This Is For The Writers Who Feel Like They Don't Write Enough- Because Of Jobs, Because Of Exams And

This is for the writers who feel like they don't write enough- because of jobs, because of exams and school, college, university and all that jazz. You are valid, what makes you a writer is that you love to create characters, plots and the like. It doesn't matter how much you manage to write. It's about the joy of creation and the comfort of knowing that this is all a part of you.

Your wips can and will wait if they have to. Don't stress yourselves out. Do what's important, take care of yourselves.

You are worthy.

You are valid

You are loved

Happy Tender Tuesday!

My question is: Which are your favourite romance tropes to include in your stories? Do you have any tropes you avoid writing? Do you have tropes you dislike?

Oh, this is a cool one!

My FAVORITE KINDS OF ROMANCE tropes probably are:

(healthy) enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers, with all the intense romantic tension, banter, fake mocking, and testing their grounds as they measure up to each other, being like "That is one hell of a fighter! Wait... aren't I supposed to hate them? Oh shit, I'm already in love", defending each others honor from others then calling each other names between themselves. The journey from hate to rivalry, to an unexpected friendship, and finally lovers that would move mountains for one another.

idiots in love/troublemakers in love that get into so much complicated situations together that the others around them are tired of their bullshit already

battle couple/badasses who are in love and go on quests, and adventures together, who are equals and know it. Deep romantic tension, internal jokes, and badass pre-fight moments while they face their enemies back to back.

best friends who are obliviously in love and act more romantically and affectionately than many married couples but won't admit it out loud for the life of them (*eyes Tanwin & Darian angrily*)

SUPPORTIVE, LOVING, PROTECTIVE COUPLES WITH INTERESTING TENSION AND A HEALTHY DYNAMIC ALL THE WAY PLS. (:

TROPES I AM LUKEWARM ON:

Tragic romances without a glimmer of hope and only emotional damage (I am all for starcrossed lovers, but please, can their story end with at least a bittersweet note for what could have been?)

Love triangles. Can work well if the romantic tensions are well done, and especially if one relationship working causes the other to break apart, BUT, that is hard to achieve and delves deep into the cliché zone (and please, no love "corners", it's annoying as fuck to see one girl or one guy followed by two potential love interests who compete between each other. Give me real love triangles.)

TROPES I HATE (AND I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL HATING THEM)

Toxic Relationships Romanticed. HELL NO. NOPE. Especially if it is the bad boy or bad girl borderline stalking and accosting the innocent girl or innocent guy who thinks they're just being romantic and is not disgusted at all, HELL NO, and if it ends with them falling IN LOVE or the innocent person thinking the other's dominance/possessiveness is """hot""" just end me now. If a relationship is to be toxic, it has to be outwardly shown to be sick and twisted, or at the very least be about the tragedy of these two morons falling for one another. In my book, I make a point that every "toxic relationship" is properly shown as a twisted thing - (DISCLAIMER: there are villains who are implied to be toxic and assaulting to some characters in my novel, but they are VILLAINS and the character hates them, not falls in love with them, for goodness sake. And toxic nature will always be that - toxic, and can, unfortunately, delve into assault, so those are traits of VILLAINS, not "misunderstood people"pls.), and not as a "romantic vibe". Please this romanticization of Toxic people needs to END. Hollywood is loving that trope ever since the Twilight craze and I am so done with it.

Bad boys/Bad girls who are "Aggressive" because they get "jealous" or GOD FORBID "know what is best for the other." HELL NO

No emotional growth whatsoever between the two, we're just watching a married couple woo each other and the story does. not. move. We're watching turtles walk across the street by now.

The adventure couple who used to be badass but marries and has a kid and then suddenly they are not badass anymore and usually one of them is reminiscing about the "glory days" and SUDDENLY, OUT OF NOWHERE, the relationship turns sour. Go out there and have adventures with your partner and child, stop moping around, and be a human being. (looking at the second Zorro Movie)

Another trope that I hate (and forgot to mention yesterday) is the Nice Guy or Nice Girl Trope, and its implications, just HARD PASS. Unless it is used for a villain, (like Megamind did so immaculately for their main antagonist Hal). Then, if used as a synonym of villainy, it can be perfectly used. But if it is used under an actual "good characters" romance, NOPE.

Thank you for the ask, @rickie-the-storyteller!!! I am sorry if I got carried away in the "Tropes I Hate" part, I just feel the need to shout my hatred of those tropes from the rooftops whenever I see them. lol

But wonderful ask as always, dear! Happy Tender Tuesday!💕

To write often seems like playing songs in an empty stadium. There are no fans to cheer you on. And far less folks are interested in literature than they are music. But, as long as you have that inner drive, and a love for language, you just keep going with it anyway. There are many dead authors who cannot watch you reading their books; but you read them out of the zeal for their words. It’s essential to keep being an artist. For if you’re not that, then what are you?

I feel like when I say ‘relatable’ what I really mean is ‘resonant.’ I don’t want characters who I feel are like me, I want characters who have emotions so strong I can feel them through the page.

I can absolutely see my characters from Enchanted Illusions having this kinds of conversations. Like, this would be perfect for a conversation between Benjamin Van Sterlling (a vampire who is Clarence's dad) and an unsuspecting human while Clarence was just this really smol vampire baby (vampires age in centuries, so by fourteen years old Clarence would still be a toddler or at least a very young child).

Person A: “What an adorable baby! How old are they?”

Person B: “Fourteen.”

Person A: “Oh, they’re quite small for fourteen months-”

Person B: “Years.”

Person A: “…Pardon?”

Person B: “They’re fourteen years old.”