Mommy issues --- too played out? I'm thinking my mc would react in a quiet, passive agressive way... Dad is still around, no divorce, good relatiionship with daughter. I'm on my phone, excuse my typos! Moms not crazy, just a cold wench.
mommy issues
- Thread starter OpheliaRevived
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daddy issues are more generic, I think. It's more expected for the male to abandon the woman (or man) and the kid. there're a lot of females that do the same thing, leaving the man (or woman) and the kid, but i don't think it's played out too often. issues are always fun. when they're in books 
I actually have major mommy issues in my recently finished MS. It's fun to make your readers hate a mother because most of them don't want to have to do it. But when they do, they really really hate her. Mommy issues get pretty visceral reactions when done well.
I think Mommy Issues are more fun to write about. I grew up without my mom around so that's my worldview and the worldview for my characters. Moms leave and Dads stay.
Yep, me too.
Teens - especially girls - often do not see eye to eye with their mothers.
My mother and I fought constantly when I was in high school*. As soon as I went away to college, our relationship improved, and now (at thirty), my mom's one of my favorite people to spend time with.
*Usually over my boyfriends. And honestly, Mom was right about everything.
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Yep, me too.
Teens - especially girls - often do not see eye to eye with their mothers.
My mother and I fought constantly when I was in high school*. As soon as I went away to college, our relationship improved, and now (at thirty), my mom's one of my favorite people to spend time with.
*Usually over my boyfriends. And honestly, Mom was right about everything.
Change boyfriends to friends and this would be my life. Just don't tell her I think she was right. She'd never let me live it down.
Honestly, though, I think there's a lot of natural conflict between kids and their parents - even amazing kids with amazing parents. It's one of those things that readers will always relate to.
(And, full disclosure, I'd like to see this as opposed to absentee parents. Even subtle parental conflict adds a nice layer to books.)
Becca C.
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Yes, totally. Playing with parent-child relationships is one of my favourite things to do when I write. There's soooooo much drama there, especially when it's a good relationship. One of my MC Hunter's main problems is that he's way too attached to his parents, they're too entangled in each other's lives at a time when he needs to be growing up and away from them. There's so much to write about in that relationship.
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I don't think it's over-played. Daddy issues are more common but even that wouldn't matter because there are just so many different directions it can go in and each case is different.
I always manage to slip in parental issues somewhere. Usually unintentionally.
I always manage to slip in parental issues somewhere. Usually unintentionally.
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My MC has mega mommy issues in the novel I just finished, and yeah, both of her parents are alive and still married.
(Sometimes moms are just bitchy.)
Because that's how it was for me as a teen. It's one of the few things I took from my real life and put into this particular novel.
As a reader, I like MCs with mommy issues (whether they are a boy or girl). I can relate to them, and that's a huge factor in getting me to enjoy the story and keep reading. So I say go for it.
(Sometimes moms are just bitchy.)
Because that's how it was for me as a teen. It's one of the few things I took from my real life and put into this particular novel.
As a reader, I like MCs with mommy issues (whether they are a boy or girl). I can relate to them, and that's a huge factor in getting me to enjoy the story and keep reading. So I say go for it.
I still have those: " why can't you be impressed by meeeeee" feelings towards my mom. I need *something* that I can relate to personally when writing first person.
hmmm, totally. i like reading about judgmental moms 'cause my mom's a bit like that.
I-don't-care-what-you-do moms and you've-never-existed-to-me moms also interest me, because my mom is super on my neck (an sometimes, I need it
), and I'm still trying to fathom why some moms aren't like that.
Becca C.
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I thought the mom in Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma was GREAT.
Not a great mom, obviously. Horrible, awful mom. But a great character
Not a great mom, obviously. Horrible, awful mom. But a great character
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I just hated her guts but she made for an interesting read...on what kInd of mother -- and person -- NOT to be.
ha, that's like saying "boy meets girl" is overplayed.
check out THE RULES OF SURVIVAL by nancy werlin. mommy issues don't get much worse (or more interesting) than the mc's in that book.
check out THE RULES OF SURVIVAL by nancy werlin. mommy issues don't get much worse (or more interesting) than the mc's in that book.
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I've never had issues with my parents outside of their high expectations for me.
But I love reading about characters with "mommy" issues. Almost more than I like reading about characters with "daddy" issues. It's why I like Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It's not too played out. 50% of Americans get divorced now. There's bound to be some issues. Besides my parents and my Grandparents (who are technically divorced and separated twice) I have no family members who are still with the first person they married. And my family is HUGE.
But I love reading about characters with "mommy" issues. Almost more than I like reading about characters with "daddy" issues. It's why I like Avatar: The Last Airbender.
It's not too played out. 50% of Americans get divorced now. There's bound to be some issues. Besides my parents and my Grandparents (who are technically divorced and separated twice) I have no family members who are still with the first person they married. And my family is HUGE.
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'Mommy issues' sounds like a nice way of saying Oedipus complex, so I wouldn't use that term purely to indicate a disagreeable mother. Probably frustrating/interfering parents.
Sons and Lovers is a famous 'mommy issue' novel. The protagonist is incapable of having proper relationships with women because he is emotionally suffocated by his mother.
Sons and Lovers is a famous 'mommy issue' novel. The protagonist is incapable of having proper relationships with women because he is emotionally suffocated by his mother.
It works another way as well. A guy I know can't hold down relationships with women because he was emotionally bullied by his mother. I call it a mother complex, although I'm not sure if it's technically correct.
Personally, I prefer writing father-daughter relationships. I find more conflict there, particularly if the dad is overprotective. My mothers tend to be conveniently absent, which I guess is a problem for balanced writing.
I guess I meant the phrase "mommy issues" in a purely literal sense, meaning issues with her mommy. LOL Never thought of Oedipus, but that is a good point.
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