Too-Hard-to-Get Gertie

“It’s hard to get snow in July;

It’s hard to get genuine rye;

But gettin’ Gertie is a job that’s harder yet.

The greatest sheiks sadly confess,

They’ve tried for weeks without success;

The boys are calling her

‘The girl that men regret'”

– Jack Yellen

Writers of romance, beware! While your heroine shouldn’t be easy to get (if she goes for Johnny Hero in Chapter 1, where’s the story?), she shouldn’t be like good old Gertie, who could refrigerate ice cream in that cold heart of hers. A misunderstanding (even two) is allowable in the romance story, but if Gertie’s still hating on Johnny after he’s done everything, including crawl on his hands and knees to China, for her, your reader is going to start thinking that Gertie may not be such a prize after all.

A little stubbornness is cute. But don’t make Gertie a bitch!

by