February. The month of love. The month of Valentines Day. How can I let this month slip by without delving into the theme of relationships.
But romance isn't the only kind of relationship out there, right?
Friendships. Families. Marriages. Co-workers. Acquaintances. Lovers.
It takes all kinds of relationships to make a good story good.
Sure there's plot and setting, but the characters are the ones we follow. The ones we spend hours with pouring over pages connecting with them. Rooting for them. And what better way to relate to characters than to see them through their many different relationships?
"Your head is empty, he continued, the hours slip away. From your chair you wander through the countries of your mind, and your thoughts, threading themselves into the fiction, play about with the details or rush along the track of the plot. You melt into the characters; it seems as if your own heart is beating under their skin." - Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary
A character can show different sides of themselves through interactions with their families, through the eyes of a friend, and in the way they treat their lovers. These all give insight to their motivations and help us relate to the characters until they feel almost real.
That's why this February, I'll be examining the many kinds of relationships. I'll be digging into my fav and least fav friendships, family ties, and romantic relations in books.
Do you have a favorite or least favorite relationship, friendship, trio, etc in a book that you want to share? I'm always listening on twitter and insta @hmlswann
See you next Sunday on The Nest!
Cheers,
H
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