Love triangles ??

Just my own two cents but as someone who reads a lot of YA lit, there's so many examples of bad love triangles. Often there's no balance or equilibrium between the two guys (say its two guys, one girl), and very often one is the winner the whole time..as was the case in twilight. Another cliché you find is that they both despise each other and it doesn't have to be like that..and then there's the whole good vs bad guy thing going on (Vampire diaries, shatter me)

You definitely need some sort of interaction between the two guys to complete the 'triangle' and something that causes us as readers to sit on the fence between the two.

If you want an example of a good love triangle, I recommendd the Infernal Devices where both the guys in the story are bound by something even closer than blood.

If your protagonists are in their teens then it is believable that they won't yet have formed committed relationships (with children, mortgages, etc.). Only two potential love interests? Where are the rest? Ha ha.

Wolves (not the supernatural kind) apparently mate for life, so maybe there's an internal conflict in the werewolf character - does she stick to humankind that she's grown up with or with the kind that she's become. (I'm assuming the main female character is the werewolf, but even if I have got that part wrong, internal conflict is so much more interesting than boys squabbling over a girl.)

Ugh love triangles. It's not that I don't like them, but as Antoinette* said, there's a specific kind of them that's really, really overdone.

I'd say the most important thing to settle first is WHY do you even want that triangle in there. From what you said, although you really super want it, you seem to want it because it sounds amusing to write and it might make things difficult for your MC. But would it be relevant? Would it fit her character? Would it fit the plot, how would it affect it, how would it change it? How would it affect the thoughts, feelings and choices of the protagonist? What are the two sides like, personality-wise; why would they not give up and just walk away? How would this whole thing affect them? And simply, does it come naturally to have this triangle, or are you really just putting it there for no other reason but because you want it there, regardless of how it affects all the things you already have in your story?

Now, let's say you figured that you really need this triangle and it makes sense.

Even if you're writing a YA book, keep in mind that spicing up things can only be good.

One major thing that I don't like in such "triangles" is that, in fact, they're just V-shaped predictable drama. Calling it a triangle, I believe, should require more interaction and feelings between the two opponents in the race for the MC's love. By this I mean, more interraction than being opponents and fighting over the MC. They could be friends or family, family by something other than blood, or even total strangers (yeah, then you don't have more interraction, but no interraction would be a new one as well =p), they migt not need to be of the same gender and/or age... there's a lot of possibilities to make this a bit more interesting without even trying too hard.

Another thing, though this might be a personal preference, don't go with the bad boy/nice guy thing - no matter which one wins in the end, it's already overdone, but it's especially so if you romanticise the "bad boy" and everything he/she does, that's just plain wrong if you think there might be someone growing up on your books and believing that's how the world works.

I'll end this here, but keep in mind that there's a lot of things to consider, and a bunch of questions to be answered - not just the ones I mentioned earlier.

*every resemblance of our last name and initials is purely coincidential =P