K is for Kindred

Kindred - one's family and relations; relationship by blood.

Family, kindred, can be important for a story in different ways. While they can make for interesting characters in stories, also their absence can have a big affect on the main character. There are so many roles for the kindred folk that they can help make a story unique (or make it cliche depending on how they are used).

I will admit it... I have a few stories where a parent or both are dead or at least gone. Ottohahn's mom died in a work accident, Wyck's mom supposedly died near the border cause a monster broke through, both of Isaac's parents were killed, Sage doesn't know who his real parents were and Dominic's are also gone. On the other hand, there are plenty of characters who have parents actively involved in the story. Noah's parents are a part of the story, same with Ephram's and many others. Even the adult characters sometimes have to deal with their parents. hehe

But what about other relatives?

In The Lorax movie, the grandmother was one of the coolest characters, same with the snowboarding grandma from the red riding hood cartoon movie. But how often are grandparents really used, especially in speculative fiction? I've seen them in a few books but to be honest, I haven't written many grandparent characters, or other relatives either. Might want to work on that. There is much potential in the use of kindred that I may work on using more in stories. Depends on the story.


How do family members affect your main character?
Do you have any absent ones?