Genre: Romance
Fanfic Author Resources
USEAGE:
I've complied some pretty useful information on writing romance, from what to avoid to what to try include. I'd reason about 90% of fics on here are romance ones (or contain romance) so this should be pretty useful for anyone interested in reading it.
CLICHÉS (MOST used):
For those of you who may have overindulged in romance and want to glare at it for a change, or if you’re just a curmudgeon in general, I’ve compiled a list of my top most-hated romance clichés. (Note: I tried to keep this to clichés, not and-also-I-want-to-punch-you problems.)
- Bolt From The Blue Touch - I get it, I really do. You crush on a guy, there’s butterflies in your stomach, you’re on edge, every nerve on fire, and then…the accidental hand brush that sends you into overdrive. Cool. I got nothing against that. But what the hell is up with those brushes that come out of the blue and have the same effect? Y’all do realize it’s the anticipation doing that, not some magical quality to your true love’s skin, right? When character’s get a jolt from random touches, my mind goes to static shock and owies, not sizzling chemistry.
- Tingles “All Over” - Just call it what it is. . Lusty. There’s nothing wrong with lust. If it weren’t for lust, most of us wouldn’t be here. Lust is fun. Lust can even bespecial, if you do it right. There’s no need to make it “mysterious” by calling it…crashing waves or blooming lights or whatever the hell phrase you kids are using these days. It’s not better just because you refuse to name it.
- All the Ladies Want Him - I know your leading man is just such a catch. He’s hotter than on two legs and every inch of his not-insubstantial height is just dripping with masculinity. But I’d still lay odds that at least a few women in that bar don’t like manly-men. A few more don’t like men at all. A few more than that may like looking, but they love their partners and thus spare no more than a passing glance. Several more on top of that simply aren’t paying attention, because it turns out women leave the house for more reasons than seeking mates. Put it all together and like 90% of the immediate population will be more interested in placing their next order with the bartender than Mr. over there. (And any instance of random women walking up and offering threesomes to the leading man will do nothing more than make me laugh my off. Again.)
- Hands Off My (Wo)Man! - You know the drill. Leading woman glares daggers at every woman who gives her man the side-eye. Leading man postures (or outright assaults) every man who talks to their “but it’s not a real date” date. If the main characters have a relationship so tenuous that they think their partner would leave with the next flirt to walk by…well, not exactly a romance for the ages. Let the lady turn down her own Casanova wannabes for a change.
- Strong Woman (Until It’s Time To Be y) - I can’t count the times I’ve been annoyed at this. A woman is described as a “spitfire” or strong or sassy or any variation on the above. (Ignore, for the moment, if she actually is shown as such.) Much ado is made over her independence and awesometude. …until it’s time for , and then all of a sudden the leading man is “struck” by her “vulnerability.” Too many of these are all too happy to emphasize the “strong BUT also delicate enough to be feminine.” that. If she’s a strong woman, that’s fine and y right there, leave the buts out of it.
- The Fake Rake - If I’m going to read about a bad boy, then I want to read about a bad boy. Don’t tease me with the promise of philandering, drinking, and brawling, only to have it turn out it was all a misunderstanding or an act and he’s really got a heart of gold underneath. At the very least, have him be a real bad boy with a heart of gold. The two do not necessarily cancel each other out. A guy who picks fights in bars and tutors his niece is still a guy who picks fights in bars, after all.
- Declarations of Purple - Read your characters declaration of love out loud. Did you laugh in the middle of it? Did you stumble over awkward phrases? Did it take you a dictionary and a couple days to think up some of those metaphors? Then someone probably wouldn’t be saying that off-the-cuff.
- But Why? - If another character points out that the two leads have nothing in common, and the response is anything even near to being “there’s just something special,” then back away from the keyboard and hang your head in shame. That’s not an actual reason, that’s authorial slight-of-hand trying to head off criticisms that are justified. Unless you happen to be writing Romeo as he should be: a lusty 15 year-old teenager with zero perspective.
- Kinder than a Disney Princess - Every cookie-cutter romance heroine has the same traits, and they always get laid out for her in a heartfelt speech by the leading man as he attempts to prove his love. “Kind, smart, funny, generous, spitfire.” 9 times out of 10, those are informed attributes. They’re also bland as hell. Throw in something specific. “Hates Picard as much as I do.” “Passionate about sports.” “Comes up with the most inventive curses.” People can fall in love with the little stuff, and listing off the most generic “good” traits just highlights how little personality is going on here.
- Utterly Serious - Guys, come on. is ugly. It’s squishy. It makes weird noises. It smells bad. And most of all…it’s really funny. It’s a bizarre process that has people guffawing at every turn, because what else can you do when THE REALLY HOT GUY GETS STUCK IN HIS SHIRT AND FLAILS AROUND FOR A BIT? But it’s okay. Because funny is also mega y, mrrow *wink nudge*.
DO'S & DON'TS OF WRITING RELATIONSHIPS:
I thought quite a bit about this and I think I’m going to give you a list of do’s and don’ts. Now take everything I say with a pinch of salt, remember this isn’t ALWAYS the case and I’m basing some of these from bad fanfiction…
Disclaimer: These are my opinions.
Dos.
- Have instant physical attraction (if that’s your thing)
- Have your characters get to know each other.
- Show the progression of the relationship.
- Still mention other characters in your story.
- Make the relationship realistic
- Have arguments (no relationship is perfect)
- Have things about the other person that annoys them (you left the seat up- AGAIN).
Don’ts.
- Have them love each other instantly. It takes time to love each other and love grows as the relationship progresses.
- Have instant trust. (this may work for some, but I don’t think it’s realistic.)
- Make the relationship perfect
- Forget the other characters
- Only focus on the physical attraction (unless it’s not about love)
- Be sickly with their love. It turns me off, and I’m sure it turns others off.
- Make them have every five minutes.
MAKING LOVE WORK :
Love is one of the most relatable feelings. Therefore, writers tend to feel an excruciating need to sneak some love into their stories. While this might help reaching a broader audience, it may also ruin the whole idea of your book.
Most people have been in love at least once in their lives. Even those who were never in love probably really want to be. That way, reading about love is something that people seem to enjoy. It makes them reminisce on beautiful memories or dream about a colorful future. People who usually write in a genre that appeals to only a minority often want to add some love to their stories so that more people will be interested in reading them. This is a good strategy and there’s no problem with that. In fact, having two (or more) characters fall in love is a great way to show character development and gives you room to create interesting plot twists. However, love doesn’t always work in fiction.
If your character doesn’t have time for love, don’t throw love in your story. Hundreds of books and movies have been written about characters who are just too busy. They need to save the world or to solve a mystery or to get in a bank to rob it. And somewhere along their quest, someone of the opposite shows up and helps them and, by the end of the story, they live happily ever after. When did these characters fall in love? What do they appreciate about each other? What struggles have they overcome together? If you can’t give your characters time to fall in love, why would they? Making your characters kiss just to add a little romance to your story will not work. It will seem forced and make you writing less believable and relatable. In short, don’t write love if your character is too busy for work.
Don’t make your characters fall in love just because you need them to. Making two characters fall in love just for the sake of your story might ruin your plot. If you need two characters to be together, but their personalities don’t match, why would they fall in love? There are unlikely couples, indeed, and these are couples that seem to disagree on everything, yet there is something that connects them. However, if your characters don’t have anything that holds them together, making them fall in love will not come off as believable or understandable to your readers. This brings us to our next topic.
Don’t give your characters similar personalities so that they’ll fall in love. Two people usually fall in love because they have similar interests or they can have interesting conversations. Pushing two characters to be similar just so it will seem believable for them to fall in love will make your story weak. You need your characters to start walking in each other’s direction, figuratively. If you make them completely alike right in the beginning, the relationship will be predictable and boring.
Experiment with differences! While two completely different and incompatible people aren’t likely to fall in love, it’s true that opposites attract. Making two very different people fall in love can be a little cliché, but if you experiment correctly with personality differences, it can definitely work. If your characters are too different, the relationship will be predictable too because this has been done too many times. However, if they are different, but one and the same at the same time, your characters will make a cute and believable couple.
Write with your audience, your characters and your genre in mind. This is one of the mistakes many writers make when writing fiction. While you should always write for yourself, if you’re aiming at a very specific audience, keep that in mind when writing love stories. Teenagers and older people won’t look at relationships the same way, and therefore the formula that works for one age group might not work for another one. You also need to keep your character’s personalities in mind when writing about their relationships. If your characters are very shy, they’re not likely to display their affection in public or to be very comfortable expressing their feelings right away. Also, you should always keep the genre in mind too. Some genres are prone to have love stories, others aren’t. This doesn’t mean that there are genres where you shouldn’t include a love story. What this means is that when you’re writing a romance novel, the love story should play a bigger part than when you’re writing an action book.
Perfect relationships don’t exist. I know that couple next door seems to be happy all the time, but they’re not. Let me break this to you: Couples fight. Couples hate things about each other. Couples yell. And yet, these are the most perfect relationships you’ll ever see. Couples that can still respect each other after having said or done the most awful things during a fight are the happiest ones. You need to write believable relationships, in which your characters fight and disagree and have flaws. A flawed relationship is beautiful and, most of all, it’s real. If your characters agree about everything and like everything about each other, you’re doing something wrong.
To sum up, always know that if you’re determined to have love in your story, you have to make room for it. You have to develop the relationship like it’s a character or your plot. You need to show the reader why these characters like each other, what made them fall for each other, what they hate about each other and what are the weaknesses of the relationship. Treat a relationship like it’s a person and you might get something very nice out of it.
CREDITS:
- Cliches In Romance - ReadingWithAVengence
- Making Love Work - What About Writing
- Do's & Don't Of Writing Relationships - TheWritersHelpers
Additional Reading:
- Realistic Romance - Reference For Writers
- Sub-Plot Romances - The Writing Café
- Conflict In Romance Novels - Writers Digest
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