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

[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*