How To Write A (Good) YA Romance – Part 4, Love Triangles & Wish Fulfillment

Greetings True Believers (and you heathen non-believers)! Welcome to the fourth and final installment of my series on writing (good) YA Romances. We’ve covered a lot of ground so far. Part 1 discussed creating good main characters and love interests. Part 2 talked about making believable romances and creating sexual tension between characters. Part 3 talked about writing emotionally descriptive prose and how to properly incorporate angst into your story.

In part 4, we will discuss two of the biggest guilty pleasures associated with YA Romance – Love Triangles and Wish Fulfillment. These tropes are both so popular, you’d be hard pressed to find any YA story without them in it!

As always, there is a right way, and a wrong way to do these two things. So let’s discuss them, shall we?

Part 7: Crafting A Believable Love Triangle

What would YA be without a love triangle, am I right?

Seriously, it seems like every book you pick up in the YA space has some type of love triangle going on. And if it’s not a love triangle, it’s a love pentagon, or hexagon, or octagon. Regardless of however many people are involved, there’s a whole lotta love goin’ on.

The Twilight series really brought the whole “love triangle” thing to the forefront of YA literature, with its detailed three-way drama between Edward, Jacob, and Bella. This was such a popular aspect of these books, that many YA writers feel like it is a must to have one in their stories. I think this is because love triangles are not only a type of wish-fulfillment for the reader (what woman doesn’t dream about multiple sexy men fighting over them?), but that it also creates a natural drama that manifests a great deal of angst and conflict within the story.

Some YA readers might argue that they’re “sick” of love triangles, but I’d argue that what they’re really sick of are BAD love triangles. If a love triangle is done right, it can be a fun and entertaining thing to read about.

Unfortunately, so many YA authors do it wrong. They seem to think all you need to have a legitimate love triangle are two hot guys the main character is unable to choose between, because they’re both so hot. And yet, though the main character can’t make up her mind, it’s abundantly clear to the audience who she’s going to pick.

Always remember that when you’re writing a romance, your reader must fall in love with your love interest as your main character does. This is the key to having your audience connect with your characters. So if you’re going to incorporate a love triangle in your YA novel, you must do the following:

Have two “love interest” characters your audience can fall in love with.
Make them attractive beyond simply their looks.
Create a stark contrast between them.
Make the choice legitimately difficult.

Let’s tackle each one of these guidelines in turn…

1. Have two “love interest” characters your audience can fall in love with. Beyond the simple fact that you need three people to form a love triangle, you must also grant ample time to allow your audience to fall in love with both characters equally. If you look at the Twilight series, the first book focuses on Bella falling in love with Edward, but the second book focuses on her relationship with Jacob. Each love interest character gets nearly an entire book devoted just to them, so that the audience has time to fall in love with each one.

I believe a big mistake author’s make in their love triangles is that they focus too much time and energy developing just one side of the triangle, so that when the second love interest is introduced, he just seems superfluous or tacked on just for the sake of having a “love triangle” in the story.

If you want to have a legitimate love triangle your audience can sink its teeth into, give each character ample time to develop a relationship with your main character. Let your reader fall in love with them just as your heroine does.

2. Make your two love interests attractive beyond simply their looks. A big pitfall inexperienced YA authors fall into is creating male love interests who have nothing going for them beyond them being “hot.” The main character doesn’t know who to choose, because they both are so gorgeous! But beauty is only skin deep, and readers get bored if the choice is simply between hot guy A and hot guy B. So as a writer, you must offer more from your characters than simply their looks. There must be a reason why they are attractive to your main character beyond physical appearance.

Making your love interests smart, funny, kind, selfless, brave, heroic, protective, seductive, dangerous, reckless, or any number of other things can make them appealing beyond just their looks. Remember that there is an emotional component to romance, not just a physical one. You want to make your two love interests as attractive on the inside as they are on the outside. Otherwise you’ll just have shallow characters no one really cares about, and your love triangle will fall apart because the reader will not be invested in the outcome.

3. Create a stark contrast between your two love interests. When it comes to presenting the two love interests in your triangle, you don’t want the choice to be essentially the same for the main character. If your heroine must choose between Bad Boy 1 or Bad Boy 2, it’s not much of a choice, is it? You want to have your love interests be clearly different from one another, so that your main character will be forced to make a clear and decisive choice that will have real impact on her life.

So if one of your characters is a “sexy bad boy,” have the other one be the “play by the rules boy next door.” If one is “brooding and serious,” have the other be “carefree and funny.” If one is poor, make the other rich, and so on, and so on. The more of a contrast you can make between the two characters, the bigger the decision your heroine will face because she must decide which side of the fence she’s going to fall on.

This type of thing is very obvious in the Twilight series. Edward is a vampire, and Jacob is a werewolf. One is immortal, the other is mortal. One is cold, the other is warm. One is pale, reddish-brown haired, and sparkly, the other is bronzed, raven haired, and doesn’t like wearing shirts. Edward is rich, Jacob is poor. Edward is old, Jacob is young. Need I go on?

You’ll want this contrast because you’ll want your reader taking sides as to who they want to see your main character end up with. Not everyone is attracted to the same thing, so you want to have your bases covered for the sake of getting your reader invested in the love triangle you are creating. Appeal to the readers who love the dangerous bad boy type, but also appeal to the readers who like the charming boy your can take home to momma. Don’t just limit yourself to one archetype.

Love interests who are too similar will never carry the impact that two who are opposite are. Keep that in mind as you are writing.

4. Make the choice as to who the main character will end up with legitimately difficult. When it’s clear who your main character is going to choose, the love triangle becomes boring. I’d say this was a big fault in the Twilight series because it was always clear Bella was going to end up with Edward. Part of the fun of a love triangle is trying to guess who your main character is going to end up with. If the outcome is already obvious, it loses a lot of its steam.

Your main character should be facing a legitimately difficult choice when choosing who she wants to be with. There should be pros and cons for each choice, just as there are in real life. Will she want to live a turbulent life with the bad boy? Or play it safe with the good boy? The good boy makes her feel loved and cared for, but the bad boy awakens something deep inside her and brings excitement to her life.

If your heroine has legitimate reasons to choose either of the love interests, it will keep your audience in suspense as to who she’s going to choose. This is the thing that will fuel endless pages of fan posts on message boards, debating who should be with who. Seriously, fans will obsess over this stuff. And guess what? That’s what you want!

The worst sin you could commit is to make one choice superior to the other. You’ll often see the love interest who fits into the “best friend” archetype get the shaft in YA novels, making it obvious who the heroine wants to be with. But in the stories where the heroine is legitimately attracted to two different men and feels torn between who she wants to be with, those are the stories which people delight in reading, because there is tension and drama behind the story of who the main character will end up with.

Who your main character ends up with doesn’t have to be a surprise, but any choice she makes should be a satisfying one. Show the reader that it is not a decision she made lightly. Let us feel her struggle and experience the tension of the choice she must make. That will make your love triangle truly powerful.

Part 8: Wish Fulfillment

Always keep in mind that at the end of the day, people read for entertainment and enjoyment. You want to give your readers what they crave! And often, that comes in the form of “wish fulfillment.”

Every girl dreams of finding true love, of having hot guys fight over her, of having exciting adventures that make them feel alive. They want a prince charming to ride in and sweep them off their feet. They want to feel special.

When it comes to romance, you must try and allow for this wish fulfillment to happen. Let the “Plain Jane” main character get the hot guy. Let the ugly duckling become the princess. Let the virgin become a woman. Give the audience the mystery, intrigue, drama, and romance they crave.

After all, romance is meant to be a fantasy – at least in the genre we’re writing in. However, you must walk the line between fantasy and believability. Having that hot boy fall in love with the “Plain Jane” at first sight isn’t satisfying. Seeing that “Plain Jane” work hard to get the hot guy to fall in love with her is. Your characters must always work to fulfill the audience’s fantasy, otherwise it’s unsatisfying to the reader.

Never let things come easy for your characters. Constantly think of obstacles you can put in their way, but at the end of the day, allow the wish to be granted.

Now, this doesn’t mean you must always have a happy ending to your stories. But it does mean you have to deliver on certain things the audience wants before you deny them their happy ending.

Here are some of the more common wish-fulfillment fantasies that play out in YA novels…

The Ugly Duckling: This is essentially where a so-called “unattractive” character transforms into an object of desire. I think most people can relate to dreaming about this. We all have aspects of ourselves that we are insecure about. Everyone feels ugly and unloved at some point in their lives. The dream of being treated like the most beautiful person the object of one’s desire has ever met is a fantasy for the ages, and everybody experiences it at one point or another.

This is especially common in YA because the Ugly Duckling fits in so well with the “coming of age” theme. Remember, being “ugly” isn’t always about how you look. It’s also about being immature or inexperienced. It’s about transformation, from something inferior, to something superior. Everyone wants to be better than they are, which is why so many people relate to this fantasy.

This type of wish fulfillment gives both your main character and the audience a journey to go on. Your main character can start off as a nerdy bookworm with bad hair and glasses who all the boys ignore and all the girls tease. But if we get to see her become a beautiful, confident, strong woman throughout the course of the story, she becomes someone the audience can root for and want to see live happily ever after. And that journey can be littered with obstacles and pitfalls, which makes it fun to read.

And the Ugly Duckling doesn’t always have to be the main character. It can also be a supporting character the main character helps reach their potential. Simply keep in mind that the “Ugly Duckling” is a wish fulfillment fantasy that can easily be incorporated into your story in a number of different ways.

The Secret Princess: It’s no coincidence that most YA novels with a fantasy bent to them have their main characters end up being a Princess of some sort. Since the time most women are little girls, their heads are filled with fairy tales of beautiful Princesses – Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc. Is it any wonder why so many women secretly desire to be one?

The archetype of a Princess is a powerful one. Think of all the things that come from such a position – status, wealth, an amazing wardrobe, fame, admiration, respect… all things people struggle to acquire throughout their lives are simply given to a Princess. But more than that, Princesses get the admiration of the bravest, strongest, and most handsome heroes of the land! Snow White had her Prince Charming. Guinevere had Sir Lancelot. Buttercup had Westley. What woman wouldn’t want that kind of admiration from men, even if all the other trappings of being a Princess didn’t appeal to them?

Beyond the wish fulfillment angle, there is also drama and conflict inherent in the Secret Princess archetype. A heroine who suddenly discovers she holds a position of power is often thrust into conflict with those who either resent or are opposed to that power. She suddenly has responsibility to her subjects, which means she is forced into a leadership role and must make difficult decisions. And though we like to believe that Princesses end up with the good guy, their positions often lend themselves to having to marry because of duty or responsibility, rather than for love, which can cause a great deal of tension. The story of King Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot is a perfect example of this. Thus, this wish fulfillment is not only romantic, but filled with narrative possibilities.

Taming The Bad Boy: If there’s one thing I’ve discovered in my many (many) years of dating, it’s that all women seem to have a fantasy about “changing” a man. They see the potential in the man they are with and believe they can bring out the good qualities they see while eliminating the bad. Unfortunately for them, this is rarely ever the case. The man most women meet is going to stay as he is by and large, no matter what they do. However, that doesn’t stop them from fantasizing about their love molding the man they are with into what they consider to be their ideal.

This fantasy becomes even more intoxicating if the man is a “bad boy.” Someone who is dark, dangerous, or even evil! There is no better example of this than the tale of Beauty and the Beast. In that story, you have a literal monster who is dark, dangerous, and considered evil. The heroine is forced to be his captive. And yet, through the power of her love, he is transformed from a monster into a brave, noble, and loving Prince! Beauty tamed the Beast and made him her ideal lover.

Lots of modern YA novels use this wish fulfillment concept as well. In Twilight, Edward is a dangerous vampire, consumed with the urge to kill Bella. And yet, Bella (somehow) tames him and his love for her outweighs his urge to give into his vampire nature.

In The Mortal Instruments, Jace is a snide, damaged, cocky jerk with a tragic past that keeps him from getting close to people. (His father killed his pet falcon, for God’s sake! That kind of pain never dies!) And yet, Clary is able to break through the barriers he’s built up around himself and touch his heart, making him more brave, noble, and self-sacrificing than he thought he could ever be.

There is something intoxicating to readers about the idea of taming the bad boy. I harbor the belief every woman has dreamed about being able to do such a thing at one point in their life or another. Just remember that if you’re going to use this fantasy in your story, make it believable. Have the “bad boy” fight against change, but in the end, make him powerless to his feelings of love for your heroine.

The Alpha Male: There’s something to be said about men who are kind, gentle, gallant, and understanding. I remember back in the 80’s when it was actually a thing where women “wanted a man who wasn’t afraid to cry!” But no matter how many men a woman dates who are in touch with their feminine side, deep down, nothing gets a woman’s motor running like an ALPHA MALE.

I believe this is a big reason why the Fifty Shades Of Grey series is so ridiculously popular. Lots of people like to point out that they think it’s the BDSM aspect of the book that appeals to readers because of its novelty, however, I’d argue that the character of Christian Grey embodies the Alpha Male archetype so perfectly, that women readers can’t help but be drawn to fantasizing about him.

Putting all aspects of LGBT issues and feminist chest thumping aside, let’s talk plainly about this type of fantasy for a moment. The fact is, men are attracted to women who do girly things. Men LOVE IT when girls act like girls! And the opposite is also true. Women love it when men act MANLY. It’s erotic, it turns them on, it makes them obsess and fantasize. And nothing is more manly than an Alpha Male.

An Alpha Male is basically a man who embodies a certain type of dominance, control, and leadership over those around him. Many women find this type of thing appealing because they like the security of having a strong personality give them guidance and leadership. It’s the “provider” mentality. Alpha Males are not easily scared. They’re not easily intimidated. They aren’t afraid to fight for what they want. They are decisive. They take action. They are someone others can depend upon when times are at their worst.

A big mistake YA writers make is blurring the line between being an Alpha Male and being a Sociopath. You’ll see lots of “alpha male” love interests in YA novels that assert their dominance in ways that could be construed as unhealthy. Forcing their girlfriends to eat when they’re not hungry. Controlling who she’s allowed to see or be friends with. Not allowing her to be too long apart from him. Exhibiting jealousy and anger when the heroine does not comply with his wishes. In the Twilight series, you even have Edward go so far as to sabotage Bella’s car to keep her from going to a party where Jacob is going to be. In real life, that would warrant a call to the cops, if not a small court claim.

It’s important to keep in mind that obsessive behavior is not an Alpha Male trait. Alpha Males are what they are because they don’t need other people. They are the Alpha, other people need them. And more than that, they are often drawn to people who are just as strong, if not stronger, than they are. This is why when your heroine is able to stand up to an Alpha Male or display some type of unusual strength or courage, the Alpha Male is intrigued or attracted to them, because he not only recognizes the character’s strength, he also respects it. That can be a gateway to attraction.

Dating Out Of Your League: The notion of dating or having someone “superior” to you fall in love with you is also a big wish fulfillment fantasy many people harbor. What girl hasn’t wanted to show off a hot guy on her arm at prom, or a wedding, or something of the sort, just to show other people that such a man finds her worthy of his attention? What woman doesn’t strive to date a man who’s rich or successful or powerful or insanely good looking? Though it’s not often talked about, social status is a large factor in our lives, and we all want that which we feel is better than what we deserve.

Because we are all harboring insecurities, we often look to others to give us reassurance and validation about our self-worth. When someone we find attractive, and who we believe to be “better” than us (be it in the looks department, money department, social standing, etc.) pays us favorable attention, we begin to believe that we might actually be worth something. So many people in the world dream of the validation that comes from a gorgeous member of the opposite sex falling in love with them.

The gawky wallflower who suddenly has the captain of the football team asking her to prom is a perfect example of this. That character may think she’s ugly, a nerd, that she’s too smart to want to bother with make-up or dresses or whatever. But once that popular boy expresses his interest, she becomes just as giddy as any other girl she previously looked down upon, and is willing to do whatever it takes to make that “out of her league” boy hers. We’ve all admired a certain someone from afar, wishing we could be with them, if they’d only notice us. But there were always obstacles in our way. Our own fear. Our own insecurity. Social status and social mores. Peer pressure. Any number of things.

The “Dating out of your league” fantasy finds a way around those obstacles. Typically, this trope only works if the “out of the league” character is the one who makes an effort to make it happen. In Twilight, Edward is the mysterious boy who’s turned down every girl in school. He’s like a supermodel that every girl drools over, but none can have until Bella shows up. And though Bella also expresses interest, she does nothing to pursue him. It’s Edward who makes the decision that he wants to be with Bella.

Because most YA love interests are Gary Stus, you see this trope in lots of YA stories. Just keep in mind that if you are going to have your main character “date out of her league,” have her be active in dealing with the obstacles to doing so, so that she earns the right to date the man others deem “unworthy” for her.

The Chosen One: Though this isn’t a YA-only staple, it’s such a huge wish fulfillment fantasy that you find it in a ton of fiction, and it never really gets old. Everyone feels too “normal” or insignificant in their daily lives. We all dream of being special. We want to be famous musicians, actors, world leaders, etc. But we feel powerless to break away from our hum-drum mundane circumstances.

The trope of “The Chosen One” is that the invisible hand of destiny has manifested, pointed directly at you, and said “You! You’re important!” And deep down, we all wish for this. We want to be the hero that goes on the epic quest to save the world. We want to be the warrior who defeats the bad guy. We want the happy ending we feel we’re entitled to. And the concept of “The Chosen One” plays to that fantasy.

Harry Potter is a prime example of this trope. Since he was a baby, he was the one prophesized to defeat the Dark Lord Voldemort. Luke Skywalker was the one prophesized to bring balance to the Force and liberate the galaxy. Tris is “Divergent” and therefore the only one able to fight the corruption in her society. Katniss is they symbol of the rebellion and the only one who can rally the Districts to fight against the tyranny of the Capitol.

So as is plain to see, using the wish fulfillment of a “Chosen One” can be really exciting and fun. However, do not confuse being a “Chosen One” with being a “Perfect One.” Just because your main character is destined for greatness does not mean it should come easy for her. Have her work at it. Give her obstacles and setbacks in her journey. Pit her against worthy adversaries. Show your audience WHY she was the one fate chose to save us all when times were at their darkest. She must work hard for what she achieves. It should never simply be handed to her! This goes for both saving the world AND falling in love.

Betrayal & Revenge: A sad part of life is that at some point or another, someone we care about will betray us in some way. Your boyfriend cheats on you. Your best friend steals away your husband. That nice Nigerian who emailed you runs off with all your money. The type of pain and anguish that comes from a betrayal is something few people ever truly recover from. It affects all aspects of our life. Women who’ve been cheated on have a hard time trusting men, because they are afraid of being hurt once more. Someone who’s gotten divorced is reluctant to marry again. Someone who’s had their heart broken doesn’t ever want to fall in love for as long as they draw breath.

It’s hard to say that betrayal falls under anyone’s “wish fulfillment fantasy,” because after all, who fantasizes about being betrayed? But what we DO fantasize about is getting revenge for the betrayal! Who doesn’t dream about making that cheating boyfriend suffer? Who doesn’t want to make that former best friend feel the pain you’re feeling? Who doesn’t want to laugh maniacally as they destroy everything the people who betrayed them hold most dear, and rub their noses in it?

Revenge is a HUGE wish fulfillment fantasy for most people, and they take a perverse pleasure in reading about tales of revenge. And the worse the wrong done to the character, the sweeter it is when they enact their vengeance. Who can forget Indigo Montoya chasing around the six-fingered man, repeating “I am Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die!” Talk about a satisfying revenge!

Betrayal is the thing that makes bad guys bad, and getting revenge is what makes good guys heroes. They say “revenge” is a hollow victory, but that’s not always the case. If a bad guy betrays you and kills a loved one, revenge can make a person get closure and honor the dead’s memory. Voldemort killed Harry Potter’s parents, so when he is defeated, that revenge is sweet, because he deserved it. When Snow White dethrones the Evil Queen and takes back her kingdom, that revenge is justified and inspiring.

Revenge fantasy is a big-big-BIG wish fulfillment trope. Heck, there are a TON of movies and stories out there all about women who get revenge on a cheating boyfriend or husband. Some are funny, some are morbid, but all of them speak to a deep-down desire we all harbor. Just be sure that if you use this trope in your story, you make the revenge aspect as justified as possible. Someone who seeks revenge for petty things, and goes overboard with it, is not a character readers will identify with. Killing your best friend because you’re jealous over her relationship with the guy you like is not revenge, its homicidal psychosis.

And also remember, revenge doesn’t always have to be what the character (or audience) thinks it is. One of my favorite sayings is “The best revenge is a life well lived.” Your main character can get a moral revenge when she chooses not to kill the bad guy, or when she finds true love after her cheating boyfriend abused her. Revenge isn’t always about hurting people, it’s about finding a victory that pulls you out of the depths of despair the initial betrayal put the character in. If a main character can overcome a betrayal and life a happy life, that is all the revenge she’ll usually need.

Sexual Awakening: Let’s face it, when you’re growing up, nothing is more confusing that sexuality. In fact, it can be so confusing, that most people don’t even figure it out even well into adulthood! And as hormones start raging, teens in particular have a tough time dealing with it. Though people have sex at different times of their life, we all still harbor fantasies about a “sexual awakening” that brings new and exciting pleasures we’d never before experienced into our awareness.

Part of the Young Adult genre is the fact that sex is never something that’s actually done, and if it is done, it’s glossed over. YA isn’t like typical romances or erotica. It should never be graphic, considering the age group its targeting. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t address the subject. In fact, a huge part of YA romance is the THREAT of sex, or the PROMISE of sex, as opposed to ACTUAL sex.

Lots of YA authors get around this by promoting values such as “no sex before marriage.” In Twilight, Bella was ready to go from the end of book 1, but Edward didn’t want to “cross that line” until they were married. So being boyfriend/girlfriend, kissing, snuggling, and being all lovey-dovey is okay. But actual intercourse? You wanna build up to that as looooooong as possible. In Harry Potter, we cut from Harry and Ginny being teens, to them being married with three kids in the final book. (Spoiler, but whatever.) So it took Harry 7 full books to get some nookie, and when he finally did, it was entirely glossed over, implying that it happened at least 3 times over a matter of years!

But a big reason fans of the YA genre enjoy reading YA books is because the sexual awakening aspect of “no sex” can be just as thrilling as “a whole lotta sex!” Many Twilight fans delight in reading about the sexual tension between Bella and Edward as their romance blossoms, and yet have nightmares about what happened once they did finally hook up.

The whole concept behind a sexual awakening is to take a character who is inexperienced or confused about sex, and slowly show them the wonders and pleasures of it. This is something readers enjoy, because we can all relate to that confusion, and we want to take delight in it just as the main character does. So if your main character is a virgin who starts dating the hot boy, the audience can get a vicarious thrill over how he makes her feel. In this respect, it’s the journey, not the destination, which is important when it comes to YA Romance.

Allow your heroine to mature and become comfortable with her sexuality before she gives in to doing the dirty with the love interest. The “slow burn” aspect of this wish fulfillment fantasy is what many YA fans find irresistible.

True Love: Finally, we have the fantasy of True Love. I think no matter who you are, man or woman, we all dream of finding such a thing in our lifetimes. Though it can be argued that “true love” does not really exist, it is a concept that inspires us and gives us hope. So many people simply settle for what they can get when it comes to relationships. The guy is “good enough” to marry. The girl “isn’t as annoying” as most others. But we all yearn for finding that one person we just click with, and that we were meant to be with. We all want to find our soul mate!

Pretty much every YA heroine finds their soul mate in a YA romance. Some to the point where it’s almost hard to read about (you know those couples that you want to tell to get a room when you see them in public? Yeah, they ain’t got nothing on these YA couples)! But this trope has its roots in the fairy tales that have been told since the dawn of time. Every Princess has their Prince. There’s someone for everyone out there. Fate has a plan for us. And when you finally find that one, special someone, it’s as though magic comes into the world, and we get to believe in happy endings again.

Remember that people read books to be entertained, and it is entertaining to get lost in the romance of true love. However, people don’t like their “true love” to be so outside of reality that it becomes something they just can’t buy into. Lots of YA authors make the mistake of thinking true love happens instantly, and the characters it happens to can’t exist without each other. I’d point to the book Halo as an example of this. After about three words to each other, the angel Bethany and the jock Xavier are magically in love with one another, and Bethany essentially tosses aside her mission from God in favor of making kissy-time with the hot teen boy.

Though there is something to be said for two characters being affectionate and enamored with one another, love is always more satisfying when it is earned. The Princess Bride is a perfect example of true love done right. Buttercup starts the story by tormenting the poor farmboy Westley because she can. She didn’t love him right away. She took pleasure in making his life miserable. But his unwavering devotion eventually made her take notice of him. Then, in an effort to be worthy of her, Westley leaves to make his fortune so he can marry the woman he loves. However, Buttercup believes he’s killed by pirates, and is heartbroken. Her love for him was so strong, it would never die, even though she is being forced to marry another man. And when Westley returns as the Dred Pirate Roberts, he must fight to win her back. Though she still loves him, there are obstacles to their love persevering, and they both must find a way to make it past those obstacles so they can once again be together.

Love is always a complicated thing, even if it’s true love. Do not overlook the challenges love brings into an equation in favor of convenience. Romance isn’t always about falling in love, it’s about love conquering everything that tries to keep it from happening. That the concept of “love conquers all” is a wish fulfillment fantasy every reader happily wallows in.

Conclusion

Whew! What a lengthy series of articles! But I’m glad it’s now over. I feel as though I was finally able to communicate my thoughts on YA Romance in a way that could be helpful to others, and be true to my personal views on the subject. I want to thank you for taking the time to read them. I hope you enjoyed processing my insights as much as I did writing them out.

As always, my ego demands recognition, so if you’d be ever so kind as to leave any thoughts, comments, opinions, or critiques in the comments section, it is greatly appreciated. I love hearing what other people think on the topic of writing, and I enjoy learning as much as anyone! After all, the day we stop learning and improving is the day we die, correct?

AND I AIN’T DEAD YET! MANY HAVE TRIED! ALL HAVE FAILED!!!!!

*ahem*

Anywho, if you also know of any writers who might benefit from this series of articles, please be sure to share it with them. Any social media love you could give my rantings would be most appreciated.

Until next time, my friends! Happy writing! Now get to work publishing all those (good) teen romances. I desperately need some to read.