Hello! I Was Wondering How Could One Write Romance Relevant To The Plot. I Don't Want Random Ships In

Hello! I was wondering how could one write romance relevant to the plot. I don't want random ships in my novel and I haven't got a clue as to how I could make it significant to the story.

This might help: Taking the “Unnecessary” Out of “Romantic Subplot”

Some more specific tips are:

- This might be pretty obvious, but make sure both characters are major plot players. If one of them is erased, the plot should fall apart or be forced to go in a very different direction.

- Their romance, how it starts and develops, needs to make sense with their backstories and personalities. Creating Romantic Feelings Between Characters and Different Ways Characters Can Show Love cover a form of this.

- There doesn’t have to be intense drama over potential for breakup, but real-life couples do have disagreements and argue. Let disagreements affect how the plot plays out.

- Make sure they’re each unique individuals, are well-developed in their own way, and contribute to each other’s development over the course of the story.

The way romance fits into stories can be really unique when you get down to the details. You also have the option to write the characters as a pre-established romance, and then plot-relevance is not quite as important (but still matters).

Good luck with your romance!

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

Not all consequences in storytelling must be negative

A consequence is simply something that happens because of an action or event.

So long as an action or event means something within the story, then there is no reason a consequence can’t be something good for your characters. As much as it can be tempting, we don't always need to torture them.

She’s glad that Rosa was there to help her😌

dykes of all body types i love you i love you i love you ESPECIALLY dykes of color. You Are The World

Put some meat on the bones of your story

Here’s a response to a suggestion from duskborne wondering how to flesh out a story idea.

Figure out what’s important in your story

I can hear the questions now-“I know my story idea, why are you asking that kind of a question in a post about fleshing out a story?”

It’s simple. If you don’t know what’s important in your story, how are you going to know where to focus? Consider all the directions your story could go. (Let’s take a simple boy meets girl story, but feel free to adapt the question for your own particular story.)

Directions you could go with boy meets girl story (abridged)

Boy is hired to kill girl, but falls in love.(or the reverse)

Girl meets boy who tries to save her life.

Boy meets girl and falls in love with her brother

Girl meets boy and helps him discover his true calling as a pop star in a boy band.

Boy meets girl and takes her on an adventure in time and space.

(You get the idea hopefully)

Those are all directions you could go with just one simple idea so you can see why it’s important to know what you are trying to accomplish. You have a month, so there isn’t time to play around with ideas.

Here are some questions to help you get a grasp of what is important in your story

What goal are your main characters trying to accomplish in this story?

What are the obstacles?

What are some ideas you have that aren’t really important in this particular story?

Let do some weeding

Now that you have a clearer idea of what your story is about, it is time to get rid of the clutter. Sure there are some great ideas in that clutter, but now is the time to find them, put them on your list of great ideas, and save them for later.

You are going to need some side plots and maybe some “filler” but no matter what you put in your story, it should add to the whole of the story and move the plot forward. If it doesn’t, it should probably get out of your story.

Let’s add some stuff

Now that you have whittled your story down to the essence, it’s time to figure out what you need to add to your story. Here are some questions to help you with that process:

Who are your characters going to be by the end of the story?

What do your characters need to do/accomplish in order to be where they need to be by then?

What minor characters do you need in your story?

Where does your story need to end? (location)

How are your characters going to get there?

Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how to flesh out your story. November and National Novel Writing Month are quickly approaching so get ready. If you have more questions, let us know.