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Relationships in novels.



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Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:03 am
LxnderSpeck says...



So I am working on a story with a human girl and a Demi~wolf character. And God forbid it becomes a noobie twilight book....which I don't have a problem with twilight, I actually truly enjoyed that book. But would like something new. This is a story around romance, but I wanted some inspiration by hearing what all you romance writers have done. And this is a romantic fantasy story. So I have a good idea how it will go. Just got curious to hear what y'all did. Cheers and good writing to all.
  





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Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:20 am
pyro says...



Romance + fantasy + just a sprinkle of violence = me reading your stuff. :D the only advice i have is to, every once in a while, pump the two characters chock full of hormones, and engender some PASSION.
"Beer is living proof that God loves us, and wants us to be happy." Benjamin Franklin
  





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Fri Oct 14, 2011 5:37 am
LxnderSpeck says...



Don't u worry. I am bringing in REAL love. You know, the stuff that can kill. There will be ton of bloodshed over her. The main character is a Germanic Demi-wolf. So basically half human half wolf and he Is German. So killing is a part of him. :)
  





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Sat Oct 15, 2011 12:01 am
Kale says...



German = killer = stereotypical much?

I don't generally write romance, but when I do, I tend to build things up slowly. Depending on the characters, the build up will build and build until, BAM! Passion! Other characters tend to have more gradual realizations, yet others never take things beyond a certain point (for various reasons).

The important thing to remember is that it takes two to tango, and that while one character might be all for a relationship, that doesn't mean the other character is. Each character in a relationship should be a distinct individual whose life does not revolve around the other character in the relationship.

Basically, make sure your characters are strong characters who stay true to themselves at every point throughout the relationship. It's more interesting (and realistic) to read about romantic conflicts between equals or romantic power struggles than it is to read about a relationship wherein one character essentially ditches all their prior characterization the moment the romance gets rolling.
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Sat Oct 15, 2011 12:19 am
LxnderSpeck says...



Murtle wrote:German = killer = stereotypical much?


I did not mean for that to be stereotypical. And I am German so...I REALLY did not mean it like that. what I meant by that is that SOME Germans have a sense of vengful thinking. I am not saying all of us are like that, but I do have to say, a lot of the germans I know of are very much like that. And I am half and half on that. What I meant to say is that because he is of "Germanic" backround. (I think since I am making a complete new world, I will give them a new race name instead of German.) he has THAT KIND of German attitude, Where he takes charge when others are weak, and he is not afraid to kill someone if they get in his proper path. I know a lot of nice Germans and I am not trying to stereotype. I have plenty of different personalities for the other "Germanic" wolves. They all will kinda have the same logic, since they ARE wolves...so I really want them to have the whole an eye for an eye concept to them.

And I completely agree with you Murtle! I do find that far more interesting! :D And in a way, that was what I had kinda invisioned for Blass (Demi-wolf). But for the girl, she was raised in an aristocratic society and I would like her to keep that feel to her. But more towards the end of the book, I would like her to change her ways by mixing both customs as she learns more of the wolven customs; she will learn to pile both her human life and the inner wolven life that she will have with Blass.
  





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Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:02 pm
Rosendorn says...



I tend to go a bit nuts with romantic preferences and anxieties. Taking what Kyll said in account, of course, but more in the "falling in love" stage; I rarely go onto the actual "has a partner" stage. But that's my character— she can't really bring herself to love somebody back.

And I actually find that love does tend to change personality slightly, as many an ignored best friend can tell you. Which means accounting for how a new partner will influence the character in love, how they'll treat others when in love, and internal struggles that happen from being in love.

I just tend to know my character completely, then toss in their general reactions to friendship, add in infatuation and the drug-like effects of love, and hit "blend". After awhile, toss in getting resistant to the drug and life becoming pressing again and mix again. See if the relationship survives.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo

Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
  





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Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:36 pm
LxnderSpeck says...



yea. Blass (one of my many main characters can not fall in love.) too much work lol! :P
  





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Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:48 pm
Carlito says...



Have you ever been in love or been in a relationship? If so, draw on those experiences and feelings and use that to help you write about your character's relationship. If not, ask friends, family members, someone on the street, about their experiences with love and relationships. Don't necessarily copy someone's experiences exactly, but you can use the emotions and actions to inspire your characters.

When I read romantic stories, it's the same as any other story, it needs to be believable. Why are the characters falling for each other? What attracts them to each other? Is one more into it than the other? Relationships don't just happen. There is some work involved and like any story, it can't be too easy. You want the reader to root for them and be waiting on the edge of their seat for them to finally get together.

Once they're together, it still needs to be believable. You don't fall in love after a week. It's not always sunshine and rainbows. People fight. Things happen. There still need to be struggles and conflict but not to the point that your reader doesn't like their relationship anymore and wants them to break up because all they do is bicker. The couple needs to go through stuff together to strengthen (or weaken) their relationship.

It bothers me in books when things happen too conveniently. I just read a book where there's a teen couple, they date for a couple of months, are completely in love, and then the boy kills someone and will be in jail for the rest of his life. It could have been heartbreaking, but it wasn't. Everything happened too quickly and I didn't really have time to love the couple and root for the couple so I wasn't very sad when the relationship failed. I felt a little bad for the girl because I could relate to her in a way, but it could have been way better.

For me, when I write romance, I almost think the building up to the relationship is more exciting than the relationship itself. There is so much more conflict and suspense before the characters become a "couple". The whole "I like him, does he like me" thing, analyzing conversations, facial expressions, and conversations with other girls, to me is more exciting then "I love him and he loves me, everything is perfect!"
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Mon Nov 21, 2011 5:53 pm
Napier says...



Try not to make the character's only motivations being in love with eachother.
Lack of motivation or backstory or personality traits or flaws are what makes characters boring.
Maybe this werewolf is infatuated with becoming a human and his warped thinking leads him to believe that making love with a human will lift his curse.
Just a thought.
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