History SoYouWantTo / WriteALoveStory

Here's a hint: if you're bad at characterization, you cannot write good romance. Period. Hell, one could make the argument that you can't write good ''anything''. It may be an oversimplification to divide stories this way, but we're gonna do it anyway: fiction usually comes in only two parts: CharacterizationTropes, and AcceptableBreaksFromReality. What precisely that break from reality is depends on your genre: in an action movie, it's explosions; in a science-fiction movie, it's AppliedPhlebotinum; in a mainstream comic book, it's anything in the StockSuperpowersIndex; in a love story, it's angst, WillTheyOrWontThey, SlapSlapKiss, etc. But the point is that these are just props, just disguises, just the particular language the story uses to tell itself. If you ''strip away'' these breaks from reality, you're left with characters standing naked and exposed, and they're either interesting or they're not. And if they aren't, no amount of gratuitous {{fanservice}} will make the story good. (Just ask [[Film/{{Transformers}} Michael Bay]].)

And here's the worst part: it's even ''more'' true for a love story. The AcceptableBreaksFromReality are, again, romantic content... but, both in RealLife and in fiction, you can't fall in love unless both you and your LoveInterest have personalities. (Falling in love is ''about'' personality.) As such, romance is an extension of character(ization). In other words, all your leads need to be strong enough, more or less, to hold down a story ''on their own'', without the assistance of their romantic partners and/or any chemistry resulting thereof. (One hopes some Hollywood screenwriter will see this paragraph some day and get the hint. Or [[Literature/{{Twilight}} Stephenie Meyer]].) So brush up on your CharacterizationTropes, because if you only have a SatelliteLoveInterest, instead of an actual character, you have no love story.

# '''Chemistry'''. This oft-used word deals with with your desired traits. Ask yourself right now: what do you look for in a potential mate or significant-other? TroubledButCute? EndearinglyDorky? CloudCuckooLander? [[SupernaturalGoldEyes Eyes of gold]], hair of blue? Well, those are your desired traits. If Alex wants to be swept up into the arms of someone TallDarkAndSnarky, then when such a person walks into "Alex's Books and Stationery" on the second page of the novel, The Reader expects them to end up together. Likewise, Bryce is looking for someone feisty and independent who won't just play the fainting violet. Oh, and maybe HeroesWantRedheads. When Bryce walks into that bookstore and sees the fiery-haired proprietor chewing someone out, The Reader expects Bryce to be interested. Why? Because of desired traits; because of chemistry. Bryce's presence in Alex's life (and vice versa) is a ChekhovsGun. This is how LoveAtFirstSight justifies its existence, incidentally, and it's also where OppositesAttract comes into play; in general you don't want to date someone who's an exact clone of you. ([[ScrewYourself Unless you do]]. If you do, please keep it to yourself.)

If you ''have'' decided to go for it, you now skirt a whole new set of pitfalls: FetishRetardant, IKEAErotica, PurpleProse and so forth. We do somehow have a [[SoYouWantTo/WriteASexScene So You Want To Write A Sex Scene?]] page that we slipped past Administrivia/TheContentPolicy, and it's going to have most of your help; if you need more, actual NSFW sites like Website/{{Literotica}}, and ''their'' So You Want To departments, will be your best bet.