 Romance/Love: December 28, 2005 Issue [#787] |
  Romance/Love
This week: Edited by: John~Ashen  
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Romance/Love! Sometimes it's sappy and sweet poetry; other times it's heart-pounding and blood-boiling fiction. We all have our own preferred romance vehicles. I'll be offering advice on how to make your narration more believable. Enjoy  --John~Ashen |
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Love & Misunderstanding
 No two people think exactly alike.
We cannot read each other's minds.
These two general truths combine to cause vicissitudes in every relationship. Vicissitudes? Oscillations, highs and lows, ups and downs, peaks and valleys... you know, vicissitudes!  Anyway, let's forget about real relationship obstacles and concentrate on the most frequent and annoying issue: misunderstandings. They're bad in real life, but great in fiction! Here's why:
Belated Understanding
Misunderstandings cause tension between the romantic characters of your plot. This tension causes drama and keeps the readers glued to your story, because they naturally want to see the tension relaxed. However, the misunderstanding only works for you as long as it still exists. Once it's gone, you'll have to find a new way to spice up a boringly perfect relationship.
Resist the temptation to have your characters come to an understanding early in the story. It's not realistic that everyone can say just the right thing all the time. Let the relationship take some hits now and then, with miniscule misconceptions interrupting with the magic. Let the readers' anxiety build until they're complaining aloud. Only near the end of the story should they clear the air and everything be rosy. Then they can have a heart-to-heart talk that leads to a lovey-dovey make-up scene. Readers want that big scene at the end, and so do you - it leaves a strong final impression.
Example: Barry keeps asking Jenny to go to Tahiti with him. He gets upset that she says No. He figures she doesn't like him, and he stops visiting her. Jenny feels ignored and hurt. This goes on until the climax, when Barry learns she has a fear of flying. Big talk, they kiss, they schmooze, everyone's happy and flying to Tahiti. The End.
Motivation in Retrospect
Your characters each have their own motivations. Keep them internalized! You know why Mr. Right is doing the [seemingly] wrong thing, but don't reveal it to the reader. Let him make his choices and actions to define his character. Miss Thang will make her choices too, and only in the end should we learn the underlying motivations.
After the heart-to-heart talk, the reader will know what a character values most. Then we can project that information backwards and see why he acted and chose as he did. It's like the last tumbler of a lock falling into place, and "ahhhhh!" it all makes sense. This is why the second read-through of a book is usually as rich as the first. You get a different perspective because this time you're privy to what's going on besides what you're shown.
Example: In the movie Some Kind of Wonderful, drummer girl Watts and best friend to Keith only reluctantly helps him chase his crush. They're rude to each other at times, too. We don't learn until the end that Watts has been secretly in love with Keith all along. Sure, they dropped hints here, and we had a feeling, but we didn't know. It's blatantly obvious the second time you see her act, but only because you already know her secret.
We the Wizards
Misunderstanding can be a powerful plot tool, and the above describes the mechanism. The author knows the characters' motivation from the outset, but the reader does not. Furthermore, like the Wizard of Oz, we don't want our readers seeing behind the curtain.
Thus "show, don't tell" is the rule. It's romance, after all, and we must preserve the magic. We give the reader juicy action until the end, and only then can we finally let them in on the secret truths hidden away in the lovers' heads. It is at this culmination point of understanding that the reader will derive the most enjoyment.
Another example from the movies: Leeloo likes Korben but is secretly fated to save the world, so she can't get into a relationship. Korben thinks she doesn't love him back, so he won't say those three magic words. Finally they figure out they're both on a mission to save the world. "I love you," he says, they kiss, they schmooze, everyone's happy and the big evil is defeated. The end. |
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