It’s the classic, cliche romantic ‘subplot’--the strong female lead falls for two equally heart throbbing boys, one usually mysterious and angsty, the other bright and caring. Commence an entire book of proving how indecisive your main character is. It isn’t romantic, it doesn’t character build, it’s just annoying.
So don’t do it.
There is a difference between acknowledging that there are two or more characters compatible with your protagonist, and having chapter after chapter of her simply whining because she can’t decide.
Yes, some love triangles have been done well--The Selection by Kiera Cass brought an interesting love triangle in because there were multiple occurring at the same time (Aspen vs. Maxon, America vs. Kriss, America vs. Lucy, etc). That’s the only one I can come up with off the top of my head, because doing it correctly is so rarely seen, it should just be marked off as a writing sin. Even The Hunger Games didn’t do it right, though I’m sure that given adequate time, Suzanne Collins could have delivered it masterfully as well.
The main issue with love triangles is that it provides meaningless, uncreative story arcs, and paves the way for flat characters. If you are willing to take the time to make sure that every romantic scene had the same quality of vibrance, that every character has a rich voice and personality, and then go above and beyond to find ways that genuinely make both candidates a wonderful choice, then it would be okay to write a love triangle. But in no other case is this acceptable. Also note that I have never once seen a triangle from a boy’s perspective. Because apparently only girls can find two equally suitable partners. Everyone knows that law.
So what do you do?
Think about real life--romance is so much more complex than a simple sway between two hot guys. There’s Gavin, who’s jock-ish and headstrong, but has a nice smile and treats you right. Max is a little more aloof, and keeps giving you telling glances from across the room. And James is all-out perfect--except for the fact that he doesn’t like you.
In three sentences I’ve given a romantic subplot filled with questions that actually make sense. What does your character really value? What things really appeal to them in a partner? Are they even ready to make this decision yet, which is a perfectly good resolution, because it shows that your character really does know themself.
And it can go even more complex than that! If you really want an arc that will rivet your readers (and I’ve thought long and hard over this question) go into the love interest’s motivations. I have one plot where the MC is politically engaged to the King who has a reputation for being harsh, and falls in love with the King’s younger brother, who turns out to be a cheating scamp, and eventually finds out that the all along the King has been developing feelings for her, but held them back due to a previous love-life. Not only does that explore your main character’s feelings, but it helps the other supporting characters feel more real.
Below is a list of characters and plots that you may want to incorporate into your novel as a love interest idea. Remember that mixing and matching is perfectly fine--that’s called creativity and it is generally encouraged among writers.
Contemporary Romance
-Classic heartthrob type character who is a real jerk to some people, but is a saint to others. What groups bring out these different emotions and why? (This is invalid if they are only nice to your MC)
-A shy artist who takes real pride in their work, and falls in love with your MC as your MC falls in love with their work...and eventually them.
-The one constantly on their phone runs into them in the hallway.
-Plaid-shirt, chunky glasses, sardonic humor, and an affinity for cosmetology
-Dreamer that loves space and stargazing, who takes the MC on philosophical and hypothetical adventures (bonus points if it’s an adorkable boy)
-A girl that has traits of masculinity--like an assertive role in the relationship, and dominant personality traits.
-California beach type who can’t stand drama falls for the popular kid.
-Quiet, kind of creepy, always analyzing everyone, comes up to the MC and asks a very blunt, very odd question about them (i.e. I can’t figure out why you dye your hair pink. It doesn’t fit with your personality)
Fantasy (This goes off of the assumption that this a more YA styled fantasy, but is still applicable to High and Heroic....not so sure about Epic)
-A stable hand who is more concerned with his work than with love.
-A Blacksmith’s apprentice who showers your main character with gifts (bonus points if your MC liked them before then)
-A journeyman of some sort comes into town, and takes a liking to your MC
-Any type of soldier story is a good setup for a romantic tragedy. This is one to apply with care--you must know the grief cycle well before incorporating it into a romance
It is important to remember that the primary difficulty in writing any sort of relationship is that people have different ‘personas’ (to use the words of Orson Scott Card) when they speak and interact with various people. Certain personality traits bring out others. Think about the way that you speak to your friends or your parents, or your boy/girlfriend or your teachers. If you can master the changing of voice, you can master the basic relationship model, and from there write an excellent love story.
The reason why love triangles are so popular (among authors, not readers, which is an important distinction) is that I believe some authors see it as a shortcut to an active fan base (cue teaser for next week’s article). If they can duke it out over two boys, raging about which one is the best, that’s a key to fame. And while yes, debates of Team Edward vs. Team Jacob and Team Xander vs. Team Ky did create a short burst of popularity, those were outliers in the average scale of fan activity. Think about it. No one really cares anymore about the love triangles, because they do not prove a point about the main character’s personality. A riveting romantic subplot may be just the thing you need to keep the pages turning fast enough to quit your day job.
With that in mind, keep focusing on developing your craft. Writing is a learned skill.
And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll even be good enough to write a love triangle.
