Putting the "fun" in disfunctional
Dec 22, 2023 5:35 pm
Why Kit and Susan Have Terrible Parents
Both Susan and Kit have self-absorbed, ineffectual mothers and deadbeat dads. This isn't because I've based it on my own family (my parents are pretty great) but for the same reason that Disney princesses so often have dead mothers. Having parents who don't do a good job forces people to be adult and independent at a young age.
I explore Susan's relationship with her father in The Heat Stealer. That was fun because Susan's mother is such a pivotal character in the Alternate Susan series and I got to figure out what other influences went into Susan's very different personality. Susan's dad is a horrible man, but he has grit that Susan's mother lacks.
Did Susan accidentally raise her brother from the dead, or is there more to her family history than she was led to believe? (Wide)
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Kit's dad is also a piece of work. In the first few novels, you learn that he's absent, having abandoned Kit and James to start a new family with someone else. Kit's mom is no prize either. In Warlock's Blood, I wanted to have some story to demonstrate exactly why her mom was bad, so I started following a group on Reddit for adult children of narcissists. I read through that until I found some good examples, which is where I got the idea for the "birthday cards come without glue on them" lie that Kit's mom told her.
Fly to New Jersey, make peace with her father, fly home again. What could go wrong? (Wide)
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A sensible mother can talk you out of doing stupid stuff like trading your voice for legs so you can swoon after a man who doesn't know you exist or building a sentient snow beast to attack your sister or getting on a flying carpet (that has NO SEATBELTS) with a shiftless teen who makes his living stealing from hardworking people. Without that motherly voice of reason, girls can get into trouble. It's not that having a difficult childhood makes you tougher (though it can.) I think it's just that these heroines are forced to do things and take risks that those with a health family support network wouldn't need to do.
This week's question: Do you prefer when characters have happy familes?
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These are my weighted, self-adjusting heating pads to keep me extra warm at night, whether I like it or not.
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