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Leyelle
Jan '24
1

Am I the only one who notices that siblings don't tend to have a lot of role in fiction unless they are evil, (including the evil/bratty little monster), or the whole cast are heros of some sort and one is a sibling duo?

I mean, I love my siblings to death (have five of them) and so I usually have siblings of some kind in all my series, who the MCs are really close with.

We're going to see more of Alicia and Andrew's dynamic in "Sun with a paper crown" but honestly, even the mentions to him in the first book are all positive. Yes, everyone has a different dynamic with their siblings and we sometimes (or often) fight. But that's the thing, everyone has different dynamic, so why are most siblings:

  1. Hero-worshipping little siblings
  2. Bratty and mean little siblings or jerk older siblings
  3. Off somewhere being evil
  4. The other half of your personality

(And yes, I say this while having at least two siblings who are the other half of my personality (yes two halves) and one I like to joke about having had a semi-psychic link with.)

But seriously, I wanted to write Andrew and Alicia's dynamic as a realistic sibling dynamic, largely based on my personal experience. And older sibling who loves and kind of is 'mommish' of her younger sibling because of sort of having to raise him, and a younger sibling who both loves (and embarrasses) his older sibling, but isn't afraid to show that he loves her.

How do you write siblings in your stories?

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    Jan '24

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    Nov '24
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joannekwan(ง ˙o˙)ว here to help~
Jan '24

I'm an only child, so I base my writing off my observations of my friends/relatives and their siblings.

Siblings play heavily into my novel's sequel that I'm currently releasing. One of the 'antagonists' in the story is an older brother. But he's only jerky because he cares for his younger brother and wants the best life for him. His younger brother has made plenty of mistakes in the past, and being a financially successful family man, the elder feels like he can steer him in the right direction.

The other siblings spotlighted are his children, where there are four of them. They are sort of split in the middle, with the two eldest being closer in age with a wide gap from the youngest two. The elder two often take on the role as secondary parents, particularly the daughter since it's a historical fantasy after all set in the early 1900's.

Rai_Muffin
Jan '24

My lead characters are sisters and I definatly think they fit into the "hero worship" camp.
The younger sister is very shy and introverted, looking up to the older sister as this strong paragon that she aspires to be like, though that dynamic is shifted lately.
As the older sibling to a large family (3 younger siblings) I feel like I have a tendency to write older siblings as protective but also teasing occasionally.

Leyelle
Jan '24

I think I tend to write older siblings as protectors too, especially in a (currently) unreleased suspense, mystery, maybe a little bit scary? Esque series I have, where she has to save her little siblings from the invasion. Other siblings are often secondary parents or almost baby sitters, but willingly, because they are close with they're siblings and they're parents are usually working.

In the case of "Damsel in the Red Dress" (spoilers): it's because their mother was not mentally sound and allowed to care for Alicia and her brother, so Alicia would often come home to find him alone, trying to care for himself, though he was only ten years old.

Leyelle
Jan '24
joannekwan

I wonder how common secondary parents siblings are irl. I've played this role since I was eleven, because when my family switched countries, I often watched my little siblings as the "woman of the house" while my mom was out buying groceries. It has a tendency to make you attached to your siblings, but feel older than you are, and that is definitely a part of Alicia's character

lignorice
Jan '24

Agree. Not much from sibling unless what you've said, or leaning toward cons (which is... kinda unhealthy).

Five is many! I only have one and it's already too much for me. Bet you guys are lively!

I do love to see more sibling stories (or just brotherly/sisterly relationship). Not everything has to be romance anyway :upside_down:

DasIstWunderblyat
Jan '24

Bratty little siblings and jerk older siblings are probably because during childhood (and maybe continued to adulthood) this is what we feel.

One aspect I want to touch in sibling relationship is some inferiority or superiority complex as one of the effect of one parent "favoring" one over another, among other. I am trying to have a range of interactions, from a relationship that is supportive, in-between, to antagonistic. Lastly there are also featured siblings with unclear or no blood bond.

DokiDokiTsuna
Jan '24

Now that you mention it, it IS weird how seldom siblings are utilized in fiction...my guess is because:
1. No shipping potential
2. It means not everyone in the story gets a "unique" origin; which takes a little bit of the fun out of making a new character. ^^;

I'm also guilty of ignoring siblings a lot of the time...many of my MC's do have them, but they're usually supporting characters or background characters. The only time I've given a pair of siblings a starring role in recent years was in LADYBIRD:

And even then, Maeve (older) and Nell have been estranged for years, and have to spend time getting reacquainted. ^^; As far as the plot is concerned, they might as well not be related...it's only really relevant in character interactions, where I can show that they share certain tastes and habits, and that they are especially driven to protect each other, willing to rush into deadly situations without hesitation. I guess that's the fun part about writing close siblings; being able to add little details to show they share a special bond. ^^

king-goldfish
Jan '24

Well, I think at least in medieval-style fantasy stories, the evil sibling trope is something that comes out of the history of upper-class families in many societies, where brothers in particular were often at each others' throats for inheritance rights. That dynamic gets deliberately injected into foundational books of the genre and then trickles down into books influenced by those classics.

I think dynamics like that are really interesting if the siblings also love each other. Loving each other and being consciously in competition with one another is an interesting relationship to mine. In the novel I'm posting now, my MC had two cousins who are really his siblings in all but name, and they love each other but have relationships that grow increasingly strained because their goals are at odds.

But I'm also in the middle of writing a novel about a royal succession where the main character is an adviser to one of a set of brothers all vying for the throne. They are constantly scheming, plotting, and backstabbing, and it's fun as hell tbh.

Irl, I have two siblings I'm very close to, and I would never frame one for embezzlement in order to secure my own inheritance (only partially because the inheritance I would be backstabbing them over is primarily a storage building full of broken furniture my mom erroneously insists are priceless antiques).

XiuLyn_12
Jan '24

My story consists of 3 brothers! 2 brothers as twins and 1 younger brother.

While having a story where one of the siblings turned out to be evil is a good story plot, I portrayed a more realistic dynamic between them. They fight and bicker all the time, but they also help each other when needed. They all have different personalities and ways of coping with their strict parents.
Maybe I picked up from my experience regarding their siblings' dynamic (since I have 2 siblings myself).

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cherrystark
Jan '24

I think they're underutilized in fiction because your characters are meant to be by themselves. When learning about the Heroic Journey, two of the most common pieces of fiction references is Harry Potter and Star Wars. Luke and Harry both start out their stories as orphaned only children who are forced away from their aunt and uncle who raised them. They are both later "rewarded" with families at the end of their stories. You see the same trope repeated a lot in stories - bad home life which forces them to leave home and then are rewarded with a shiny new family at the end of the series.

But aside from trying to pair your characters off and making one big "family" at the end, there really is no need to add siblings. Siblings in American TV are written as plot devices for male characters and are used to humanize female characters. For every other function that a family member could do, that's where another character in your main cast steps in.

In my opinion, the best way to write good characters is to let them exist. In my main series, my MC discovers she has a twin brother, a Luke and Leia type situation. Aside from them both being sensitive to abandonment, their mutual love of technology, and a shared mysterious family history - they're two characters living in the same world.

AmysGames
Jan '24

Hm, while there are a few Niji Chikara characters with siblings, most of them end up being minor characters who don't really have much impact on the plot. It's just not the type of story that really cares much about sibling dynamics, I guess.

I've written all sorts of sibling dynamics in other stories though. Siblings who care deeply for each other, sibling rivalries, long lost siblings... like any other relationship between characters, it can come in all sorts of flavors, and can be lots of fun to explore. Agree with what's been said above though that sometimes it just doesn't really add anything to the story, so sometimes it's just better to let siblings remain as minor characters and/or let everyone be an only child.

KevinReijnders
Jan '24

Despite growing up with 2 brothers, I have never felt the need to give my characters siblings. Generally I think it's because I don't really have a use for them in the story, as cruel as that may sound. The one time I had a sibling dynamic of any kind, was when I was working on a story about a royal/imperial family. Which then off course involved a battle for the throne, so not really a wholesome healthy sibling relationship haha.

I do think that the way me and my brothers interact with eachother has an effect on how I write my character interactions though. I think, for example, how Kyara and Zack jokingly tease each other. The dynamic between Kyara and her Scrapper crew (shown in the short story) is also an example of my own sibling dynamic bleeding into the dialogue.

CarltonIsaac
Jan '24

Try some Enid Blyton books. She always had great sibling dynamics in most of her books.

kalmia
Jan '24

I feel like a lot of the reason a lack of siblings exists in writing is for the same reason a lot of media “kills” off parents or just doesn't even introduce them if the characters do have them. They get in the way of the story unless they play a specific role like you mentioned or the writer just doesn’t have a use for them. Which is strange because both siblings and parental figures are a presence almost everyone has, even if they’re not biological, so I do think this is a pretty interesting recognition.

KevinReijnders
Jan '24
1

I'll admit I'm also very guilty of "killing off the parents" mainly because they otherwise would get in the way of me telling an adventure story feature young adults haha. I do try to make the death/absense of these parent revelant to the characters and their personality. But I do fall into that trope :sweat_smile:

I did ironically feel the need to add a parental structure though in the form of Nan's orphanage.

allisoncandraw
Jan '24

My main characters Bobbie and David are brothers. I try to write them as realistically as possible, considering I have 2 siblings myself :laughing:

David played a huge role in raising Bobbie though, so their dynamic is a mix of siblings and parental. It's interesting to write for sure.

For anyone who wants to check out my comic about these brothers :slight_smile:

https://m.tapas.io/series/signs-point-to-bobbie/info

NickRowler
Jan '24

I grew up with a lot of siblings. I think that is why a lot of my characters have at least one sibling. As well as dynamics like, sister-in-law and adopted sibling. Even in the case with Ken, an only child, there is sort of a brother dynamic with his foster cousin.

I guess the weird thing is that I have little desire to make a character with a lot of siblings, similar to my own family. Tho in an earlier version of Frostpeak West, Ace had like 4 or 5 half-brothers but I ended up changing his backstory. I guess it's easier to keep track of 1 sister. In earlier concepts, Ken was Ace's younger brother.

Leyelle
Jan '24
1

I honestly have very few stories where there isn't at least one relevant character with a sibling that has at least a little bit of bearing on the plot. I guess it's just a difference between writers, as everyone's experiences affect how they write and imagine worlds. My siblings are my best friends, so I guess it comes through with how I write family dynamics. Even if parents are conveniently absent for the sake of the plot, there is usually at least one sibling. My record is currently six siblings (five brothers and a sister)

Leyelle
Jan '24
DokiDokiTsuna

Siblings can have unique back stories to each other though. Even when they are raised together, they'll have different experiences in school, struggles, xyz.