Screenwriting : Love Triangles by Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Love Triangles

Hi everyone~ hope you're so far having a good Saturday. Just curious, what are your views on love triangles in your scripts? Do you feature them? Do you enjoy reading/watching them?

I adore them and think they're lots of fun if they're written well, as well as an excellent source of character development.

Maurice Vaughan

Hi, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I haven't read a lot of love triangles in scripts, but I like seeing them in movies. I mainly see love triangles in Romantic, Drama, and Thriller movies. I used a love triangle in one of my scripts way back. Love triangles create a lot of drama and conflict. And like you said, they're an excellent source of character development.

Eric Sollars

They are fun.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

I'm pretty sure they feature in all of my stories lol either as a secondary development or in another life's work series, a core mechanic that drives the entire story. On Twitter at least I sometimes see people hating on them with a passion and they don't often articulate why, so I think the reason could be personal taste or bad writing.

Nikhil Chohan

They might be fun but in this scenario, someone has to accept somethings that won't even accept in their dreams. They give emotional connect with people in a sad way. They are an excellent way to show emotion conflict.

Dan MaxXx

Yup, most of my ideas have this & I add age differences, finances, social status.

CJ Walley

I always have some sort of love story and have a list of different types to choose from. Love triangles are fine. There's a lot truth to be found about life from love gained and loved lost.

Anna Marton Henry

Triangles of all kinds are great for generating conflict! You can think beyond romance too - siblings vying for the affection of a parent, or a best friend becoming a third wheel when a romance begins, just to name two.

Eric Christopherson

I was in a love triangle once ages ago. Probably the most drama filled few months of my life. Whew!

Anna Marton Henry

Eric Christopherson I highly recommend as much drama and conflict as possible ON SCREEN and as little as possible OFF SCREEN. The projects I produce have tons of shit going down on the page (and screen), but my own life is astonishingly boring.

Norman Welthagen

I've been in many love triangles. Problem is the other two people never knew I was part of it!

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Anna Marton Henry that is an excellent point and something I’ll for sure think about for future characters/stories!

CJ Walley absolutely true, they’re a part of life itself.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Eric Christopherson I can definitely relate lol

Norman Welthagen awww hehe that would make an excellent story!

Paul Alan Spreadbury

Like any commonly used theme, it depends on how you do it. More often than not when I see a love triangle in a film I say to myself "Are you kidding? Are all three of these people so stupid they have no idea this is happening?" Then, once one (or more) of them discover it they mishandle it. I've seen it done well though and when it is, it's great.

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