《How to Write Stories People Will Love》Question 52: Believable romance
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asks: How do you write romance between two characters that people will ship?
In case you're like me, and out of touch with current youngster lingo, to "ship" characters is to root for them to get together in a romantic relationship. It comes from "relationSHIP". Now that we are all up to date, on with the lesson...
One of my biggest peeves in any story is "insta-love", or love at first sight. Maybe it's because I've never had such an experience myself, but I personally think it's hogwash. There is lust at first sight, sure. Some people naturally have chemistry with each other. But physical attraction does not equal love. For actual love to happen, these characters need to actually know each other first.
If two people have gone through the same thing, it gives them an invisible bond that those who haven't experienced it cannot relate to. It could be surviving a plane crash, or losing a child to gang violence, or enduring days as a hostage. It could be positive things, like beating cancer, earning a valedictorian title, or training for a triathlon. Shared experiences give the characters some immediate common ground. They can joke or complain about it, and both will be able to commiserate.
Sometimes two people who have little in common on the surface discover they actually share similar beliefs. In Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, Han Solo at first seems to be a charming, laid-back, self-serving rogue with few morals. Princess Leia, on the other hand, seems to be a dignified spitfire, battling for her cause. They seem to have nothing in common, and in fact fight a lot during the movie. But eventually we discover them both to be courageous, good-hearted, and in complete agreement that they need to stop the Empire from succeeding. Again, common ground gives them something solid to build upon.
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"Opposites attract" used to be a phrase that stymied me. It made no sense, because how would opposites even get along? Then I figured out that, if the two people are able to agree to disagree on some things and maintain respect for each other, their opposing traits can actually work together. One person who loves to talk can carry the conversation when the other person doesn't speak as much. A socially awkward computer genius can partner with a personable salesperson to market a new app. A talented swordswoman can protect a powerful mage while he conjures a spell they need to enter a cave. A balance happens when one person's strengths compliments the other's weaknesses, and vice versa.
Our job as storyteller is to reveal these commonalities as the story progresses. In my story, Nirrin (which is currently an early draft and in need of major revisions), some of my readers were unable to "ship" the romance I intended. In my mind, the two characters had a lot in common. However I did a poor job of revealing one character's motivations, which resulted in a not-very-believable romance. (Yet another example of why beta readers or critique partners are important. I didn't see this problem!) As I rewrite portions of my story, one of my top priorities will be to make that character more likable by showing he cares, and really does have a lot in common with Nirrin.
When I read Obsidian, by Jennifer Armentrout, I couldn't finish the story. The girl kept drooling over this hot guy who treated her like crap. I read at least half, hoping she would discover that he was actually a nice guy worth getting involved with. But he kept right on insulting her at every turn, and I started hating her for liking him. Did she not have any self-respect? What was wrong with her?? A huge part of making the romance believable is to make the two characters involved likable. We can't root for characters we don't like.
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The Black Fortress Academy
Quinn is the most disliked human and necromancer in all of Cinder. Or at least it feels that way when she's pushed so far north she has to make a living hunting the animals in the mysterious and feared North Forest. When bounty hunters force her to cross the border into Rainon she meets Meyron the Black, the definitely insane former professor of necromancy from the Academy of Mages. But she's been pushed out too, and together they're going to look for the five rejected necromancer applicants she fished out of the headmaster's wastebin. Together they will build the foundation of the Black Fortress Academy.
8 201The World of Adventurers
Fuimiko Akazawa. A sixteen year old girl who became the leader of her father's yakuza group at the young age of twelve due to his assassination by a rival group. She has been plotting a plan for revenge ever since that day. However, while carrying out her vendetta, she finds herself near death from a bullet shot by the same man who killed her father. When she regains consciousness, she finds herself in a world that she doesn't recognize.
8 199The Child of Love and Hatred
A normal school day on its end. A young man by the name of Ciaran suddenly drops dead under the eyes of his little sister along with some other students and a teacher because of the mistake of a god .He wakes up in the body of a Gifted baby sharing his name, in an unknown world sharing some similarities with Earth. But his fate is not a pretty one. Led by poverty and a lacking sense of mother-ship, his new mother abandons him to the hands of peculiar slavers. But Ciaran's Gift is not an ordinary one, and from the pain and humiliation of countless experiments, his will becomes set in stones. He will go back to his old world, take care of his orphaned sister, and finally start a new relationship with the woman who haunts his heart. No. Matter. What.Meanwhile, his classmates slowly learn to live in this new world, and hidden powers are scheming a new future that doesn't only concerns this estranged world. I put the "sexual content" warning not because it's a ero-novel but because I plan something special for the 69th so better be safe than sorry.Though the warnings for gore and strong language aren't there just for the show. Especially the gore part. Ciaran has a gruesome past and lives a gruesome life. The release schedule is set for 1 chapter every day with a break at the end of each week. Might change depending on how my creative side is feeling, though I'm quite serious on this wn. Will probably change the release schedule once I go back to school but that's for september.Comments and (constructive) reviews are warmly welcomed! Also published on Scribblehub. Cover made by myself.Better res available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/10xfsVQdzmNZYQXhHWvbA0_g4UlZQzIeP/view?usp=sharing
8 168Algorithm - Book 1 - The Medallion
A young boy, Adam, discovers a gold medallion in a lump of coal. He keeps it as a curious good luck piece for the next twenty years, until as a scientist, he discovers it contains a message and is clearly alien. Join Adam and his colleague, Linda, as they embark upon an adventure of revelation, ultimately giving up all they hold dear to discover who we are and who put us here.
8 219Her Worth| kdg.
Maeve Welsh is a thick twenty-two year old mistaken for overweight and has also felt insecure as a result. She's shy, innocent and always to herself, afraid to be called 'fat'. Maeve crosses paths with Kentrell, a public figure and father with a bad reputation. Everything opposite to Maeve's reserved and calm lifestyle. Maeve soon shows Kentrell what it means to be truly loved with nothing material as expectation, not even his fame or money. And Kentrell proves to Maeve what HER WORTH really is.(The description doesn't do much justice to the content of this book, so please read to find out!)
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Where they came from or what they even are is a complete mystery. What they want, however, isn't. There is only one thing that seems to keep them going: their endless hunger. Feeding is the only goal of these seemingly unstoppable nocturnal beasts. One of the few survivors, Markus, must journey across the United States in search of somewhere safe - to find others who are desperately trying to survive like him.
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