How to Write a Strong Love Interest
A strong romantic interest shouldn’t be about sexual attraction, obsession, power, or molding their partner to be the perfect one for them.
Literature over time has given us many fictional love stories we strive to emulate in our everyday lives. We grow attached to these characters and want them to do whatever it takes to be together and have the happily-ever-after they deserve.
There are couples such as:
- George and Martha, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Heathcliff and Catherine, Wuthering Heights
- Tom and Daisy Buchanan, The Great Gatsby
- Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre
- Jacob and “Renesmee,” Breaking Dawn (as well as Edward and Bella)
- Romeo and Juliet, Romeo and Juliet
- Petruchio and Katherina, The Taming of the Shrew
None of these are examples of a positive, strong, romance.
You don’t want your love interest to be anything like any of these couples.
We want strong love, not toxic Joker and Harley love.
A strong romantic interest shouldn’t be about sexual attraction, obsession, power, or molding their partner to be the perfect one for them.
To write a strong love interest into your story your characters are going to need the following things:
Depth, Flaws, and Personality.
Damsel in distress falls for a knight in shining armor on his white steed, he’s tall, he’s handsome, he has a horse…
That’s it, he can’t hold a conversation for more than five minutes without letting everything fall into an awkward silence. Or as soon as she’s no longer in distress, he’s no longer interested in spending any time with her.
He has no hobbies, he doesn’t have a favorite color, he doesn’t know why he saves damsels in distress only knows that it’s something he has to do.
Where’s his backstory? What drives him?
Your love interest needs to have more to them than the thin white paper they are being printed on.
He dreams of leaving the reducing business to open his own tavern that serves freshly baked bread every morning and nourishes the starving villagers at night.
They’re not perfect, maybe that knight in shining armor is actually terrified of heights, or falls off his horse often, or even gets his cape snagged in every tree he rides by.
All characters need flaws but go easy on the baggage. Love won’t fix everything, they just might need therapy.
Don’t Focus on Appearance
Love at fight sight doesn’t exist…. but attraction at first sight does.
Yes, you want your love interest to be attractive, but they need to be more than that and they can’t be perfect. Everyone has scars, wrinkles, acne marks, eyes that are too far apart, or eyebrows that refuse to look anything like each other.
Characters aren’t going to fall head over heels in love with each other just because they caught each other's eye over the length of the ridiculously long ballroom and their eyes roamed over each other's outfits, taking in the sight of a skin-tight corset or a suit that left little to the muscle imagination.
That’s not love, that’s lust.
Writing lust, at first sight, is fine and that works for some novels, we live in a world where hookups are only a few clicks on our phones away, but that doesn’t make them soul mates. You need to give them more than admiring the way each other looks.
Connection and Understanding
What type of strong emotional connection can you have with someone but you can’t let yourself collapse around them when you need to.
Give your characters moments of weakness where they need the other to lean on as they are allowed to break down.
The strong knight has fears, vulnerability, and real emotions. The princess is self-conscious, anxious, and afraid of letting her people down.
Have your characters open up to each other and find a true connection with each other through communication and recognizing each other as complex and nonstatic characters with emotion.
Best of luck and keep writing.
B.K. xo
If you'd like to have my stories sent directly to your inbox you can subscribe to me here for free or consider supporting me with a $7 a month subscription
Read every story from Barbara King (and thousands of other writers on Medium).
https://barbara-king-writes.medium.com/membership
Your membership fee directly supports Barbara King and other writers you read. You'll also get full access to every story on Medium.
Other Places to Find Barbara King
About the Creator
Elise L. Blake
Elise is a full-time writing coach and novelist. She is a recent college graduate from Southern New Hampshire University where she earned her BA in Creative Writing.
Keep reading
More stories from Elise L. Blake and writers in Journal and other communities.
How to Write a Rounded Character
Every story has two types of base characters. You’ll have your broad-chested hero running around in tight spandex and you’ll have your villain with his twirly mustache and long flowing cape. Unfortunately, most beginning (and some professional) writers portray these characters as flat as the paper they are being printed on.
By Elise L. Blake2 years ago in Journal
I Finished Grad School!
I finished my Master’s Degree! Did I learn anything? Arguably. Do I regret it? Not particularly. Will I use it? Not immediately. My Master’s Degree was challenging. I feel as though it precluded me from living out the life I’ve wanted to live these past two years: traveling the world, working abroad, seeing new sights. Was that what I was doing before I came to Binghamton University to start my Master’s Degree in Theatre? Absolutely, it was. Before coming to Binghamton, I was an ESL teacher. I’d worked in Ukraine the previous summer, and in Slovakia the autumn after that. That job in Slovakia broke me: the management was rude, there wasn’t much of a support system in place, and I’d gotten ill several times. That awful experience was what drew me to applying for Master’s programs to start in 2022.
By Steven Christopher McKnight7 days ago in Journal
How to Set Up Your Shisha for the Perfect Smoke
Setting up a shisha can be an enjoyable part of the smoking experience, especially when you know the steps to ensure a perfect session. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced enthusiast, knowing how to properly set up your shisha is crucial for maximizing flavor and smoke quality. At our shisha shop, we provide not only a wide range of shisha and vape products but also expert advice on how to use them effectively. Here’s a detailed guide on how to set up your shisha for the ultimate smoking pleasure.
By Vconekt Seowizardsa day ago in Journal
Comments
There are no comments for this story
Be the first to respond and start the conversation.