Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Well, my MCs are only in the real world for the first seventy pages or so, and during that time parental presence is fairly minimal. Afterward, they leave the real world and are assumed dead by those they leave behind, so I think that closes that loop rather nicely, if a bit cruelly. I haven't decided whether or not I'm going to bring the parents back, but I doubt it.

The problem I have with parental figures in fiction is the authority role they assume. We want our MCs to be able to make their own choices, rather than to be guided by a mentor's hand. It helps to develop the characters better and it also makes for a more interesting conflict. At least, that's my take on it.

Alternative solution I've never seen but might work - the teenager could be protecting their parents. True, most young adults from stable environments would go to their parents if there were to be a major problem, but if you really don't want Brady telling his parents that the hamster cult succeeded in their devious poodle plan, he could avoid involving them because he doesn't want those hamsters eating their brains out, too. Personally, I'd never tell my parents about something if I thought getting them involved would hurt them, or if I just thought I could handle it on my own. Also, it could be something which would upset the parents if they knew. e.g. Tasha's girlfriend Brenda disappeared and she has to look for her by herself because her parents are homophobes and would freak out if they knew about the relationship. Or the hamsters that (of course) kidnapped Brenda ate the parents at the beginning of the book. Or the parents are hamsters. *cue creepy music*