MCs having children?

I am aware of a few UF or paranormal romance with UF tendencies where there are small children involved, either the MC's children or ones they have kind of adopted. So long as there is a reason to have them (as in, they aren't there as a one-time plot gimmick) and they fit within the tale, I don't see what the problem is.

I think the only issue with children that might be a turn-off would be abuse of the child. In my mind, it is interesting so see a hero or heroine with the additional complexity of being a parent and the additional responsibility. It makes them more realistic and therefore maybe easier for a lot of readers to identify with, yes?

I basically have a main cast of seven in my UF series.

One guy (Ryan) has an adult son (over 30), who isn't a part of the series, because he's rejected his dad outright, and is busy with his own family. Ryan, however, has basically adopted the MC of the series, which makes everyone happy, and the adult son is basically only brought up in comparison.

The MC (Stef)...given how a) immature b) crazy c) afraid of people d) incapable of trust e) asexual f) disgusted by anything to do with sex she is, it's rather unlikely she'll be considering kids in the near future.

Another character (Jones) has taken the job of being parental proxy to a kid in their care (Merlin).

Curt is the father of a three-year-old girl, who only exists because he was stupid and got his girlfriend pregnant after the formal (prom).

The last two character (Taylor and Magnolia), whilst not in a relationship as yet...will quite possibly get together and have a kid, which will be a major shift in their dynamic, though not a change that will change the tone of the series, just be a natural addition to it.

I don't think having kids in a story necessary detracts from it, or will make people think of it in a different way - some people have kids, it's a fact of life.

The only thing about kids that bothers me is when people think that they are a must, that children are the natural result of a relationship. Some people are childfree, some people want to focus on their careers first, some people may not necessarily want to pass on certain genetic traits, and some people would much prefer the relative ease of raising puppies. ^_^

I can think of two published UF series off the top of my head with young children. In Kelly Gay's THE BETTER PART OF DARKNESS, the heroine is a single mom and her daughter is ten. Being a mom is a crucial part of what makes the heroine interesting and unique, and making a better world for her daughter drives her.

In Ilona Andrews' "Magic" series, a young teen becomes part of the heroine's life and helps humanize her.

As long as being a parent is part of what makes the character interesting, and the kid isn't just used as a set-piece, then go for it.

Just don't do what Butcher did in his last one. I was all geared for Harry to have parental issues, but the kid is really just a plot tool to be saved. Kids are the politically correct damsel in distress?

There are reasons for it, and it's still a damn good book, but the kid is boring. He could have almost made it an inanimate object.

So I second ChaosTitan. The kid has to matter and be more then just window dressing.

power31312 said:

In my WIP, I have a succubus who has a five year old daughter. I didn't know if having Evangeline in the storyline would turn some people off of the book. She's not in there very often, mentioned in two chapters so far and I'm 40K into it. She does get a part later on towards the ending of the book though. I just don't know if that will stop the selling point. Please let me know your opinions, thanks!

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Depends on how 'hot' the story is, I suppose.

As long as the daughter is not deus ex machina in a disguise, it should be fine.

My MC has a five-year-old daughter when the series starts. In the beginning, she serves as a means to humanize him, and give him something to lose. He often ponders what her life is going to be like without him, because he fully expects to get killed before she ever reaches teenager-hood. His love for her (and his wife) is a large part of what governs his life and moves his world.

I haven't yet decided if she'll take a larger part in the series as she ages up. I suppose that'll depend on how many books they'll give me to play with.

Not very urban, is it?

The pill, yo!

power31312 said:

In my WIP, I have a succubus who has a five year old daughter. I didn't know if having Evangeline in the storyline would turn some people off of the book. She's not in there very often, mentioned in two chapters so far and I'm 40K into it. She does get a part later on towards the ending of the book though. I just don't know if that will stop the selling point. Please let me know your opinions, thanks!

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Somehow I think you're completely missing out on the beautiful irony of a succubus/incubus weighted down by a child.

Write the story that feels right to YOU, a story that YOU would like to read.

Let an agent or editor decide.

Presumably succubi must reproduce somehow and their general motif involves sex, so I wouldn't find it bothersome at all that she'd have a kid, (unless if in your world succubi are demons from another plane in which case I doubt they could get pregnant by a human...but then you never said who the dad is...oh, just write the book)

I have a six year old and sever teens in my stuff, the six year old grows up over the course of things and is actually really important. The thing to remember is that kids are people to, they can't just be set pieces or wells for you extract emotional responses from. Make them behave like actual people and you should be fine.

As long as the kid is there for a reason and not just thrown in it should work fine.