"No *insert name* , you don't know how I feel! You just used me and then left me! Still I yearn for you and forgive your every mistake!"
"He slammed her against the wall. 'You like that, babygirl?' She internally screamed at him. Oh, he was such a romantic!"
"I can't let you pay for my whole wardrobe just because you saved me from that one predator in chapter one which didn't even had a clear motive for chasing me down the street! I'll feel guilty... But oh, those Channels look adorable on me, right?"
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>.>
<.<
Yes, a good romance plot needs some trauma, but damnnnn do all of them need Daddy/mommy issues, a sad breakup story and at least one abuse-in-the-past-moment?
[Note: All of these things are serious issues and not to take lightly, so take it with a grain of salt as for my ranting]
The amount of red flags I see in stories...
And then they're labeled as ROMANCE?! Dude, half of them are therapy worthy anxiety inducing pieces of art!
We all know the miscommunication tropes. They are a Hollywood favor and work for a reason. But some are so over the top!
Recepie for a new romance?
1. Get a bad SO.
2. Let the protagonist discover something bad about said SO.
3. Protagonist and SO break off. Protagonist finds new love interest.
4. New love interest is THE dream person.
But also slams stuff into pieces, doesn't hesistate to fight someone physical without context for you aaaand shows you they have trust issue by getting jealouse over EVERY OTHER person of the opposite gender.
Tadaaaaa
And oh no, they just heard them wrong, it wasn't their fault. They just had a rough past or the I-can-fix-them...
Why is there no; Oh I thought you said this and then I just straight up asked you because I don't want to misunderstand you?
Yeah, no big drama for sure, but is that really needed for a good romance?
I personally think communication is number ONE for a good relationship.
Sex, money and love come after and you read that RIGHT! EVEN FREAKING LOVE!
If your characters can't even speak about their uncomfortable but oh so common way they cut their toenails together, then what kind of relationship will they have?!
Happy couples aren't the ones with passion and adventures all the time.
No, they know exactly how their SO will react when they hear their favorite brand of candy goes out of stores... They are happy because they can gouch the other's thoughts by just looking at each other and give them reasonable options to fullfill their needs!
But damn, Ya'll need some good therapy for half of the stuff I've read!
At the end of some stories I wailed to myself; 'But how are they ever gonna be able to stay together?!'
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So, How to write green flag relationships?
- Rather than let the drama be about something defining the relationship, let the surroundings create the drama!
- Don't make a stereotype.
Keep your characters humane. Yes, all of us have trauma, but that doesn't need to be the bane of their excistence... Let it be traits, not their only personality.
- Emotional regulation; They don't cry often and yelling is bad. Duh, if your SO makes you cry more than they make you laugh, big red flag.
- Let things be dorky.
Passion is nice, but only for a short period in people their lives. Most of it consist of being your derpy self around them. Nothing romantic about doing the laundry, but damn is your partner happy when they come home to the scent of freshly washed sheets! That's romantic!
- Let. Them. Communicate!
Again... The golden rule for a good relationship.
Yes, maybe for a boring story, but hey, you just need to explore better plotoptions!
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Writer's confessions:
He loves me, he loves me not!
As a teenager who never experienced love, but consumed media, I had a vague idea of the 'perfect' romance.
Meanwhile... Almost every parent around me got a divorce and the amount of people being cheated on were skyhigh... Hmmm.... coincidence?
So what do you write when finally dipping your toes into the romance genre?
A fucking-fantastic prince on a white horse of course! (Or in my case at the time: A prince with his own Mustang, because that was the only cool car I knew... Go me!)
Oh love.... If only more people knew how to TALK!
YOU ARE READING
The rambling of a writer
Fanfiction[Me, complaining and contradicting all and everything written in every fanfiction created.] No hate, Just me, rambling about different topics in Fanfiction writing. Why? Because we all start somewhere, am I right? The good, the bad, the rightout cli...
