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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:
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Well, it depends on how deep their manipulation went. They could give her a bad experience with a would-be lover or boys/girls, which doesn't need to be as bad as rape, but something that may hit her self-esteem (laughed at in high school, spurned by someone she had a crush on, etc.). I'm not sure if my cynical suggestion is better or worse than the thought of men in their sixties and older giving her memories of sex.
Rebel!Revan is the, uh, archetype?, I'm working with. :D Rebel can mean all sorts of things, though, and there are different degrees of rebelling. A white woman in the days of Martin Luther King protesting at a lunch counter, for instance, would be a rebel in some eyes, but she could be a total prude when it comes to sex. Maybe a certain Rebel!Revan was totally anti-authority, but all hot air when it comes to sex. Not that I don't understand what you're saying; a streak of rebelliousness usually touches on all things, from authority to personal sexuality, but not necessarily to the same degree.
Ah, now that I understand. I think this is silly, as can be seen in my fic; Revan's had a string of lovers before she ever left for the Mandalorian Wars.
(Although one true love 'paring' gave me all sorts of amusing images that involved potato peelers. The Grammar Nazi I/O buffer can output some weird shit sometimes.)
Oh, yeah, I totally agree. I can understand the jealous fangirl phenomenon, though. Who'd want to share Carth with anybody? :D I'll actually touch on this jealousy/resentment feeling in my fic.
From:
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It's true that they could do this, but why would they purposely give someone psychological trauma? I mean, creating memories is one thing, but deliberately giving her bad ones seems extremely cruel, and I can't see them doing that unless they thought they had a very good reason.
Actually, I have seen some stories that do this, where Revan has traumatic memories in her false identity. Unless there is a really compelling reason for the masters to mess her up this way, I just don't think that they would do it.
As far as the old men giving someone memories of sex, I think
Rebel!Revan is the, uh, archetype?, I'm working with. :D Rebel can mean all sorts of things, though, and there are different degrees of rebelling.
Most versions of Revan seem to be rather rebellious in at least their defiance of the Council, and I think part of the reason is that in the game, some of the dialogue choices are hilariously mouthy, in addition to the fact that Revan was at least rebellious enough to defy the Council and go fight the Mandalorians.
True, there are varying degrees of rebelliousness, and it is possible that a thirty something Revan could still be a virgin. But what I guess it boils down to is this: unless the author takes the time to lay the plausible foundation for why someone like Revan would still be a virgin, then I generally just tune out. And every single time I've seen virginal!Revan in a story, it is usually so she can be deflowered by her one true love, Carth (or at least that's what it seems that the author is trying to do).
From:
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I did say not rape. I would not classify teasing in high school as 'psychological trauma', although it can be cruel. A given Revan could've gotten a 'Let's just be friends' line, and that could've turned her off to future relationships. I'm not saying this is realistic, but it could happen.
And every single time I've seen virginal!Revan in a story, it is usually so she can be deflowered by her one true love, Carth (or at least that's what it seems that the author is trying to do).
Okay, I get what you're saying here. That does smack of one true wuvness. Happily, I don't have this problem. :D
Going back to the jealous fangirls thing, though... I think I do sorta see their view. I think a given Revan really might feel jealous of Morgana, a dead woman. It's not logical, but emotions rarely are, and rarely controllable (I don't care what the Jedi say), but she might (and feel really bad about it). I mean, who doesn't want to be the only person in someone's life, right? The one true love they'll have and will ever have. Not logical, again, but dealing in emotions rarely is.
I'm gonna work this angle, but I'd like to see what you think. I think Revan might really be envious of the normal life Carth and Morgana led (glossing over the fact that he was rarely home during the wars), and their having had a kid together. I think Revan would want to have the same thing with Carth, except she can't, being a Jedi (if she hasn't turned her back on the Order, something I find dubious in fanfics if she's been depicted as the responsible, remorseful Jedi). I think she'd feel really bad that she can't have the proverbial house with the white picket fence life with him, and she may long for that sort of life even though she's probably not fit for it and it would probably drive her crazy after the first day.
I have to wonder, too, just how suited to that white picket fence Carth is, too. I mean, two wars and the trauma of having his wife die and his homeworld destroyed will change a person in unexpected ways, and I wonder if he isn't stuck in the 'action, gotta save the galaxy' mode permanently after that.
From:
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Oh I didn't mean rape either. All I'm saying is that if they have the choice of giving her a happy past (where she was a cheerleader and dating the captain of the football team) or one with some angst (like making her the head of the chess club that gets teased and turned down by boys), wouldn't they pick the first option, just to make sure there wasn't any bitterness that might crop up and lead her to the dark side?
Going back to the jealous fangirls thing, though... I think I do sorta see their view. I think a given Revan really might feel jealous of Morgana, a dead woman. It's not logical, but emotions rarely are, and rarely controllable (I don't care what the Jedi say), but she might (and feel really bad about it).
Oh yeah, I can see Revan herself feeling some jealousy and insecurity (and a whole heap of guilt) towards Morgana. Absolutely. I just found it strange that a bunch of fangirls were jealous of the dead wife of a completely fictional character. I just wanted to scream: "You're not Revan. He's not a real guy..."
I think Revan might really be envious of the normal life Carth and Morgana led (glossing over the fact that he was rarely home during the wars), and their having had a kid together.
This I can totally see. It makes a lot of sense to me, especially in the case of your Revan who is completely unsuited to that kind of life. I can see Min feeling this way too, although I doubt she'd settle for something as mundane as a white picket fence (more like a palatial mansion and designer clothes...lol).
I have to wonder, too, just how suited to that white picket fence Carth is, too. I mean, two wars and the trauma of having his wife die and his homeworld destroyed will change a person in unexpected ways, and I wonder if he isn't stuck in the 'action, gotta save the galaxy' mode permanently after that.
This is a good point too... although maybe it doesn't have to be one or the other. Possibly if they worked really hard at it, they could find a compromise. But then I'm in the minority view that thinks that Revan would have to go into self imposed exile, because it would be impossible to live any kind of life as Revan in the Republic (unless of course her identity was a secret). Which begs the question: would Carth really be able to do that? Toss everything aside and leave the Republic with her? Maybe that's a good reason for Revan asking Carth to stay behind after kotor 1, because she knows what it would do to him.