As I continued watching more episodes of my British mystery series (Shakespeare & Hathaway, a mix of comedy, drama, suspense, and dark, per the boxes on the television), I started to think about what makes a story that really draws me in. It’s not just the quest or the hero’s victory or the downfall of the villain.
It’s the relationship of the characters. The group traveling through the forest, the secondary characters who are friends or family or past-interactions, the person who jabs at the hero… in Star Trek, you have Captain Kirk, Uhura, Spock, Bones, Scotty… and so many more. The relationships those characters have with each other as well as with the main character create a sense of an ongoing world.
I’m reading another young adult fantasy novel currently, Wishtress. Magical powers and betrayals abound, but each of the main characters has long-term friends. They’re a critical part of the story, but their relationships with the people around them, good and bad, help define who the hero and heroine are–and how they got to be that way. I’m dying to see what happens. Not only how the problems are solved, but how the people end up: still friends? Maybe more?