure. Or maybe I am just imagining that there are good ones?as a result of my diminished faith in humanity?

I can't help it...detail stickler. I'm like that. Mere typos send me into frenzied reactions (and by typos I mean my own, my friend Dominic has had to remind me to chill out multiple times about my own typos lol).

I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good background for a love triangle. And I actually like the hunger games' love triangle lol

Oh, I didn't realize I mispelled those names.

Hahaha, I was messing with ya. It's no big deal......

Anyway, their love triangle is really cool. It's my favourite kind of love triangle, the kind where the two guys hate maybe even try to kill each other.

Hehe, I love it too. Works splendiforously. Read x-2 couple months ago, it really made me crack up how much they're rivals. Like "I hate your guts you girl-stealing scum and I only put up with you cuz I have to" rivals.

I haven't read any X-men comics yet, but I've watched the original trilogy, X-men First Class, and most of Wolverine and the X-men.

I have only just gotten some comics to read. I read the movie adaption novel. Which made Jason a billion times creepier. *shudder*

Have you seen First Class?

No! *death glares at brother who borrowed it and then returned it before I could watch it!!!*

Love triangles are boring. I'd like to see a love pentagon or something :)

Taliah wrote: "Love triangles are boring. I'd like to see a love pentagon or something :)"

OOOOH!! Yes! That'd be awesome :)


ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Lerman Lover} wrote: "Hahaha, I was messing with ya. It's no big deal......"

Actually it is :P

Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good background for a love triangle. And I actually like the..."

I agree!

Hahaha, yeah. I was saying that to be nice. It's definitely no big deal in the giant scheme of things. But in my little world it's a big deal to me hehe.

ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Lerman Lover} wrote: "*cough* I think *cough* I'm more of an xmen fan than Danny lol"

Nah, I got ya both trumped.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good background for a love triangle. And I act..."

O_O "Don'tgothereLivDon'tgothereLivDon'tgothereLiv..."

Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good background for a love triangle. And I actually like the..."

Totally, the love at first sight thing gets old after a while.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good background for a love triangle. And I act..."

Really? I've never read Twilight but I've seen the movies. In HG the circumstances are a little more believable I guess, but in Twilight I don't understand her fascination with Edward at all.

And a love pentagon would be fun, whoever mentioned that one lol. I'm currently beta-reading a story that has several people involved in several triangles, and they all make sense. The best thing is that it doesn't seem cheesy at all, more adult and realistic.

I think the key with love triangles is to know when to end them so they don't get old and annoying.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "LivvyLu[loves you!] wrote: "ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Lerman Lover} wrote: "*cough* I think *cough* I'm more of an xmen fan than Danny lol"

Nah, I got ya both trumped."

You're an X-Men fan too?"

I blame my brothers and my dad for getting me into the whole superhero/super villain/comic book thing. But-to answer your question-yes I love the X-men:)

The Mighty Katara wrote: "LivvyLu[loves you!] wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when th..."

*shakes fist*

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I like it when there is good ba..."

LOL ok good ;) My eye was starting to twitch a little at the comparison lol. And I agree with Danny that ending it at the right time is important. Love is such an important part of our human lives that any sort of complication in it can register with most people. Choosing between two people that you love or who love you is therefore a heavy decision for many people.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "LivvyLu[loves you!] wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "LivvyLu[loves you!] wrote: "ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Lerman Lover} wrote: "*cough* I think *cough* I'm more of an xmen fan than Danny lol"

Nah, I got ya bot..."

Understatement of the century. The X-men kick butt, take names, and captivate audiences.

Nicki wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "The Mighty Katara wrote: "Nicki wrote: "I think they are good when they're natural. when the relationship is not googly-eyed and love at first sight. I lik..."

Agreed.

Xmen...meh. Batman is tonnes better! (Although I've only seen one xmen movie, so I might be judging unfaily, but still!)

Batman is ninja and amaizing and the movies are cool and the joker is scary and insane and the SCARECROW and the evil ninja....!!!!!

**Note: the dark knight rises has been excluded from this analysis, because it was a bitter disapointment.

Everything katara said.

Maybe I'll have to borrow a few of them then.

Danny wrote: "I think the key with love triangles is to know when to end them so they don't get old and annoying."

Yeah, that is a good point. And some stories have love triangles in them when really it is just a pointless side plot which messes stuff up.

Why does everyone compare the heroes to the films :p *sigh* it's the comics that make them who they are. Like with Batman you have to read the classic Batman: Knightfall Vol. 1 arc rather than just watch the movies. Or with X-Men read some of say Joss Whedon's recent work like Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon & John Cassaday. But yeah the films are pretty cool. I love the Avengers film lead ups and the film itself, and I love the new Amazing Spiderman (I'll take that over the Batman films anyday) and First Class was excellent.

In regards to love triangles...well they tend to be overdone in YA fiction particularly now. And often not written well because the writers 'dumb down' their writing. But I think if they were to write intelligently they could have mature 'love triangles'. I think you often need a complication in any relationship you write because otherwise you end up with a straightforward fairytale where everything ends up happy ever after.

Taliah wrote: "Xmen...meh. Batman is tonnes better! (Although I've only seen one xmen movie, so I might be judging unfaily, but still!)

Batman is ninja and amaizing and the movies are cool and the joker is scary..."

X-men movie weren't as good as the comics, trust moi. I am an expert.
And Batman is cool too, though I thought the Dark Night Rises was pretty awesome.

The Mighty Katara wrote: "Um yes, I would agree that Batman is cooler, but he isn't the only superhero out there. You don't need to compare him to every other hero that has ever had a movie. And the first X-Men movie was pr..."

Yeah,*points at Katara's post* that's what I meant.

The reason I prefer the Amazing Spiderman film is because it is more true (for me) to the comics. Nolan's Batman films (I haven't seen the last bit yet though) are great yeah, but they're not the films of the comic. They go for a psychological, dark edge (that is drawn from the comics) and try and ignore what makes them appeal to me. The humour, the fun and the light-hearted elements combined with a semi-dark edge. The Amazing Spiderman and The Avengers had that for me. Batman doesn't so much...

Love triangles can be done well, but sooooo often authors use them more as wish fulfillment instead of something that contributes to the story. That is, the love triangle having even a single TINY BIT of any relevance to the overall story. I think it's also one of the main reasons a lot of people hate YA. I don't hate YA, some of my favorite books are YA, but it's hard to pick up a YA book without being beaten over the head with some love triangle/quadrangle/pentangle/etc. Some YA books seem to be popular for no particular reason except a love triangle.

Or--and this is also very common, I've begun to notice--authors will write a book, realize their plot is extremely weak or thin, and then they put in a love triangle as if it suddenly makes it okay to stretch their plot points like that, or to distract the reader from the fact that the plot is so thin. (Catching Fire, Eclipse...)

Like many people, I despise love triangles, and I could possibly refuse to read a book if there's a love triangle in it (though this is quite rare). But fortunately for the sake of humanity, there have been some love triangles that are actually done well.

Jonathan wrote: "The reason I prefer the Amazing Spiderman film is because it is more true (for me) to the comics. Nolan's Batman films (I haven't seen the last bit yet though) are great yeah, but they're not the f..."

But that's the point! It's not like everyday life would be all funny and happy. The Batman movies are trying to show a more...realistic take on what Batman would really be like in real life, you know?

Jocelyn wrote: "Love triangles can be done well, but sooooo often authors use them more as wish fulfillment instead of something that contributes to the story. That is, the love triangle having even a single TINY ..."

Okay, to your Twilight reference I pat you on the back and say I agree. But to your Catching Fire reference...
COME ON! The love triangle in THG was done decently, and it's not like Suzanne Collins' story line was weak or badly written.
I hate seeing all the Twilight haters saying that THG is the new Twilight (even though it's not), and dissing it. Because it's really a funny, realistic-ish, distopian YA trilogy.

Brava Livvy! I feel like I need to rebel and read THG just to fall in love with it all over again after reading all these criticisms.

Livvly {I got the moves like Jagger!} wrote: "Jocelyn wrote: "Love triangles can be done well, but sooooo often authors use them more as wish fulfillment instead of something that contributes to the story. That is, the love triangle having eve..."

Look, it's possible to disagree without being enemies, and the world is not obligated to conform to your opinions.

I dislike both series, but if I had to choose which series, I'd choose Twilight.

I thought the love triangle in Catching Fire was stupid, trite, contrived, forced, and lacking in any chemistry whatsoever, and was put in there to stretch a plot that was way too thin for the page count in the book. I'm not saying you have to think the same, I'm just asking you not to expect others to have the same opinions as you.

I thought Suzanne Collins's storyline was weak and badly written. If you think it's well written and strong, that's an opinion, not a fact. If you want me to elaborate, feel free to ask, just please don't expect me to agree with you 100%, because this world would be a boring place if everyone had the same opinions.

I've always thought HG is the new Twilight, and nothing can change my mind. It's just my opinion.

Jocelyn, we're teasing, you don't have to think the same way. :) you're free to hold your opinion. I will never agree with you, but I'm glad you have your own opinion

ϮAʛʛⅇℛʊℵʛ {Better Dig Two} wrote: "Jocelyn, we're teasing, you don't have to think the same way. :) you're free to hold your opinion. I will never agree with you, but I'm glad you have your own opinion"

You were teasing? Oh, sorry! It's just that I'm not in the best state of mood...I've recently been called an idiot because I don't like HG. I do NOT like having my intelligence questioned based on my personal preferences.

:D

Well neither do I. :) I hate twilight without even having read it (I have better things to do then read about sparkly stalkers, Borderline abusers, lust and occult), so I don't need all those twihards saying I'm an idiot cuz I won't read it.

Livvly {I got the moves like Jagger!} wrote: "Jonathan wrote: "The reason I prefer the Amazing Spiderman film is because it is more true (for me) to the comics. Nolan's Batman films (I haven't seen the last bit yet though) are great yeah, but ..."

Yes, but then that's my problem, it's an illusion anyway. This stuff cannot and wouldn't happen in real life. It's comic book stuff.

Yes First Class is pretty good. I think The Avengers got the balance pretty right though. I mean I like the Batman films but Batman comics preside for me. Also the comics and their films rarely have love triangles :P

Well, it's not like the Batman comics (at least the ones I read) aren't serious and dark.

Yeah if it's not the early Batman comics, which I love reading, they can be QUITE serious and dark. But either works. The Dark Knight Trilogy and the early comics aren't so different that I feel the characters are at odds with themselves, you're simply viewing them from different angles.