Romance but I don't like it

[RepresentingCaution]

Fall in love and write from your heart.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Fall in love and write from your heart.

That sounds hard cause never did it before yet

 

[RepresentingCaution]

That sounds hard cause never did it before yet

Since we're in a pandemic, daydream about it for now.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

Since we're in a pandemic, daydream about it for now.

Or...who's got Tinder?

Nah...jk lol

 

[Agentt]

Since we're in a pandemic, daydream about it for now.

Actually that's how I got this plot. Along with 2 others. But all three are me doing nothing and ladies falling for me for no reason. So, for smut maybe, someday, but I need to give the Male lead some personality this time,

Fall in love and write from your heart.

Yay, the queen of romance is here!

Or...who's got Tinder?

Nah...jk lol

I like how almost all your post includes a second line of jk lol, in case your replies explodes with haters.

 

[someonesomeguy]

Actually that's how I got this plot. Along with 2 others. But all three are me doing nothing and ladies falling for me for no reason. So, for smut maybe, someday, but I need to give the Male lead some personality this time,

Yay, the queen of romance is here!

I like how almost all your post includes a second line of jk lol, in case your replies explodes with haters.

make the girl addicted to something(doesn't have to be drugs ,internet or anything which would decrease quality of life and prevent experiences) and make the guy help with her addiction for one or two years.
Encouraging supporting showing that he cares and that there is hope for girl.
Like he helps for a year or two and the girl starts thinking. "He doesn't actually enjoy my company and i can't help him with his emotional problems. I can't understand him. Our personalities are intrinsically too different i could never relate to him. but i am tying him down to me because he too nice and afraid to leave me alone . He thinks i am his responsibility and even though he doesn't enjoy talking with me on a deeper level he stays with me anyway so i won't feel bad.

He knows it is unhealthy but the only reason he is not leaving is because of the guilt"{this is not actually the case but the girl thinks this is the case

Have the guy swear to the girl "I would never leave you alone"

girl thinks " He said that once and is only with me because he doesn't want to go back on to his word. I have trapped him and am sucking the life out of him like how my addiction trapped me .


the girl tries to explain it to him but there busy office schedule don't allow it .

eventually she rationalizes her anxiety by
I wish i could explain it to him but he would just deny it.

Then
I could never live with myself if i let someone who i love suffer for my selfish reasons.
She then starts self blaming.
{old habbits die hard}
She is also really anxious
so she reaches the conclusion


I should break up (even though i love him. ) and make him hate me so that he won't feel bad .
A subtle kind of hate not super bitchy hate.

this would probably prevent him from feeling guilty .
He would feel guily if i explained everything to him. {projection by the girl here. Cause she feels so guilty she thinks the boy would feel guilty too}

So that he could enjoy his life. He has done so much for me. If I truly love him I should atleast do this much. "

Bonus points if you give the girl self esteem issues from the starting which were the cause and also the result of her addiction.

 

[hauntedwritings]

So, well, as the title say, I need some tips writing romance. The thing is, I have no interest in reading it. Even the ones I have read for research are...well, they don't link to me. As far I can see, it's just going on a few dates and writing lines like-my hearts beating so fast, what is this feeling. I am not saying romance genre sucks, I am saying that I don't have any interest in it.
Nevertheless, I do want to include it.
So, I know it sounds stupid and selfish, but is there any way to write it without actually me reading romance?

Now, romance isn't that hard to write. It depends on the degree of romance you wish to have.

Romance isn’t that hard to write.

Write two characters becoming best friends. Fulfilling most of the emotional side of romance. Helping one another. Comforting one another. Being there for one another. Cherishing each other. Most things on the emotional side of romance is the same thing you’ll find in a deep, good, friendship, just with the clear label of ‘we’re in love’.

Then include the step beyond, which is whatever other thing you think a good romance entails. Usually this is the more physical side of things. Holding hands? Hugging? Kissing? Write whatever you so desire.

This. To have a romantic relationship between two characters, simply start off with them as allies/friends.
And then all you need to do is drop a single line.

She's pretty. / He's handsome.

That line, or something with a similar purpose, will be enough to implant the idea that one character is attracted to another. It will change the view of the interactions completely, even if you write nothing else to deepen their relationship. All you need to do is for every ~30k words, remind the audience that one of the characters is attracted to the other.

If you want to have a deeper romantic relationship between them, all you need to do is have the characters' actions influenced by said attraction. And that can be as subtle, or obvious as you want.

 

[Agentt]

make the girl addicted to something(doesn't have to be drugs ,internet or anything which would decrease quality of life and prevent experiences) and make the guy help with her addiction for one or two years.
Encouraging supporting showing that he cares and that there is hope for girl.
Like he helps for a year or two and the girl starts thinking. "He doesn't actually enjoy my company and i can't help him with his emotional problems. I can't understand him. Our personalities are intrinsically too different i could never relate to him. but i am tying him down to me because he too nice and afraid to leave me alone . He thinks i am his responsibility and even though he doesn't enjoy talking with me on a deeper level he stays with me anyway so i won't feel bad.

He knows it is unhealthy but the only reason he is not leaving is because of the guilt"{this is not actually the case but the girl thinks this is the case

Have the guy swear to the girl "I would never leave you alone"

girl thinks " He said that once and is only with me because he doesn't want to go back on to his word. I have trapped him and am sucking the life out of him like how my addiction trapped me .
I should break up (even though i love him. ) and make him hate me so that he won't feel bad . So that he could enjoy his life. He has done so much for me. If I truly love him I should atleast do this much. "

Bonus points if you give the girl self esteem issues from the starting which were the cause and also the result of her addiction.

...I can't imagine how much time that would had taken. You can make your own by this. While it is a great source of plagiarism.., I mean inspiration, it is greatly deviating from my original plans of female lead. The female lead I planned is more...dead inside, expressionless, who will take it at face value when the Male lead confesses to her.

Now, romance isn't that hard to write. It depends on the degree of romance you wish to have.

This. To have a romantic relationship between two characters, simply start off with them as allies/friends.
And then all you need to do is drop a single line.

She's pretty. / He's handsome.

That line, or something with a similar purpose, will be enough to implant the idea that one character is attracted to another. It will change the view of the interactions completely, even if you write nothing else to deepen their relationship. All you need to do is for every ~30k words, remind the audience that one of the characters is attracted to the other.

If you want to have a deeper romantic relationship between them, all you need to do is have the characters' actions influenced by said attraction. And that can be as subtle, or obvious as you want.

The premise starts of them bieng married, so doesn't work. Also, while the MMC is madly in love, the female lead doesn't believe that she loves him. Since the story is from her perspective..I really don't know what to do at this point

 

[LotsChrono]

...I can't imagine how much time that would had taken. You can make your own by

The premise starts of them bieng married, so doesn't work.

It can still work with the premise. Nothing wrong with an husband thinking “Damn I love my wife and her sexy body” or a wife thinking “My husband’s so handsome, and cute when he sleeps” while they act like best friends.

 

[Deleted member 45782]

I like how almost all your post includes a second line of jk lol, in case your replies explodes with haters.

XD. Just in case, I don't want to offend anyone by accident.

 

[someonesomeguy]

...I can't imagine how much time that would had taken. You can make your own by this. While it is a great source of plagiarism.., I mean inspiration, it is greatly deviating from my original plans of female lead. The female lead I planned is more...dead inside, expressionless, who will take it at face value when the Male lead confesses to her.

The premise starts of them bieng married, so doesn't work.

Dude it's just a part of my fantasy isekai story but i changed somethings to make it fit with your own. My protagnist has good emotional intelligence and the female lead is confident so this all doesn't happen.

 

[Agentt]

It can still work with the premise. Nothing wrong with an husband thinking “Damn I love my wife and her sexy body” or a wife thinking “My husband’s so handsome, and cute when he sleeps” while they act like best friends.

I am planning to include that, yes. But a bit more subtle, like poking a cheek and remarking how soft it is. But the female lead really doesn't want to accept that she is in love. She knows but doesn't want to accept. In her words- "The only reason we got married was to take a few days off the work."
The background is really bland as well, both were roommates ever since college and then just didn't bothered moving out since it was too much a haggle. Due to this, they both know each other well, fears and strengths and do care for each other, but female lead doesn't want to accept it is love. And well, they aren't exactly beautiful. They were born beautiful but they don't care much for the body. The Male lead is a bit over weight while the female lead is highly anorexic, both suffering from sleep deprivation.

 

[LotsChrono]

I am planning to include that, yes. But a bit more subtle, like poking a cheek and remarking how soft it is. But the female lead really doesn't want to accept that she is in love. She knows but doesn't want to accept. In her words- "The only reason we got married was to take a few days off the work."
The background is really bland as well, both were roommates ever since college and then just didn't bothered moving out since it was too much a haggle. Due to this, they both know each other well, fears and strengths and do care for each other, but female lead doesn't want to accept it is love. And well, they aren't exactly beautiful. They were born beautiful but they don't care much for the body. The Male lead is a bit over weight while the female lead is highly anorexic, both suffering from sleep deprivation.

Oh oh, this is interesting. Welp, let me know whenever you publish it. As long as it’s written well, it certainly catches my eye.

 

[Agentt]

Oh oh, this is interesting. Welp, let me know whenever you publish it. As long as it’s written well, it certainly catches my eye.

Thank you. I certainly will, after a few practice oneshots.
Also, just in case I forget, It will be named Delusion of the Dead.

 

[LotsChrono]

Thank you. I certainly will, after a few practice oneshots.
Also, just in case I forget, It will be named Delusion of the Dead.

Aye aye.

 

[tounokenja]

3 pages, no suggestions about the best kind of romance. NTR.

 

[BenJepheneT]

So, well, as the title say, I need some tips writing romance. The thing is, I have no interest in reading it. Even the ones I have read for research are...well, they don't link to me. As far I can see, it's just going on a few dates and writing lines like-my hearts beating so fast, what is this feeling. I am not saying romance genre sucks, I am saying that I don't have any interest in it.
Nevertheless, I do want to include it.
So, I know it sounds stupid and selfish, but is there any way to write it without actually me reading romance?

Contrary to popular belief, romance is actually easy to write. Without the usual troupes, it'll just come off as unconventional, which isn't a bad thing, per se. Conventionality is a neutral thing. What matters is the quality of the plot/writing. At best, it's interesting, original and engaging. At worst, it's a mangled corpse and a failed attempt at human emotion at play on paper.

So how do you not fuck up romance? Even more so without knowing the usual troupes to do it?

For one, there's gotta be a reason why two people got together. The usual story IRL that goes is that two people vibe at the same frequency, but that is boring ass shit. Thing will read like a dry Tinder chat. You gotta do it CHAD™ style. One of the most important aspect of romance is that one/both fulfills the other/each other. It need not be a "she doesn't mind a quirk of me" or "oh wow he's so kind" type troupe (though it commonly works); it can be ANYTHING. And by ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING. Stockholm Syndrome, Parasitism, Manipulation, etc. Yes, romance CAN bloom under these circumstances, the quality of which is debatable, but it STILL WORKS on a rudimentary level. Remember: love comes in different shapes and sizes, from a peg in a circular hole to AIDS in a love hotel's drainage pipe. It doesn't matter as long as there's emotional longing and/or satisfaction towards the other. One-sided or reciprocated, it also works.

After that, you have to SHOW how love blooms. You can't just badabing badaboom and get two together. You have to let it boil so that the fluff that comes after feels satisfying. You have to start off with HOW these two fucks get together. The easiest way to convey this is a distant, beautiful girl in class but you're scared of confessing because she A) doesn't know you or B) pussy out due to fear of being DEVASTATINGLY AND DISGUSTINGLY DENIED. However, you could also show this in other ways. Co-workers in a convenience store; associates in a club; teacher and disobedient student (IN COLLEGE); bartender and usual customer. The best way to do it is to put two of them in a scenario where they can easily interact with one another. With this, you can start showing WHY one attracts the other/both attracts each other. Their personality, their quirks, their hobbies, their interests, their looks, their philosophy in life; as long as it makes for a believable and engaging reason, it'll serve as enough context to why they got together. Hell, they don't even need to start longing for each other at the start for shit to bloom.

I'll use my story as an example. I'll spare you the big details; I've got two idiots in the same club. One of them is a violent autist who doesn't want to be violent and the other who is a yes man who can't say no for the life of him and doesn't see why that's a bad thing. The violent autist learns to find peace within the yes man's non-confontational personality and the yes man learns his self-worth from the violent autist's pride on himself. As the story progresses, they come to a plot point where they seperate and realize they suffice each other and want to see the other. It's not the best example of romance but it's how I did it: by giving context that A) they each have a piece in which they lack that the other can complete and B) that they are in a situation where they can easily interact with one another to discover these traits.

Then, you need the conflict within the romance. No one wants to read about a smooth sailing train ride, unless it's a slice-of-life fluff. If you're planning on writing a slice-of-life fluff, you may find this redundant to what you need, but just in case you're trying to write a Twilight copy that isn't a boring fucking slog, here you go. No one wants to read about The Murder on The Oriental Express Where The Murder Doesn't Happen and Everyone Plays Checkers and Laughs about Having Sex with Lemmings. You might INITIALLY, want to, but happy checkers matches and intercourse with lemmings only go so far before they turn boring. You need CONFLICT in a romance, where their philosophies/interests clash and it becomes a heart-thumping climb between their principles and love for one another. This is where the BEST of romance comes to light. Romance isn't just two lovey-dovey people kissing each other; it's the testament of a couple's commitment to their other half. In other to show how strong the bond is, you have to STRAIN those bonds.

I'll use my story as an example AGAIN, using the same violent autist/yes-man dynamic I displayed. In this scenario, the violent autist has an episode and autistically violents a guy so violently he goes through the equivalent of ten femur breakers and a bucket of pepper under his nose. The yes man is horrified by the violent autist's act of autistic violence and distances himself from said autist. However, the yes man doesn't know the violent autist did it FOR the yes man. Sparing the drama in between to build tension, the yes man finally realizes the motive behind the autistic episode and decides to confront the violent autist about it. The yes man hates the violence, but realizes the autist needs him to stop his bursts of violence. The autist also realizes his violence distances the yes man he so fancies, and also works to control his autism for the yes man.

There's DEFINITELY better examples out there, but my point is that romance NEEDS straining to be stronger. The term what doesn't kill you makes you stronger rings true in romance. The harder the trials, the tighter the bond. You ALSO have to show the fruits of their labor. Don't just write empty promises for the sake of drama. If you write out interesting plot elements for the sake of the romance, that's on you. You have to find the right compromise where the romance and the plot compliments one another without seeming too hindering or sidelined, respectively.

All in all, you need a reason for the romance, a believable scenario for it to bloom and trials to strengthen said romance. Cut any part out and you're left with either a nonsense plot, a confusing steep ride of character interaction, or boring fluff.

However, even with all those three, you still need a good conclusion to seal the deal. A conclusion is like a plate to a gourmet dish. Without the plate, it's just wet spaghetti on the ground with sauce spilled around it. A conclusion not only wraps your romance in a satisfying way, it also reinforces/seals the theme of that romance in the first place.

I will bring up my story once more, again with the violent autist + yes man dynamic. I won't spoil the ending, but I will give examples. If I'm writing an angst filled sienen drama, the yes man will eventually realize that violence is what kept the autist alive all these years, and learn to live with the truth of the world, now his eyes are unblinded. If I'm writing a hopeful shounen, the autist will see the error of his ways, and use his violence for good, and that is protecting the yes man with all his might.

The conclusion of a romance not only gives a satisfying ending to all those emotional investment, it also helps boost the ending to your story, whether its central to the story or simply a side plot to it. It sells not only the theme but the tone and the character developments up to that point.

So that's that. Hope this helps.

 

[Agentt]

3 pages, no suggestions about the best kind of romance. NTR.

?
I have no words other than that.

Contrary to popular belief, romance is actually easy to write. Without the usual troupes, it'll just come off as unconventional, which isn't a bad thing, per se. Conventionality is a neutral thing. What matters is the quality of the plot/writing. At best, it's interesting, original and engaging. At worst, it's a mangled corpse and a failed attempt at human emotion at play on paper.

So how do you not fuck up romance? Even more so without knowing the usual troupes to do it?

For one, there's gotta be a reason why two people got together. The usual story IRL that goes is that two people vibe at the same frequency, but that is boring ass shit. Thing will read like a dry Tinder chat. You gotta do it CHAD™ style. One of the most important aspect of romance is that one/both fulfills the other/each other. It need not be a "she doesn't mind a quirk of me" or "oh wow he's so kind" type troupe (though it commonly works); it can be ANYTHING. And by ANYTHING, I mean ANYTHING. Stockholm Syndrome, Parasitism, Manipulation, etc. Yes, romance CAN bloom under these circumstances, the quality of which is debatable, but it STILL WORKS on a rudimentary level. Remember: love comes in different shapes and sizes, from a peg in a circular hole to AIDS in a love hotel's drainage pipe. It doesn't matter as long as there's emotional longing and/or satisfaction towards the other. One-sided or reciprocated, it also works.

After that, you have to SHOW how love blooms. You can't just badabing badaboom and get two together. You have to let it boil so that the fluff that comes after feels satisfying. You have to start off with HOW these two fucks get together. The easiest way to convey this is a distant, beautiful girl in class but you're scared of confessing because she A) doesn't know you or B) pussy out due to fear of being DEVASTATINGLY AND DISGUSTINGLY DENIED. However, you could also show this in other ways. Co-workers in a convenience store; associates in a club; teacher and disobedient student (IN COLLEGE); bartender and usual customer. The best way to do it is to put two of them in a scenario where they can easily interact with one another. With this, you can start showing WHY one attracts the other/both attracts each other. Their personality, their quirks, their hobbies, their interests, their looks, their philosophy in life; as long as it makes for a believable and engaging reason, it'll serve as enough context to why they got together. Hell, they don't even need to start longing for each other at the start for shit to bloom.

I'll use my story as an example. I'll spare you the big details; I've got two idiots in the same club. One of them is a violent autist who doesn't want to be violent and the other who is a yes man who can't say no for the life of him and doesn't see why that's a bad thing. The violent autist learns to find peace within the yes man's non-confontational personality and the yes man learns his self-worth from the violent autist's pride on himself. As the story progresses, they come to a plot point where they seperate and realize they suffice each other and want to see the other. It's not the best example of romance but it's how I did it: by giving context that A) they each have a piece in which they lack that the other can complete and B) that they are in a situation where they can easily interact with one another to discover these traits.

Then, you need the conflict within the romance. No one wants to read about a smooth sailing train ride, unless it's a slice-of-life fluff. If you're planning on writing a slice-of-life fluff, you may find this redundant to what you need, but just in case you're trying to write a Twilight copy that isn't a boring fucking slog, here you go. No one wants to read about The Murder on The Oriental Express Where The Murder Doesn't Happen and Everyone Plays Checkers and Laughs about Having Sex with Lemmings. You might INITIALLY, want to, but happy checkers matches and intercourse with lemmings only go so far before they turn boring. You need CONFLICT in a romance, where their philosophies/interests clash and it becomes a heart-thumping climb between their principles and love for one another. This is where the BEST of romance comes to light. Romance isn't just two lovey-dovey people kissing each other; it's the testament of a couple's commitment to their other half. In other to show how strong the bond is, you have to STRAIN those bonds.

I'll use my story as an example AGAIN, using the same violent autist/yes-man dynamic I displayed. In this scenario, the violent autist has an episode and autistically violents a guy so violently he goes through the equivalent of ten femur breakers and a bucket of pepper under his nose. The yes man is horrified by the violent autist's act of autistic violence and distances himself from said autist. However, the yes man doesn't know the violent autist did it FOR the yes man. Sparing the drama in between to build tension, the yes man finally realizes the motive behind the autistic episode and decides to confront the violent autist about it. The yes man hates the violence, but realizes the autist needs him to stop his bursts of violence. The autist also realizes his violence distances the yes man he so fancies, and also works to control his autism for the yes man.

There's DEFINITELY better examples out there, but my point is that romance NEEDS straining to be stronger. The term what doesn't kill you makes you stronger rings true in romance. The harder the trials, the tighter the bond. You ALSO have to show the fruits of their labor. Don't just write empty promises for the sake of drama. If you write out interesting plot elements for the sake of the romance, that's on you. You have to find the right compromise where the romance and the plot compliments one another without seeming too hindering or sidelined, respectively.

All in all, you need a reason for the romance, a believable scenario for it to bloom and trials to strengthen said romance. Cut any part out and you're left with either a nonsense plot, a confusing steep ride of character interaction, or boring fluff.

However, even with all those three, you still need a good conclusion to seal the deal. A conclusion is like a plate to a gourmet dish. Without the plate, it's just wet spaghetti on the ground with sauce spilled around it. A conclusion not only wraps your romance in a satisfying way, it also reinforces/seals the theme of that romance in the first place.

I will bring up my story once more, again with the violent autist + yes man dynamic. I won't spoil the ending, but I will give examples. If I'm writing an angst filled sienen drama, the yes man will eventually realize that violence is what kept the autist alive all these years, and learn to live with the truth of the world, now his eyes are unblinded. If I'm writing a hopeful shounen, the autist will see the error of his ways, and use his violence for good, and that is protecting the yes man with all his might.

The conclusion of a romance not only gives a satisfying ending to all those emotional investment, it also helps boost the ending to your story, whether its central to the story or simply a side plot to it. It sells not only the theme but the tone and the character developments up to that point.

So that's that. Hope this helps.

While this would be a great story of I was planning to please the readers, the story I am writing is purely to get that idea out of my mind since it has been bugging me for days. Hence, I can not allow any deviation from the original characters, so, yes, they will be boring ass.
They came together since they were roommates.
They began to love each other since they have been living together since college.
They aren't gonna come across any trials, nope they are pretty set in life.

Still, that's a long answer. I didn't expected to get such a passionate suggestion. Thank you.

 

[ArcadiaBlade]

Let me give you my opinion even if you have people giving you ideas already. As a guy whose been writing romance and friendship with no experience to both, It can be easy and challenging to work with if you don't know what you plan on writing it. Conflicting ideas is one thing, first love is another but you can always try on simple and bland things such as how they view each other. There doesn't need to have a conflict to write a good one but just something you can work with. Such as the manga I have been reading 'The grandparents became youthful again' or sonething like that. It basically just a grandparents who grew young but didn't change their love between each other and thats that.

Romance starts out just as how you plan on adding it.

Want to make it complicated? Just add a spark in their relationship(such as a rival or an arguement).

Want it to be simply wholesome? (a simple touch of affection and basically heart goes doki-doki)

Bland? I gotchu bro(simple I love you just because you don't want both to separate and only because of reliance)

Twist?(love between them only bloomed because there's an objective)

I think there are many examples to which you can gain from. Some of them didn't even start off with a romance(I alone level up for example) and some just simply start slow. My advice for you is that when you try to add romance, look for something to make an interesting idea to kickstart their relationship, its your novel and just find where you start it. Hell, I even wrote a dying boy and a mute girl who didn't even romance on it and by the end, my readers develop it themselves.

 

[Agentt]

Let me give you my opinion even if you have people giving you ideas already. As a guy whose been writing romance and friendship with no experience to both, It can be easy and challenging to work with if you don't know what you plan on writing it. Conflicting ideas is one thing, first love is another but you can always try on simple and bland things such as how they view each other. There doesn't need to have a conflict to write a good one but just something you can work with. Such as the manga I have been reading 'The grandparents became youthful again' or sonething like that. It basically just a grandparents who grew young but didn't change their love between each other and thats that.

Romance starts out just as how you plan on adding it.

Want to make it complicated? Just add a spark in their relationship(such as a rival or an arguement).

Want it to be simply wholesome? (a simple touch of affection and basically heart goes doki-doki)

Bland? I gotchu bro(simple I love you just because you don't want both to separate and only because of reliance)

Twist?(love between them only bloomed because there's an objective)

I think there are many examples to which you can gain from. Some of them didn't even start off with a romance(I alone level up for example) and some just simply start slow. My advice for you is that when you try to add romance, look for something to make an interesting idea to kickstart their relationship, its your novel and just find where you start it. Hell, I even wrote a dying boy and a mute girl who didn't even romance on it and by the end, my readers develop it themselves.

Well, thank you for understanding my intentions. I mostly need some inspiration for certain events to fill the gap. Since the plot is that both are to busy to do anything interesting, I really can't think of any except walking together to the station. As for the kickstarter, while I did used to think I had one, after reading your reply, I realised that it comes much later in the story than I thought it would. So, that also...:(