One of the biggest things that annoys me when I read is the awkward after effects of an author forcing their characters to either love, or not love someone. Trust me, readers can tell when something isn't right. So, when writing a novel, here are 10 things to avoid when dealing with lover interest.
1. Don't Force It.
Alright, there is absolutely nothing more annoying than a story that can stand perfectly fine on its own, having a crazy pointless love interest forced upon it. A common misconception found greatly in YA books is that there ALWAYS needs to be some sort of love interest. So writers, thinking this is a rule of thumb, force feed it to their already stuffed books. Don't Do this! I will say it again. For the love of all things covered in cheese, Do. Not. Do. This. It will completely botch your story. Take a good look at your storyline. If your characters can get along perfectly fine without falling head over heels for eachother, then don't do it. The story line is a solid rock on which every great story stands. Each part must be essential. If it has no purpose, take it out.
2. Avoid Love Triangles
So, you've heard this one before. Probably multiple times. The thing about love triangles is that they are highly dramatized. Rarely in real life do we come across one. The obscene amount we find buttered up in books is a little crazy, and readers are calling it quites. If you think it is a must, then at least do not make it the center of your story. Put a dragon in there instead. But if the whole story is about these two guys fighting over a girl or vice versa, then it is going to get old, real fast.
3. Listen to your Characters
One of the most common mistakes among young writers is trying to stick too closely to their storyline, and thus destroying their characters autonomy. I hate to break it to y'all, but once you create a character, it has a mind of its own. IT is going to do what it wants, or die. This might sound dramatic, but there is no easier way of effectively killing a good character than forcing it to do something it wouldn't. If you planned for Betty and Sam to get together, but Sam totally has the personality of a person who is happy to be single for life, don't ruin that by forcing it. It never really works bro.
4. Really Listen to your Characters.
So, yes, I know what point three was , but I feel like I need to touch base. Just as much as you don't want to force your characters to love someone, you don't want to ruin then by not letting them fall in love with someone. You just really got to know your characters. Maybe Betty really actually would like the bad boys. Don't hold them back just because you are married to your original story plot.
5. Don't Make Them Perfect
Nobody is perfect, Selena Gomez says so. In stories when you have the perfect girlfriend, who never gets mad or moody and lets you eat all the taco bell you want, and always manages to wake up with perfect hair and no morning breath. That always make the readers annoyed. We are human, after we sleep for 8 hours we gotta pee, brush our teeth, take a shower. Nobody wakes up like a Victoria Secret Model.
6. Not Every Love Story Has to Be Dramatic
Not every person is going to have a tragic past and was hurt so bad that it is hard to love again. Sometimes people just fall in love. Or want to date. Putting drama into every corner of your book would be overdoing it. Take a step back and tone down that drama.
7. Don't make it all about ' The Kiss'
It is so frustrating when a book spends six pages on one make-out scene. Generally what this means is that the book is lacking in actual storyline and needs to make up for it in long descriptive 'kisses.' Before you focus hours of you time on smooching, make sure your story line is solid. If you take out the make-out scenes, will you still have a story? If not, you might want to rethink a couple of things.
8. Avoid 'Love at First Sight'
Okay, this only works in very few instances and the amount it is used far overweighs that. Check it out, you might walk past someone and think 'oh he was cute" but you don't spend days pining over a guy you saw in the hallway once. Focus instead on your story and what might possibly bring them together, or what naught. It is really easy to make them fall in love without ever having to say a word to each other. Sometimes the easy route isn't always the best.
9. Avoid Power Couples
Not ever star quarterback is going to date the head cheerleader. Your Hero and Heroine don't always need to 'hook up'. This especially becomes a problem in thrillers. Just because everyone thinks they should be together doesn't mean they should.
10. Create Solid Characters
Over All you need to have characters that can stand alone, without their 'partner'. If you couldn't write about them apart from their love interest, then you might want to build a better character. Your story will be lacking a lot. If you are in doubt, test it. Try writing s section where your character doesn't even think about their Love Interest. If you cannot do this well, try adding back story, or backbone to you character. They should not just exist to be a partner to another character.
Understanding these points might move your story to the next level. But always understand there are exceptions to the rules. The best thing about writing is that nothing is absolute.
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