Like we talked about last week, love triangles can easily ruin a novel. However, despite everything young adult stories such as Twlight or The Inheritance Games might have led you to believe, love triangles don’t always have to be that way. Some love triangles can move a plot forward, give each character a chance to shine, and overall change your story for the better. Despite their pitfalls, love triangles can bring a new layer of depth to your romances that wouldn’t be there otherwise.
There is a way to write love triangles well. But how can you add them to your story, without being cliche? How can your protagonist keep two romantic interests around without coming off as conceited? How could love triangles possibly elevate your story?
Here to answer that this Valentine’s Day is the Broadway’s musical Anastasia.
Anastasia: The Musical
Anya is an orphaned peasant living on the streets of the Russian city of St. Petersburg just a few years after a revolution that resulted in the execution of the royal family. This government plans to form a new Russia, despite the rumour that Anastasia, the lost princess and true heir to the country, is still alive. The gossip reaches all the way to Paris, where Anastasia’s grandmother took refuge after the revolution, and in response the Empress offers a generous reward for anyone who can safely return her granddaughter. While everyone else is searching for Anastasia, Anya is just searching for a job so she doesn’t starve.
Dmitry is also a homeless peasant who’s gotten through life by being an expert con-man. When he hears the rumors about Anastasia, it gives him an idea for his biggest con yet. If he can hire an actress who’s convincing enough to pass as the lost princess, then he can hand over that actress to the Empress and collect a large reward.
Anya, desperate for any sort of job, comes across Dmitry and his scheme and realizes she has no better option. During her audition, she explains how she came to grow up in an orphanage, how she can’t remember her childhood at all, and how desperately she needs this job. Dmitry is fascinated by her passion and her resemblance to the lost princess, so he decides to hire her.
Together, along with Dmitry’s best friend Vlad, the three of them head to Paris,but not before they are discovered. A soldier named Gleb is sent to arrest Anya for impersonating the princess, but despite his obligations to his country and his high ranking family, Gleb finds himself falling in love with her enchanting beauty. But as he realizes this, he is ordered to hunt Anya down and kill her if she ends up being the real Anastasia.
While Gleb pursues the group to France, Dmitry and Anya bond over their difficult pasts and the shared grief of never having known their family. They form a special bond during their adventures, and the night before Anya gets to meet her ‘Grandmother’ the two confess their love during a dance.
This love triangle provides a lot of conflict for the story and characters. It elevates the musical’s plot without being cringe-y or ruining the character’s image.
Today, we’ll be doing a deep-dive into each of these characters to analyze exactly what made this love triangle so good.
1. Anya: Add More Struggle
Anya has already had a life of difficulty and suffering. She was orphaned around the age of eight, left to fend for herself in the cold city streets of Russia, and she can’t remember anything else about her life. So when a man promises her fame, fortune, and most importantly a place to belong, she happily accepts.
Anya wants to start a relationship with Dmitry, but she knows they can’t be together once her new job starts. When she finds out that Gleb is in love with her, she struggles to push him away without triggering his anger and risk losing his friendship, which might end up being the key to her (and her friends’) survival.
Love triangles are an excellent troupe to add if your protagonist needs more hurdles to overcome. Although the romance isn’t a part of Anya’s main desire and fear, it adds an extra layer of difficulty that stops Anya from reaching her goal, generating more conflict.Sometimes, as is the case in The Inheritance Games, a character seems selfish for flirting with two people at once. Anya, however, already knows which suitor she prefers, and that the other one’s feelings aren’t her fault. This definitely helps her be more lovable. But even if those two things changed, Anya would still be an enjoyable character because the drama is just another piece of pain in her life. Treat your love triangles like a trial, rather than a game, and your story will thank you for it.
2. Dmitry: Add Motivation
Dmitry has never really had time to think about romance; he’s been too busy trying not to starve. However, when Anya walks into his life, everything changes. The only problem is that, as much as he cares for Anya, she’s also set to be the Princess Anastasia. He can’t pull off his con and then ask her out. It has to be one or the other.
When Gleb starts pursuing and even threatening Anya, however, it stirs Dmitry forward. Seeing her in danger forces him to act. Gleb’s feelings for Anya make Dmitry realize how much he truly loves her, and gives him the confidence he needs to initiate the relationship.
When writing love triangles, make sure they have a purpose. They shouldn’t just be thrown into for fun, but rather strategically placed so that it stirs the intended couple to admit their feelings for each other. Love triangles should act as the catalyst to your characters’ relationship.
3. Gleb: Add Internal Conflict
Gleb’s father played a large part in overthrowing the old regime family, and Gleb wants nothing more than to be a part of his family’s legacy…or so he thought. When he starts to fall in love with a street girl trying to pose as the lost princess, he begins questioning everything he ever understood about his identity and values.
Love triangles can also provoke internal conflict for your characters. Gleb struggles with wanting to date Anya, but he also desperately wants to make his family proud. He’s ordered to kill her, but he can’t make himself do it, and that struggle leads him to the brink of insanity. Let a love triangle bring out internal conflict in your characters, make them choose between their want and their need, and suddenly that cheesy troupe will start to feel way more necessary to your story.
If you use love triangles to enhance your novel, let the drama between three people motivate, dishearten, and drive your characters onward. You don’t have to use all three of these tips at once, but even just picking one and applying it to all of the characters involved will do wonders for your previously tactless troupe. Treat love triangles like the powerful tool that they are, and they will take your story to the next level.
Let us know in the comments:
Are you considering including a love triangle in your WIP? Will it do one of these three things, or something else?
Hello, I’m Sophia! I’m a child of God and I (if you couldn’t tell already) love to write! I’m also a total theater kid and strong dessert (specifically cupcake) enthusiast. For as long as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed both reading and making my own stories. I’m so glad I get to share with you what I’ve learned from some of my favorite (or sometimes least favorite) stories on this blog.
So the only way to make a love triangle work is to write it drastically different than how virtually all YA novels do it?
I think what Sophia is saying is that, if you use a love triangle, it should be an integral part of the plot: if you omit it, your plot falls apart, characters don’t develop, etc. I’m sure someone could write the most stereotypical love triangle ever, yet have an amazing story, because the plot was written *around* the triangle. It seems that authors usually have it the other way around. (I’ve never read any of the example stories Mara and Sophia are using, so I can’t say from experience.)
That being said….. deviating from the norm is a great way to make your story stand out. If you come up with a fantastic ‘new love-triangle formula’, USE IT! But, if you want to insure it doesn’t flop, you need to build your plot into it, vs. using the triangle as a decoration, per say.
I hope this helps! Can’t wait to see what Sophia has to say.
Hello fellow commentor! I wasn’t aware there was more than one of us at the time.
Isn’t it great! I know there are plenty of people who read the blog, but almost no one comments…. :’-(
I try to leave one if I have something to say. No comments makes the post feel like a ghost town.
Yes, exactly what Dena was said! The triangle has to be integrated into the plot and characters. This makes your story stronger, and although it’s not common, it is possible to have both a YA novel and a strong love triangle. It is possible for them to co-exist in one story, and, in fact, Mara’s going to show you to incorporate this into your next week! Thanks for asking!