Inspirational romance

Searching for meaning, purpose and love finds its way into profane stories that often don’t mention religion or the Golden Rule.

But these stories show and have no time to tell. Showing is always the most dramatic way to get in a dig for right over wrong.

Today, the Academy Awards had much love to show:

A Star is Born, shows an incredible romance with three people, he, she and his demons.

Black Clansman, forget the Klan, those people are idiots and find hate and that hate might be the only way they can make money. This is a love story between two cops, one black and one a Jew.

Green Book, here a love between a white and black is shown amidst 1970s hate.

Roma, shows a live-in housekeeper in Mexico City who has a life of her own.

We are not told what is right or wrong. The movie shows us the way.

The delicate nature of romance

This post is a follow-up to a previous post called "Painting oneself into a corner", published 1/27/19.
Consider the difficulties of writing a two POV story, the hero and heroine. Girl meets boy in an odd or cute meet. They struggle together or apart or a little of both. They become both protagonist and antagonist. Usually there is a huge physical pull between them. There are often external antagonists to spoil their plans. They may have different plans. They may see the antagonist(s) as protagonist(s). You are writing a novel and because of the length and the need for drama you must set up various barriers to their future love.

Balance this with the way most people get together. They’re attracted, they like, they love (or they discover they’re incompatible).

If you watch a romance or romantic comedy, most of the roadblocks are easily identifiable because they come from outside influences. A good actor and actress will try to show you their inner conflicts typically with facial expressions or body language. Sometimes they address the problem with words. All this fits into a two hour movie.

Herein lies the problem for a writer. Try writing hundreds of pages of ever changing interior conflict between hero and heroine, using both viewpoints and making it seem real.

Because of this difficulty the conflict expressed in interior monologue needs tropes as understandable and believable assists:

1.      Not ready for love.

2.      Not ready for marriage or fear of commitment.

3.      Not wanting marriage or kids.

4.      Having something more important to accomplish, career, school.

5.      And an infinite number of other problems that the author’s creative mind comes up with for their special story.

Next week, I’ll write about how hard it is to fool the reader regarding who he or she will pick.

Simplicity

Simplicity

There are so many books about how to start a novel. The First Five Pages by Noah Lukeman and Hooked by Les Edgerton are two of my favorites.

We all know or should know that the first scene or chapter should have an inciting incident that changes everything for the hero. This is a sweeping recommendation, bordering on a commandment. We also know that we shouldn’t start with dialogue as a rule because we don’t know the characters too well yet nor do we know where we are. This is a pointer often given.

Today, I want to write about the first paragraph or two. These suggestions are pointers not some sweeping do or die commandment.

First, let’s see an example from chapter one, paragraph one of Natural Born Charmer by Susan Elizabeth Phillips:

“It wasn’t every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of the road, not even in Dean Robillard’s larger-than-life world. “Son of a…” Dean slammed on the brakes of his brand-new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her.”

I hardly know where to begin or what to leave to your imagination or for you to figure out on your own. Phillips is that good. Simple words or phrases like side of the road, marching, larger-than-life, brand new, headless beaver… all evocative and precise (and understandable). There is not one word that doesn’t fit. Her first paragraph is like a mosaic in which removing any piece spoils the art.

Immediately, we have a sense of who Dean is, what he wants and/or maybe doesn’t know it “her.”

1.      The first paragraph gives us a story promise. The rich, Dean, is going to go out of his way for a strange lady or something he has never experienced. What’s with his life (purpose or lack of) that would compel him to stop his car?

2.      It tells us where he is, a back road somewhere.

3.      It shows our hero to have a sense of adventure, fun and wonderment of life.

4.      “Marching” gives a sense of the heroine. She’s proud and maybe disgusted with her plight since she’s no longer wearing her head.

5.      “Slammed on the brakes” shows that the hero is impulsive. He already finds the “beaver” irresistible in some way he might not yet fully comprehend.

6.      Pulling over in front of her shows his type A personality. He saying stop right there young lady. I must talk to you and I always get my way.

For most of us mortals telling a bit about the POV character and where he is, in the first paragraph, is a good start. To engage the reader’s imagination in a focused way is good. To write using abstraction is bad. Bad, because a wondering mind will lead to the reader wondering why she’s reading your story.

For homework read over your first paragraph and see if you could be confused with Susan Elizabeth Phillips.