[Levade]

[color=blue]Any suggestions on ...just about everything? *G* Seriously, I just am a rather practical soul, and now I'm stuck on a part in a story where I can't get past a marriage proposal or how the character would do this. Skipping it entirely would bring the wrath of readers, but at this point it's a serious consideration! I suppose I don't want it to read like a Harlequin Romance, but neither should it be a treatise or legal joinder.

I really love the way people here handle romance (hmm..pun intended) and would love to hear some suggestions on how they write it. Not so much seduction scenes, those I understand, but the ....touching, tender moments that are supposed to happen between two people in love.

I'm beginning to wonder how in the world I managed to find someone to marry at this point!

I'd adore any suggestions or hints ...please?

Thanks! [/color]
Levade

[Roisin]

I would have to see the scene really, but my motto is that if all else fails, make it funny.

Roisin

Yep have to agree there. Funny. See Chapter Two of Patient for this

Fortunately, elves having sex just kills the whole notion of proposal because its more or less a given thing. I think the best way to do it is to write it as you imagine you would be proposing to someone and that add the atmosphere and mood later. Do the dialogue first is my best suggestion.

[sindohte]

My piece of advice is to have the two characters talk and reflect upon shared highlights of their relationship. That's a quick and easy way to help the reader to flashback to the highlights of the characters' relationship and it will save you some writing, so that you can focus on the marriage proposal.

And Roisin's advice about doing the dialogue first is a terrific idea because that is actually how I write stuff. I view it as building a type of Frakenstein monster. First I jot down bits and pieces of dialogue to create the skeleton. Then I start adding bits and pieces of flesh aka description/details of the characters' appearance, mood, psychological processes and the setting. And before you know it, you have a great romantic scene. Or as certain people have said, "My gawd, if you keep adding any more to this scene, she's going to be pregnant." At that point, it is time to step away from the computer.

[Halfwest]

My take on Romance is this: People in love are like little kids with each other. For whatever reason, they find each other utterly FASCINATING, like a big bright shiny colorful THING with lots of buttons and switches and dials and springs and STUFF. And you KNOW how little kids react to something that interests them. They have to touch it, play with it, explore it in every possible way, see what happens when they poke this or turn that or speak magic words at it.

People in love are somehow possessed of just that level of innocence when they are with each other. This can be manifested in very deliberate ways: hugging, kissing, holding hands, fondling, etc. Or, in less intimate scenes, it can be far more subtle: fingering the hem of a shirt for a moment, picking up and playing with some item belonging to the other person (a pen, paperclip, hair tie, thimble, fork...), positioning themselves close together... You can be really creative with these small expressions of love. I've known lovers who, when out in public together, played private games of pretending they had never met before. Furthermore, the desire to explore another person on this level has a tendency to bring about changes in the person doing the exploring. Normally this involves an abandonment of inhibitions that are the result of social and even cultural norms. People in love will often be tempermental, they might wear their emotions on their sleeves; changes in mood will be more dramatic: moods themselves may be exaggerated; they may not relate to other people as well, they may not pick up on "signals" projected by other adults; they will sometimes take on aspects of their partner's gender as part of the process of understanding them (a girl might watch sports or take up a hobby related to weaponry; a boy might cook or clean more, take more interest in his appearance); furthermore, when with each other, they might overemphasize traits of their own gender (a girl might act less intelligent or capable, a boy might act basically like God)...

The most important thing to remember about people in love is how desperate they are to touch each other. They're just ACHING to be in some sort of physical contact with their partner, however limited that contact might be. Even placing their pinkie fingers side-by-side on a table is enough. And, of course, they are very possessive of each other, the boy usually more so than the girl.

That's probably more than you ever wanted to know, but I hope it helped...

[Levade]

[Levade]

[Levade]

[nillaithial]

Well, for what it's worth I'll put my two cents worth in. To me, writing romance is not merely the touchy/feely I-thought-I-should-faint-from-his-hands-on-me (although that helps! :-) ) type of stuff. But rather, the establishment throughout the entire story of the little details that bring out the depth of a character's love for another character. It could be handing over the last apple or defending another character to others. It seems to me, these things bring dimension to the aspect of romance. It defines a character's general personality and how they can fit well with someone else, and why. Sometimes the most romantic thing may not be an interaction between lovers at all.

Example: In one of my own fanfictions, the heroine thinks she's alone and sings....just because she enjoys singing. But it is an attractive feature to the elves, and the heroine happens to be overheard by the elf that she secretly loves, and he likes the sound of her voice, something he never considered before. Such things can be used as a jumping board to turn around someone's opinion or feelings. Romance, to me, is in the little details, that are, by themselves, of no consequence, but as a whole will eventually bring two lovers together in the story.

Just my humble opinion. Good luck writing.

Nillaithial

[Levade]