What Every Writer Can Learn from The Summer I Turned Pretty Series
Whether you enjoyed TSITP or not, there is at least one thing it can teach you. Keep reading and leave a comment to join this dialogue. Then see today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.
By now you’re probably at least vaguely aware of The Summer I Turned Pretty (TSITP) series and what it’s about, if you aren’t already on your second or third rewatch, so I won’t waste time offering a redundant summary of the show here. Today’s post is mainly my take on why I think the series is so popular, and what I think writers from any background can learn from watching and or reading it.
Simply put, I think millions of people are currently obsessed with The Summer I Turned Pretty for one main reason: strong character development. And writers should be taking detailed notes on how the characters in this series were developed, at their own speed and in their own time.
Each main character in the series deals with bonds of friendship and how they evolve over time, romantic love, parental expectations, and career goals — all while dealing with the shared and tragic loss of a loved one and everyday disappointments in life. Yet they all deal with these different life stages and trials in distinct ways as they grow and mature, continuously challenging themselves and their bonds to one another. And without such strong character growth and development, this series wouldn’t be as captivating.
Conrad is broody and keeps secrets to himself for the sake of those he loves at the beginning of the series, but eventually learns how to handle the anxiety attacks he experiences (which are caused by those secrets he’s keeping) and how to share his true feelings with those he loves, especially Belly, as he pursues a career in medicine.
Jeremiah eventually finds his own path as a chef and learns how to see himself outside of others’ expectations and influences, as well as his reliance on their presence and constant reassurance, while learning how to accept the true nature of his bond with both his brother and Belly.
Taylor and Steven learn how to be open and honest with each other as they explore their futures together and individually.
And Belly, the series’ primary main character, ultimately learns who she is and how to be her true self outside of her childlike comfort zones, and comes to understand who and what she wants in life outside of her childhood habits, dreams, and fantasies.
Each character in TSITP series comes of age in a distinct and complex way, in other words.
They also each say and do things that are both foolish and admirable as they all explore heartbreak and joy together and separately. This matters because the way their characters experience slow and steady growth makes them believable and relatable, which allows readers and viewers to root for them, even and especially when they’re being childish or foolish, as they grow into the adults they’re becoming.
While some readers and viewers will bemoan how the love triangle involving Belly, Conrad, and Jeremiah takes years (or a lifetime) to play out, this delayed gratification, care for one another, and longing is what ultimately reveals the depths behind their characters and furthers their development as individuals throughout the series. It’s also what keeps readers and viewers engaged and rooting for their characters in the series.
It is no mistake that people are claiming they are ‘Team Conrad’ or ‘Team Jeremiah.’ Sure, Millennials who claimed teams in vampire series with love triangles released in the early aughts are a little nostalgic when watching TSITP. But more than that, they’ve likely missed encountering characters they can complain about and root for in equal measure as they follow those characters’ journeys.
Bottom line: Readers and viewers appreciate characters who engage them in balanced positive and negative ways. They want characters they can invest their time and energy in as they learn and grow with those characters. They want characters who annoy them as well as excite them and surprise them and anger them and make them cry for all sorts of human reasons. They want characters who make them feel something real and relatable. And none of that would be possible without strong character development spurred on by things like compelling romantic plots, shared tragedies and disappointments, strong familial bonds, delayed gratification and longing, strategic doses of ambiguity and confusion, and important changes in scenery and everyday life.
All this to say that while TSITP series takes place primarily during the summer at an idyllic summer house in Cousins Beach and has a cast of attractive young people engaging in dramatic plots, what truly made it so popular is its well-developed characters. Its characters are what ultimately drew in millions of readers and viewers, and writers would be wise to make note of that. Slow and steady and believable character development and growth is extremely important in keeping readers and viewers engaged over time.
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© All Rights Reserved by K.E. Creighton; Creighton’s Compositions LLC.
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Writing Prompt: The Beach House
Write a detailed description of a beach house, real or imagined.
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