Topic of the Day: Did your OCs' relationship start with friendship or butterflies? : The romance/relationship writing thread (all romance, all the time) (but sfw tho.)

Leyelle 2024-04-11 02:20:21 UTC #235

xd, I've had to write so much mild panic on the part of my male lead, and he hasn't even proposed. he's also not even a nervous type generally, but this has been a rollercoaster for him

Leyelle 2024-04-18 02:58:46 UTC #236

I've finally written it! now just to edit it, not kill my editor with cringe and schedule it! if all goes as planned it'll take place in July! (a long time to wait for the first kiss Ik. please hang on my readers lol)

Leyelle 2024-04-23 00:31:49 UTC #237

Anne Shirley said its "so much more romantic to end with a funeral than a wedding."

And while I do have some series that end with tragic endings, it's generally not my go to for romance. maybe i'm just soft and want my characters to get to have a happy ending, but even after all the awful stuff I put them through, I usually want them to get to be happy together in the end, (especially my "Damsel in the Red Dress" leads, I have readers worried about that lol.)

What do you think?

Leyelle 2024-05-07 14:28:31 UTC #238

Does anybody else have trouble picking the best place to put the first kiss? I feel like I have a lot of good places that it could go in "Damsel in the Red Dress" so deciding which one was a bit tricky. I think I worked it out well XD, but I can't help thinking of alternate versions where it could have happened in different scenes

Vassia 2024-05-09 16:15:45 UTC #239

I've got the opposite promblem, I can't find a good place for the first kiss. I'm hoping it'll just happen at somepoint while I'm writing and the character will just decide themselves since I can't.

sophialyn 2024-05-09 16:19:09 UTC #240

SAME- my story isn’t romance centered but I have a slow burn in there and I cant decide for the life of me where in the series to put their first kiss. I made these characters too awkward.

Leyelle 2024-05-09 16:40:00 UTC #241

XDD. I usually put the first kiss after an emotional conversation or situation like that. Might work for you, might not.

XDDD. this is where the - something awesome just happened/we just avoided dying - getting ahead of yourself spontaneous first kiss comes in I think XDDD

sophialyn 2024-05-09 16:43:41 UTC #242

I’m flip flopping on that because it is a comedy based series so part of me wants it to be kinda stupid but I do also want something satisfying. I’ll keep y’all posted

Leyelle 2024-05-09 16:58:06 UTC #243

Lol. For some reason no matter the genre, everybody wants a "real" first kiss scene.

sophialyn 2024-05-09 17:01:22 UTC #244

That’s a really good point… you just convinced me.

Leyelle 2024-05-09 17:04:23 UTC #245

Lol. It was just an observation. I feel like many people would even feel annoyed to get through a whole story where two characters obviously liked each other only for it to end without a kiss. Every other detail could be tied off with a bow and they'd be like...

"what?...WHAT????!!! THAT"S IT??????"

sophialyn 2024-05-09 17:05:31 UTC #246

Heh… that’s also tempting

Leyelle 2024-05-09 17:08:46 UTC #247

that's how I ended the first book of my novel and my dad said he was like "what? that's where it ends?" when he read it

sophialyn 2024-05-09 17:12:53 UTC #248

We hold the power

Leyelle 2024-05-09 17:20:13 UTC #249

Time for some insanity. Answering all fifty of my previous questions about my NEW novel. Lez go (I'mma do these ten at a time because it's A LOT)

nothing like that in this story. She's just an average American teen. So her dating life is mostly her choice. Her dad isn't even that defensive. that said, her parents are relatively (though not extremely) conservative, so there are SOME things they'd be iffy about. fortunately for her, she falls within their standards (in that respect)

No whirlwind romance in this story either. honestly the romance is a subplot, but she's not falling in love with anyone she just met

haven't gotten to that part yet, but given Leia's current emotional nature and just how exhausted and done with everything she is, it's more likely all her romantic emotions just annoy her.

if she cared 5-7 out of ten. she's pretty chill, and not awkward about herself, so she'd be able to say some pretty flirtatious things without it seeming weird. In fact she'd probably say things so flatly it would take people a minute to realize she was flirting/register what she said. it would be in the same tone she says everything else.

friends to lovers all the way. She kind of has two crushes, but the only one she wants to like is her BFF

NO. there is going to be something like this in the story and Leia is NOT for that at all.

Well, Leia likes Kevin because he makes her feel like he thinks she's special when she talks to him, and to be honest, she never feels particularly valued or appreciated any other time.

She likes Ryan because she knows her cares about her. He lets her have her space but is always there if she needs him. He'll take the time to worry about her and ask if she's eating enough, sleeping etc. and he'll keep all her secrets to his grave without feeling the need ot ever bring them up again.

Hmmm. I'm actually not sure what this was like for either one of her crushes. maybe it'll come up later in the story.

There aren't a lot of real arguments planned between Leia and her crushes. she tries to argue with Kevin abotu what he does that bothers her and he kind of just tries to sweet talk her out of being mad. Ryan will tell her what she SHOULD do, for her health, and strongly suggest it, but they don't really argue, they just disagree.

also no confession scene planned. maybe something like an almost confession. but one set of feelings is well known, the other will probably remain just that...feelings and no more up until the end. Again, the story is more about Leia and her little brother trying to be there for each other than her romantic life.

This is free for everyone to read on my Patreon

Leyelle 2024-05-09 17:21:08 UTC #250

writing just lets you be a little creator goddess lol

Leyelle 2024-05-13 20:29:06 UTC #251

Are your romances more wholesome and sweet or emotional? Personally I don't think they are mutually exclusive and tend to mix the too, but there is quite a lot of turbulence in the romances I write, so they aren't exactly the sweet sort of heartwarming experience you get from other romances (which I love) like "My Love Story."

It's more like cute hug, followed by immediate memories of childhood trauma. First date leads to an argument, leads to working out that argument before it gets out of hand and some cuteness (this is literally the chapters "Peekaboo" and "Playing Dress Up.") But not a lot of long-term uninterrupted sweetness because there is a whole lot of trauma for my leads to deal with and unpack.

Leyelle 2024-05-16 16:57:40 UTC #252

So there is only one male lead in "Rigamarole," that being the female lead's brother, but she does have two love interests. I think both of them add to the story, because they are part of the insanity she's trying to sort out in her head. The one she wants to like, and the one she does like kind of clash in her mind. Are you in love with someone because you know they are a good person for you and you want to love them? Or is that just love without being IN love?

Are you in love with someone if you can't help being wooed by them no matter how much you wish you weren't interested in them at all?

Well, one is because he's a flake, who convinces Leia he likes her while never really acting on anything. The other is because she's too confused by her own emotions concerning the first, and all the other stress and nonsense in her life to think it's a good idea trying to pursue a relationship with him.

Basically she's into the first guy whether she likes it or not, but with the second, she's trying to make wise decisions, and she knows she's not in the right head space to do that yet.

So, Leia is more kuudereish. She's not opposed to being sweet, but she's afraid of being gentle right now, like she's the walls of the house she and her little brother are trapped in, and if she tries to be soft, it'll fall down on both of them. She thinks if she gives anything but tough love, he won't do what it takes to take care of himself and she'll lose him, so she's intense and scary as much as possible. this isn't easy for her though, because she's not just a mean person naturally.

That's in the non-romantic arena. she's cold to her first love interest because she doesn't want to let him trick her, and so she puts up her emotional guard against him as much as she can. She'd love to have a significant other who would be sweet, affectionate and gentle with her, but now isn't the time for that in her life.

Hide them all the way concerning crush one. She's nice to her second crush, but she doesn't compliment him flirtatiously, just like a caring and grateful friend.

Well besides wavy dark hair, being a little on the "softer" side, and loving their little brothers to bits, Alicia and Leia don't have a lot in common, emotionally or aesthetically.

Leia's hair is also much shorter than Alicia's, and not naturally dark (her natural hair color is light brown.) She has light brown eyes. She's tall for a girl, and still growing. Fair-skinned (a bit pale because she's not in the best health rn,) not thick eyebrows, or full lips, not very curvy. She actually would probably be considered to look a bit boyish to most people because she looks a whole lot like her younger brother. Meanwhile Alicia is short, very curvy, dark skinned, extremely long naturally dark hair, full lips, thick eyebrows, rather large dark ambery brown eyes, and has scars (which Leia doesn't have.)

Leyelle 2024-05-19 13:36:36 UTC #253

What makes a story romantic in your opinion?

Personally, this might sound cheesy, but physical attraction is one thing, I think the most romantic part of a story is the emotional bond of the leads. The times when they connect on a deep level and are able to have emotional conversations, or just tease each other and enjoy each other's company. Sure, these might be flirty in contexts, but I guess I see there as being a difference between romantic and steamy. Romance is all about the emotions, even if you want to include steamier parts. Just an opinion. I don't think I could ever write or carry a whole romance that had nothing to do with any emotional story between the leads.

Leyelle 2024-05-19 13:47:41 UTC #254

Well it's narrated from Leia's POV. And as of right now, she has seen no signs whatsoever that Ryan likes her back. Kevin gives obvious signs, but they're so obvious they might not even be true.

Nahhh, there isn't one in this story. Leia has a friend I'm going to have some fun writing, but she's not a rival for either of Leia's crush's affections. She just worships Leia to a borderline creepy level XD.

Okay, I admit, this is my first love triangle-ish plot. I usually don't write stories like these, but then, I usually just write what feels best for the story, and this is the first time the lead of any of my stories has seemed indecisive about who she liked or had two crushes at the same time. In this context, one is one she wants to be in love with because she knows what a great person he is, the other is just a flirt she happens to have feelings for that are almost as strong as her distaste for him.

Hmm, I think Riley is mostly inspired by the sort of boy I would have had a crush on when I was younger and Leia one of many kinds of girls I find cool or pretty and so on. If I had to narrow it down to a few I think Riley looks a lot like a boy I saw in a Tiktok challenge once lol, and Leia looks a bit like Lauren Babic.

Riley doesn't like how bossy Leia is and it kind of angers/frustrates and annoys him, though he also appreciates the fact that she actually cares.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but Leia is still a bit angry that Riley didn't keep a secret she told him very well and it ended up making her life hell for a very long time.

They would both agree, keeping Leia's secret better is number one. And spending as little time with Kevin as possible the summer he stayed with their family.

Ehh. all the drama in Leia and Kevin's romance (if you can call it that) is the push and pull of her "liking" him but also despising him for his flightiness and general inconsistency. The feelings are pretty clear, just annoying.

In the case of this story, it's to show the complexities of my character's head. how romance can sometimes not even be something enjoyable, and a different, kind of love as well. Because romance is included, it shows her priorities a little better. Her little brother is the most important thing in the world to her, and his life is a priority no matter how long that means putting her present happiness on the back burner. I think the story just wouldn't have as much impact without her crushes.