Using the Beauty of Triangles in the Stories We Write

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

I often get asked in my classes how many characters a book should have. Answering that is usually easy—as many as you need—but I always try to follow up with a question for the writer. How long is the story? Because that can be a huge factor. Not only that but, as Ronald B. Tobias suggests, each character should “relate and depend” on the others. We can’t separate characterization from plot or action or incidents. Keeping all this straight is where triangles “step in and save the day.”

The dynamics of plot and characterization require that a character DO something. It can be something as simple as walking down the street or as complex as a premeditated murder. A minimal story may only have one character, but that character MUST interact with something or someone. Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemmingway concentrated on one human character but he had conflict (creating plot) against the ocean itself, a large fish, and even a shark before the story was done. Each are relationships that work for and against each other to create the story. 

The movie, Ghost, with Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, and Whoopi Goldberg is an excellent example of how three main characters interact and build a story full of conflict and intrigue. Briefly, Sam and Molly are in love but Sam is murdered. Molly is in danger and so Sam, who is now a ghost, has to find a way to protect her but Oda Mae, a con artist, is the only one Sam can communicate with. So, Oda Mae has to convince Molly that she is in danger. 

Each one of these three characters (and, of course, there are more in the story but they are less important), has something to lose and the tension escalates as the danger to Molly grows.

So our triangle will have each of these three characters on one point. 

The top point is always the protagonist. In this particular story, each character is a protagonist in their turn, but we’ll start with Molly. Molly’s interactions (scenes) with Sam prior to his death show their love for each other. Their life together seems almost perfect. But, upon Sam’s death, Oda Mae shows up with a totally unbelievable story that Sam is a ghost using her to communicate with Molly. So, we have tension on all three sides – Molly grieving Sam’s death and refusing to believe Oda Mae is telling the truth, Sam trying to get Oda Mae to cooperate and to tell Molly about her danger, and Oda Mae in the middle just trying to get rid of the crazy voice in her head. Their complex and detailed relationships are what make the movie work so well because the audience can relate to the ups and downs of the story as we watch the characters struggle, each in their own way. 

The beauty of all this is that each incident in the story is a direct result of the character’s need to communicate, to cooperate, or to learn something important. By pitting the characters against each other, or forcing them to get along to solve a problem, a writer is able to create deeply interesting and committed relationships. 

Each relationship and each scene will need their own triangle. Who is in the scene? Who is the protagonist, who is the “helper,” and who is the conflict? Sam isn’t in a lot of scenes, but other people step up. For instance, once Sam’s murderer realizes Molly knows what happened, he has to kill her too. So Oda Mae is now completely on Molly’s side of the triangle, trying to keep that from happening. Sam then steps into the triangle, replacing Oda Mae, and saves Molly. Each scene morphs as the story demands it to and triangles help to picture it as we write. 

And, the triangles turn, with different people in different aspects as the story unfolds, with the relationships evolving as they need to.

Triangle 2

Triangle 3

Although Tolkien may not have thought in triangles like I do, he uses them with a master’s touch. Frodo, Samwise Gamgee, and Gollum are a perfect example of how the triangles work. But Frodo also is on other triangles, because he has other relationships all the way through the movies. Gandalf is his mentor, Aragorn his protector. And, of course, there are plenty of evil characters to create tension and conflict. 

Of course, you can choose any book or movie and make triangles for practice. How do the characters relate to one another?

Then, how would you use this in your own story? Draw a triangle! Put your main protagonist on the top point. Who will be this character’s main ally? Who will be the main conflict? How will these three characters interact? Are there more characters who will need to be introduced? How will that affect the three we’ve already created? We build characters in as we need them—as many as we need for the story to move forward—aligning them in “threes”—creating a “good” or a “bad” choice for the character to make.

I learned this technique of how to deal with relationships from two books that Ronald B. Tobias wrote—20 Master Plotsand Theme and Strategy. I recommend both.

How do you create relationships in the stories you write?

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Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com. Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors. You can find her at hamerse@bellsouth.net or www.sallyhamer.blogspot.com