So…
Maybe this post should have gone live two days ago, but I don’t post on Fridays anymore. More importantly – and hear me out on this – maybe it’s appropriate regardless of what day it is.
I think that personal relationships, including – and perhaps especially – romantic relationships are not only good for your writing or good for your stories. I think they are good for genre fiction as a whole.
Before I go on, I’m going to acknowledge that there are those who would argue that “Entanglements” between Science Fiction/Fantasy and the Romance genre are – much like Imperial Entanglements – are best avoided.
But that’s the trick isn’t it?
Even Star Wars couldn’t avoid a bit of romance and, do you know what? Nobody seemed to mind.
And to my way of thinking that’s a good thing.
Why is that, you might ask?
Because people are, well…people. And relationships between people will happen – even when they shouldn’t – even when a character doesn’t need that kind of distraction.
Of course they’re going to happen.
If you, as a writer, purposefully ignore that, you’re doing yourself and your characters – maybe even your world – a disservice. Think about all the fields of conflict, character building and world building you have harvest when one of your characters looks at another and has FEELINGS!!
How do they act on those feelings? What can you show about a character from how they show (or don’t show) their feelings. What can you show about a culture that may or may not approve of any kind of blossoming relationship. What are you as a writer saying when you show a world that has *Zero* problem with two consenting adults regardless of who they are entering a relationship?
So don’t be afraid to introduce a bit of romance in your work. Search your (and your character’s) feelings and weave them into your work. Your story will benefit from it.
I’ll see you on Thursday. Be Excellent to each other.
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