Last Week’s Discussion:
Love Triangles
In honor of Valentine’s Day, I decided to have a love/romance-themed discussion and why not one of the most cliche: love triangles. I, personally, hate love triangles for a variety of reasons. I also think they’ve become obsolete and need to be removed from the market for as long as it takes writers to figure out how to write a good love triangle. But that’s just me. Let’s see what the discussioners have to say!
Brian said:
“This is one of those things that when I read a book it can pull me right out of it. I understand that these books aren’t written for my demographic AT ALL, but it still feels forced more than it doesn’t. And honestly, it’s so cliche it hurts.”
Raven said:
“I like triangles only if they are well executed and doesn’t take a major part of the story.”
Tanja said:
“They add spice to a story, but are not a prerequisite for a good plot, and can definitely be overdone.”
JR said:
“Why cant they ever just form a triad and all live happily ever after?”
Rae said:
“The worst is during a dystopia where the main character is trying to save the world or has someone trying to kill them. Please tell me where you have time to care about this while you are literally fighting for your life. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Deanna said:
“I agree so much! Love Triangles are so [unnecessary. …] But especially in YA it’s an unrealistic depiction of love, and I think that many times it perhaps unintentionally shows that a girl isn’t whole without a male love interest. “
Myzania said:
“On the Peeta-Katniss-Gale triangle, I read a really good article a while ago pointing out how we should all be “Team Katniss”, as that’s really the actual aim of the series. Triangles are so over-done. Occasionally they work if they’re not the focus of the story and if it’s handled well. But most of the time, bleurgh!”
Well, it would seem that I’m not alone in my detestation of love triangles. Quite a few readers feel the same. Some, though, think love triangles can still work when executed correctly, but how many love triangles have you seen that have been appropriately done? I can only name one. 
Check out this week’s discussion on Thursday at 10am EST:
Altered History Historical Fiction
Melanie Noell Bernard 
I agree, sometimes the hierarchy of needs would dictate that we find food and shelter before worrying about love and fulfillment.
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Sometimes? The only logical reason behind giving love/lust/romance precedence over other instinctual requirements would be if you’re about to die and there’s no way out of it. Otherwise, this particular animal instinct should never have this much control over actions and thoughts.
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Agreed, but in many stories they ignore all that and the bad guys pause so the love birds can dally.
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That, unfortunately, is not just in literature. I was just watching a movie where that happened and I was just like: “What are you idiots waiting for?!” Ugh.
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It’s irritating, and lazy writing. Stinks, but you’re right.
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Nice topic coming up! That should be interesting
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