The Ecology of the Family

Build and leverage a family ecosystem to develop and deepen your fiction.

- Elizabeth Sims

Over coffee recently, a friend described a harrowing moment when, as she was cleaning her canary's cage, the bird escaped.

The cat leaped.

My friend screamed.

Her 3-year-old daughter screamed.

The bird did not survive.

"Well," said my friend as she gazed pensively out the café window, "that's what I get for having a food chain in my house."

The story got me thinking about the fact that a family is, for all purposes practical and symbolic, an ecosystem.

As writers, our first reference point for drama is usually a family.

"Mom and Dad are yelling again."

"Yeah? What about?"

"I dunno. She said, 'Why don't you go to her, then?""

"Really? Who's 'her'?"

"Maybe it's Mrs. Perry down the street."

"Really? Why?"

"I dunno. I just think it is."

The characters we write about, like us, have families of all sorts. When you're putting together an ensemble of characters, consider the myriad variations and possibilities! of family, among them:

• Traditional nuclear

• Blended (stepparents/stepsiblings / half siblings)

• Single parent

• Adoptive/foster/custodial

• Multi-generational

• Polygamous

• Empty nest

• Many siblings

• Only child

• Orphan(s)

• Special needs: medical, mental, emotional

• Widow/widower

• LGBTQ/nonbinary

• Native/immigrant

• Racially homogeneous/diverse

• Culturally homogeneous/diverse

• Pets as family

• The streets (no home)

Then there are groups that feel familial (absent the bond of blood, but perhaps joined together by plenty of sweat and tears):

• Chosen (friends, allies)

• Military / police / first responders

• Clubs / fraternities / sororities

• Religious orders / churches

• Workplace / professional organizations

• Virtual, e.g. internet buddyhood