Be warned: This Episode contains spoilers for both Sarah J, Maas' A Court of Thorns and Roses series (especially A Court of Frost and Starlight). If you don't wish to be spoilified, it may be best to skip this one.
The dragons have discussed the spec fic romantic subplot before. And the shipping of two characters. Let's face it we all want our ships to sail, don't we? But what if two characters getting together romantically is the absolute worst thing that could happen to a series? Narratives are driven by conflict. If you hope to write a six book series but the two MCs get together in book three, that conflict needs to come from somewhere else - and it had better have been set up in book two as a subplot! This week Jules and Madeleine look at favourite sff 'power couples' and where it worked for them to get together as opposed to where it spelled 'death' for the franchise. (There is some overly salty language from Jules here on the latest S.J. Maas novella so gird your loins.) Drawing from their own experience as writers, the dragons discuss how you can eat your cake and have it when it comes to resolving a romantic subplot, as well as the importance of retiring tier one characters to second or third tier in a series when it's time.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Episode 255: The Trials and Triumphs of 2020
Episode 254: Blood on the Snow - The Darker Christmas Stories
Episode 253: The Good Neighbours - Festive Faeries and Winter Elves
Episode 252: Why is There Never a Happy Ending? - and Other Questions Writers Get Asked
Episode 251 To Queer or not to Queer - Including LGBTQ+ Characters in Speculative Fiction
Episode 250: The Usual Suspects - Cast Calling for your Novel
Episode 249 - The Goddess' Chariot - Myths and Folktales of the Moon
Episode 248: All the Feels - Emotion and Characterisation in Speculative Fiction
Episode 247: Sweet, Awkward and Tongue-tied - The Unromantic Hero in Speculative Fiction
Episode 246 - Casting Long Shadows - How Horror Influences Other Genres
Episode 245: Old Gods & Ancient Stones - What Folk Horror has to say to a Modern Audience
Ep 244 - Of Fates and Phantoms - The Anatomy of the Ghost Story
Episode 243: The Mother of Science Fiction - The Life of Mary Shelley
Episode 242 - Chairs, Dolls & Diamonds - Cursed Objects in Fact and Fiction
Episode 241 - Vampires, Incubae and Goblin Kings - The Daemon Lover in Myth and Speculative Fiction
Episode 240: Paging Dr Love - What the Romance Genre can Teach Us about Writing
Episode 239: Unpopular Opinion Time (part 2) - The Dragon's Hot Takes on Speculative Issues
Episode 238: Unpopular Opinion Time (part 1) - The Dragons' Hot Takes on Speculative Issues
Episode 237: Sowing Prejudice - Accuracy and Research in Writing
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 236: News from the Word Mines - What No-one tells Newbies about Writing and Publishing
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