Ice's writing tips

Chemistry!!!!

         Yes, I know. It's been a while since I uploaded on this book in particular. Anyway, I thought I would talk about Chemistry, and no, I don't mean school chemistry.

      I've been wondering myself on how to create great chemistry. I've recently come upon this problem with writing my original book. My love interests don't connect like they should and by God, if I have to force them together I'll dig my grave.

After hours of researching and weeks gathering what I could find about chemistry. I came up with barely anything, especially since I not only was trying to find romantic chemistry but friendship chemistry for another pair of characters. No one has real answers.

But then I took a step back. Staring at my book I wondered, how can I fix this? Then it hit me! I found out everything that was wrong! Now. I will tell you my own personal findings but please note: after scrolling through Google search I came to realize that finding chemistry is different for every author and every character. Some characters may have better chemistry than others with out the intent and some don't. Anyway, here are my tips on how I improved the chemistry of my characters in my book.

1. Backstory!

     Honestly, this won't work too well if your characters just met in the book and don't have a history, BUT! This tip works wonders for both romantic and friendship chemistry. Now all of us that outline sometimes dread backstory. I mean it can be fun at times but others, it's painful and sometimes we skip it. DON'T SKIP IT!

Even if these characters never mention their backstory, you as an author need to know. They are people, imagine them as this as actual people or friends you just hung out with. Things only you know about them that can be poured into your writing. Now, this can be their childhood, sometimes traumatic or sometimes nice. It's your character and it shapes them to who they are. Now getting a little off subject with the importance with backstory, not all backstory has to be overly dramatic, some characters are just as interesting with normal average childhoods. Maybe a few peculiar things here and there but nothing over the top.

So why does backstory help with chemistry?

Backstory can help especially with chemistry if these characters have had a history together. And just as I said before, some of this doesn't have to be stated but shown. The show, don't tell principle comes into play here. 

This can help when it comes to childhood stories of these two grew up together, it all helps. And you don't really need to state these stories either (Unless you want to) if they don't play an important part in the plot. If you know how they are with each other, how they treat each other especially when mad, sad, happy, ect. they know how to react to each other and help them. Whats nice about this with romantic relationships is that you can expand more on this friendship as times goes on and flip it to romantic. On the other spectrum, as you write it these relationships as the story progresses, it can strengthen the friendship to something almost unbreakable.

2. Change something

     Don't you hate it when you've developed a character who is a love interest with your MC or someone else and they just don't fit? 

Well, sometimes the character (or characters) just don't mix well. You've written them in scenes together but it feels forced. This happened to me with TWO pairs. TWO! I was so confused. One I even had the back story written and still, they weren't clicking. Was it their personalities? Was it something I did?

Yes, it was. Sometimes making subtle changes can greatly improve the chemistry, and as an author, we have to be open to change (Especially if we are traveling down the old fashion publishing route). And making slight changes can really improve these kinds of situations.