Writing about Love
When I first read this idea on AW’s February Blog Chain, I was immediately hooked. It’s SO much easier to write about love than it is to live it. Obviously, I’m not the only one who thinks so. But for some people, love comes naturally in their lives as well as their writing.
Not so for me.
When I find that my character(s) is going to have a love interest, and sometimes it is a shock to me, I tend to tense up a little at first. How can I write about something that, outside of my friends and family, has never really happened to me before? Yes, I’ve loved a few people in my life, I suppose. But it never lasted and IMHO it wasn’t love, I just thought it was.
So what do I do when I have to/want to write about it?
Simple.
I just write about how I wish it could/would be. That’s easy enough. Unfortunately it all seems so mushy and fake and cliché that it usually does not end up getting past the editing process. But those are just my self-editing skills (or major lack thereof) coming to the forefront. The words and ideas come to me easily enough. It’s not hard to write about how I wish I was treated in a relationship or about how I would treat my significant other. The only major conflict I usually run into is with my MC’s. Generally these girls are not about falling in love with anyone. They’re about doing what they have to do to survive, protect people, etc. So when the whole love question comes up, it throws me for a loop.
Also, my MC’s, the poor girls, don’t usually get the HEA, no matter what. The stories all end in tragedy and pain. Trust me, I’ve tried making it the opposite way, but the story wants what the story wants.
After all, real life isn’t always about happily ever after.
After all, real life isn’t always about happily ever after.
