![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I have to admit that, while I'm a sucker for a good romance, I actually detest 95% of romance novels. Romance seems to work better when it is worked into a larger, overarching plot, at least for me. So when I found myself writing a pure romance story (i.e. romance as the main focus of the plot), I was kind of shocked.
Since I have never attempted writing one before, I realized that I had no idea how to put a romance together, so I watched a lot of movies and read a lot of romance novels to try to figure it out. I also checked out the internet, and discovered there are an amazing number of websites dedicated to romance writing tips (most of which I completely disagree with). But instead of finding a common denominator about what I liked, I seemed to find a common denominator of things that irritated me and turned me off to the story (heh - I wonder what that says about me...LOL).
I made a list of things that annoy the hell out of me in romance stories. I tried to keep the list particular to romance stories, so things that plague all stories (like Mary Sues) I left off the list. And I thought I would share my awesome and profound wisdom with you all... :P
1. Characters who would be having sex, should have sex.
This is a huge pet peeve of mine. There are absolutely wonderful stories out there that have been ruined by this. It drives me absolutely insane when I see two characters, totally hot for each other and madly in love, who for some amazingly contrived plot reason, aren't having sex. It becomes especially annoying when characters are about to have sex and get interrupted again, and again, and again. I think this happens because a lot of romance authors are told that unless sex is going to reveal something about the characters or make the situation worse, it shouldn't happen, because it kills the romantic tension of the story. I kind of see their point, but I don't think that the answer is to come up with completely convoluted plot reasons for the characters not to do the deed.
There are legitimate reasons for two characters not sleeping together. But unless the author has established a cultural, ethical, or legitimate plot reason, I tune out as a reader when I see this. For instance, I wouldn't expect for characters in romance set in Edwardian England to sleep together until they got married. I wouldn't expect a shy and modest character to just jump into bed without some thought first.
2. If a character is raped (or abused as a child), then they don't get to be healed by the power of their one true love.
It's surprising how often this shows up in stories. A character will get raped, but because of the love and TLC of their significant other (and some extremely hot sex), everything is all better in the space of an extremely short period of time.
Come on. This kind of horrible abuse takes years to get over, and it is disrespectful to see writers use this as a plot contrivance to create teh drama and teh angst. What I especially hate are stories where a character is raped, but then magically healed by telepaths or the Force, so that ten minutes later, she's normal again and ready for some lovin'.
If an author is going to have a character get raped, then it is that author's duty to treat the material with respect, and actually deal with the realistic consequences. This means that the heroine will not want to be touched by another man, even her one true love, unless she's been through a lot of therapy.
3. Characters need to have a life outside of the romance.
I've read stories where I get the feeling that when the hero leaves the heroine alone, all she does is think about her lover, and wish that he were back with her. She doesn't exist as a separate person with their own desires, wants, needs, motivations, and everything revolves around the other person. This kind of co-dependant behavior is not sexy... it's dysfunctional and creepy.
4. "My love."
Unless they were living a hundred years ago, or so... people don't call each other this. Really, they don't. Seriously, this makes me want to giggle every time a character says this.
5. Characters need to like each other before they fall in love.
I've read some stories where the two characters, are totally attracted to each other for no other reason than the author says so. They are completely shitty to each other, they bicker and abuse each other horribly (because they love each other so much - don't you see) and then they all of the sudden declare their love and we the readers are supposed to believe that these two people are soul mates. WTF?
The characters need to like each other, and see qualities in each other that they like and are attracted to. This doesn't mean that the characters always have to agree with one another, but if the author hasn't shown me some reason for why these two people would like each other, beyond physical attraction, it's hard to get emotionally invested in the relationship. I've actually read romance novels where at the end, when the characters are finally together and all is happy, all I can think about is how these two people will be divorced in a year.
6. Misunderstandings that can be solved by two adults sitting down for five minutes and talking like adults, should be solved that way.
I hate it when misunderstandings drag on, and on, and on. There has to be a better way to create plot tension than that.
7. Love at first sight is boring.
Seriously, it is. At least it is in a romance novel. The whole fun is watching the attraction grow, so skipping to the cream of the story in the beginning completely defeats the purpose.
8. So is OMG! ONE TRU WUV!!!!111!!!!.
This is a huge pet peeve of mine, especially in Kotor fanfiction. Listen, ladies, Carth was married before he met Revan, and presumably he was happy (in fact, it makes it much more tragic if he loved his wife). Revan, is not his ONE TRU WUV 4EVAR.
Realistically, people can fall in love with all different kinds of people. I don't buy the soul mates forever thing in life or in fiction. Maybe I'm just jaded about this, I don't know. But when I see it in stories, I get bored.
9. Heroines need to act like adults, and not like complete flaky twits.
Personally, unless written very well (such as Bridget Jones' Diary), I find it almost impossible to identify with stupid, flighty, female, co-dependant characters. There are a lot of heroines in romance novels, whom I just want to smack and yell "Grow the hell up!" at.
10. If a hero is not a nice man, then stop writing fluffy romances about him.
This happens in kotor2 fanfic, a lot. Atton is not a nice man. He has some deeply scary mental issues that are unresolved in the game. He is also a complete and utter horndog. So if an author wants to write a fluffy romance featuring Atton, they need to do some serious character development before I'll believe that this man 1) actually can love the Exile, 2) actually does love the Exile and 3) that he is capable of having a functional relationship.
Anyway, that is the extent of my awesome wisdom. :P
Since I have never attempted writing one before, I realized that I had no idea how to put a romance together, so I watched a lot of movies and read a lot of romance novels to try to figure it out. I also checked out the internet, and discovered there are an amazing number of websites dedicated to romance writing tips (most of which I completely disagree with). But instead of finding a common denominator about what I liked, I seemed to find a common denominator of things that irritated me and turned me off to the story (heh - I wonder what that says about me...LOL).
I made a list of things that annoy the hell out of me in romance stories. I tried to keep the list particular to romance stories, so things that plague all stories (like Mary Sues) I left off the list. And I thought I would share my awesome and profound wisdom with you all... :P
1. Characters who would be having sex, should have sex.
This is a huge pet peeve of mine. There are absolutely wonderful stories out there that have been ruined by this. It drives me absolutely insane when I see two characters, totally hot for each other and madly in love, who for some amazingly contrived plot reason, aren't having sex. It becomes especially annoying when characters are about to have sex and get interrupted again, and again, and again. I think this happens because a lot of romance authors are told that unless sex is going to reveal something about the characters or make the situation worse, it shouldn't happen, because it kills the romantic tension of the story. I kind of see their point, but I don't think that the answer is to come up with completely convoluted plot reasons for the characters not to do the deed.
There are legitimate reasons for two characters not sleeping together. But unless the author has established a cultural, ethical, or legitimate plot reason, I tune out as a reader when I see this. For instance, I wouldn't expect for characters in romance set in Edwardian England to sleep together until they got married. I wouldn't expect a shy and modest character to just jump into bed without some thought first.
2. If a character is raped (or abused as a child), then they don't get to be healed by the power of their one true love.
It's surprising how often this shows up in stories. A character will get raped, but because of the love and TLC of their significant other (and some extremely hot sex), everything is all better in the space of an extremely short period of time.
Come on. This kind of horrible abuse takes years to get over, and it is disrespectful to see writers use this as a plot contrivance to create teh drama and teh angst. What I especially hate are stories where a character is raped, but then magically healed by telepaths or the Force, so that ten minutes later, she's normal again and ready for some lovin'.
If an author is going to have a character get raped, then it is that author's duty to treat the material with respect, and actually deal with the realistic consequences. This means that the heroine will not want to be touched by another man, even her one true love, unless she's been through a lot of therapy.
3. Characters need to have a life outside of the romance.
I've read stories where I get the feeling that when the hero leaves the heroine alone, all she does is think about her lover, and wish that he were back with her. She doesn't exist as a separate person with their own desires, wants, needs, motivations, and everything revolves around the other person. This kind of co-dependant behavior is not sexy... it's dysfunctional and creepy.
4. "My love."
Unless they were living a hundred years ago, or so... people don't call each other this. Really, they don't. Seriously, this makes me want to giggle every time a character says this.
5. Characters need to like each other before they fall in love.
I've read some stories where the two characters, are totally attracted to each other for no other reason than the author says so. They are completely shitty to each other, they bicker and abuse each other horribly (because they love each other so much - don't you see) and then they all of the sudden declare their love and we the readers are supposed to believe that these two people are soul mates. WTF?
The characters need to like each other, and see qualities in each other that they like and are attracted to. This doesn't mean that the characters always have to agree with one another, but if the author hasn't shown me some reason for why these two people would like each other, beyond physical attraction, it's hard to get emotionally invested in the relationship. I've actually read romance novels where at the end, when the characters are finally together and all is happy, all I can think about is how these two people will be divorced in a year.
6. Misunderstandings that can be solved by two adults sitting down for five minutes and talking like adults, should be solved that way.
I hate it when misunderstandings drag on, and on, and on. There has to be a better way to create plot tension than that.
7. Love at first sight is boring.
Seriously, it is. At least it is in a romance novel. The whole fun is watching the attraction grow, so skipping to the cream of the story in the beginning completely defeats the purpose.
8. So is OMG! ONE TRU WUV!!!!111!!!!.
This is a huge pet peeve of mine, especially in Kotor fanfiction. Listen, ladies, Carth was married before he met Revan, and presumably he was happy (in fact, it makes it much more tragic if he loved his wife). Revan, is not his ONE TRU WUV 4EVAR.
Realistically, people can fall in love with all different kinds of people. I don't buy the soul mates forever thing in life or in fiction. Maybe I'm just jaded about this, I don't know. But when I see it in stories, I get bored.
9. Heroines need to act like adults, and not like complete flaky twits.
Personally, unless written very well (such as Bridget Jones' Diary), I find it almost impossible to identify with stupid, flighty, female, co-dependant characters. There are a lot of heroines in romance novels, whom I just want to smack and yell "Grow the hell up!" at.
10. If a hero is not a nice man, then stop writing fluffy romances about him.
This happens in kotor2 fanfic, a lot. Atton is not a nice man. He has some deeply scary mental issues that are unresolved in the game. He is also a complete and utter horndog. So if an author wants to write a fluffy romance featuring Atton, they need to do some serious character development before I'll believe that this man 1) actually can love the Exile, 2) actually does love the Exile and 3) that he is capable of having a functional relationship.
Anyway, that is the extent of my awesome wisdom. :P
From:
Re: Mmhm.
Of course, I also hate the 'romantic subplot' in films. I can't stand characters who are only in the story because they're the obligatory 'love interest'.
Good point, that is very annoying. It seems like in some films an executive somewhere said: "We have to have a romance in here, to get women to go to this action, buddy film," so they just tack a romance in. In situations like that there isn't enough buildup for me to give a damn about two characters getting together, and it just bogs down the film.
I generally prefer it if two characters are introduced seperately, become friends and get to know each other, then have romance.
Yeah, I like this too. Romances that follow this kind of format tend to flow more naturally and seem less contrived by the author, probably because this is how it often happens in real life. The trick is to keep the story tension going in a relationship like that, but I think it can be done. I'd rather read a hundred of this kind of plot, than one plot that goes like: "Oh, my daddy will lose his company if I don't date you! I hate you, I love you! The end."
Actually, my major preferance is for romance between characters who are already married/together. I think that's probably just me, though
Another good way to do it, that is overlooked a lot. I think that can be sexy and entertaining as hell when done right.
I think Atton/Exile is great fodder for some really nasty dark stories. Especially if one or both of them turns to the dark side. I mean, that relationship is so sick it should be in a hospice. Same could be said for ALL the potential romances on board the Ebon Hawk mark II, to be honest, although I haven't played it through as a male yet...the thought of romancing Visas is just...*shiver*
I haven't gotten off Peragus yet with my male!Exile game, so maybe the handmaiden is cool, but I'd have to agree with this, at least in relation to Atton and Disciple who each have insanely huge issues. I really don't understand all of the Atton fangirling that's going on, as though if you met this man in real life, you'd actually let him get within a one mile radius of you. I wouldn't let Atton walk my dog, much less become romantically involved with him.
Visas is creepy (I kinda like that she is), but I'm having a hard time picturing the romance between her and the male!Exile.
I also agree that Atton/Exile is great fodder for Dark side stories, but I've only seen two or three out there. Most of them are fluffy, happy, romances, which is mind boggling. I actively avoid stories now that have Atton as a romance lead, cause most of the time it takes him completely out of character. Although, Miakun (Arrow) is planning throw Atton and Lashowe together, which I think is going to be spectacularly messed up...
The only two people I could see hooking up in K2 is Bao-Dur & Mira, and only with each other. They seem to be the most well adjusted people on that ship, although, really that's not saying a lot), which is why it is so damn annoying not having them as options (why do you torture me Obsidian, why?).
From:
Re: Mmhm.
"4. "My love."
Unless they were living a hundred years ago, or so... people don't call each other this. Really, they don't. Seriously, this makes me want to giggle every time a character says this."
I must disagree with this; it was used perfectly fine in KotOR where Bastila says it to a male Revan on the Star Forge, it works for the character and gives great conclusion to the scene. I've used it myself in my fic to keep the style, but I do find myself trying to abstrain from it, because I simply hate repeating myself and using the same phrase over and over and over again.
"1. Characters who would be having sex, should have sex."
Agreed, but it's a matter of timing. In my own tiny ficcie there's a time for sex and a time for not having sex. The balance is tricky but it's an issue that needs to be thought on. Personally Im not a big fan of fics where people just jump into bed together unless there's an established relationship, be it lust, love or whatever. It just seems cheap and uninteresing to me.
From:
Re: Mmhm.
You know, I didn't even notice it in your fic... but for some reason in others it really pops out. Maybe it's because you don't use it very often. And if Bastila is using that phrase in the game, it makes a lot of sense for it to show up in the fanfiction. However, in some fics, the characters say "my love" to each other over and over and over. But this is probably just a matter of personal taste on my part.
Agreed, but it's a matter of timing. In my own tiny ficcie there's a time for sex and a time for not having sex. The balance is tricky but it's an issue that needs to be thought on.
Oh yeah, characters that are doing the dirty deed when they really ought to be doing something more important at the time (like saving or taking over the galaxy) is almost as annoying. It drives me up the wall when two characters are having sex when there is an immediate threat against them that they really should be taking care of.
Personally Im not a big fan of fics where people just jump into bed together unless there's an established relationship, be it lust, love or whatever. It just seems cheap and uninteresing to me.
Oh I totally agree on this one. I need to be emotionally invested in the characters before I care that they are having sex. The sex doesn't have to be happy!fun!healthy!sex, but it helps if there is an established relationship that is built by the author between those two characters.