Writing advice?

[luzula]

So, I am generally not a fan of the thing where people kill off one half of a canon couple so they can get their ship together. I'm wondering if what I am contemplating doing is too close to that, even if the character is an original character, or if it is in general just too convenient for the plot. I already have a great beta reader for this story, but I just wanted more input on it...it's a general question which doesn't really depend on knowledge of the fandom.

Here's the set-up in my fic (it's the mid-18th century): Ewen and Alison are married, but they both also have another lover with the other's knowledge and permission. Ewen has Keith, and Alison has Catherine (an original character). Alison and Catherine met and became lovers when they were young together in Paris, but then both had to get married for social reasons. Alison was lucky enough to meet someone she actually fell in love with and ended up in a happy marriage, but Catherine's marriage is loveless. Her husband has a mistress on the side (without asking Catherine about it) and Alison and Catherine revive their relationship, which is conducted through many years of correspondence and occasional visits. Catherine's husband never finds out - he's away traveling a lot.

So, here is my question: can I have Catherine's husband die in the Seven Years' War, after they've been married fifteen years or so, and after 120K of fic? Obviously I would be doing this because I want Alison and Catherine to be together, although it's not like all the obstacles between them would magically disappear. One reason to do it is because I want a balance in the fic so that it's not dominated by one character or relationship, but contains a mix of development for all four main characters and their relationships. And this would definitely lead to character development for Catherine, because she would have to navigate becoming a widow etc. If I could think of another plot element that would contribute equally to developing both Catherine as a character and Alison and Catherine's relationship, I guess I might do that instead! But I haven't yet.

I suppose it isn't really parallel to the case where someone kills off one half of a canon couple, because Catherine's husband is a minor original character in the story and I don't believe the reader is going to be invested in him. But I'm worried that the reader would consider it just too convenient and wish-fulfilling a thing. What do you think?

Comments

[ride_4ever]

To me it does NOT seem " just too convenient and wish-fulfilling a thing". It seems like a reasonable enough death within the context of the history of the times, plus I am all for more character development for Catherine and more Catherine/Alison.

[luzula]

Thanks for the input! You confirm my opinion that my readers would be cheering Catherine and Alison on, at least... : )

[desireearmfeldt]

Well, at least you're not killing a canonical female character to pave the way for a M/M pairing (or worse, a M/M baby-raising pairing). :)

This does sound like the easy plot device, which isn't necessarily an argument against doing it, depending on what role all this is playing in the story as a whole. (Especially if the husband is a minor off-screen character we don't care about.)

But as for alternative devices that would develop Catherine as a character: what if instead she does talk to her husband about it and they negotiate an arrangement? or she finds a way to end their relationship (divorce is presumably not much of an option in that time period but they could separate by mutual consent or she could run away)? or she and Alison, maybe with Ewan's participation, negotiate an arrangement that would let the two of them spend more time together while still keeping the husband in the dark?

Anything along those lines might be a less obvious plot element, and would have the advantage of giving Catherine some agency, which is always handy for character development and a generally good thing to have in a story. :)

[luzula]

Well, at least you're not killing a canonical female character to pave the way for a M/M pairing (or worse, a M/M baby-raising pairing). :)

What, you mean like the woman dying in childbed leaving the baby? Ack.

what if instead she does talk to her husband about it and they negotiate an arrangement?

I have thought of this, of course. The reason I am reluctant to do it is that much of the fic has been about poly relationship negotiation already, so structurally I feel that more of it would make it kind of same-y. Option two, probably not possible, and also she has three children that she loves. I'll think more about your option three...there must be something creative that I can do. As for agency, I do feel it would be interesting to make her a widow because she would have to negotiate a precarious position where she has some rights under law, but also has to hold her own against male relatives.

The husband is not a monster or anything--I feel it's not unreasonable of him to want to have a mistress given that he happened to marry (in modern terms) a lesbian.

[desireearmfeldt]

Dying in childbed, giving up the child, dying in some other way later, going to jail, being otherwise unfit or unable to raise it.... I'm pretty sure I've read all of these in fic.

[luzula]

Ha, I suppose I haven't read all that much kidfic...

[china_shop]

To me, it sounds like the kind of move you can totally get away with in service to the story, if you want to, especially given the setting. So imo it depends whether it bothers you to do it (and, a bit, how "romancey" you want the story to come across).

[luzula]

and, a bit, how "romancey" you want the story to come across

Could you explain a bit more what you mean by this? *curious*

[china_shop]

Hm, I feel like if the emphasis in the story is on the relationships and relationship complications (like, if Catherine becoming a widow actually complicates the relationship in some way -- creating a crunch point where they have to work through stuff, rather than just making everything magically easier), then it could work really well. Whereas if it's a more general type story that ~features the poly relationships but isn't solely about them, then I can see desireearmfeldt's perspective -- the emphasis on choice and your characters' agency. (I want to smother this in I-don't-know-what-I'm-talking-about disclaimers and point out I haven't had breakfast yet.)

ETA: And of course those aren't the only options. If it has a historical feel, it could just be matter-of-fact "this is what happened, it happens all the time in this era", and you could maybe foreshadow that somehow?

[shopfront]

like, if Catherine becoming a widow actually complicates the relationship in some way -- creating a crunch point where they have to work through stuff, rather than just making everything magically easier

This is my thought, too! I don't know the fandom at all but just off hand it made me think like, what if sneaking around was getting too hard and they broke things off or things deteriorated between them but now there's the question of is this really over, does this convenient thing actually change what came before? Or what if the surviving easy going husband suddenly gets jumpy his wife might leave him for her newly widowed girlfriend? Or heck, maybe it invites a different bad kind of scrutiny when a married woman is running around with an unattached 'friend' instead of another married woman.

Also death after 15 years of a loveless marriage... doesn't sound terribly convenient to me? It took 15 years! I really think the details of how you handle this will make all the difference. (I also don't think there's anything wrong with throwing convenient tropes in from time to time anyway honestly, there's a reason they're tropes.)

[luzula]

Thanks for the input, and throwing around ideas! : )

Yeah, it would be kind of uninteresting if her husband's death made things magically easy, and not worth doing in that case.

[luzula]

Ah, okay! No problem, do talk on before breakfast, I don't mind. : ) Anyway, yes, the relationships are very much at the center of the story...I think I'll "try it out" in writing and then see how it feels.

[china_shop]

*cheers you on*

[chestnut_pod]

That seems quite reasonable to me -- and I also can see how sudden widowhood could in fact be a complicating factor as well as an easing one. Unexpected grief, dealing with any children, in-laws, not wanting to leave the place even if the relationship was loveless, the particular nuances of being a war widow, dealing with his mistress… I think you could probably get quite creative.

[luzula]

Thanks! You gave me an idea about his mistress, actually. : )

Ha ha, and now I am diving into academic articles on widowhood in 18th century France...bless my university access.

[chestnut_pod]

Hear, hear!

And by the way, I received your message about your audiobook -- I am in an academic crunch, but can absolutely get to it Friday afternoon or the weekend, if that's fast enough to be helpful to you.

[luzula]

Thanks, that would be helpful! : )

ETA: BLESS YOU! Your off-hand comment about the mistress first sparked off one smaller idea, which was good, but now it gave me an EVEN BETTER one where I don't actually have to kill off her husband, but can get good drama, and good character and relationship development another way! <3

[chestnut_pod]

My goodness, I’m so pleased to hear it! And now extra-excited to perhaps read it one day and see how it all turns out!

[nnozomi]

It doesn't seem like an unreasonable choice to make, assuming that your main goal is not Make Characters as Miserable as Possible ;) . If you want it to be a little less convenient, maybe you could have him missing-presumed-dead for a while, for added angst and confusion while also ultimately removing him as an obstacle (sorry, Catherine's husband)?

[luzula]

Thanks for the input! I think I will try to write it and then see how that feels and whether I should rewrite or not.

[feroxargentea]

It would be convenient, sure. But if he's a minor character and you emphasise the context of the time -- people dying young in large numbers, and even more so if they were soldiers -- it probably wouldn't feel unreasonable, in the way that it might in a modern setting.

(Honestly, the novel feels like it's doing the opposite, killing off a character as an easy way to avoid dealing with a m/m pairing.)

[luzula]

Thanks for the input!

Honestly, the novel feels like it's doing the opposite, killing off a character as an easy way to avoid dealing with a m/m pairing.

Ha, you have a point. Broster is like, I can allow the characters all these feeelings as long as it's safely heterosexual at the end. (Although actually, The Wounded Name has ridiculous amounts of m/m devotion and just lets that pairing sort of sit there at the end alongside the m/f marriage...)

[baronjanus]

There's nothing wrong with it, in my opinion. However, if you feel uncomfortable, or the outcome might be complicated for her, there are other options, if you're interested. He could run off with the mistress, leaving the house and money to the wife, along with the respectability and illusion of still being a married woman, which would remove a lot of legal and social pressures off her, for example.

[luzula]

Thanks for the input! I think I'll try writing it and see whether it feels right or needs rewriting. Hmm, I think he is too respectable to run off with the mistress--he cares about passing his business on to his son. But thanks for the idea...

[baronjanus]

Good luck! And remember, just write what works best for you and your story :)