Jane Austen's 3 Secrets To Exciting LOVE TRIANGLES

Love triangles are pretty much a staple in YA fiction. And romance. And almost every other genre. It's become so popular that it stinks. To find a bearable love triangle is rare. To find an exciting love triangle is a gem. 

I heard Jane Austen's love triangles were brilliant. Skeptical, I decided to give it a try. So far, I've read Pride and Prejudice, Emma and Sense and Sensibility.

Boy was I impressed.

(Okay, yes. This was also the first time I've read Jane Austen. It's embarrassing to join the fandom so late, but at least I've joined, right? :p) 

1. Give your characters personalities.  

Source: Tenor

Typically in a Jane Austen love triangle, there's our female protagonist and two male love interests. The most notable aspect is that they all have personality. Even the girl! 

Their personalities vary book to book, but there's two general ideas Austen uses in the male interests. One seems to be a Prince Charming while the other...not so much. We'll touch more on this later. Let's compare this to a typical YA triangle. We have the brooding bad boy, the cute dreamboat and last but certainly the least, the girl. 

What's the difference between Austen's tropes and the typical YA tropes? They're all types of characters.  The answer is simpler than you think. Let's start with the guys.

Austen's character tropes have strengths and flaws. The Prince Charming tends to be well mannered and a fun guy to be around, but they're also reckless. The not-really-Prince-Charming brings out the best in the protagonist despite their flaws. 

The YA tropes have so much potential, but how they are generally written sucks. The brooding bad boy usually spends their time brooding and looking attractive. The cute dreamboat is cheerful, nice and their life revolves around making the girl happy. 

Now for the girls. I haven't seen a recurring trope among Austen's protagonists, but each of them have their own strengths and weaknesses. Jane from Pride and Prejudice is intelligent but she has to get over her, prejudice toward social ranking. Emma from, well, Emma, is spoilt but she has a good head and kind heart. 

As for YA females, they seem to spend their lives moaning over her love interests and being angsty. Details vary, but they tend to be oh so special for what? Doing nothing. 

It's amazing how much stronger your characters can become when you give them personality. It makes you wonder why some authors don't do it. 

2. Don't spend ages trying to decide who to fall in love with.

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I love the brooding bad boy, but I love the cute dreamboat too! My boy is super hot, but my man is the kindest. Ooh, who should I love more? 

...

*flops onto couch* 

*mushes head into pillow* 

*screams* 

Okay, there's so many things wrong with indecision. Firstly, if you're spending days mooning over the better guy, you probably don't love either of them. Of course, there's some situations that I think can downplay this, like if you have some kind of psychological wound. But for everything else, just don't. 

Secondly, it's boring. Readers don't want every second page to be another argument over which dude is better. 

Austen doesn't give us this torture. Sure, we might get a few conversations on the protagonist's observations of her guys. But because of Point Three, it's not unbearable. Instead of brooding, they've made up their minds to which guy they prefer or to remain single, which lets them do useful things in their spare time. *coughlikecausingnarrativedramacough*

Give your protagonist agency. Give them goals and motivations. Even a misunderstanding between characters is more entertaining than indecision.  

3. A moral can be taught.

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Do you want a love triangle in your story? Ask yourself why you want a love triangle. For romantic tension? For drama?  

If you said yes to any of these questions, then fine. It can still hold up for an entertaining story. At best, you can have a compelling story fans will gush about. At worst, you can end up with another one of them. You know what I mean.

But if you want to take your love triangle to the next level, weave morals through it. The thing I love about Austen's love triangles is that it warns us to be discerning toward society. While some may seem like The One at first, Austen teaches us to be sure. There might be a better person if you wait. (Just don't wait forever.)

With love triangles especially, it's a good way to moralise about the subtleties of human interactions. Don't judge a book by its cover. Look before you leap. That sort of thing. 

If you want to read more about including morals in your story, you can read more other posts about it here, here and here. 

A love triangle's moral is what makes it unique. Novelty is an important aspect of storytelling. And hey, if something will make your story better, do it! #deep

~ 

That's Jane Austen's three secrets to exciting love triangles. Make sure every important character has a personality with both flaws and strengths. Remember to give your characters something to do besides debating which dude she loves more. If you want to give your love triangle an extra bit of sauce, add a moral. It makes a world of difference. 

Every time I try to type "triangle", I type "tirangle". Does anybody else do this?

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What do you enjoy about love triangles? What don't you enjoy? Did you notice these things when you read Jane Austen's books? What's your take on them? Leave a comment below. If you liked this post, be sure to share, follow and eat chocolate for more content! (Eat chocolate anyway.)