Ah the
romance genre. One of the most versatile genres and also one of the most heavily used genres. It's really a wonder how it can easily mix with other genres such as action, adventure, sci-fi or even horror. As such, romance is also one of the most repetitive genre.
The Bad:
Within most non-love stories, romance is extremely predictable, especially movies and video games. I've seen enough of it to invent my own list of how it begins and ends.
1. The ever-important protagonist meets a beautiful young lady and was quickly mesmerized by her looks.
2. He tried to impress her in any way, somehow forgetting his all-important mission or quest.
3. Getting the girl and/or keeping her happy is his new mission. And I mean, keeping ONLY the girl happy.
4. When the girl has a problem, the guy tries to fix it, even if it means he must sacrifice something important.
5. The duo fall in love somehow, regardless of species. E.g. Alien + Human, AI + Human etc.
6. When the story reaches its climax, one out of three things will happen: Something bad happens to the guy, to the girl or they hold hands and live happily ever after.
7. When they are finally together, they treat each other very differently from before.
8. All of the above happens very quickly; probably a few days. Faster than it usually takes to make new friends.
Even if a story with romance isn't always true to the list, it will subtly follow it somehow. And somehow, regardless of how serious the story may be, romance seems to be a MUST to include for many movies these days.
In fact, from my own experience, predictable romances has always clashed with other genres when the main protagonist is a male and the secondary is a younger, good-looking female. It is almost as if these writers are telling us that their main guy is a horny bastard who would rather set his eyes on a beautiful lady rather than a meteor heading straight for the planet.
Even in love stories, romance is highly predictable. Most love stories features young women, or even young men, who met someone they like and wanted that person to be his/her romance partner. Some of these protagonists even claim that "they CANNOT live without their love". Pathetic huh?
Now, know that everything that I've mentioned above is my own personal opinion. You may not agree with everything I say but there is one thing which I want you to understand from my previous rantings: Originality and logic in the romance genre is seriously lacking. That is not to say that romance, as a whole, is a bad genre.
The Good:
Some stories portray romance so well that despite how tired I am of love stories, I cannot hate it.
Final Fantasy X, a game I recently played, has a romance which I especially like.
Throughout the story, the two main protagonists were never so distracted by their love interest that they forget about their mission or the safety of others. In fact, the duo were so focused on their mission, they are often oblivious to one another's advancements. The girl even considered sacrifice, saying that the loss of one life for many means a lot more than the loss of many lives for one. This thought helped comfort her emotions when the guy eventually dies. Nothing totally unbelievable happens, such as the girl saving both the guy and millions of lives. The guy's life was sacrificed for millions.
There are many stories that offer very original romantic stories and they are all not necessarily famous movies, novels or even love stories. Heck, most love stories that I like comes primarily from games, such as
Dragon Age: Origins, Warcraft series, Final Fantasy series, Left 4 Dead series, Star Wars series and several others. Some of the stories are downright wonderful and original.
Tips:
Ok, enough ranting. Time for some tips from yours-truly. These tips are focused on keeping your love stories original, unpredictable and likable:
- When choosing pairs, a good idea would unexpected pairs, unlikely pairs or pairs that have never been done before, such as a school bully with a nerd.
- Ensure that the protagonist isn't a horny bastard. Make him/her love someone by who that person is, not by their appearance.
- Sometimes, it is a good idea to show your readers/viewers why the romance is absolutely necessary, such as continuity or world-breaking situations.
- Make the romance logical. Explain why they fall in love and why it is logical or even possible
- Making both characters share their own problems is a good way of advancing a relationship, instead of the guy going all-out hero.
- Ensure that the protagonist is still committed to his/her mission, not to their love interest. For romance novels, do not make the protagonist rely so heavily on his/her love interest, or vice versa.
- Try switching the gender roles: A female main with a male secondary. You'd be surprised by how different your stories will end up when compared with others. This leads to good originality.
- People usually like seeing friends getting along. If you can ensure that your protagonists still treat one another as friends despite their relationship, that would be good. No excessive kissing or cuddling. Just typical teasing and playing.
- Normally, the guy dies for the girl. Make the girl die instead and see how readers/viewers would react.
- If you want something different, try making the romance very subtle instead of very obvious. Show hints or signs that the protagonist likes someone and vice versa, instead of making him/her confess outright or confess at all. This keeps the reader/viewer guessing and even prompts discussions within the community. Trust me, it keeps the story and characters realistic and original. Left 4 Dead and Final Fantasy 7 are good examples.
That's all for this post. Leave any questions or discussions to the comment section. Otherwise, I hope these tips are beneficial to you.
