On Triplets and Fiction

I heard about a woman who is a triplet. She and one of her sisters were identical and the third was...not. I'm kind of obsessed with this idea. Can you imagine the innate alienation of being born a triplet and having different eyes, different hair, a different stature than your two identical sisters? And as we all know, the key to literary pathos is alienation! Celebrate!

That's what folks write about though, no? Being outside and looking in, square peg in a round hole, round woman in skinny jeans, maniacs of all persuasions, etc... I guess well adjusted people aren't extremely interesting. Or maybe they're interesting enough for sitcoms, just not books, or mini-series, or movies. Or even hour long series. For example, DJ Tanner is great fun for 25 minutes, but to carry a whole hour you really need Buffy or Fox Mulder or Tony Soprano. Someone has to kick someone else's ass either emotionally or literally. Someone has to feel dejected or victimized or redeemed in some way larger than getting grounded for a month (a month!).

In thinking about writing, it's useful to bat these things around, I think. Who is your favorite protagonist and what was his dysfunction?

What if Melinda is a foot shorter than her two sisters and they don't even fit into the same kind of leotard for the triplet tap number at their dance recital? Does she eventually become a murderer? Or maybe she dyes her hair bright red in High School and falls in love with Jared Leto? Or perhaps she is given the One Ring and has to make her way to Mordor with only the aid of her well intentioned but rather puffy gardener?



...the possibilities are endless...