It's February! As our lovely host for this month said, with all this puppy love in the air, just what makes your tail wag and your heart flutter? There are triangles, circles and squares! Enemies, friends, grumpies and sunshine! How about some good ole forced proximity or forbidden love?
Read on to hear what our dreamers had to say!
Question posted on February 19th, 2024
Which writing approach is more effective for productivity and in preventing burnout: dedicating intense effort during specific weeks, while taking breaks from life and work, or adopting a steady, consistent pace throughout the entire year without significant interruptions to your life and work?"
*All answers are slightly modified for grammar and structure.*
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Winning answer by PathSojourner
I'm not much of a romance person myself, but it's kind of impossible to find much fiction without a love interest of some sort. So, over the years, I've compiled a list of what does and doesn't work for me in terms of romance:
Please keep it as a secondary plot, not the primary one. Just a preference of mine, as I am here for the action or the world, not so much the feels.Make it substantial and worthwhile. Characters who are head over heels for each other because of hormones run the risk of making their romance seem rushed and contrived, even if it is totally possible given the extreme circumstances the pair is put in. And if a pair is meant to stay together, trauma bonding and hormones can only do so much. For a long-term relationship to work, love should be based on character qualities, not how cute they are. It's okay if the hormones start the initial relationship, but it should continue based on the qualities that make that person worth knowing, not just kisses (or more).On a related note, character A obsessing or pining over character B when they haven't explained, discussed, or even revealed their feelings for each other can quickly get monotonous, especially when the story flips POV and you see that character A and B are mutually pining while thinking the other doesn't like them. It's a well-worn trope that could easily be solved by a little communication. There are more creative options out there.I don't remember where I read it (perhaps The Magic Words by Cheryl B. Kleine). It's an amazing book on writing (go check it out), but romantic tension based on miscommunication is a bad idea. It gets cringey, especially when if they just had a talk, all their problems would be solved. A romantic (sub)plot should have real obstacles, not purely miscommunication. Lack of communication, though, or deliberately mangled messages, miscommunication, or other problems? Go straight ahead.Slow burn (in the sense of slowly-growing romantic feelings, just in case I have the trope definition wrong): romance builds suspense, hopefully without dragging it out too long. Slower-moving romance is also more likely to be about character qualities rather than hormones, as I said above. Some of the few romances I have actively shipped are based on slowly growing feelings as the story (or even series) progresses.When the bad guy holds your lover (or best friend, or any treasured loved one) hostage, the usual response is to give in and do what they say. But what if the character finds another way or walks into this trap on purpose for other reasons? This puts a great twist on the usual moral dilemma, but the agony of surrendering to save a loved one is also good.I'm intrigued by the trope of learning to love each other after getting married (through arranged marriage or circumstance), so seeing more of that would be interesting. I'd also like to see more of the trope where both characters know (because of prophecy or something) that they're supposed to marry each other the moment they see each other (not necessarily meet), and then feel really awkward because how are you supposed to go about getting to know each other with that fate in mind? Bonus points if they don't realize the other person knows they're going to get married as well. Enemies to lovers, when done well, is always a nice trope. Redemption and forgiveness arcs are great (how are you supposed to stay a couple if you can never let things go?).Everyone being in love with the main character seems both unrealistic and awkward. Surely someone sees the MC's flaws. By extension, not too many love interests, please.If there are two love interests, please don't let the main character waffle between them throughout the whole series. Definitely don't have the MC choose one, then later go back to the other. Everyone feels cheated.Pretty much everything I say here is with the unspoken caveat, "Anything can work if you do it well." A little miscommunication, properly done hormones, fast-moving romance, or a romantic genre book are not all off the table by any means. I just think it's harder to do them convincingly and well.
Second place answer by WrenMorgan
I mostly read romance as a subplot rather than the primary genre, so I prefer it when the romance is tied into the main plot in some way. I enjoy tropes that create an intense bond between the characters that isn't romantic in itself but can fuel romantic tension. Like one character playing bodyguard to another. Or a detective hunting a criminal. That's why I enjoy enemies to lovers too. The relationship is already dynamic on its own, so adding romance makes it even more layered and dramatically interesting.
As for my least favourite romance trope... it has to be soulmates. I find it redundant, limiting, and contrived. Either the story makes the effort to build the relationship and bring the characters together organically, in which case their being soulmates is unnecessary, or it functions as a crutch in place of building a genuine connection between two people, in which case the romance is unconvincing. Either way, it sucks.
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That's all for now! We appreciate that those who participated took a moment out of their lives to do so and again, congratulations to the winners! If you have any addition thoughts (or anything you'd like to add on), feel free to do so in the comments!
See you guys next round!
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