Writing drama in a romance

[Ellieporter]

So, I've been writing this story for quite a while now, piece by piece. I want to add drama in a series of flashbacks. As the setting here is Rich MC is arrangely married to another rich girl (Childhood friend #1) but the personal maid of the girl (Childhood friend #2) also likes the MC but she gave it up for the CF#1.

Also, CF#1 and MC are arrangely married at a very young age and CF#2 confessed her feelings for MC to CF#1 but didnt pull through with confessing directly. How to write a good drama tension between the two friends as ive taken a shot at writing it but i dont know if its good though.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

It's already ruined.

So, I've been writing this story for quite a while now, piece by piece. I want to add drama in a series of flashbacks. As the setting here is Rich MC is arrangely married to another rich girl (Childhood friend #1) but the personal maid of the girl (Childhood friend #2) also likes the MC but she gave it up for the CF#1.

Also, CF#1 and MC are arrangely married at a very young age and CF#2 confessed her feelings for MC to CF#1 but didnt pull through with confessing directly. How to write a good drama tension between the two friends as ive taken a shot at writing it but i dont know if its good though.

I didn't mean to sound like an asshole, but it's such an overused trope that it's kind of ruined by itself. It's like reading a b or even c-tier romance manga.

 

[ChubbyLiv]

Let MC take interest in the CF#2

 

[Mr.Grey-Cat]

if you just give their feeling, without skipping too mcuh, even trash-tier isekais become tragic love stories, so why care for the overused tropes ? didn't you see SAO, with the same trope every season, but still somehow made cool ?

just write what make you satisfied, and be careful not to get too absorbed or side-tracked when writing, and it will somehow bbe alright

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

Even cliche things can be nice to read at times. Not everything has to be 100% original. Though... it is more fun that way! Try to make their relationship strain because of their feelings. Like who does MC like? G1 or G2? You could make a good triangle. Or maybe make it so G1 and G2 agree to challenge it out and still be good friends!

But you said tension, so maybe G2 becomes bitter or G1 becomes self-aware of MC while around G2 and that puts a strain.

I am bad at this. My romances usually xD don't have other love interests and if they do, they are blissfully unaware and friend-zoned.

 

[Ellieporter]

But you said tension, so maybe G2 becomes bitter or G1 becomes self-aware of MC while around G2 and that puts a strain.

Ive managed to write G1 is irritated that G2 makes small moves like wiping the MC's cheek with her handkerchief and G2 still has feeling for him even tho he married G1

Also the MC doesnt know that G2 has feelings for him...

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

Ive managed to write G1 is irritated that G2 makes small moves like wiping the MC's cheek with her handkerchief and G2 still has feeling for him even tho he married G1

Also the MC doesnt know that G2 has feelings for him...

So there is a strain in their relationship. You can keep writing things like that. Like 'Oh... I don't like the way she looks at him!' or 'Oh... why is he doing that with her...' MC can do things to make G1 even more annoyed and eventually all that tension can snap. Like a twig.

Do you know who MC will end up with? If you do, you can make him slowly drift more towards them. Like G1, he married her but does he have feelings or was it just for ranks? Is he already in love or is it something like, oh I realized I actually can fall for you?

And G2, she is his maid, but maybe there is something in her that makes him tick. Like the kindness she gives him.

There is always the harem route but... Uh, I don't think these girls want to share. Yandere route is also a way...

G1 realizes G2 is in the way and well, friendship goes to oblivion!
Or G1 realizes the boy isn't worth the trouble and saves the relationship!

Ranting~

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Write what you want to read, and someone else will also love it.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

By making both girls competing openly you've already missed the biggest drama part. If they are friends and they know that both of them like him, it basically comes down to who is the worse or better person. The very fact that CF#2 gave up AND told about this to CF#1 already makes us alienate CF#1 by default. Because she is seen as, erm, I don't know the appropriate word in English, homewrecker? Also, in my opinion, CF#1 doesn't deserve ANY sympathy. If she is a friend of CF#1, WHY THE HELL, you make CF#1 suffer emotionally by telling about the love triangle? They are either competing and show that they are garbage human beings, OR they try to act kind and end up looking stupid.

In other words, this kind of love triangle is always bad in my eyes. It's about shitty people not being able to control their emotions. It's about people who can't persevere and don't deserve any sympathy. They are trying to grab the FLEETING feeling of love that was caused by what? It's about saving the damsel in distress trope(effect of suspension bridge)? Or they can go after his looks and riches, which makes them, once again, garbage humans. Is it because Mc is kind? Imagine falling in love because someone was kind, only to find later on that he farts all the time in his sleep. Kills all the magic of love, nah? There should be VERY strong chemistry between characters to pull this off.

Yeah, and most of the time, MC is just a wooden log. Or the author gives LAME excuses how he can't decide between the two. In other words, b-tier shoujo manga development. If MC has feelings for one of them, he should stick with the said girl, and the said girl should answer his feelings. The one that was left should simply suffer. And as it's a flashback, later on, she can be seen in a loving relationship or something like this.

 

[Cipiteca396]

It's already ruined.

I didn't mean to sound like an asshole, but it's such an overused trope that it's kind of ruined by itself. It's like reading a b or even c-tier romance manga.

In that case, the fix would be dropping monogamy and just making all three of them have a relationship.

but the personal maid of the girl (Childhood friend #2

This is the biggest problem. If your characters aren't working on an equivalent relationship, then there isn't any real drama. The maid will either be dismissed, or she'll give up entirely since she has a job to do. Failure on that front would be completely out of the question. The ONLY way she'd have a chance is if the MC loved her and not CF 1. In which case, your drama isn't coming from the love triangle, it's coming from class differences.

Romance likes to use dumb excuses to make drama, so just keep in mind how the plot would flow if your story wasn't romance genre. Otherwise you'll end up with your audience screaming at your characters for how dumb they are. Feelings are complicated, but there are plenty of exterior factors that will influence their decisions more.

 

[Aoi_Sora]

After reading a lot of hentai... I will abstain from advising.

 

[Biggest-Kusa-Out-There]

If they're teenagers or young adults, you can go the rarely used route of CF#1 starts liking CF#2 because of her displays of affection or perseverance, and slowly discover she swings both ways, which in istelf is a very dramatic experience for any person. The dude would see this and work as a wingman because he feels like utter garbage having caused a divide in their friendship.
Like, when the maid does something cutesy or romantic, the wife would feel complicated emotions that she can't name and so struggles to focus when with the dude. The dude would then realize because they are all childhood friends (unless i got something wrong), and tries to get them time alone in a smooth way. Feeling like he doesn't deserve the love of both women, he retreats into the abused and depressed shell that is a man in current society... but wait. This was part of the maid's plan. She also liked the wife from a young age, and also realizes how hurt the dude (who she also likes) is. This then evolves into a month long shenanigans of dates, frisky nights, cheeky visits to the pool/beach, etc.

THEN! Both girls get together and realize that it was in small part thanks to the dude, which makes them fall harder in love with him. Now the goal is to shatter the self destructive tendencies he picked up throughout the whole process, like alcoholism or an unhealthy obsession with work.
The maid would service him (respectfully, ofcourse), and the wife would take him to dates or smth like that.
HOWEVER! They discover he's aromantic, and has been struggling with the fact he can't feel love while being in an arranged marriage with his childhood friend! OH NOES! Driven by compersion, he did the only thing he thought he could to make sure the other two have someone who love them... since he can't.

i ran our of ideas. hope this helps somehow lol.

 

[Ellieporter]

If they're teenagers or young adults, you can go the rarely used route of CF#1 starts liking CF#2 because of her displays of affection or perseverance, and slowly discover she swings both ways, which in istelf is a very dramatic experience for any person. The dude would see this and work as a wingman because he feels like utter garbage having caused a divide in their friendship.
Like, when the maid does something cutesy or romantic, the wife would feel complicated emotions that she can't name and so struggles to focus when with the dude. The dude would then realize because they are all childhood friends (unless i got something wrong), and tries to get them time alone in a smooth way. Feeling like he doesn't deserve the love of both women, he retreats into the abused and depressed shell that is a man in current society... but wait. This was part of the maid's plan. She also liked the wife from a young age, and also realizes how hurt the dude (who she also likes) is. This then evolves into a month long shenanigans of dates, frisky nights, cheeky visits to the pool/beach, etc.

THEN! Both girls get together and realize that it was in small part thanks to the dude, which makes them fall harder in love with him. Now the goal is to shatter the self destructive tendencies he picked up throughout the whole process, like alcoholism or an unhealthy obsession with work.
The maid would service him (respectfully, ofcourse), and the wife would take him to dates or smth like that.
HOWEVER! They discover he's aromantic, and has been struggling with the fact he can't feel love while being in an arranged marriage with his childhood friend! OH NOES! Driven by compersion, he did the only thing he thought he could to make sure the other two have someone who love them... since he can't.

i ran our of ideas. hope this helps somehow lol.

This took a turn to being a yuri romance xD

 

[Cipiteca396]

This took a turn to being a yuri romance xD

Dang. You never specified the MC was male, so I was hoping it started that way. Because of this wording.

Rich MC is arrangely married to another rich girl

 

[Ellieporter]

Dang. You never specified the MC was male, so I was hoping it started that way.

I could switch it around tho xD

 

[skillet]

don't know if this advice will be relevant, but...

If anything, keep things authentic! Stay true to your characters! Consider what kind of reaction each of them would give to certain situations, and let the drama happen naturally, instead of trying to force them into a drama. **If you force them into a conflict that wouldn't have happened otherwise (personality-wise, like their characteristics wouldn't have clashed if you as an author didn't make them clash), then usually the conflict seems needless and can feel contrived.
--> example: character A is a quiet person, doesn't speak her mind, gives character B everything. character B is a loud person, always says what she wants to say. They like the same person! Then Character A will notice that character B likes the same person, and maybe just give up. Making them fight for the same guy right away can feel strange, like, character A wouldn't do that!
HOWEVER! a conflict in which character B is frustrated at character A for never speaking up can feel more authentic, and maybe character B will also notice character A's feelings too, then get mad at her for not saying anything. That could be a more layered conflict, so they're not just fighting over some random guy but really getting into the depths of their problems together.

I made up the personalities of the example, but relationships are always much more complex than that. If you really carefully consider several aspects of their already existing relationship, you'll probably find ways to make your conflicts complex, too. If you already did, then great! And then have confidence in your writing! If you think you wrote to the best of your current abilities, then it's the best that current you can do. It's your story :D
tl;dr: don't make your characters act out of character, layered conflicts tend to be more interesting, and be confident.

 

[Ellieporter]

don't know if this advice will be relevant, but...

If anything, keep things authentic! Stay true to your characters! Consider what kind of reaction each of them would give to certain situations, and let the drama happen naturally, instead of trying to force them into a drama. **If you force them into a conflict that wouldn't have happened otherwise (personality-wise, like their characteristics wouldn't have clashed if you as an author didn't make them clash), then usually the conflict seems needless and can feel contrived.
--> example: character A is a quiet person, doesn't speak her mind, gives character B everything. character B is a loud person, always says what she wants to say. They like the same person! Then Character A will notice that character B likes the same person, and maybe just give up. Making them fight for the same guy right away can feel strange, like, character A wouldn't do that!
HOWEVER! a conflict in which character B is frustrated at character A for never speaking up can feel more authentic, and maybe character B will also notice character A's feelings too, then get mad at her for not saying anything. That could be a more layered conflict, so they're not just fighting over some random guy but really getting into the depths of their problems together.

I made up the personalities of the example, but relationships are always much more complex than that. If you really carefully consider several aspects of their already existing relationship, you'll probably find ways to make your conflicts complex, too. If you already did, then great! And then have confidence in your writing! If you think you wrote to the best of your current abilities, then it's the best that current you can do. It's your story :D
tl;dr: don't make your characters act out of character, layered conflicts tend to be more interesting, and be confident.

CF#1 has this arrogant, bossy attitude while CF#2 is quiet, calm and the MC is just an overall nice and clumsy guy... I will take all of your advices here as well.

 

[skillet]

CF#1 has this arrogant, bossy attitude while CF#2 is quiet, calm and the MC is just an overall nice and clumsy guy...

If so, CF #2 might be passive aggressive. If they're in a relationship that CF #1 acts bossy but is actually quite soft to CF #2, then the passive aggressiveness could work. However, if CF #1 really wouldn't care less, and CF #2 isn't the passive aggressive sort of character, then yeah, I can't see how a conflict could begin..? Unless CF #1 actively picks on CF #2 because she knows #2 likes the MC.

But again, it's your story! :D do everything you want, you get to choose the rules! (one of the best parts about writing, I should say lol)