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Topic : Re: How to write romance without falling into cliché? A few examples of romance clichés: A is in love with B, but doesn't dare to tell him/her. After some chasing, A finally has sex with B - selfpublishingguru.com

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The thing about romance is that it is aspirational, just like most fiction. To make a good romance, the reader needs to want to have the relationship in the book. They want to believe that the person falling in love could easily be them, and they will find the love of their life through similar means.

The way most romance writers do this is exactly the same:

boy meets girl/girl meets boy
boy and girl grow close
obstacle keeps boy and girl apart
boy and girl eventually overcome obstacle and are finally together

You've essentially written that format yourself in the guise of different clichés, but in fact they are all one (if you count number 3 as a love triangle).

The reason most romances are similar is that there is a definite idea of the 'perfect relationship' that our society has. Even an obstacle is a key part, it makes the other person in the relationship feel that the person is willing to tackle the obstacle for them. It also makes the relationship more interesting (if you have romance without drama, it's quite boring, in fiction or real life).

Of course, most writers have a slight variation on this, like girl meets vampire, or add a step 5 where boy/girl dies, or even points 1 and 2 are swapped around.

The problem with writing romance fiction is that you need to write a relationship that people want, and if most people want to experience the cycle, you have to give the readers what they want.

Unfortunately I don't think there is a way to break out of the cycle. Otherwise, for example, if you try to expand on number 3 over other numbers, then that's when it becomes a relationship in an adventure novel, for example. Or if you skip number 4, that becomes a tragic novel.

The best way to change the cycle is to change points, rather than the structure. Some of the best and most engaging romance films I've ever seen (I don't really read romance fiction that often) are ones that are 'boy meets boy' or even 'boy meets computer', and immediately the script is flipped. Even conforming to the most conventional romance plot from thereon out, the story is still entirely unconventional.

These wouldn't be particularly accepted in the past, but now that we live in a more accepting society the points are more malleable. Years ago, a story with 'boy meets boy' would have been burned. It likely still would in many countries. But now it inspires some of the most popular fiction, because it is different than other stories that have already been done.

So I would try playing around with the clichés, rather than avoiding them altogether. Clichés are clichés for a reason, after all. They wouldn't become overused if they weren't popular.

And if you think about the amount of people in the world that are in love, there is going to be a lot more individual stories than are written into books or put onto film. They will probably fit the script too, but have their own unique twist.


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