Have you ever read or watched a romance that seemed to have all the right elements in place – the meet cute, the attraction, the conflict, the I love you’s and the happy ending – but it just felt…
Flat?
Of course you have.
The problem with those stories is they lack romantic tension.
You know romantic tension, right?
It’s that feeling of being on the edge of your seat, itching, quaking, shaking while you wait for two characters to FINALLY get together.
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If you haven’t heard, Anyone But You is a rare theatre-released rom-com, that has become a sleeper hit since its December 22 opening. To date, its box office take is over $170M globally.
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Finally, this movie came out!
Ok, bad pun. And it actually came out, on Prime, way back in August. I did watch it within a day or two of its release, but it’s taken me this long to get to writing this critique.
And usually, my critiques end up being very, um, critical. But, I liked this movie, not gonna lie, so this time I’m going to focus on what I liked, and then answer the most important question of all (at least, where romance movies are concerned): Is it romantic?
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This blog is about romance and writing, but also about my life as a romance writer.
But, I realized I haven’t posted anything about publishing my first book yet!
The book is called His Brother’s Mistress, and is about what happens when gorgeous CEO Matt Valetta finds Lucy Alberti living in his recently-deceased brother’s apartment in Rome, and assumes she was his mistress.
So here’s my story of publishing this book…
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In March I wrote about how the relative status of heroes — alpha, beta, and gamma — affects romantic stories.
I suggested that romance writers tend to pair opposites, like alphas with betas, but that gamma heroines matched with gamma heroes make for more interesting stories.
So in this post, I’m going to put my theories to the test, and find examples of status pairings in romance movies, and see how they impact the story.
So let’s dive in!!
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I’ve wondered a bit if the #MeToo movement has changed our vision of the romantic hero. I don’t think abusive men have ever been the norm in romance novels, but they’ve made their appearances. And the arrogant alpha male is certainly a common trope.
I personally still like many alpha traits. I grew up reading Harlequin Presents, and they often featured larger than life heroes – think princes, sheikhs, CEOs, shipping magnates… So that still feels pretty standard for me when I think of romance novel heroes.
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I try to avoid watching long form t.v. — by “long form” I mean any drama whose continuing story spans one, two, three, or more seasons (like Lost or Game of Thrones), vs. “episodic” shows, which contain a (largely) standalone story within each episode (like Law & Order or ER).
Long form shows have become very popular in recent years, as streaming services look to increase their hours viewed stats.
The problem is, it’s very hard for writers to offer an effective story arc if they don’t know how long their show will run. And even if they know how they want everything to pan out, with so many episodes to write, there’s gonna be some filler. So, you end up with endless and unending (ok, those are the same) plot. Complicated, often pointless (IMHO) plot.
So I avoid them, in general.
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It’s summertime (where I live, anyway), so the ‘perfect’ time to watch a frothy, fluffy romance – like Netflix’s A Perfect Pairing, which is well-qualified as summertime viewing:
Before I begin my critique, let me just clarify that I am in fact talking about the Netflix film, A Perfect Pairing, and not the Hallmark romance of the same name that also came out this year. Wouldn’t want anyone to be confused.
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Romance readers (and viewers) have a love/hate relationship with the concept of instalove (a.k.a. love at first sight); some view it as supremely romantic, while others view it as shallow and unrealistic.
I agree that pure instalove — when the leads have no real interaction at all, yet they declare love and make commitments to one another — is hard to pull off.
Have you ever watched a romantic movie and at the end, when one character declares their love to the other, instead of swooning, you cringed and covered your eyes?
I have. Just the other day.
The movie? The Proposal.
Yes, the Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds film, circa 2009.
Actually, I first saw it years ago, and had vaguely negative feelings about it. But, I think that first viewing was on a plane or something, and I didn’t give it my full attention. So I thought I’d give it another shot.