I’ve recently noticed a trend in fantasy, especially with the rise of romantasy, where most relationships that are focused on in books are typically romantic relationships. While I love great and well-written romance stories and subplots, and I’ve written plenty of posts here on my page about romance, I do also feel like there isn’t as much of a focus on non-romantic relationships in guides and I feel like some stories could really use great non-romantic relationships to really beef up the content of the story. These relationships include friendships, family, mentorships, enemies, allies, and more. These relationships can really add a lot of complexity to a story and that’s why for today’s post, I’ll be going into how to develop non-romantic relationships in fantasy books so that you can add more depth to your characters!
Why Relationships Matter in Fantasy
Most people around you have relationships that exist outside of a romantic sphere in some capacity. This could be a close friend, a parent, a sibling, a mentor, a teacher, etc… A lot of us in our daily lives have non-romantic relationships more frequently than we do romantic relationships. Although fantasy is all about transporting us to a different world with different things, a lot of fantasy still does mirror reality and it wouldn’t make sense for a character to exclusively have romantic relationships in your story. Even if the non-romantic relationships are not front and center to the story, it makes sense to include them even in brief mentions because they can add more to your character and help develop them more as a person.
Relationships for a fantasy character are really important because they also help to shape the world. World building is probably the most important element in fantasy and it’s one of the first things that you should really work on when it comes to writing your fantasy story. Having world building will allow for you to really build a foundation for your characters as you’ll understand what sort of jobs, society, culture, etc… are present in your world.
Character interactions can also play into the world building which will allow the world you’ve written to feel significantly more varied, diverse, alive, and immersive. Readers will also be able to see how much effort you’ve put into the world by seeing it alive through your characters and their relationships and interactions with other characters.
Types of Relationships You Can Include (Not Romantic)
1. Friendship
One of the most common non-romantic relationships people have with individuals outside of their family would be a friendship. Friendships are often central to many stories and it is a common theme across many stories and IPs out there. Friendships are built on shared experiences, loyalty, and trust. They allow for characters to show their personality with others and to show their values and the way they deal with others. Friendships include mutual respect and shared values/character traits, but there is no romantic element which allows for you to maybe explore different interactions between the different characters.
With friendships, it’s important to include small moments and details that can help show the way characters are around each other without the pressures of romance.
2. Mentorship
Mentorships are very often included in fantasy where an older and more experienced character guides a younger and inexperienced character through a quest, trial, or turbulent situation. This is often observed in heroic fantasy stories that follow the hero’s quest structure, which you can read about here. The relationship between the mentor and the student is often a positive and affirming one where the student learns, grows, and becomes their own person. Sometimes, there can be conflict between the two, but the mentor may begin to see their own strengths and weaknesses as well and the two sort of help each other out.
A mentorship is not supposed to be only a one-sided relationship between the characters and it’s more often than not a relationship that includes effort and patience from both parties. I think this is a classic one and it’s really interesting to see this dynamic in stories.
3. Family and Found Family
Family is a bit interesting when it comes to fantasy stories. Some fantasy stories have a character grow up with no family, some include a positive family, and many include a negative family. Whatever sort of dynamic you’re going for, family is more often than not the first relationship a person has in their life. Familial bonds can be shaped by expectations, competition, inherited powers, legacies, and more. For instance, in my series, The Fallen Age Saga, the main character in Book 1 has a negative relationship with his family and this reflects in his perception of them and their values and how he grew up.
There is another form of “family” which is the found family concept. The idea of a found family is really interesting as well because it often includes characters that are completely different from one another coming together and forming a sort of family unit where the bond is as strong as a positive family bond would be.
4. Rivalries and Alliances
Another major source of relationships outside of romance would be rivalries and alliances. These are really common in fantasy stories where you tend to find things like kingdoms, organizations, guilds, orders, etc… Many groups vie for power and control and these things can create major alliances and rivalries. Your main character might find himself working with people he may have never worked with because of a common rival or he may find himself forced to become rivals with those he once considered allies.
These relationships really help show a character’s values, ideals, and what sort of concepts they believe in. It also allows for a character to be more rounded in nature, and if you want to learn more about how to write a well-rounded character, then check out this post.
For example, in my series, you find that the main character must become allies with many individuals and keep them close so that he can get to his goal and defeat his enemies.
General Tips
It’s important to let relationships evolve in a natural way. Even if you know that the end result of a character interaction will be a relationship, think about how relationships evolve in real life and try to mimic that in your story. Additionally, you want to try and create moments of vulnerability and emotion between the two characters. Emotional exchanges can help create stronger bonds and bring people together in a more natural way.
Furthermore, you want to ensure that you are showing moments of conflict and reconciliation between the individuals in the relationship. People will inevitably argue or get into conflict and this is something natural that happens in life. Moments of conflict will allow your reader to see how the characters can overcome hardships and how the characters may use conflict to come together more.
At the end of the day, what you want to do is to make sure that your relationships matter to the plot and that they advance the story rather than just exist for the sake of existing. Try not to just check off boxes and actually think about what sort of impact the relationships will have on the plot.
Conclusion
Non-romantic relationships are a great way to advance a story and to build more in your world and story. Friendships, familial bonds, rivalries, alliances, etc… are all ways that you can create more in your story and add depth to the plot. Although romantic relationships are great for advancing a plot, sometimes, including non-romantic relationships in your story can also help add more as you don’t need to worry about including the conventions of a typical romance story.
Before you head on out, be sure to check out my series, The Fallen Age Saga, and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter so that you can get updates on all my latest posts, WIPs, book releases and more!