Okay, I won’t be a hypocrite and say I don’t like a good love story now and again. In fact, half my bookshelf is full of books with romance as the main plot or sub-plot. But what drives me insane about romance novels is their very unrealistic, cliché way of going about things.
*Clears throat*
Boy teases girl. Girl hates him. BAM they get partnered up in a school project. BAM they fall in love.
Now, I’m sorry to say it, but love doesn’t just happen like that. I mean, I’m no expert, but from what I’ve seen, love doesn’t come around in only a couple weeks. That’s infatuation. Now, love can grow from infatuation, but I really dislike it when, at the end of the book, I haven’t seen true love.
If you are going to make characters in your book fall in
love, you are going to have to make them become best friends first. People
date/marry the person they’re most comfortable with! (Or should, anyway.) And
the person they are most comfortable with is often their best friend.
Best friends first. No exceptions.
And to touch on this love at first sight stuff. No. Just no.
If your book has to do with love at first sight (without some amazing explanation
to why!) cut it. Now. I’m sorry to say, but that isn’t love. It’s infatuation.
That’s lust for someone’s body if you “fall in love” at first sight.
I could go on and on about this, but I think I’ll stop there. Remember: love = best friends!
I could go on and on about this, but I think I’ll stop there. Remember: love = best friends!
