Unless one of them is lying about who they are and trying to maintain a facade, which would be an interesting (albeit doomed, and perhaps a little cliche) dynamic. Or if how they act around The Love Interest totally contradicts how they act around other people, that’s going to feel off, too. If you only ever see a character’s personality when they’re around The Love Interest, that’s going to feel off. What I mean by that is, make sure you establish character traits before boy meets girl. You should also make sure that you establish your characters’ personalities independent of their burgeoning relationship. They don’t have to be together every second of the book, but if all the falling in love stuff happens off screen (or from afar) it’s not going to seem organic. That’s why you should make sure these characters actually get to know one another, and that the reader sees it happen: dialogue, getting thrown into situations together, working through the conflict of the story together. And though meet cutes can be fun, there has to be more than just one interaction between our two protagonists in order for the romance to be convincing. I think most can agree that the “love at first sight” trope has long outworn its welcome. But it especially becomes pertinent when you have two characters who are going to form a strong emotional bond and fall in looooove through the course of the story. ![]() I mean, you should be doing this anyway regardless of whether or not you have a romantic subplot. Of course, we all know the potential dangers of the Love Triangle and all that, but if you’re like me and find these sorts of romantic entanglements enjoyable, then it might help to know how to write one that won’t make your reader gag. ![]() However, when it’s woven into the narrative as part of the story, and the characters have actual chemistry, it can be a real highlight. There is nothing inherently wrong with a romantic subplot, but they can be done poorly–very poorly. But as it so happens, the fiction world has decided that it is everybody’s thing, thus romantic subplots get shoehorned into just about every book, movie, and TV show. Who doesn’t love a good romantic subplot? Okay, so maybe romance isn’t your thing.
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