Tag: Love story

Sappy Love Story

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

           Some of us are suckers for a good tear-fest. Even though we know that, at the end, the couple will realize they are deeply in love, our hearts still melt at the closing scene. We’ve followed their trajectory, the ups and downs of their relationship, the friends and family who pull them apart or push them together, and ride the roller coaster of emotions.

            Despite their predictability romance stories are immensely popular. In olden days the characters were heterosexual lily-white uncomplicated people without a criminal past. Today’s readers want people that look, think and feel like them.

            Your task is to write a romance story. When you choose your characters think about what readers are looking for. If you are comfortable with diverse characters, then put them in the lead.

            The characters meet, but is it love at first sight or do complications arise? Readers like the give and take of relationships, so conflict is necessary. Perhaps they share a good moment which is ruined by something stupid said or done.

            Make your story compelling. Draw in your readers with an inciting incident and then hold them spellbound as they wait for that final moment.

            Have fun with this one.

Searching for Love

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            What would you do to find the love of your life? Would you hang out in singles’ bars or join a singles’ club? If a friend tried to set you up with a blind date, would you go? Perhaps you’d sign up for one of those online matching sites? If you heard about an event only for singles, would you go?

            What would you wear? Your normal every-day clothes or a fancy outfit? Hiking boots or polished dress shoes?

            Before the date, what preparations would you make? Haircut, pedicure and nails? Massage or acupuncture? Visit a mystic to hear what might happen in the future?

            Your task is to imagine that you are writing a love story. Work out the details of your character. Think beyond the physical. Consider socioeconomic, education completed, job status, living conditions and personality. What does your character want from a partner? A one-night stand or a long-term marriage? Children and pets? Common interests or differences so as to learn from each other?

            Once you’ve done all the background work, it’s time to write. Establish setting, remembering that place and time period are major considerations. Include narrative and dialogue supported by action. Will this be a love-at-first-sight story or will there be conflict before love occurs?

            Have fun with this one.

Love at First Sight

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Picture yourself in a crowd. A variety of people are milling about. Perhaps it’s a birthday party or maybe it’s a dance at the community center. You spot a good friend on the opposite side of the room and as you wind your way through the seemingly tangled mess of humanity, a face appears that takes your breath away.

Is that love at first sight? It might be depending upon what happens next.

What is your story of falling in love? Have you ever shared it with someone outside of the immediate family? If you did, what was their reaction? If not, why?

Your task is to write a story in which characters meet and something happens. A spark. A tingle. A magical moment. It can be fiction or nonfiction. You could make it predictably sappy or there can be friction between the two as they navigate their way.

Begin by setting the scene. This might be a time to have weather details included, for isn’t spring the time of love? Allow your readers to feel the environment through sight and sound.

Make the developing relationship interesting enough so that readers want to know more.  Bring in complexities and complications. Use dialogue to enhance the progression of the romance.

Have fun with this one.

A Twist on the Traditional Love Story

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

Movies, TV shows and books often feature love stories between two individuals who don’t like each other when they first meet, have several crusty encounters, begin to see the good in the other, then fall in love at the end. Predictable, yes, but satisfying to many or there wouldn’t be news ones popping up every day.

What happens if there isn’t love at the end? If the two go off in different directions, never to run across a sunny beach and fall into each other’s arms? Or what if it isn’t the wonderfully kind protagonist isn’t the one to find true love but the cantankerous store owner who treats everyone rudely?

Your task is to write a different kind of love story. First you must decide the angle of approach. The villain falls in love or the almost-couple never gets together. Next establish setting. Is this a fantasy, historical story or fictional account?

Create the characters by developing bios for each. Personality is more important than interests as the first makes the character likeable or not. Develop the story arc. What happens at the beginning, the middle, the end? At each step there must be an inciting incident that throws a curve or hinders the plot. And then decide how the story will end.

Sometimes we need to step away from the traditional in order to craft uniquely compelling stories.

Have fun with this one.