What Kind of Love Story?

Write what you know. Isn’t that a popular saying in almost any writing class you can take? If writers only wrote about things they knew what a dull place fiction would be! I decided to take another pundit’s advice instead: write the story you would want to read. It may be wishful thinking. It may be unmarketable but some things just keep coming out at the end of my fingertips.

1.     The love story doesn't end at the altar. All right some of them do but some of them actually start there. And I fully believe some of the best love stories grow from there.

2.     Attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder.

3.     Geeks can be attractive. . .and sexy. Do you think they are all alike in both form and function? You haven’t met the geeks I have! 

4.     Women over 40 can be sexy, too. Do I really have to address this?

5.     Everyone has family! Stories may be easier to write for orphans or near-orphans but really!

6.     Parents do have love lives. If you're a parent, you understand this.

7.     Sex can be funny. I mean come on! Think about it.

8.     Men are often more romantic then they are given credit for. One of the advantages of being older is by this point is I've actually witnessed this over and over again. I don't have sisters, daughters, or nieces; I have brothers, sons, and nephews.

9.     Love at first sight does happen. Hey, this is romantic fiction after all. And, I am sometimes struck by the number of times I've heard a man say, "Yes, I knew the moment I saw her I was going to marry her (or something similar)."  Women have said it, too.

10.  A love story isn't always a romance but it is always a love story. I have a couple of projects on my writing list which fit that description.

 

These aren't all the little ideas or rules that make their way into my stories and I can't say they all make their way into  every story. Some do and some don't. They're just the ones I've become aware of over time.