Have you ever started reading a series of books and fallen head-over-heels in love with a fictional family? I have. So many times. Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Sweet Valley High, The Cullens in Twilight, Susan May Warren’s Christiansen Family series and Becky Wade’s Porter Family series immediately come to mind. I devoured every page of these novels because I just couldn’t get enough of these incredible characters. Although I didn’t set out to write books featuring siblings, I’ve incorporated siblings into almost every book I’ve written. Such a useful and appealing plot device! Readers love brothers and sisters (and often cousins too!) So in honor of National Siblings Day, here are a few quick tips on how to write fantastic sibling relationships.
Stir the Pot
Siblings make fantastic fictional characters. It’s so easy to mirror real-life relationships within the pages of a novel. Brothers and sisters know each other better than anyone else. The secrets, bad habits, greatest achievements, deepest disappointments…our siblings have had front row seats to our formative years. Even the healthiest families with the most wonderful dynamics have these details built into their foundations. This minutiae might only make it onto the stage of your story in brief snippets, but it’s these brief snippets that can be incredibly powerful. I’m thinking dialog and non-verbal communication between characters. Take advantage of this relatable dynamic and create a pot-stirrer. You know what I mean. Every family has the designated person(s) who knows exactly which buttons to push, which spicy takes to share in the middle of the holiday meal…so make sure you have THAT guy or gal in your cast of siblings.
You’re Not the Boss, Applesauce
In our real-life experiences, the order in which we arrive in our families holds tremendous weight. Only children, stay with me here. Your place in this world and relationships with others is driven by the absence of siblings and this can also be used to shape a complex character in any story. Perhaps you’ve heard a younger sibling shout at another older sibling, “You’re not the boss, applesauce!” Perceptions about birth order among oldest, middle and youngest children don’t vanish when we all become adults. In fact, I’d say the web that spins around these layers of our sibling relationships only becomes more intense over time. Dr. Kevin Leman wrote a fantastic book about Birth Order. You can check it out here. It’s incredibly informative and a great resource for understanding your own family of origin as well as the relationships between your children.
As you are writing your first draft and creating this sibling cast, pay attention to birth order. Use dialog, body language and pithy bits of backstory to paint a word picture of these complicated relationships. Think about how an older sibling responds to the prodigal younger child, or how the underachiever bristles at the accomplishments of the overachieving sibling. Emphasizing these pain points is an easy way to build tension into your scenes.
It’s Not a Party Until the ____________ Shows Up
In my humble opinion, every story needs a larger-than-life character who shows up unexpectedly and turns everything upside down. This is a different dynamic than the pot-stirrer. I’ve usually stumbled across this character by accident. He or she will swagger onto the page in a scene that’s supposed to be about the hero or heroine and this dude or lady will do his or her best to steal the spotlight. I guess it’s a product of our subconscious or a quirky author trait that we manufacture characters we can’t possibly control. Even though I can’t explain the secret sauce, I can say for sure that your series will be even more enjoyable for readers if you incorporate a life-of-the-party character.
There you have it. A quick how-to for writing fantastic sibling relationships in your novels. I’m currently drafting a series featuring four sisters who live on an island off the coast of Alaska. My publisher hasn’t offered a contract yet. Hopefully I’ll have news to share soon. Meanwhile, here’s a photo of how I imagine the sisters. This series is something I’ve been mulling for quite awhile, so I truly hope I get to publish it in the future.
Your Turn
Who are your favorite siblings featured in pop culture? If you’re a writer, do you have any tips to share for writing fantastic sibling relationships? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
