Historical Fiction and Feminism | Olivia J

"No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story," Gary Vaynerchuk

I just can't hop off the literary analysis train, can I? 

Disclaimer: I am not an authority figure on the history of feminism. I also don't read or write all that much historical fiction, at least not at the frequency at which I write contemporary or survival fiction. Hence, this is not comprehensive or set in stone by any means. These are just my thoughts, here to get you thinking. 

Historical fiction is too feminist. 

Let me explain. 

I've been in a reading slump for the past two weeks, so I've been rereading some of my favorite books that are way overdue for a reread, and this includes the Vengeance Road duology by Erin Bowman. (Read my review for Vengeance Road and Retribution Rails at the respective hyperlinks.)

However, I'd like to re-explore the gripe I had with both of these books, concerning the feminist prose and undertones.  I also had this gripe with These Shallow Graves, among other historical fiction works that take place before the first wave of feminism. 

For Vengeance Road, the focus is less on feminism explicitly, but many of the thoughts and quips of Kate, the main character, reflect a modern egalitarian mindset. She comments regularly on the problematic state of women in the West, and how others perceive her. While there's nothing inherently wrong with this commentary, it feels too self-aware - and at times, unneeded - for the context of both the story and the character. 

For Retribution Rails, Charlotte, the book's main female character, is an outspoken feminist. This works slightly better in the context of the character, since Charlotte is an educated, wealthier girl, and her choice of career faces a lot of sexist backlash. However, it all still feels out of place. 

Why? 

Because feminism existed differently back then. It was viewed differently then, and feminism isn't even viewed the same as it was ten years ago. The author tries to put on this lens of twenty-first century morals onto a story that took place over one hundred years ago. This disconnect jolts the reader out of the story, and dates the writing significantly. 

The thing is, is that now we can look back on history and say that "yeah, that was wrong," and "yeah, that was oppressive," but these characters set in the past don't have the cultural context we have now. Many of them probably didn't have a problem with the way their society worked, but still made the best of what they had and who they were in the context of their culture. 

Another problem is that, back then, feminism was a beyond radical idea. Not many people - even women - supported it. Sure, people have believed in feminism since the beginning of time, but only recently has it become a mainstream thing.  But having all of these main female characters ALL be these radical feminists feels unrealistic, especially considering the time period. Surely, not all women felt the same way, as women don't feel the same way even today. Often, the women who don't challenge the social order or make these feminist comments are painted as weak, which is a whole other problematic can of worms . . . 

Going back to my point, it doesn't feel realistic for all of these young female characters in historical fiction to be radical underground feminists. Sure, the late-1800s was when feminism was gaining leverage, but by saturating every single historical fiction story with an overtly feminist character paints an unrealistic picture of how most women believed and behaved. 

Granted, I understand why both the authors wrote these themes and specific lines in, and the publishers kept them in. They kept them in because we live in a feminist era, and the target audience for these books are young people, who are more feminist than ever. By weaving in some nice feminist propaganda into modern historical fiction stories, it allows for easy digestion of the actual state of women in said era. It misrepresents the good - and bad -  of these time periods. 

Which, now that I think about it, is kind of worse than just leaving the issue alone. 

I'm not saying that feminist females in historical fiction are bad, or should be erased. What I am saying is that the over-saturation of feminism in historical fiction is actually very unrealistic. Not every historical fiction story with a female main character has to tackle feminist content. 

What is your take on feminism in historical fiction? Do you believe it has been too modernized in the context of historical fiction? What is the place of examining social issues in historical fiction? Can a female character in historical fiction still be a strong character without being an overt feminist? 

(The answer to that last question is a resounding 'yes', by the way.)

As edgy and controversial as always, 

~The WordShaker

Forsaken by Brittney Kristina | BOOK REVIEW by Olivia J

"As a writer, you try to listen to what others are saying . . . and then write about the silence," - N. R. Hart

Long time, no see! I haven't done solely a book review in a while, mostly because I haven't had all that much to say about the books I've read lately. But this week's post features a fellow teen author, Brittney Kristina. 

follow her on Instagram @brittneykristinabooks

As with most of the books I read, Forsaken falls into the middle ground of some negatives and some positives. 

The Negatives

1. The Writing

Albeit not bad, Kristina's writing is lackluster. The sentence structure has little variation, and the style reflects an 'and then' pattern. While this doesn't indicate a poor writer, I prefer the medium in which the story is being presented to me to be poignant, effective, and descriptive. Kristina also relies on adverbs a lot, which clutters the prose. 

My other problem with the writing is that it fails to invoke emotion from the reader. Because of the aforementioned pitfalls in the writing, the moments that should be heartbreaking and tender fall flat, and the moments fueled with anger come off as irrational. 

2. The Length

This is a big one. Forsaken, reading at 266 pages, feels more like a third draft than a finished novel. This is because of several factors. 

The first is underdeveloped characters. Skylar Vail, although a fine character herself, falls prey to crying all the time. Although sure, these are times worthy of tears, but crying should be used tactfully because it can easily turn an emotional character into a crybaby. Tristan serves not much more purpose than to be eye-candy, which Skylar frequently reminds us of. 

The supporting cast, primarily the characters in the mental hospital, are outlines of characters. I frequently forgot who they all were and what their defining character trait was. The only character who mattered all that much to the story was Annabeth (a.k.a. Onyx). 

With more refinement, Skylar could reach Katniss Everdeen levels of awesome. With more time, Tristan could become a deeply complex, broken character. With more time, all of the supporting characters could become snippets of three-dimensional people. 

Some of my favorite characters were Mrs. Carter, Andria, and Onyx. Mrs. Carter seemed the most complex, and I enjoyed her relationship with Skylar. Andria and Skylar did have an interesting relationship, and Onyx was a badass, even though she softened to Skylar way too quickly.  

The second is the development of themes.

There are almost infinite ways to develop a theme in a story, through a character's actions, development, and change in a story, through symbols, contrasting values, parallels, allegories - the list goes on. 

However, Kristina only uses one or two of these tactics to develop her themes of love, brokenness, and healing. Occasionally, she'll use a situation or a setting to develop the theme, but more commonly, it's explained through two characters talking, or Skylar musing to herself. 

The problem with relying heavily on dialogue-driven themes is that they quickly become contrived and heavy-handed. Instead of letting the audience figure out the theme based on situations, character arcs, comparisons, and symbols, Kristina ops for just having a character say it, which is obviously less effective if you want the theme and message to truly stick with the reader.

Conclusively, 100 more pages of development of characters, setting, and themes would make Forsaken a much more complex and interesting read.

3. The Setting

Mild spoilers ahead. The 'dream' plot is set in a fantasy world where it seems that Skylar and Tristan are the only two people in said world. The message is that Skylar and Tristan are broken, but different and that love is powerful and multi-dimensional (literally). 

However, when you work in a setting like this, where everything means something, the author should make it clear that everything mentioned is important. When presenting fantasy elements like telepathic animals, pale zombies, and a Romanesque society, all of these should add up to reflect something in our world. Some elements were made clear, such as the whale scene, which was most likely an allusion to the Biblical story of Jonah, however, others that were left unexplained and ignored made the world seem underdeveloped and less fleshed-out. 

To combat, a retort to what I've just said would be the common 'maybe you just didn't understand the themes'. And hey, maybe I didn't. Maybe they went right over my head. But to that I say: it shouldn't take someone with a doctorate in English Language Literature to understand the importance of your setting.


And, because I like to end on a positive note:

The Positives

1. The Structure

The unique structure of this book is truly what sells this story. It's told through flashbacks that don't really feel like flashbacks, and they're actually quite effective in explaining the narrative and the characters. The time in the 'dream world' is almost evenly split with time in the mental hospital as well as real-world flashbacks, and this creates a balanced feel to the story. It's something new and creative, and I commend Kristina for this structure.

The structure also adds to the suspense and the mystery woven throughout. The cliffhangers and endings left me racing through the next chapters and add to the atmosphere of the novel. I could see this being a TV show, and I'd like to see more stories with unique structures like Forsaken. 

2. Enjoyment

Despite all of the things I've complained about in this review, I did enjoy reading this book. The twists, the betrayals, and the cliffhangers were impactful and flowed well. Forsaken was never predictable, and it kept me hooked. I genuinely did want to finish this book, and I dedicated a lot of the last 3 days reading Forsaken. 

In literature's most elementary state, its purpose is to entertain. And that's something this novel did very well.

3. That Strange, Self-Published Charm

This one's a bit harder to explain, but I've found it throughout all self-published books I've read. It's this passionate, home-grown charm.

Think of it like this: When buying an apple from the grocery store. It's firm, symmetrical, and a glossy red. Sweet and predictable. Tastes like an apple, sure. 

Let's say you pick an apple from a local orchard. It's textured, has stripes of yellow, red, and green, and a little misshapen. But it's an apple. And it tastes tart and earthy, like the tree was pruned with love and the soil was nurtured. 

Both in the aforementioned fruits are apples, but one is engineered for perfection and polished bare. The other is flawed and imperfect but full of flavor. 

It's like this with books published by major publishing houses, and self- or indie-published books. Albeit not bad, books from major publishing houses are written, edited, and marketed to fit the publishing industry's mold, sometimes at the cost of genuine and creative innovation. 

However, self- and indie-published books are outside of the market, and they have the ability to be imperfect but also to be avant-garde and filled with passion. Forsaken has this quality to it, and all self-published books with this feel are a breath of fresh air to the literary world. 



Overall, there is a fantastic book buried within Brittney Kristina's Forsaken. However, 100 more pages of development would refine this story into something phenomenal. 

6.5/10 would recommend.

~

Man, I forgot how much I love writing book reviews. I should do this more often. 

~The WordShaker

A List of Doubts for Future Me

"The pain taught me how to write, and the writing taught me how to heal," -Harman Kaur

I had massive doubts concerning A Cactus In the Valley, but look where we are now? But I didn't write them down, mostly because I probably didn't give them the time of day or didn't want to verbalize them.

But now that I'm struggling through a new novel - and messing with the slog of scholarship applications and college stuff, I wish I had written down those times I felt awful, doubtful, useless. 

So, for future Olivia. Either when I'm looking back with rose colored glasses, or writing a new novel or pursuing a career and wish to find solace in knowing that these were just feelings, and that they've all passed I've done it before, so I can do it again. 

So. For future me, yeah. 

And totally not because I'm feeling like a shitty writer at the moment. 

~

1. My characters will always be underdeveloped, my writing always floundering, my plot always incomplete. 

That my characters will never become as alive as Terra or Wyatt, or as any of my other characters from any of my other stories. That what I'm aiming for in my writing will never stick. It seems to be such a monstrous, insurmountable task that I'll never complete. 

3. My story will never be good enough for my standards, much less for anyone else to read. 

No matter how much I work on it, it will never be perfect. And I'll never be happy with it. Which breaks my heart, because I have such a deep love for my other stories, but I have yet to fall deeply, endlessly, ferociously in love with this story. And I want to be so in love with this story, but I'm not yet. 

4. This isn't the novel I should be writing. 

I'm scared that I should be working on other projects, namely a few novellas and a trilogy that I had cooked up. I'm scared that the story itself isn't ready yet, that it's too underdeveloped for me to jump right in. 

5. My story will never stick. 

I'm so worried that no matter what, I'll never be able to work on my story to a place where I believe the story, to where I feel the story. To where it makes me laugh and cry. To where the characters jump off the page and I can't bear to do anything else. Where I'm never uninspired. 

6. I'm not actually a good writer - just good compared to the people around me.

This is a big one. Because what if I get to SCAD and find that, amongst the great, I'm only okay. What if I'm not scholarship worthy? What if I'm not bestseller good? I guess I've put all my eggs in one basket. 

~

All in all, a part of me knows that these doubts will subside and that I will come to accept and love my story, and to push through and finish. 

But right now, I just have to write and write and self-loathe and pray that everything will be ironed out. 

The only reason I know this is because that's what happened with My Life, Your Life, and Other Dumb Things, and A Cactus In The Valley.

I just wish I had written it down. 

~The WordShaker

NEW VIDEO: All About My Novel | #OliviaJisPublished

"Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself."

Haven't made one of these videos in a while . . . mostly because I'm pretty bad at them, and my editing software went kaput on me. 

But the video I made is all about my novel, obviously. It's a take on my original blog post I made about it here. 

This is the updated version with some more info about my novel.

Ideally, there wouldn't be a massive WeVideo watermark, but, like I said, I was using Windows MovieMaker, and that had worked just fine for my last two videos. But once I realized it was discontinued, I had to come up with something else. 

So the free version of WeVideo is all that I got. 

All About My Novel |#OliviaJisPublished

follow me on Instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker

Get ready for an onslaught of #OliviaJisPublished posts. September isn't that far away, people. 

~The WordShaker

Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman | ARC Review

"Write every day, just to get in the habit, and know that whatever you have written is neither good nor as bad as you think," -Jane Smiley

If you're a frequent reader of my blog, you know how much I raved about Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman. When I heard how she was writing a companion novel, titled Retribution Rails, I lost it. I preordered it and set the release date in my calendar nine months in advance. 

On her newsletter, I found out that I could have the chance to receive an ARC, in physical or e-galley form - and I did! I jumped on the chance to read this book. I absolutely devoured it - YA Western might be a genre I need to get my feet wet in now. 

follow me on instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker

As per usual, we'll begin with the drawbacks. 

The Bad

1. Pacing

This is mostly attributed to how it lagged in the middle. The end and beginning were strong, action-packed, and poignant. When Reece, Charlotte, and Kate arrived at the homestead in the mountains is when the pace and even the passage of time itself in the novel came to a screeching halt. While there was some good character conflict there, there was too long of a break between action scenes in the middle. However, I adored seeing Kate and Jesse again. 

The Neutral

1. Charlotte's Conflict

While I flipped back and forth between whether I liked Charlotte or not, she made her own conflict seem petty at times. The resolution to her conflict, while it made sense, I didn't much like it. It came a bit too early and was astoundingly abrupt. 

2. Hints at Romance

While this didn't come up until about halfway through the book, I still didn't like it. The problem was, was that I saw their dynamic and wanted them to kind of 'pride & prejudice' it out, which they did. However, I never shipped them or saw them as a good couple. I wanted them to become good friends and be able to depend on each other. This would have better fit their established relationship dynamic. 

The Good

1. Character Arcs

As always, Erin Bowman is phenomenal at writing character arcs. Reece's redemption arc was sympathetic and emotional and perfect, and even Charlotte's arc evolved naturally and came to a satisfying conclusion. It was great to look back and see how much they had changed over the course of the story. I'm such a sucker for good character arcs and development, and this took front and center stage, for a good reason. The conversations that developed the character conflicts were stellar. It really does make these stories stand out, especially in a world where there isn't much character development or it doesn't take center stage. 

2. Voices

Another amazing thing about Erin's stories is how quickly she developed Reece's and Charlotte's voices. From their slang, sentence structure, and vocabulary, she is able to build characters within a few words and let us jump inside their head. I never forgot who was talking, and with multiple POVs, that can be a problem. As someone who loves to write in multiple POVs, hats off!

3. The End

The climax was perfectly paced and perfectly timed, unlike Vengeance Road. It was heart-pounding and poetic and action-packed. The train scene was phenomenal and intense. Reece killing Rose was emotional and flawless. The denouement was bittersweet and amazing as we watched the characters move on. Just, the whole ending section was flawless. Just flawless. 

~

I can't say whether I like Retribution Rails better than Vengeance Road. But for now, they rank as equals. Erin Bowman, keep writing Westerns, because I'll keep devouring them!

8.75/10 would recommend. 

~The WordShaker

Fanfiction's Purpose in the Writing World

"Every writer I know has trouble writing," -Joseph Heller

I've been a writer for fourteen years.

While this specific title wasn't self-proclaimed until about six years ago, and while I haven't made a single cent on my passion, fourteen years to my name is impressive for the blossoming age of seventeen, not to toot my own horn or anything.

Like any human trying anything new, we imitate. As developing children, we learn to speak and walk by watching our parents - we imitate.

This is why fan-fiction is essential for new writers.

Fan-fiction, for all you noobs out there, is fiction written by fans of a particular original work.  Examples being: a fan writing an alternate ending to The Hunger Games series, about a character's untold backstory on Lost, about what happened to Hazel Grace after Gus died and she read his letter - it can be anything, as long as it's related to a fandom.  However, fan-fiction has a notorious reputation on the internet for being extremely and inappropriately sexual, and for having poor grammar and atrocious writing.

Like any young child, I spent a good portion of my free time coloring and drawing pictures.  Except I would create a series of pictures, and characters and plotlines to go along with it.  And even before I was able to pick up a pencil and scratch out any words myself, I was creating stories.  So I would tell my mom what each picture meant and what was happening, and she would write them down and then staple them together.  To this day, they sit in my basement in a huge Tupperware tub - that's how much I wrote.

And my most notable works was a three-part retelling of Cinderella where she was a princess and a secret agent who lived under the stairs of her evil step-family's house with her cat. My most favorite, however, was 'The Incredibles Meet Shark-Boy and Lava-Girl"  where these two bands of supers teamed up to fight the Omnidroid 11.

I kid you not.

Later, however, I began to develop my own stories with my own plot and characters - and while these were loosely based on my childhood obsessions and almost every character had a real life counterpart, fan-fiction was a good part of my writing journey.

This is why I am for writers writing fan-fiction - as long as this is not their only avenue. Admittedly, I still dabble in fan-fiction if I'm in between ideas, my original story isn't doing much for me, or if I just want to get back into the mood of writing.

And even for experienced writers, fan-fiction is good to exercise the writing muscle - to try new things, to perfect a skill, or to just keep you in shape in between projects.

While I would personally hesitate telling people that you're a writer if all you write is fan-fiction, fan-fiction can be constructive to any writer. It's important to remember that  fan-fiction has it's place - and this place is for personal enjoyment and exercising the writing muscle.

Write carefully, fanpeople.

~The WordShaker

The Small Things ~ A Character Study

"Find what causes a commotion in your heart. Find a way to write about that," -Richard Ford

In the novel I'm currently working on, Amelia gives a list to Roman for him to read whenever he feels down. It ends up being the framework for what they do to make someone in the group feel better. 

~

a list of good things 

by Amelia

-music. the windows down, blasting kind

-the taste of chocolate when that's all you're craving

-the night sky, when it's darkest out and you can see all the stars

-being there for someone

-fall leaves and their colors

-hot tea, a good book, and the sounds of rain

-local cafes with gourmet sandwiches

-the laughter of someone you love

-fairy lights

-the one thing that makes you want to be alive and on this earth

-this list

follow me on instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker

Amelia loved the stars, the sea, the open road, and summer heat, windows down, wind-in-your-hair rock music. 

Amelia hated small talk, the crushing brightness of winter afternoons, and most people, some of the time. 

Roman loved the ebb and flow of classical music, and the way that it fell like rain from his fingers. 

Roman hated walls, abandoned playgrounds at night, and himself.

Bailey loved the cold of a lake and the laughter that seemed infectious as it passed through others. 

Bailey hated upturned noses, dirty snow, and the way her brain would swirl like milk and betray her. 

Elliot loved the way his favorite musical could always make him cry, and how Bailey would never make fun of him for it. 

Elliot hated the snickers of mocking laughter, actual Snickers, and the man he called his father. 

Alice loved the sand under her fingernails, the nervous sweat of a crush, and all things involving Coca-Cola. 

Alice hated the grip of uselessness, skinned knees, and her feelings. 

Nick loved the electric thrill of leather and dirt, and her. He loved her. 

Nick hated the sighs of unenthusiasm, candid photos, and anyone remotely like him. 

Together, they were a collection of oddities, an antique shop from the future, but never the summation of their broken parts. Like a puzzle piece, like flowers growing through cracks, they found a place. 

That place wasn't perfect - it was just as wrought and bent as they were - but it was a good place. A safe place, like a little handmade, painted vase in a world of mass-produced pots. 

~

So. I guess that's a bit of a sneak peek of my novel. I've been working on it a lot more lately, and hell, it feels good to be getting elbow deep in creating again. 

~The WordShaker

To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han | Book Review

"The secret of if all is to write in the throb, the gush, the flood of the moment. To put things down without deliberation, without worrying about their style, without waiting for a fit time or place," -Walt Whitman 

One thing I love about my school's book club is that it pushes me to read books I never would have before. 

Like To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. 

follow me on instagram @olivia.j.the.wordshaker 

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I started this book, but as it progressed, I found myself liking it more and more. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. As usual, it's not perfect, and I have some minor gripes, but this didn't take away from my experience of enjoying the story. 

As usual, we'll start with . . . 

The Negatives

1. Kitty's Betrayal

While I understand why this happened, that doesn't mean I like it. Throughout the novel, I adored Kitty. I have a younger sibling, and I adored Kitty - she was funny and entertaining and had a realistic complexity even though she was so young. Although I understand why it happened, it seemed a little predictable and seemed to undermine Kitty's character at some points. 

2. Lara Jean's Irrational Behavior During the Climax

This book tripped over a hurdle commonly known as misunderstandings. I hate this so much most likely because I'm a pretty confrontational person. If she and Peter had just talked about what happened, surely they could have worked it out, because Lara Jean knew he was different, that he wasn't like that. We're shown this because rarely do we see Peter ever do anything really douchey, despite what the other characters say. All of this could have been avoided if Lara Jean had just been honest with Peter and herself, which she rarely was. While this points out something interesting about Lara Jean as a character, it's still frustrating to the reader, which is rarely the reaction you want to garner. 


The Positives

1. Perfect Portrayal of Teenage Relationships

The confusion, the angst, the strangely new feelings - all aspects of a high school, teenage relationship was perfectly captured here, and it pulled me into the story. The nuances and description of feelings were so spot-on that I couldn't help but be drawn into the story. 

2. Relationship Dynamics

The relationship dynamics, especially between Lara Jean and her family, was so powerful and was a strong foundation of the novel. Snippets of backstory were cleverly revealed and added to the character's development and personality. This gave the characters a deeper sense of reality and connection. The Song sisters had a beautiful relationship with each other, and their emotional moments hit deep. 

3. Smart Storytelling

Things that were set up chapters ago would be resolved, and it was so satisfying seeing these come to fruition. Jenny Han has a way of weaving conflict and resolution into just a few chapters, but also keeping with the overarching plotline. The relationships all built upon each other as the story progressed, and it was great seeing that in the story. It was amazing watching Lara Jean become more independent from Margot, which was one of the subplots. This was built up and executed perfectly.

4. Overall Enjoyableness

This is a pretty general one, but this book did what it promised: entertain me. I devoured this book. Previously, I had been in a reading slump - thanks, Life As We Knew It - but this book pulled me right out of it. I was never bored; I laughed and I cried and I enjoyed every moment of reading this. Time well spent. 

Overall, this was a solid YA contemporary romance. I've already ordered the second book on Amazon. 

8/10 would recommend. 

~The WordShaker

Crazy Stupid (Problematic) Teenage Love | Olivia J

"Never annoy an inspirational author or you will become the poison in her pen and the villain in every one of her books," -Shannon L. Alder

Happy Belated Valentine's day post, I guess? Except I despise Valentine's Day, even when I had a significant other. Beside the point. 

~

As a crazy, stupid teenager, I consume a lot of stories with crazy stupid teenage love. 

Like the name implies, a slew of teenage love stories are, dare I say, problematic. They're only problematic because of the negative effects they have on our ideas of love, and, more importantly, teenage relationships. 

Unfortunately, this was inspired by the trailer to Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon. Granted, I have yet to read or watch this story. However, while I was watching the trailer, I was struck with this repulsive sense of familiarity. This predictability that infects YA romances. While the genre has become more creative over the years, moving from basic rom-com setups to having more inventive premises and spins, a few things still permeate the genre, as well as how it's worked into stories as a subplot. 

Hence, this is me bitching about YA romances.

~ 

1. Love Triangles

Let's get this one out of the way. The most obvious and terrible trope of 'crazy stupid teenage love' is love triangles. Two people are madly in love with one person - or find them just super hot. 

-Why It's Problematic

Very rarely do love triangles like the ones seen in YA fiction develop in real life. Surely, two people can like one person, but most of the time, the person caught in the middle is not so indecisive. If they are, it's a general rule that people dislike to be strung along like the way they are in YA fiction, so one base of the love triangle will drop off. They realize that the pursuit is useless. 

Love triangles are only used to create drama, and to appeal to everyone's  - especially girls' - desire to be desired, and this becomes wish-fulfillment. Don't use them, unless you put a unique spin on them, because most readers can see a bad love triangle forming from a mile away. 

-How We Can Change It

Observe how 'love triangles' form in real life. See their nuances, and how un-dramatic they really are. Stay away from the stereotypes. Realize that there are very few times that you should employ a love triangle.


2. Misunderstandings

You know how it goes. Information gets omitted, people read into meaningless things, and suddenly, the girl thinks he cheated, or some variation thereof. 

-Why It's Problematic

It's extraordinarily frustrating for the readers, because they know the whole story, most of the time, or they realize how ridiculous the reactions and emotions of the characters. This portrays that misunderstandings are an integral part of relationships, and that they always must be this dramatic. That every little glance means he's cheating. That every little comment means she doesn't like him anymore. It portrays a hyper-dramatic, unhealthy relationship that only breeds fighting.  

-How We Can Change It

Realize that misunderstandings do happen in relationships, but never make them the central conflict. When they arise and are resolved, make sure your characters learn from the. Never use it as a way to create unnecessary drama. 


3. Lack of Emotional Connection

This is when no reason is given why these characters are able to connect. What are their shared experiences? Common interests? All too often, the author never gives the reader a clear reason on why these characters are connected emotionally and mentally. All we're given is that "they make me feel all fluttery inside" BS. 

-Why It's Problematic

Not establishing a strong emotional connection between characters gives the idea that romantic relationships are only based on good feelings and attractive people. This is so unrealistic, because if we only gravitated towards friends because they made us feel good, then we'd leave them if and when that feeling subsided. Relationships - any relationships - are based on emotional and mental connections. What differentiates platonic from emotional is the phsyical attraction factor, which should not be the defining factor in a relationship. 

-How We Can Change It

There's no real other way to change this than to create a way that your romantic interests have an emotional connection. Think about why you connected so well with your friends or past or current significant others. Was it because you have the same morals, or sense of humor? Make sure there's an emotional and mental connection at the same time, if not before, a physical one. 


4. The Manic Pixie Dream Character (MPDC)

Definitely the most critizied of tropes along with love triangles, the Manic Pixie Dream Character serves to only further the main character's emotional journey. I've already written a whole post dedicated on how to avoid this trope - check it out here!

But alas, I'll go over the basics here. 

-Why It's Problematic

This sets up the idea that there is this perfect person out there who is just waiting to fix us. That another person can cure all of our problems, and show us all there is to life. And surely, people can teach us lessons. But the problem happens where the MPDC devolves into a plot device, and become two dimensional. 

-How We Can Change It

Give the character a goal in the story that doesn't concern helping the protagonist. More on that in my previous blogpost, Writing People Not Plot Devices. 


5. The Magnum Opus

This is a Latin phrase meaning 'greatest work', as in reference to an artist's most successful accomplishment. But in this context, it means - or rather, I want it to mean - is that "this high school romance is the best it's ever going to get and I'm so in love that nothing could tear us apart so dramatic much sappy". In other words, that the romance that these teenagers are experiencing is so world-shifting and heart-wrenching that it could never get any better and that it will last forever and ever. Right. 

-Why It's Problematic

You're seventeen. How likely is it that this cute boy from your math class is your soulmate? Yet again, this portrays the idea to teenagers that high school romances are so important and detrimental. Acting so dramatically about relationships at such a young age exposes the heart, which isn't always a good thing, because people sure do love to step all over hearts, and crush them. They make good doormats. 

-How We Can Change It

Don't make everything so serious. The characters are young, probably in high school, and, realistically, immature, relatively speaking. Realize that a lot of what teenagers focus on in relationships are feelings, despite whether this is a good thing or not. 

And most importantly, if you take all of the above advice and culminate it in your story, you can probably avoid the "Magnum Opus" trope all together. 

~

Surely, not all of these apply to every YA romance on the market, but a good handful of them do. Hopefully, we can eliminate these annoying stereotypes - which are mostly wish-fulfillment - and write real romances. 

~The WordShaker