Well,
getting published, usually.
But, that
aside, there’s romance in the air this weekend.
And everyone loves a good
romance because, pretty much across the board, we’ve all either been in love,
are in love, or want to be in love. It’s a wonderful feeling. Heck those first few months of giddy romance
are just fantastic, aren’t they?
Love is
great because we can relate to it. We
believe in it. For the most part, we
enjoy seeing other people in love.
(except when Wakko started dating Phoebe... those jerks... hate them so much...)
If those
three traits sound familiar—relatable, believable, likable—it’s because I’ve
mentioned them two or six times as the traits of good characters. So a good romance can be a powerful tool in a
story, because it immediately grounds one or two of my characters.
However...
Have you ever
read a book or watched a movie where, with no warning, two characters start
professing their mad love for each other?
No preamble, no chemistry, they just suddenly start flirting and making long-term
plans. None of us likes emotional
fakery, and few things can sink a story faster than a pasted-on love interest. It makes us roll our eyes while reading books
and laugh while we’re watching movie.
So, let’s
revisit a few simple rules that can help craft a love story for the ages...
The
First Rule-- Okay, like
I was just saying, love needs real emotions, and I can’t have real emotions
without real people. And real people,
oddly enough, act in realistic ways. Note
that I said realistic—not rational. Love
is one of the most bizarre, irrational things most of us will ever encounter in
our lives.
If my
characters are real, though, they’re going to have needs, desires, plans, and
tastes. And it’ll stand out if they make choices that go against those traits. Yes, opposites attract—they even have a lot of
fun together—but if we’re talking about real emotions, odds are these two are
going to have more in common than not. To
put it another way, the career-minded Army officer probably isn’t going to make
serious long term plans with the quirky socialist musician. Although... maybe she used to play guitar or
violin, and he reminds her of another path she could’ve taken. Having past conflicts and secrets can make a
character seem real, too.
Even then,
how far and how fast they take things should be consistent. Some folks schedule every hour of every day,
others live in the moment. People can be
confident or nervous, experienced or awkward.
For some folks it’s a huge moment to have that first cautious, fleeting
kiss on the third date, and other folks are in the parking lot tearing each
others clothes off half an hour after they meet.
Simply put, my characters need to be believable if their relationship is going to be believable.
Simply put, my characters need to be believable if their relationship is going to be believable.
The
Second Rule-- Quick show of hands. Who’s ever been in a situation where
someone’s been trying to push you into a relationship?
Maybe it’s friends or coworkers.
Could be the person you’ve been on one date with. Hopefully it’s not relatives, because that’s
always kinda... weird.
Regardless,
the result is it makes us want to get away from the object of our potential
affection. Nobody likes feeling forced into
something, and so we don’t enjoy seeing other people forced into things. That’s just human nature.
Now, for
the record, “someone” includes me, the writer.
Characters need their own motivations to get into a relationship. I can’t just have them do things for the convenience of the plot. If
I’ve based my whole story around the folklorist and the soldier saving the villagers because of their mutual respect for each other, then I need a real
reason for them to get together, because they’re real people (as mentioned in the
First Rule).
And no, the
reason can’t be something like “because they need to face Demosthenes the
Elder-Lich in the third act.” It
also can’t be “I need a sex scene to hold people’s attention.” If this is the basis of Wakko and Phoebe’s
relationship... well, they probably won’t be celebrating any major
anniversaries. Not with each other,
anyway.
People get
together because they want to get together, not because other folks think they
should be together.
The Third
Rule – This one could actually count as real-world advice. Don’t confuse sex with love. There are lots of points in a story where it
might be completely acceptable for two characters to have sex. We’re all mature adults here (well, most
of us) and I’m willing to bet most of us have had sex with someone we weren’t
madly in love with at that moment. Or at
any point later. Simple fact—sex is
fun. It’s a stress-reliever. It lets us avoid thinking about other
things. Heck, it can even keep you warm.
However...
sex doesn’t always translate to love. In
stories or in the real world. If my two
characters fall into bed (or onto a couch, up against a tree, on a kitchen
counter, etc), I need to make sure I’m clear what it means for both of
them. Forcing something casual into
something serious will just read as forced (refer back to the Second Rule).
So... sex
and love are not the same thing. Don't forget it.
The
Fourth Rule-- This is a tough one, because Hollywood keeps trying to tell us otherwise. How
often in movies can you immediately spot “the love interest” as soon as s/he is
introduced? It doesn’t matter what kind
of film it is or what’s going on, it’s easy to pick out him/ her the first time
we see them. You may have heard this
moment called the “meet-cute,” usually in screenwriting circles.
Y’see,
Timmy, the simple truth is... romance doesn’t
always fit in a story. Someone could be fighting for their life, painfully
wounded, or so scared they’re a moment away from a heart attack. Maybe they’re already in a relationship with
someone else. Maybe they just have no
interest in a relationship—emotional or physical.
Forcing a
relationship in these situations also risks making one or both characters seem
very unlikable. There was a television
show a few years back where a police officer was presumed dead and in hiding,
but kept sneaking off (in his new identity) to check on his wife and son. Thing is, he was also spending a lot of time with this sexy blonde contortionist (no,
seriously) and there was a lot of, shall we say, tension between them. And chemistry.
Thing is,
this made the officer a very hard-to-like character. Is he cheating on his wife? Or has he moved on and found something
new? Is he sympathetic or a heel?
Similarly,
I read a screenplay once where the two protagonists start feeling strong urges
toward each other while they’re searching for the woman’s abducted
daughter. Not years-back abducted, mind
you—four hours ago abducted. But,
wow, doesn’t this private detective have great arms and his eyes are so
blue...
In ten
words or less—sometimes it’s just not going to happen.
So there
are the rules. Now go forth and spread
the love.
Where appropriate. Don’t be that guy. Or woman.
Oh, and
before I forget, this Sunday is the Writers Coffeehouse at Dark Delicacies in
Burbank. If you happen to be in the Los
Angeles area, please swing by and join us as we talk about writing, publishing,
and all the different areas they overlap.
Next time
we’re back here, I’d like to talk to you about a couple of ideas I’ve had.
Until
then, go write.
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