Rivalry. Everybody at one point  in time has experienced  it . And wrote about it  in their  novels.  But  what is  it  really? And  how  is it used  in the  novel?  Over the next couple of days and weeks  I   am  going to discuss  the different types  of rivalries  used  in fiction and also   the type  I’m   using   in my novel.

Okay first  let’s define rivalries. Rivalries  are  when two   different  sides compete against each other.  Also   where one person tries to be more   successful than the other .

There are six  types of rivalry:

• Archrival(most commonly used in novels) 
• friendly rivalry.
• Sibling rivalry
• Economic rivalry
• romantic rivals(most commonly used in novels . THE LOVE TRIANGLE SCENERIO)
• Sport rivalry

Today  I’m going  to discuss  sibling rivalry .

Sibling Rivalry  is where there  is some sort  of animosity  among siblings . This is often due   to how the parent  may treat the other  , birth order , or experiences  outside  the family. And sometimes  sibling rivalry  can be pretty intense especially when they are so  close in age and the same gender. 

Three well  known  novels  that have their   stories  centered  around sibling rivalry  is 

Little Woman (  the rivalry  between Jo and Amy)

Harry Potter( Harry and his  cousin have a sibling rivalry   dynamic  that is clearly  seen) 

A Song of Ice and Fire( A clear  example of a sibling rivalry  is Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon where  one  ends up killing the other)

Writing sibling rivalries scenarios  are not really common in novels  a lot  now a days .  I’ve only seen them in  TV shows and in movies .   But   I  will be using the  sibling  Rivalry   scenario  often in my  novel  so   I  want to  let   you  know  about  who are the characters that are  siblings in my novel .

There  is :

Adrian  & Imani  (brother  and sister) 

Sirena &  Mercedes (sisters)

Michael  & Martín  (brothers.   Michael is  the father of  Sirena . Martin is  her  uncle. They   are  not seen in the first  novel.  However  they are  mentioned  heavily.  Especially   Michael  who is  also  seen in flashback  scenes.)

Okay now that we have that  figured  out  . Let’s   focus in on Sirena’s   relationship   with  her sister  Mercedes only right now .

Even  though  my novel is about werewolves  there is a lot of sibling  rivalry    that the main  character deals  with besides  being a werewolf. Yes . Everyday normal things.  Like  dealing with little sisters.

The  sibling rivalry  is important to my novel’s  story  and plays  an important role   to both  Sirena’s and Mercedes  character arc.  

Mercedes  is the type of sister  to start trouble and  she is very sneaky about  it.   She will  smile in  your face  and  turn right around  and  do something against you.  She is not a  character  that  anybody can trust  although  it seems.

However my main  character  Sirena loves  her sister  but at times  is  scared  of her .  She does not know what her  sister  is going to do next.   

In  my work in progress novel I only gleam   on the  subject of Mercedes  werewolf transition  because  she is still  young and not of age  yet  to experience  her werewolf powers.  But  I will be focusing on her transformation   in  the  next  novels.  But her transformation  and the   sibling rivalry   that is started  in this   first novel  will be  important  to the overall story and what  will happened  to the characters and Sirena.

In  my first   draft  I  didn’t know  whether  or not I wanted  to have a  sibling rivalry  dynamic until   the very end of the novel  .  So  in this  2nd draft I’m expanding the  scenarios between Sirena  and her sister.

I  had  this idea  because  it will be a  play  on  the  relationship of  her  father and uncle’s  characters  that will  be  explored in later  novels  and short  stories.

Ultimately  the sibling rivalry  between  Sirena and Mercedes  is  fully there  and based solely off of jealousy and animosity. Plus Sirena and Mercedes mother  Renee  sort of  pits  them against each other.   

If you liked this blog post and you want to  see more content involving my work in progress During the Blue Hour Follow , Like , share  . But first  LET’S START A DIALOGUE

Do you have a sibling  rivalry  plot in your novel?

 I  want to know so let me know in the comments  below.

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