101 Writing Tips from an Exhausted Reviewer

Love at First Sight

Ah, yes. Love at first sight. The thing that most of us probably believed in until we joined Wattpad.

And, you know what? I have a really, really controversial opinion on it.

I like it.

That's right! You heard it! Throw the tomatoes! Unfollow me (you're probably not even following me, anyways!)! Dishonour on me, dishonour on my family, dishonour on my cow! Stick a carrot up my--

... Oh no. We're back to farms already.

But yes. I like love at first sight.

Some people say it's unrealistic. But, you know what? So are dragons. And the ability to shoot earthworms out of your hands. I was going to say mermaids, but fun fact about me: I think mermaids are real. We haven't discovered, like, 90% of the ocean. I'm not saying they can sing and be pretty and have a friend named Flounder, but I'm convinced they're real.

Similarly, I'm actually convinced that love at first sight is kind of real.

Yep. I said it. Someone call the cops.

For once, I'm not going to launch into the literature straight away. I'm going to talk about real-life. And yes, this might get weird.

Not all of us, but some of us have probably been minding our own business, procrastinating writing reviews, juggling golf balls, and so on. Then, someone walks along.

It's not like the movies. Time doesn't necessarily stop. But you do pause for a second, take them in, and, if you're anything like me, your brain goes:

Well. They're cute.

And yes, maybe if you do talk to them, you are a bit flustered. Maybe you can see it in them, too -- they're a bit flustered by you. You talk to them. There is an instant click. When you eventually walk away (maybe with their number if you're lucky, or their PO Box if you're old-fashioned), you can't help it. Your cheeks feel flushed. You're smiling. You're replaying the moment in your head, cringing at how awkward you were, or silently congratulating yourself for already finding the poor person's social media platform for stalking.

I swear. It happens!

Time doesn't slow. Your heart doesn't necessarily pound like, as some Wattpadians put it, a bird in a cage (I see it all the time, but I don't get it? Birds don't pound-- oh).

But people do feel attraction towards people. Sometimes, it's mutual.

And sometimes, it's considered love at first sight.

Now, now, now, I know what you're thinking. Love is a very strong word to replace 'attraction'. I agree -- I think love is a very strong word that is often poorly used. For me, love involves commitment, intimacy and passion, and that's not something that can be instantly decided and sealed within minutes of meeting someone. However, at the end of the day, I think 'love at first sight' is a lot easier to type than 'attraction at first sight'.

What I'm saying is that I have no problems with love at first sight/attraction at first sight/pounding birds at first sight.

But it does need to have, to an extent, realism.

Let's say that you disagree with everything that I've said so far (which is totally fine -- everyone is entitled to their own opinion), and you think love at first sight is totally, completely unrealistic.

So is the ability to shoot chicken nuggets out of your eyeballs. And the ability to stop time. But that doesn't stop authors from writing about superpowers, and when they are included in the stories, there is a layer of realism added to them that makes the reader go... well, they could be real.