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
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 47: 2016 - The Best Bits
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 46: Winter Festivals - Traditions and Stories in the Dark
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 45: Time and Tide and the Rose-tinted Glasses - Our Fascination with the Past
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 44: Writing Sex Scenes - it's not as Hard as You Think
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 43: Standalones to Series - the pros and cons of one-offs and neverending series
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 41: Let us make Men - From Golems to Androids
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 41: Balancing the Real and the Fantastical - Writing Relatable Epic Fantasy
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 40: Strange, Horrible and Who - the Egotism of Genius
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 39: Saints, Souls and Samhain - the Celtic Day of the Dead
Dissecting Dragons:Episode 38: Monsters and Men - Gothic Classics and the Origin of Horror - A Halloween Special
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 37:Breaking Out the F-jar - Our Favourite Swears in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 36: Horcruxs and Heartbreak - of Books, Souls and Killing your Darlings
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 35: Three Goblins Walk into a Bar - Writing Humour in Speculative Fiction and How to Avoid the Accidental Funny.
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 34: The Unveiled Series Reborn - Books, Judgement, Heaven & Hell, and PTSD
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 33: Not so Charming - Male Stereotypes in Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 32: Escape to the Country - of Editing and Writing Weekends
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 31: The Devil in the Details - Lucifer on Modern Speculative Fiction
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 30: Bucky Barnes to the Winter Soldier - the Evolution of the Side-kick
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 29: The Frankenstein Complex - Why is 'Fan Fiction' such a dirty word?
Dissecting Dragons: Episode 28: Gobblefunk and Glyphs - creating words in Children's Fantasy
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