Very often, these lovers ruffle each other’s feathers because they’re actually very similar - and they might, deep down, remind each other of their own secret insecurities. The tension between them soon reaches boiling point, and, as we know from science class, a boiling point is where things change from one state to another. The characters will likely try to deny their feelings until it’s no longer possible.Īn example of this trope is Sally Thorne’s novel The Hating Game, where rival assistants at a publishing company compete for the same promotion. Enemies Become LoversĪnyone can write a romance novel about “love at first sight” - let’s talk about its juicer cousin: “hate at first sight.” This trope (also known as "hate to love") is when two characters start out despising one another but eventually fall in love. How can the baker choose between two lovers who are a hundred-percent indistinguishable? 3. She must choose between the fantasy of reuniting with her ex, or the possibility of finding new love.Ī reworking of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors where a baker arrives in Ephesus and falls in love with Dromio and Dromio, identical twins with the same name, and who have exactly the same personality. Arriving in New York City, she meets a down-to-earth urban beekeeper. To show you how versatile this trope is, we've invented a couple of new love story ideas where three’s a crowd:Ī rural ornithologist quits her job to pursue her high school sweetheart, who has become a big-city banker. Love triangles are a fantastic basis for romantic stories. Take our free course on character development to learn how to create a finely balanced trio of characters. Nothing kills the tension in a love triangle faster than the reader realizing too early that one potential coupling would never happen. Writers can use love triangles in almost any situation or subgenre - the real trick is to make both lovers seem like equally good options. Two different, but equally compelling options Or for something more this century, check out the Twilight series where sullen teen Bella must choose between Jacob, a lycanthrope, and Edward, a geriatric diamond-encrusted vampire. Either way, our protagonist is going to have to choose between two people they care about - and somebody’s going to get their heart broken.įor a well-known love triangle, you might look to Arthurian legend, where Guinevere is torn between her husband, the king, and his best friend, Sir Lancelot. Or maybe Diane loves Jim, and Jim loves Charlie, and Charlie loves Diane. Two pet lovers accidentally switch dogs in the park and arrange to meet for an exchange.Ī space captain from the Omicron sector crash-lands into a wedding on the planet Zegnar - the hesitant bride jumps into his ship and tells him to “hit it.”Ĭharlie and Jim love Diane. ![]() To show you how a meet cute can be used in just about any subgenres, we've created some new ideas for meet-cutes in a couple of different romance subgenres: A well-executed meet-cute will read like the most adorable (yet plausible) ‘how I met your grandmother’ story. You want to warm the cockles of your readers’ hearts, not send their eyes rolling into the backs of their heads. ![]() The danger you run with meet-cutes is that they can be too saccharine. (image: Working Title) Beware the sugar rush Just a girl standing in front of a boy in a bookstore. A classic of romantic comedies, ‘meet-cutes’ are scenes where our lovers first encounter each other - often in hilarious, adorable, or serendipitous ways.Įxamples of classic meet-cutes include Hugh Grant impressing Hollywood star Julia Roberts while confronting a book thief in Notting Hill (then spilling orange juice over her) or stand-up Kumail Nanjiani being heckled - in a positive way - by his lover-to-be at the start of The Big Sick.
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