V. Moody's Blog, page 97

A Writer’s Reasons For Falling In Love

If your story has two (or more)
people who fall in love, it’s easy to explain away those feelings in vague
terms. She was beautiful, he had amazing eyes, it felt like he’d known her all
his life, her heart skipped a beat and she just knew he was the one etc. etc.
etc.




Although those sorts of reasons
are perfectly believable and exist in real life as well as in numerous works of
fiction, there is still a sense that the writer doesn’t really have much of an
idea of why these particular people hooked up, or even what love really is.
Readers make allowances for it because they don’t really know either. But just
for fun I thought I would try to make a list of non-vague reasons for people to
fall in love.




You impress me — I think any time someone shows talent, ability or ingenuity
that can be enough to win a person’s heart. It depends on two things though,
the ability also has to be impressive to the reader, and the character has to
consider it a worthwhile trait. One type of woman might think a guy who beats
up three others in a bar fight is awesome, while another woman might think the
he’s a violent dick.




You impress others — when someone is the centre of attention,
whether the popular kid at school or a politician or a movie actor, that can
raise their value in the eyes of others (btw, these are all reasons to fall in
love, they aren’t necessarily healthy reasons).




Fearlessness — we’d all like to be the guy who does the thing no
one else has the balls to do, but we’re scared. The guy who does do the thing
is the guy everyone wants to be with, right?




Thank you for believing in me — when a person stands up for someone
else or supports them in doing whatever they want to do, that’s a good reason
for wanting to keep them around. In fiction, this works best when no one else
is prepared to do it. If someone’s getting bullied or made fun of for having
big dreams, the one person who’s willing to stand beside them will always seem
like a loveable person.




I’m desperate and lonely — probably not a great reason for a
romance but certainly a believable one. People often cling to whoever’s
available. Nobody wants to grow old alone or be left on the shelf.




You like me, you really like me — lots of attention and adoration
can make you feel special, and who doesn’t enjoy feeling special?




Money — while you probably won’t want to state it bluntly, a rich,
successful person can be very attractive. Jane didn’t like Bill until she found
out he was a millionaire... isn’t going to be all that well received, but Bill
wooing Jane by taking her swanky places and for trips in his private jet can
make her feel differently about him.




Charmed, I’m sure — a charming person can win you over. The only
problem with this is putting it on the page. We all know what charming is when
we see it, but it’s not all that easy to write. Just being well-mannered and
attentive can be enough in real life, but in fiction it has to be more than
that. This often works better in movies where actors can use their own charms
to help augment the character. So steal from movies.




Save me! — everyone loves a hero, especially if their heroic thing is
saving you. Obviously it depends on exactly what they do and how risky it is
for them, but gratitude can easily turn into romance.




Shared Trauma — people who go through extreme situations, whether
it’s being stuck on a desert island or being chased by a serial killer, form a
bond. Having to rely on each other, share what little resources they have and
face their doom hand in hand can all make for long term relationships (assuming
both survive).




Good old fashioned sexy —
good sex can be addictive like drugs (also like drugs it can be very
expensive). Getting that on the page can be a little tricky, although these
days a little S&M can do wonders for your book sales.




Pestering them until
they say yes —
surprising how effective this can be, especially if you catch someone when they’re
feeling low and insecure. 



A couple of additions: Humour suggested by Melissa Bradley and Intelligence suggested by Elise Fallon. 



And a couple more: Rose Munevar recommends integrity, a noble attribute worth hanging onto (if you can find someone who has some). Siv Maria suggests the person you can't have. Nothing as deliciously tempting as the unattainable.




One thing to remember is that once
person A falls for person B, then person B still has to also fall in love with
person A. If both people just magically fall for each other it won’t make for
much of a story.




If Mandy goes to see rock band
Mizzeree and lead singer Johnny Z is so amazing on stage that she falls for him
completely and sneaks backstage and gets in his dressing room you can believe a
teenage girl doing all that, but why on earth would Johnny Z fall for her? He
might sleep with her, but the qualities that impressed Mandy will also impress
myriad others, so how can you convincingly show reciprocal love? Love has to
work both ways.




In those cases you have to give
both people reasons for falling in love. Maybe Mandy’s got a talent of her own,
maybe she speaks the truth (something popular people don’t often hear), maybe
she drugs and kidnaps him. Of course, you might think the mysterious qualities
of falling in love don’t require explanation, and plenty of books have gone
that route, if you do show the moment when love arrives in a tangible way, you’re
going to provide a much more satisfying experience for the reader.




Although, a  one-sided love affair can also be an interesting tale.


Any other reasons for falling in love? Let me know in the comments and I'll add it to the list.



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Resist Giving Characters A Helping Hand

It is tempting, especially at the
beginning of a story, to have things happen in a way that is convenient, just
to get the ball rolling. A new guy starts at work and our heroine likes the
look of him. Later that evening she’s in the supermarket doing a little
shopping and who should be buying olives at the deli counter but that guy from
work...




Obviously that scenario is
perfectly plausible. We run into friends or work colleagues all the time. You
can be visiting a foreign city, walk round a corner and bump into someone you
went to school with and haven’t seen in years.




But the temptation for a writer
to lend a hand, to put their character in the right place at the right time,
makes it harder to get to know the character. You are in fact delaying the
start of the story.







You might think, well, the
character still has to deal with the scene. Just because she happens to meets
him in the supermarket doesn’t mean a sparkling encounter can’t ensue. And this
is perfectly true. But story isn’t there to tell us what people do, it’s to
tell us who they are. It just so happens that the only way to find out who they
are is through what they do.




My point being every time your
character goes somewhere or does something, that’s a reflection of their
personality. It’s not about what happens when a girl meets a boy, it’s about
what happens when this girl meets this boy.




If they do things for no
particular reason or on a whim, that’s okay, life is certainly full of those
moments, but you need to be aware that in fiction those are dead moments.
There’s no tension, just slack. It isn’t until the character takes control of
their own actions that the reader will become properly engaged with the
character and the story.




There are going to be times when
those slack moments are unavoidable, and that’s okay, they won’t ruin an
otherwise great story, but they’re never going to be the good part of the story
so it’s best to keep them to a minimum.




In the case of our girl in the
supermarket, let’s say she likes the look of the new guy in the office so she
goes to her friend in Human Resources, gets his address, finds the nearest
supermarket, waits in her car until she sees him go in and then pretends she
shops there too.




Now, you may say, but that’s not
the type of character I want to write about, my heroine isn’t a crazy stalker,
which is fine. The aim is for her behaviour to reflect her personality. If she
isn’t acting in a way that does that, change her behaviour until it does
reflect who she is.




So, better to have the MC drive
the story rather than the story drive the MC. But, what if you can’t think of a
better way to get the characters together? Or what if you don’t want to? There
are plenty of good stories where events are kicked off by a coincidence,
perhaps your story is of that kind.




In that case there is a simple
technique to keep the focus on your MC, and that’s to give them something else
to do that is driven by them. Even if you can’t think of something better than
the coincidental meeting at the grocery store, why is she at the store? How can
that reflect her character? Yes, she could have run out of eggs and milk and is
just doing a quick shop, but maybe her ex-boyfriend is in town and has
convinced her to make him dinner. Again, if your character isn’t a doormat this
scenario may not suit your story, but then you need to come up with a scenario
that does.




By giving her something to do
that does show us who she is you get the story up and running even if it isn’t
part of the main plot. The meeting with the new guy still happens but the
throughline is centred on our girl and her reasons for being in the store, not
the coincidence.




One other thing to remember is
that a coincidence that makes life more difficult for the MC is far more useful
than one that makes life easier. If she bumps into the guy and flirts and has a
lovely time, it’s going to feel contrived and Mary Sue-ish. If she gets into a
fight over the last jar of olives, you’ll be giving yourself much more material
to play with.



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