Do twins make you cringe?

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 8, 2009

In my WIP two of my characters are sisters. I feel like they are probably twins but I don't want to write them that way if it's an auto cringe factor for a lot of readers. They could always just be similar in age.

If they are twins they'd be unidentical, though similar. Neither of them is 'evil', though they do take very different paths through life.

Your thoughts?

Zoombie · Nov 8, 2009

Why would twins make us cringe?

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 8, 2009

Because the Evil and/or Long Lost Twin plot device has been done to death (although neither of these would apply to my characters)

ChaosTitan · Nov 8, 2009

Depends on how it's handled, honestly. Mostly it wouldn't make me blink, unless something seemed extremely cliche or silly about it.

I recently had a character decide they were a twin. My agent wasn't sure about the revelation, but my editor loved it. *shrugs*

Liosse de Velishaf · Nov 8, 2009

What an odd question... hmm... Do I make myself cringe? *scratches head*

Well, sometimes, maybe. But it's got nothing to do with being a twin.

I think that as long as you avoid the common stereotypes (which make me seethe--not cringe--as someone with real experience), you will be fine.

Please, no evil/good, no secret languages, no telepthic connections, no desire to never be apart, no implicit understanding of each other, no falling for the same dude, etc...

Judg · Nov 8, 2009

I'm perplexed too. Why would twins make me cringe? If you're not doing the Evil or Long Lost Twin thing, there's no problem.

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 8, 2009

All good, just making sure. And I promise none of those cliches Liosse.

Liosse de Velishaf · Nov 8, 2009

Rhys Cordelle said:
All good, just making sure. And I promise none of those cliches Liosse.

Heehee! Twin stereotypes make froth at the mouth...

small axe · Nov 8, 2009

Siamese twins can be creepy though, if we're asking about cringe-worthiness. (Not that it's polite to treat real folks differently in real life; speaking only as fictional symbolism etc)

Those twins who end up being discovered inside your main character, as fetuses who never bacame their own person, they're just buried inside another person? I think Orson Scott Card has a creepy thing where two conjoined twins are face to face, so they're staring forever into each other's souls?

Dead twins can have strange psychological scars for surviving twin (why did I live, and not they?)

So ... there can be the cringe you wish to avoid and the cringe you can embrace.

Embracing twins ... I never understood that: wow, two hot chicks! And they're TWINS!

Well, they look the same, what's the big deal there? I'd want two hot chicks who look hot in different ways or sumthin'

The phrase "hot chicks" is pretty cringe-worthy tho, huh? It's 1982! Hot chicks!

Liosse de Velishaf · Nov 8, 2009

If I had to stare into my twin's soul forever, I might just throw up.

Two interesting stories with twins are "Regina's Song" by Eddings and the Claymore manga, though that has them in specific chapters only. Both conform somewhat to the stereotypes, but neither has good/evil.

Thomas_Anderson · Nov 8, 2009

Everything depends on how you use it. There's nothing wrong with twins, as long as they're not essentially the same person inhabiting two different bodies, or if one is an evil twin or if you're using them as respawn points (kill twin A, then introduce twin B, who's essentially the same person as twin A, just slightly different, Yeah, I'm looking at you Heroes)

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 8, 2009

Thomas_Anderson said:
Everything depends on how you use it. There's nothing wrong with twins, as long as they're not essentially the same person inhabiting two different bodies, or if one is an evil twin or if you're using them as respawn points (kill twin A, then introduce twin B, who's essentially the same person as twin A, just slightly different, Yeah, I'm looking at you Heroes)

Eww, no way. That would be so silly.

These sisters are both strong willed but quite different. One is compassionate, and is caring for someone with special needs, while the other has suffered a lot of abuse in her life and has a lot of anger. With a description this brief it might sound like they are bordering on good and evil but that's not the case at all. The one with anger issues is still a good person, and the compassionate one makes her share of mistakes.

defcon6000 · Nov 9, 2009

Rhys Cordelle said:
These sisters are both strong willed but quite different. One is compassionate, and is caring for someone with special needs, while the other has suffered a lot of abuse in her life and has a lot of anger. With a description this brief it might sound like they are bordering on good and evil but that's not the case at all. The one with anger issues is still a good person, and the compassionate one makes her share of mistakes.

Well they're two different people, so it's expected that they'll have different life experiences that result in different personality dimensions. As long as they don't try to kill each other I see no problem.

Thump · Nov 9, 2009

Twin-ship makes me cringe when it doesn't bring anything new to the story that couldn't be achieved by them being "regular" siblings. That said, the stereotypes also make me cringe. Generally speaking, it seems people use twins like they would use dragons or unicorns. Because it sounds neat and everyone wants one.

Rhys Cordelle · Nov 9, 2009

Thump said:
Twin-ship makes me cringe when it doesn't bring anything new to the story that couldn't be achieved by them being "regular" siblings. That said, the stereotypes also make me cringe. Generally speaking, it seems people use twins like they would use dragons or unicorns. Because it sounds neat and everyone wants one.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Ok, not twins.

Thanks.

Mara · Nov 9, 2009

So you guys are saying that Tomax and Xamot from G.I. Joe aren't realistic?

I think twins are fine as long as they're not exactly the same, completely opposite, or possess mystical twin powers.

defcon6000 · Nov 9, 2009

Thump said:
Twin-ship makes me cringe when it doesn't bring anything new to the story that couldn't be achieved by them being "regular" siblings. That said, the stereotypes also make me cringe. Generally speaking, it seems people use twins like they would use dragons or unicorns. Because it sounds neat and everyone wants one.

Everyone wants a twin or wants to have twins? Lol.

The difference between twins and fantasy creatures is that twins are a naturally occurring reality and fantasy creatures are... well, they're fantasy of course! :tongue

Really, twins are fine. It sounds like you're making them as two different individuals who just so happened came out of the same womb at the same time.

mscelina · Nov 9, 2009

I consider it just a quirk--especially in generational stories--a statistical quirk that can be useful. It doesn't make me cringe; not even close. I don't care if a character is a quintuplet as long as it's drawn up well, engaging and credible.

Ellefire · Nov 9, 2009

I tend to use twins if I need a lot of siblings close in age. I gave one poor mother four kids under the age of seven (and a dead husband). That was fun to write. (and for extra evilness, I got her evicted and living in a two-bedroomed flat Muhahaha)

Liosse de Velishaf · Nov 9, 2009

Thump said:
Twin-ship makes me cringe when it doesn't bring anything new to the story that couldn't be achieved by them being "regular" siblings. That said, the stereotypes also make me cringe. Generally speaking, it seems people use twins like they would use dragons or unicorns. Because it sounds neat and everyone wants one.

Idiots.

Mr Flibble · Nov 9, 2009

Liosse de Velishaf said:
Idiots.

You rang, m'lord?

Twins are fine, if that's what you need, and they aren't rip offs of anything else out there. Same as everything else.

MumblingSage · Nov 9, 2009

Rhys Cordelle said:
In my WIP two of my characters are sisters. I feel like they are probably twins but I don't want to write them that way if it's an auto cringe factor for a lot of readers. They could always just be similar in age.

If they are twins they'd be unidentical, though similar. Neither of them is 'evil', though they do take very different paths through life.

Your thoughts?

I'm a twin, and people on this forum have seen me get very very prickly on the presentation of twins. However, I would love to see someone present twins similar to my own experiance--ones that are similar, but neither clones of each other nor exact opposites. If that's what you're going to do, go for it.

However, if you frequently find yourself referring to them as "the twins" (not the way you'd say "the sisters" in say "The entire family--Mom, Dad, the twins, and the dog" but the way you'd say "Character X", ie as if they're the same person) or if they share a name (Cora and Dora share a name, imo), then just ditch them and write a single character.

Me&BacchusGoIntoABar · Nov 9, 2009

One way you could make it work would be to research what it's like to be a twin and present some of that. Talk to people you know who are twins. Show how it impacts their psychology and their relationships both with their twin and with others.

If that's done well, then I think it would be pretty cool because it would be a way of showing readers a reality that they aren't so familiar with (unless the reader has a twin sibling or knows these issues very well).

If you have twins and it doesn't seem to add much to the story, you could lose some points with readers.

Is it integral to the story and to the characters? Does it really add something that your story and characters need?

If yes, then research and proceed.

Me&BacchusGoIntoABar · Nov 9, 2009

Thomas_Anderson said:
Everything depends on how you use it. There's nothing wrong with twins, as long as they're not essentially the same person inhabiting two different bodies, or if one is an evil twin or if you're using them as respawn points (kill twin A, then introduce twin B, who's essentially the same person as twin A, just slightly different, Yeah, I'm looking at you Heroes)

And for a show without the balls to kill many characters, they have the nerve to kill my favorite one! Bring back Jessica! Actually, I think they could do that by the end of the series. We don't really know that she died. You'd think she would've let her kid know if she was still alive, though. She was awesome, though, and much better than her water girl twin.

Z0Marley · Nov 9, 2009

Rhys Cordelle said:
Your thoughts?

There are only three things about twins that would make me cringe:

1. Both being female lesbians that have no problem with incest.
2. Separated at birth only to find one another.
3. Even if one isn't pure goodness while the other is pure evil, I don't like the twins being COMPLETE opposites, unable to find common ground. They're most likely raised by the same parents in the same city. There's going to be influence there in some aspects. So are they complete opposites? Rarely. Opposites? Clones would be boring.

Other then those, I don't find twins being terrible.

Do twins make you cringe?

Rhys Cordelle

Zoombie

Dragon of the Multiverse

Rhys Cordelle

ChaosTitan

Around

Liosse de Velishaf

Judg

DISENCHANTED coming soon

Rhys Cordelle

Liosse de Velishaf

small axe

memento mori

Liosse de Velishaf

Thomas_Anderson

Rhys Cordelle

defcon6000

Thump

defying grabbity

Rhys Cordelle

Mara

Clever User Title

defcon6000

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

Ellefire

Citizen Of Planet Random

Liosse de Velishaf

Mr Flibble

They've been very bad, Mr Flibble

MumblingSage

Inarticulate Herb

Me&BacchusGoIntoABar

Me&BacchusGoIntoABar

Z0Marley