Jo Raskoph Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Hello you wonderful lovely creative reading people of HPFT. (This might not be the time and place, but: Have I recently told you all that I love you? Because I do.) I might have already chewed on your ears about the thing I'm attempting to get done this July – it's a romance/drama/coming-out/suspense thing. Personally I'm really looking forward to the romance part, but I can just imagine myself falling into horrible clichés when I'm under pressure to reach my word goals. So if you can spare a little time, I'd love to hear, what you personally love or hate in stories that include romance. Pining? Love at first sight? True love? Soulmates? Casual relationships? Desperation? Heartbreak? Communication? Drunken confessions? Rushing in? Or taking it slow? … we all know the tropes, but which ones do you like, enjoy, crave even and which do you absolutely detest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphoride Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 Okay, so imma qualify this by saying that I don't actually read that much romance, as a rule, but I have written more than my fair share of it - and imma try and keep this sort of short Love: - pining - heartbreak - love at first sight - well, sort of? Like, not love as such, but sort of knowing that this person will be special to you, that you'll get on really well, that there's something there, etc. - miscommunication - casual relationships turning a lot more serious than expected - slow burn romance - quick burn romance which goes wrong - the friend who gives terrible advice but thinks they're great - the accidental falling in love - a bit of Romeo & Juliet syndrome can be good, but only if it's not overdone. Like, a barrier or two is fine, but the whole 'my-parents-will-disown-me-for-this' thing is pretty overdone, imo - the secret relationship thing Imma not go into the ones I hate because the list might get long... Hopefully this will help so far, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BellaLestrange87 Posted June 28, 2016 Share Posted June 28, 2016 My personal favourite involves two people starting out as friends and progressing to romantic love from there. I mean, I also love the drunken confessions/desperation/pining tropes for the drama it causes (which could add to your word count before you get to the romance as they work things out). As long as physical attraction isn't the only thing bringing them together, I think you'll be good with whatever you choose to go with. "This person is cute but I absolutely detest every other aspect of them" is not a good basis for a relationship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebensmude Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Oh boy have I read my share of romance and I am ready for this. My favourite romance tropes is first and foremost the fake dating idea, it gives me life, it brings me such joy and excitement. I love the reluctance of entering into the relationship and then watching that grow into actual romance. My second favourite one is going from hate to love relationship, two people who think they're total opposites finding out that they have a little more in common than they thought, I love it so much. I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to pining because it pushes the story forward and keeps me reading and squealing, but I am also suffering. Things that I hate about romance: -when one of the people involved is a giant douchebag but it's passed off as a bad boy with a dark past. -when the characters have nothing in common but are for some reason still together -love triangles because it always ends up screaming, "The author ran out of ideas" more often than not. -when the people involved suddenly have no friends or parents anymore now that they have a significant other(s). -when the relationship has lasted like a month and they say "i love you" but they don't know anything about each other and it's only been a month????? -when there is suddenly no more plot because a relationship is more important -excessive smut, i understand that most people enjoy physical relationships but if there's more smut than actual character and relationship development i'm gonna start wondering why these characters are even together. There's probably more that I hate but these come to mind just because I've seen it so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreamshadow Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 A lot of the things I love are already listed here, but I figured I'd share my thoughts all the same in case it helps. My absolute favorite trope is a good, slow burn ship. It's filled with longing and desire and you KNOW the two characters are going to end up together, but it's way more fun watching them figure it out for themselves. [Example of this ship: Ron/Hermione] However, it has to be a certain kind of slow burn because you don't want it dragged out too long because the "will they/won't they" gets boring after a while. I love personality clashes, relationships where the characters test and challenge each other and drive each other crazy. Of course, they compliment each other in their own way and they're really a great match, but my favorite, FAVORITE trope is when they're partners in every way, shape, and form. Friends first is an added bonus, but that doesn't have to be the case. I'm also a fan of the best friend idea, the soulmate idea (which kind of ties into the partners idea), and fake dating. A lot of it depends on the characters, though. And for things I hate: I'm seconding the jerk who gets passed off as a bad boy with a dark past. My favorite kind of person right now are those who are kind of bad, can be a jerk, but deep down they have a huge heart - even if you have to dig through a fortress to find it! Also, too much smut. It's fun for a while, but it's not always necessary, y'know? I'd much rather have it be alluded to, or described in a way that you KNOW it's happening but you don't know what everything feels like/sounds/etc. And saying "I love you" after they've known the person for five seconds. Maybe this ties into why I love slow burn ships so much I hope this helps! <3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum27 Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Cool Topic! I am a huge romance fan. I really do believe in happy endings and true love. :-* Tropes I hate: Pining - the on-again, off-again every single chapter is just frustrating for me to read. And I say this knowing that I've done this in one of my novels, to some extent (to be fair, the characters did it to themselves, really ) Desperation - not pretty. My heart says that each person needs to have something that is only for themselves before you share your life with another person. While I do like it when two people compliment each other and are better together than apart, I don't like desperation to the point of a person losing themselves in the process. People changing for each other - this goes along with the last one a bit, but it's part of my core belief that people should compliment each other and make each other's strengths come out, instead of completely changing their personality to be what the other person "wants." Rushing in - not really a fan of this trope. I've seen a handful that are done alright, but overall, I don't love this one. Tropes I love: Soulmates - If done right, I love this idea. I don't love the idea that tow people are forced against their will to be together, but if they just didn't realize it at first and slowly come to the realization. Heartbreak - I think every romance novel needs to have this in at least some part. The best ones break not only the character's heart, but the readers' as well. Miscommunication - this one lends itself to some fabulous humor.[\li] Tropes that I'm neutral about: Casual relationships Taking it slow Love at first sight Love-hate I feel like any of these can be either good or a train wreck, depending on how the author handles it. Overall, I think that's true of most stories. Thanks for the topic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Raskoph Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Just here to let you know I'm very happy you enjoy the topic and that I'm still sitting here at the back, quietly taking notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nix Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Is it too late to add on to this? I agree with a lot of things other people have said but I'll share my thoughts anyway. Although I apologize because my thoughts are probably all over the place. I love the idea of true love and soulmates, but I'm not sure how I feel about love at first sight. Maybe interest at first sight--or first interaction, I've certainly been there--but actual love takes time to develop. I also like the idea of a casual relationship that becomes more serious as the characters grow and their relationship develops. Pining, Desperation, Heartbreak, these can all be great if their well written. I love a romance with a little bit of heartbreak and the characters are apart but still very much in love with each other, and clearly unhappy over it. Sure, it hurts me to see characters I love hurting but it's also cathartic to read in a way. Especially when there's a happy ending. I like Drunken Confessions, I definitely think that can be an interesting way to spice things up and cause some drama. I also like Communication, no relationship is real without it, really. I love when characters take their time getting to know each other and slowly realize they have feelings for each other, like in the fake dating situation (love these) or the hate-to-love relationships (also like these when done well). I hate it when they rush in though. Falling in love in less than a month is kind of crazy when you don't even know each other all that well. I hate when people date someone for a week and they think they've found their soulmate. Things like that take time and need to be written accordingly. I especially hate the hate-to-love relationships in which this happens, where the characters have hated each other forever and next thing you know something happens and they are in love and everyone else must just accept it. It's just seems so poorly done and it takes away from the actual story, really. Good luck in your writing endeavors! I can't wait to see what you come up with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Raskoph Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Is it too late to add on to this? Not at all! Please go ahead everyone who has input, I'm very grateful for all of it! and: I can't wait to see what you come up with! Me too! :'D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crowsb4bros Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Love: –Undeniable chemistry. Not wanting to fall for each other but not really having much choice in the matter. Es ist was es ist sagt die liebe. –Slow build. –Love/Hate relationships with plenty of snarkiness. If there's plenty of friction between characters it makes me want to grab some popcorn. –One person far more devoted than the other person. –Connection at first sight. –Miscommunication. It frustrates me so much and I love it so much. Meh: –Against the grain, soul mates. I don't love the idea of destined relationships. –Happily ever afters. Give me something to cry about. –Secret relationships without really good reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichigopan Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Love: - Slow builds. - Uncertainties of one person's feelings and lamenting over them. - Shyness from one person, if done right. Something so innocent about it and we've all been there. - Outing the person's feelings in broad daylight like a "deer caught in the headlights" moment. Hilarity ensues. - Heartbreak. Oh those dark, twisty feelings... Take them and run with it. - Obsessive love. Can be an interesting writing experiment if done right. - Emotional tension. - Showing various versions of love rather than the cookie cutter type. Hate: - Love at first sight/rushed love - Avoiding the other person for no reason - Immediate confession - Soulmates. I'm just a jaded, old lady here lol. - Changing oneself on purpose to better suit the relationship. - Cliche love triangles/squares/rhombuses/polygons/insert your favorite geometrical shape here - Relationships based on physical attraction only. I think this covers the "over-smut" category. - Mary Sue/Gary Stu romances - Arranged marriage/we'll learn to love each other spheel. - Sudden change in feelings with no explanation. Think I wrote too much ;; Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo Raskoph Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Not at all I'm so happy about all of your input and I'll try to do all of it justice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firewhiskey_ginger Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Hi there! You've had so many helpful suggestions already so I will keep this brief: In my opinion the most important thing is the chemistry between the characters. If they are well written and believable as a couple, I feel like you can go along with any trope you want? The best example I can think of is the Hate Turning into Love trope--I am a hUGE SUCKER FOR THIS OMG. And it's so fun to write, and to read, but it's really important that the characters have at least SOMETHING in common beneath all the "James Sodding Potter" or "Scorpius Prat Malfoy" banter; otherwise it's unrealistic that they would ever progress past the hate phase. It could be that they both are sarcastic and turn their sass on the same professor, or that they both love a certain musician, or that they both want to study Herbology further after graduation. Couples that aren't friends, basically, are the thing that I hate. Okay that was not brief at all. Good luck with your writing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Blue Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Ooh, what a great topic! Here's my list. Tropes I love: -Friendship turning into love -Casual relationship turning into something serious -Hate to love (but it has to build up slowly to be realistic) -Slow burn -Miscommunication -Heartbreak -Sexual tension -Secret relationship (only if there's a reason for it to be a secret) Tropes I dislike -A teen pregnancy being the sole reason two characters fall in love. -A relationship based on no real connection between the characters (i.e. "Character X is such a dbag but OMG his abs.") -Unnecessary drama that doesn't make sense just for the sake of drama. -Glorifying manipulative behavior in a relationship -Love triangles (usually - although this can be done well) The list isn't definitive, because there are exceptions. But the most important thing is that the characters make sense and that they have a connection, something in common. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostinthelightss Posted April 17, 2020 Share Posted April 17, 2020 I'm bored and looking around the forum, so here I am to revive this thread! I've read a lot of romance recently, and some of my favourite tropes are: Fake dating Grand romantic gestures Accidental friends to lovers (preferably if there's some drunken 'mistake') 'Royals' and 'commoners' - something about the different social class My least favourite: Pregnancy (but I have written it lol) Love triangles (give me lots of slow burn for one couple, not constant showing off of two!!! - again I have written this but I've 'matoored' recently lol) Too much parental backlash, because at some point I just don't care When the SO is the only interesting part of the character Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
just.a.willow.tree Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 ^ I agree so much with @maraudertimes! Here are some of my own preferences. Favorites! Hand-touches! Gentleness in simple caresses! Intense physical attraction / endless sex in romances is fine and all but I live and die and weep for those Soft moments that make your heart burst! @BookDinosaur will back me up on this. Long-term friends/acquaintances who eventually fall in love! The best part about this is the pre-existing familiarity between the characters. They already know all the surface-level things like general favorites/likes/dislikes of the other person, so there's more time for the romance to flourish! Partners-in-crime! This is extremely specific but I do greatly enjoy two thieving/law-unabiding fellows of the romantic variety. Soulmates! I don't necessarily mean the magical kind, but a story where two people's lives keep crossing? Where they meet again after many many years? Non-favorites! Meanness. Obviously every couple gets into fights on occasion, but I really can't tolerate it when one or both become malicious and horrible. If one character can bring themselves to be that mean to the other, they shouldn't be together! Cheating. Even if this story contained all the best tropes in the world / all my favorites listed up there, I would still feel sad and unhappy if the main couple was formed through cheating. Too much hotness. This is...a mildly ridiculous one, but I can only tolerate attractiveness of characters to a degree. I mean, how many people are that beautiful? It's okay to be perfectly average! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy cat Posted May 3, 2020 Share Posted May 3, 2020 things i love: hotness and insta connection and insta lust and sex/smut because it be like that for me friends with benefits with an accidental catching of feelings casual relationships with an accidental catching of feelings hot messes and beautiful disasters and complicated relationships/feelings doomed relationships (aka see above) geometrical shapes (triangles, rectangles etc etc) addictive personalities&relationships enemies to lovers things i don't love: pregnancy stories/getting together because of a pregnancy/teen pregnancy soulmate stories with tattoos and stuff like that (but i like soulmates as a ...not a destined thing just finding a person that fits, even if it's bellatrix/rodolphus) stalkery behaviour that gets glorified as romantic forbidden love like romeo/juliet type of thing too slow slow burns Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beyond the rain Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 I've never really considered what I like/dislike in romance....but we're about to find out likes • slow burn - especially when both of them are pining for the other but believe that their feelings are unrequited. In slow burns accidental touches and powerful compliments are /the best/ • amnesia fics - waking up one morning and not remembering five years of marriage....waking up next to a stranger/former enemy. Sign me up! Flashbacks to their former life, the torture of unrequited love, and them falling for the other person all over again. • forbidden romance/relationships - even if it's strictly sexual, I like two people breaking the rules to be together. • flirty banter & smut - steamy scenes are good, but romantic smut is always good too •fake dating! • a best friend who's been nudging the couple together the entire time and can't believe their friends are so oblivious. • marriage law fic. I think they have to be written right, the two people have to oppose the law but the romance has to be natural...this is one of those that has the potential to be a really good fic...or a disaster. Least favourite: • soulmates • one night stand leading to romance - I do enjoy these on occassion but I don't go out of my way to read them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
down-in-flames Posted May 4, 2020 Share Posted May 4, 2020 things i love: friends to lovers. i love the natural progression of 'oh shit this isn't just friendship anymore, turns out i'm actually wildly attracted to you as well??' fake dating. i dedicated a whole challenge to this, 'nuff said. enemies to lovers. i'm sorry but there is literally astronomical sexual tension in a well-written argument. asgkahgas will never get over. (that being said, there's a caveat here that there needs to be a resolution of the root of their dislike somewhere in the middle of the story bc some wild jump from i hate you to i love you feels like it's not going to last bc there's no real foundation there.) anything where physical intimacy comes before emotional intimacy. this one just feels very true to life for me lol - emotional intimacy/vulnerability is a way bigger step in a romantic situation than physical, at least for my emotionally-repressed ass. hehe smut. really big on smut where there's an emphasis on consent in some way or another because i love seeing that normalised in fiction. but going back to the point 2 bullets above, there's a tumblr post i saw a while back that said 'if your characters have to kiss to show they're in love, you're not writing a romance right' and i really feel that. physical stuff is all well and good but i want my romances to be about a much deeper connection than that - the softer moments are what really makes a romance what it is, imo. the friends on the sidelines being like 'oh my god you two are idiots, please just get together already.' things i don't like: glorification of unhealthy relationship dynamics. i'm okay with them existing (see: enemies to lovers obsession), but there needs to be an acknowledgement that they're problematic and/or some sort of resolution of them for me to be happy with the ending. unhappy endings. especially in novels - if i'm going to drag my way through hundreds of thousands of words and agonise over these characters and get emotionally attached to them, i don't want my heart ripped out at the end. there are naturally some exceptions to this, but i'd almost always prefer a happy ending. (hence, why most of my jilys are au's, lol) teen/unexpected pregnancy. i used to like it when i was a lot younger, but now i'm just kind of... eh. character development solely for the sake of the romance. i love love love character development, but really firmly believe it needs to be rooted in the character's own desire to be better rather than feeling like they need to change for someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abhorsen. Posted May 7, 2020 Share Posted May 7, 2020 omg i love this topic how did i never reply to it love: casual and rampant bisexuality - i'm not gonna dig too deep here, i'm just gonna say it's bc i'm bi and i want representation or something along those lines fucked up people are still loveable - i haaaaate the whole "you can't love anyone else until you love yourself" trope, motherfuckers you do not need to be on the cover of sanity fair to be loveable and/or in a happy romantic relationship happy endings - the world is always burning and my love life is often a fucking train wreck, give me melodrama but give me a goddamn happy ending in the end inconvenient attraction - like, not insurmountable-inconvenient, just (melo)dramatic-inconvenient that's eventually overcome. preferably with some melodrama repression - +10000 to the character putting so much effort into repressing feelings that when they finally acknowledge their feelings it's like an anvil slow burn and/or obliviousness - i love will-they-or-won't-theys where i'm just screaming "you will i know you will it's adorable that you don't know it yet HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW IT YET" smut - +10 to good sex scenes, esp if they involve a+ consent-ing witty banter - i mean i get that talking about Feelings is a way to Bond etc but (and hear me out), sarcastic quips and keeping a solid bit going is just as good and more entertaining to read generally avoid: big age gaps - there are exceptions, but in general, i don't find them fun to read (esp once we start getting into significant power differentials) cheating - this is kinda too stressful to regularly read about, i don't like cheating pregnancy - the whole 'starting a family' thing is veeeeeery far from where i am in my life, so it just doesn't grab me unrequited love as main plot - obviousness/repression is fine! i just want a happy ending Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sibilant Posted July 2, 2020 Share Posted July 2, 2020 beyond tropes the things that really define a good romance for me: subtle looks and gentle touches, the things that mean that your characters are really thinking about and paying attention to one another. i feel like just *paying attention* is such an important sign of attachment/affection smol & tol hehe relationships where people really have to work at it--trying to build positive communication habits, etc relationships where family members nudge them together and are supportive moments of shared vulnerability (not necessarily empathy, just shared vulnerability) people just, like, spending a lot of time together. relationships are built on shared experiences, right? soulmates, not in a magical way, just in finding the person who really just gets you relationships where they both challenge one another to be better--find a person who is willing to help you grow (but not the sole reason you grow) enemies-to-lovers, when it's like, they're competing with one another and only enemies because they see themselves in the other...not bullying. (if anyone's read the hating game, that's basically like the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance for me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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