I've been gone a while. I almost forgot I had a blog. After picking myself up with writing, if figured I should get back into the blogging.
(I'm going to try and finished How to be Invisible and Rule the World. From now on I will be calling it Invisible one here. Cause it is to long to type out every time it is mentioned.)
(this story was published on quotev, so it's not an actual book. I will not name it. I'm not bashing the story. This is just an example.)
The other day my friends highly suggested I read this book that they found online. So I jumped into the deep end, not really knowing what I was getting myself into. It turned out to be a cheesy Tumblr romance, with just about every cliche that was ever used in a romance all within 63 chapters. I had mixed feelings about continuing. As a writer, I was getting annoyed at the story and the characters. (I still liked the story though) there were times my friends would catch me smiling like an idiot at how cute some of the scenes were... and also put up with me screaming at them for how bad it was, and how none of it was real, and how the characters should just pick them selves up! *Pulls on hair*
Here are some points (do and don'ts) you must have when writing romance (I'm not experience writer... These are just my thoughts and how I go about writing.)
Stereo Types
Popular, Rich, Jock, Hot, Jerk randomly falls in love with, Not so pretty, unpopular, Insecure, Geek. You know, just about every teen movie that was ever written. This has been used all to many times in the wrong way. Any characters can fall in love. Even popular girls can fall love. Stop looking at characters as stereo types and more as human beings.
Love at first Sight
I think it is better said as attraction at first sight. You can't truly love someone until you have learned to love all their flaws, and live through their mistakes. Sometimes you have to be pushed to the point of insanity to truly love them. This can be in friendship or a romantic relationship.
Having your characters say "I love you." A chapter or two into the book is just a bit much. There needs to be something before that.
On the same note. There has to be something that brings your two characters together. To doesn't just help with plot, but also with how it will effect their relationship, this can be for friendships as well. For example, Anastasia and Christian from Fifty shades were bought together through an awkward interview (don't ask me why I chose to use that as an example... I haven't read the book or watched the movie) In All the Bright Places, Finn and Violet meet on the bell tower. Mix you characters relationship into the plot.
Character Development
Their is not such a thing as a perfect guy. Let me know when you find one. One thing that annoyed me in the story, was how perfect the male character was. There was just nothing in his backstory that explained why he acted the way he did. Like he had no life before he meet the girl. I was kind of rooting for there to be something wrong with him. But there was nothing. The only time he ever got angry and upset was when someone did wrong to the girlfriend.
As for the girl. There was no growth on her behalf. I was expecting her to grow in someway. But the further the story went on, she just became weaker and more vulnerable. There were points when she would stand up for herself, but then she would fall back. She had to lean on her boyfriends so much, that with out him she would fall.
Character development is crucial for any story. Events will change them, building them up taking them down, resulting in them being a different (hopefully stronger) character than from the start. In a relationship, each of the characters have to learn to build each other up. Kissing is not going to fix everything.
There is probably more I had to say on the subject. So I will probably do a part two at some point when it crosses my mind.
-Rachy
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