On writing parents (mentions of parents in your story and a bit about how you write them)

CEWashburn 2024-07-10 18:06:31 UTC #21

Having come from a dysfunctional family with abusive parents, I always wanted to create a family dynamic in which I wanted to be a part of. That, of course, includes loving and supporting parents. There's only one set of parents that I wrote that were toxic and abusive, and that was Mika Torino's in Anywhere. It was important to have that dichotomy between his and Gen's father, who is extremely supportive of his children. Of course, Gen and Kana's mother walked out on them years before and they suffered for it, but having at least one parent who did his best and loves his children unreservedly meant a great deal.

Hero's parents are goals. They love their son, are irritated but love their extremely difficult and (let's face it) bitchy sister, and accept Hawk without question. We don't know anything about Hawk's parents until way later in the story. But suffice it to say, they were the best parents the First Soul could ever hope to have.

Hero is admittedly not the best father, especially when it comes to Toji. It isn't that he hates him, or any of his children for that matter, it's more that he feels like he can't fully relate to him and doesn't understand him. Things change with him later on, but at this point in the story, the word spoilers is in play. Hawk is the "fun" dad but is also firm and sometimes tough on his kids when he needs to be. When it comes to the rest of the parents mentioned in this story, you will never find more loving and supportive parents in the entirety of the Divine Realms. That includes Nox and Charlotte, who you wouldn't expect to be given how imposing and threatening they are. To be fair, they are the Devil King and Queen of the Fifth Realm of Hell and have trained their adopted son, Finn, to be a master executioner, but they love him as their own and would do anything to secure his ultimate happiness.

Windy's parents, especially her mom, can't look past the fact that she's an adult. She suffered a grave injury when she was a teenager, and she's mentally stuck at fifteen forever. This is how they treat her, as a young, impulsive teenager. They love her, but they can't see her as anything more than a child which irritates both her and Harley. When writing them, I wanted to make sure that while they're loving parents with the best intentions, they also are overprotective, but I still wanted them to be relatable and likeable. Harley's parents are very supportive, but they have no real idea as to how to help their grieving, struggling older son. They don't make many appearances, but when they do, you can see that they really do love and care for their kids, grandkids, and treat Windy as one of their own.

All of this to say that, while I didn't have the best parents, and nor am I am one, I wanted to create parents that weren't altogether idealized, but those which could be at the same time relatable and sought for by those of us who wished they were ours.

Leyelle 2024-07-10 19:13:05 UTC #22

i don't think any of the parents in my novels so far are parent ideals but I do have some very loving and supportive parents, though they didn't do it all perfectly. Do you feel that writing the ideal parents was something that came naturally to you as wrote them, cuz I've honestly only been able to do this with a few of my stories where it felt like it made sense.

Rosa ("Damsel in the Red Dress") and Jose Maria were both very loving and supportive, but issues arose in the other arenas. Many of my families are majorly dysfunctional, whether or not the parents love their kids.

This is definitely what i try to do with mine too, whether they are good or bad

CEWashburn 2024-07-11 18:45:31 UTC #23

When it comes to writing parents, my main thought was "don't make them perfect." They're people, too, with their own thoughts, feelings, and personalities. The only difference between them and the MC's is that they have kids, some of which they have a hard time relating to. Even so, it was important that no matter what, love is there, even when it's hard.

Leyelle 2024-08-07 15:48:39 UTC #24

This might be a bit of a spoiler, but parents are super important to the world of "Crystal Blue." (my series debuting this month if all goes as planned) Mora's harbor family is everything she'd like a family to be like, so she struggles to follow the instructions not to get attached to them. They are probably the most "perfect" family I've written so far. they certainly aren't entirely perfect, but they are very loving and supportive of their kid, and harbor child, and try to invest in their emotional well being.

Leyelle 2024-08-26 15:19:03 UTC #25

I'm having a heck of a time trying to write Dominic's mother. She may be one of the hardest characters I've ever had to write tbh, just because I have a hard time getting inside her head and writing the cruel things she says in a way that doesn't sound stupid to me.

CEWashburn 2024-08-27 18:45:48 UTC #26

Ash Turner's father is the local sheriff of the town they live in. He's a good dad, stern but fair. His mom travels a lot of her job so she's not around much. She does love her kids, but she's more the Disneyland Parent; she wants to do all the fun stuff instead of discipline since she's not home very often.

Coby's dad is stern and authoritative. He loves his son but has a very difficult time showing it since emotions aren't something that are shared too frequently in their culture. His mother died shortly after laying the egg he hatched from. His father was a good husband to her, but didn't show much affection; there's a deep history as to why that is, but we won't learn about it until muuuuuuuuuch later in the book.

Leyelle 2024-09-16 16:30:58 UTC #27

Parents are VERY relevant to Crystal Blue. Specifically, the male lead's parents.

It’s pandemonium upstairs.

I can hear Mr. George hurriedly clearing things out of the bathroom closets and dumping them onto the floor as Therese asks in an agitated tone “Where did it go? Did you see where it went?”

I need to get to my room and get my bags. Text Judith to come pick me up, right now…

“Mora?!”

My body becomes so still that I almost stop breathing.

“Come here quickly, ma choupette,” Therese is calling from the top of the stairs and my breathing becomes even quieter as I hesitate, unsure whether I should obey the command or even entertain the idea.

Why…

…Would she tell me to come to the place where they found that snake?

Why would anybody…?

Unless…

Unless this wasn’t a real surprise or an accident to them-

Any normal person would have come running down the stairs the minute they heard the word ‘snake.’

Without thinking, I take a step toward the backdoor, but I know better than to fall for that - to fall that easily.

If the snake has already escaped the house or made his way out of a house he had no need to escape, then his first thought would be to hide in the grass for me.

Quickly, I make my way out of the kitchen and toward the front door.

I can forget about my things - clothes - books - the sanctuary will replace them- nothing is that important-

Nothing that I have left that is. And I can’t run the risk of letting it see and identify me-

I smell her before I see her.

A savor of grass and some kind of wildflower that I haven’t seen or smelled in ages, but along with her, wafting down the stairs comes a…

“Hush, my pet,” Therese is whispering with her hand on my arm and one finger to her lips, just as my fingertips light on the handle to the front door. “Where are we headed in such a shaky hurry, my sweet?”

I hadn’t even realized I was trembling.

Think fast, Mora. Think.

“I thought we should bring in those baskets you had airing out on the grass outside, so the snake doesn’t try to crawl inside them.”

“Mmm, but it’s no good to go walking about through the grass when there is a snake about,” Therese smiles, the corner of her mouth twitching like she wants to laugh as she puts both her hands on my shoulders and leads me gently away from the door and locks it behind me.

MelancholicOtaku 2024-09-18 20:20:16 UTC #28

The parents are more of background characters in my novel but one of the reasons why my Mc Elyn is on her journey is because of them.

Elyn works as a guardian (think soul reaper but a human/ living being who guides souls to the afterlife.) She took the job so one day she can guide her brother’s soul to the afterlife. She also wants to make sure that her parents are at peace knowing their son is in the afterlife.Its been years since Elyn has seen them ,she feels like the disappearance of her brother is her fault .

I haven’t fully introduced to them yet. Honestly can’t wait

Leyelle 2024-10-08 14:28:32 UTC #29

Because of the unique nature of mermaids, Mora's grandmother is also kind of her mother, and she is extremely relevant to the story since chapter one. She taught Mora most of the things that led her to becoming the person that she is today, and is also the reason that Mora is a runner