Writing Tips and Techniques (Writing Help)

Writing Love

        I'll admit, I'm no Nicholas Sparks when it comes to writing about love. I tend not to write it because I specialize in action/fantasy/adventure. However, I have read enough Jane Austen and Bronte to give some advice about writing love.

        Don't rush. You want to make your love story believable, and that's not going to happen if both characters see each other and are immediately deeply enthralled with each other. Real love takes time. Sometimes it's between two lifelong friends, sometimes between two people that hate each other and grow to like each other. Either way, it never realistically happens in an instant.

       It's all in the details. To do a romance justice, really, you have to take it slow. Stretch it out over a few books if you have to (everyone likes watching people fall in love more than seeing them in love. Think about it. You root for Pam and Jim to fall in love for so long and it's infuriating and pretty much the only reason you keep watching and then when they admit they're in love... eh. Done with you. Give me another couple). Show how they're compatible, how they're friends, then build toward the occasional dropping of a semi-flirtatious comment, describing the love interests PA (to show that they're noticing the other), getting comfortable touching each other (don't be gross. I mean little things like a hand on the shoulder, sitting closer together, picking a leaf out of her hair instead of just telling her it's there), disliking other people that take interest in the love interest, displays of affection (hugs, kisses on forehead), then you make them realize they're in love or whatever.

        Try to start with the characters noticing each other. It depends on whether you're writing from first or third person point of view whether the reader will know if both characters like each other or not. I see a lot of people switching points of view from each lover to confirm that they both like each other. It can work from just one point of view. Then the character and the reader is wondering if the other person is noticing them back. You can have your character informing the reader on occasion that they find the other person attractive, have them stare sometimes. Stuff like that.

        Furthermore, people aren't typically bold when it comes to love, and when they are, realistically, it could be a turn off since they could be strangers. If someone came up to you and blatantly told you were hot/they were suddenly in love with you, you'd probably laugh or make an excuse to get away, assuming the person's full of themselves and thinks they can get anyone.

        I get that people like fanfictions and stuff, but that whole "I can't live without you" thing that people do with their characters... sorry, it's cheesy. While yeah, I guess real people can be that in love, it's not exactly likely that people who met a week before are going to be saying that. When I've written love, it either starts with the characters already in love, or it's gona take a few books for them to really love each other.

         The key to a great love story is homophrosyne. It means like-mindedness. Honestly, the best example I've ever seen of this on TV is Pam and Jim from The Office. There is a connection other than the fact that they find each other attractive. They have personality traits and favorite pastimes (mostly torturing Dwight) in common. They can make each other laugh. They have inside jokes.  Another thing that is great about it is that, for the first three seasons, no one ever explicitly says that Jim is in love with Pam. And I'm not spoiling it, it is pretty obvious. But how do you know if no one says it? It's all in the details. If you've never seen The Office, I recommend it. Not only is it hilarious, but it is a great reference for writing romance.

          Also (this is just a personal thought) but it's not very likely that a two-hundred-year-old vampire will be attracted to a sixteen-year-old. Just think about it. Looking at a sixteen-year-old now, they look like children to me, and I'm only twenty-one. It's like your grandparent crushing on a high school student. It's creepy. A two-hundred-year-old vampire would have the mindset of an old person. Just because they can look young, doesn't mean they'd feel young mentally.