Friday, April 15, 2011

M is for Mom's

Mom's are important.

In life and in stories.

Even as we grow older if there was a mom who always supported us growing up we still ask them for advice. It doesn't matter if we're 25 fresh out of college or 40 with kids. Mom's are always needed. They really are what makes this world tick.

The same applies when it comes to writing a story. Mom's have to be apart of it too. In young adult books often the parents are discarded, put to the side. There are still emotions that run high. Getting parents to disappear so a main character can take over the world is no easy task. You have to make them believable. The mother isn't going to let go of her only child that easy.

I love my mom, I love my mother-in-law, and I even enjoy the crazy mom's I've written in my stories. Just because they make a TON of mistakes doesn't mean they don't deserve your love.

So give your mom some love today.

How do you incorporate or leave out the parentals in your stories??

37 comments:

Laura Pauling said...

I love when parents are included in a story and done well. I feel like a character having parents that just don't care and are never there is a bit of a cop out. Parents still play a major role in a teen's life and I love books that do them well.

Unknown said...

The saddest thing there is is when you have to watch on a daily basis the mother who you used to know become someone else. Once my mother, now my child. Maybe that is the title of my book.

Lindsay N. Currie said...

Great post Jen. I think Mom's are extremely important (and not just because I am one LOL) both in life and in our writing. That's part of why I liked If I Stay so much - it showcased a happy, normal family as opposed to the absentee parents or dysfunctional relationships that many YA books have now.

Bish Denham said...

Ahh yes...moms are the best. I did a special tribute to mine today, hope you have a moment a stop by.

Creepy Query Girl said...

I have very strong 'mother' figures in the stories I've written. I think they're important, identifyable (sp?) characters.

Unknown said...

It must be so difficult being a Mom (I'm not one) because you never know if you're doing the right thing or not. Terrible choices. I'll give my Mom some extra-special hugs today.

JE said...

I <3 moms. And I love it when they are an important part of a story. But I also love it when moms are left out and you see what kind of an impact that had on the heroine/hero.

~JD

... Paige said...

Mom's are great, without them none of us would be here. Really

dodelinedesign said...

Great post and so very true. I just had my boyfriend's mother's birthday last night, and that was really nice. The relationships we have with moms and just the older women in our lives that have always been there are SO special.

Jaydee Morgan said...

Moms always seem to play a big role in all my stories. I love to explore that relationships between mothers and daughters and mothers and sons.

Connie Keller said...

In the novel I just finished, the main character's mother is dead. And although the story is not about their relationship, in many ways the mother's death haunts her daughter forever--it affects every choice she makes.

Michael Di Gesu said...

That's funny you should ask. I agree in my first novel the mom of one of the characters plays a very important part in the solution to the mc's problem. I love this character and had to cut her down a bit because I focused too much on her.

But you're right mom's, and parents are important to include in y/a and m/g novels.

Samantha Sotto said...

I like exploring the relationships my characters have with their parents in my stories. For better or worse, these relationships help determine how they would act within the plot. (And yeah, moms ROCK :D)

Jillian said...

love love love my mom!!!! I have absolutely no idea what to get her for mothers day yikes!

M.J. Fifield said...

My mother is the best and I love her to death!

My characters don't often have the best relationships with their mothers but there's always love there somewhere.

Summer Frey said...

In my women's Southern fiction, the mother always plays a big role--usually as somewhat of a villain to the MC, or at least a complex foil. Definitely mirroring my own complex relationship with my mother...

Talei said...

Oh, Mums rule! Moms too! And guess what I was going to post on Mothers, but I did Martini instead... ;-))

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

My main character's parents died long before the story began - which added to his list of issues.
However, I do love my own mom!

Talli Roland said...

Mums are the best! :) Usually, parents don't play a big part except to form the character.

Happy Friday!

Stephanie said...

Moms are a big part of my novel-length fiction. A big part of A Bitch Named Karma is how the relationship between Lexi and her mom grows and changes as she becomes a mom herself.

I adore my mom...most people don;t even know she is my step mom and not my biological mom. But she is the one who raised me since age 3-1/2 (when my bio mom took off). I would not be who I am today without her :)

Unknown said...

My main character's mom is important in the YA I'm working on as she has cancer and they're really close.

I so love my mom! She's one of my best friends. Great post!

Unknown said...

Great one. My Mom is super supportive of me. In the story I'm working on now my mc's mom is really important.
Good post

Jess said...

Awww, what a sweet post! I just called my mom today and get to visit her soon!

Ann said...

What a lovely post. My mom died when I was 24. I miss her everyday.

Bethany Elizabeth said...

Thanks for the reminder, Jen. :) I just texted my mom an "i love you" and I'll probably call her soon. :) I just got to see her last weekend, it was super amazing.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Hip, hip, hooray for moms --real or pretend!

Marjorie said...

No mom is perfect, but we owe our lives to them. That is something not to be taken lightly. My mother has been an inspiration to me throughout my life. Great post.

Ella said...

You are right, I am trying to think of a YA book, where the Mother had a key role....?!

My Mom was there when I needed her.
I am going to go call my Mom~xXx

jkraus8464 said...

I see much more mention of parents in adult novels, especially memoirs. YA is tough, because you are appealing to an audience that is becoming more independent. My kids now are 29 and 33 and they probably appreciate who I am more than they ever did. It is great.

Myne said...

Moms are awesome! I miss my mom so much sometimes.

Sara B. Larson said...

I adore my mom. She's not perfect, but she's amazing. I think that gets reflected in my books, because I have yet to write a "bad" mom into my stories.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

Poor parents often get left out in stories hehehe. It's great you have such a wonderful relationship with your moms.

Crystal Pistol said...

I always leave out moms in my stories. On purpose. All they do is nag!


Just kidding. Moms are great. I love mine dearly. (She only nags a little.)

Jim said...

Great to read this about moms/mums.
Mine was gone by time I was 15, so enjoy every minute you have with them.
This A-Z Challenge is an interesting way to find some interesting sites to read. Check me out also. I may not be a great literary genius but I have a huge repository of travel experiences I'm slowly telling.
http://holesinmysoles.blogspot.com/2011/04/n-has-to-be-for-namibia-a-z-challenge.html

Diana said...

GREAT post Jen! I love my mom and its good to see other blogger's sharing the "mom love" :)haha! thanks for posting.

Diana

Rhonda Albom said...

Great post on moms. I think I will have my kids read it in the morning. :)

Sally Anderson said...

You're a writer. I'm a mom. One thing this mom always did was remind her kids of good grammar (I was an English major back in the day). And so here's a tip for you. The plural of mom is moms. No apostrophe. The apostrophe is for possessives or to indicate the omission of letters. I hope you aren't insulted by this. I really like what you write but this just jangled my last nerve when I read it. So I had to be a mom!