Finding Romance by Accident?

 

I have spentmost of the past week rereading Clouds Over Bishop Hill, my first cozymystery, looking for signs that my two main characters, protagonist Shelley andtow truck driver Michael, were doing more than a little superficial flirting.

In the processI found a list of 150 Romance Tropes. I believe that the list uses a moderndefinition of “trope” and not just different figures of speech, such as puns,similes, and metaphors. More in the vein of an overused theme or device.

I didn’thave to look far. There it was on the first page, “Old enemies from school.”

In my defenseI had to throw Shelley and Michael together often to advance the plot and theimportant themes I wanted to explore. And I do love writing witty dialogue (myopinion here). So, to develop these characters, did I go too far? It wasn’t myintention to write a romance.

The mysteryhad to come first. I wanted to learn plotting. I wanted to work with the themesof preservation and community, family and career, past mistakes andforgiveness. Those sound more like conflicts than themes. Indeed, I’m told thatconflict is at the heart of good storytelling. But what is my story and what isthe subplot?

In goingthrough Evie Alexander’s list of 150 romantic tropes I picked out ten that I’veused in my writing without really spending an inordinate amount of time or thoughton the consequences. Serendipity? Perhaps. But it gives me something to discusswith the REAL romance writers, Misty Urban and Kitty Bardot, when we gather atthe BREWED BOOK on Saturday, Feb 10th, from 1-3 p.m.

Join us ifyou can.

 

Check out: https://thebrewedbook.com/