Tragic Romances

by Angela
(London)

I'm writing a story about a girl and a boy who fall in love. They start going out. The girl is a football player and the boy is a figure skater. She quits football to partner with him. He dies from a terminal illness. Would my idea work?

LJ's Answer

Hi Angela!

Firstly, I would like to thank you very much for visiting my website, and for asking your question. It is always exciting to know that there are people out there with a passion for writing like me! Keep up the spirit!

One of the most intriguing topics that anyone can write about is love. I have written quite a number of love stories (if you have taken the time to read them). And most of them are rather tragic. However, I must admit that writing about love is more interesting if you write from personal experience.

Most people write stories of heart break, or about the pain of losing someone when they undergo it. Only then can they truly identify with the pain that emanates from such trauma. And definitely, their work will be imbued with such emotion.

I am not here saying that you can only write a good tragic love story or romance if you actually go through the particular pain in question. All I am saying is that if you have gone through such pain, then you can definitely glean from such an experience to write a really moving piece of work.

For the bulk of it, however, your imagination comes into play. With the power of your imagination, you can write about anything.

Your idea can certainly work! It is a brilliant idea! I love it! The particular story line you have suggested can make for a really moving plot.

A girl and a boy fall in love. It is usually like that, Angela. I am sure you have had the experience of falling in love before, so this would not be an alien experience. I am sure you will even derive pleasure from writing about this.

Here are a few suggestions on how you can turn that idea of yours into a great story.

Firstly, make a draft. I do not know what writing personality you have. Some writers like me prefer to make a mental draft. Others prefer to make a written draft. In other words, they define a structure for their particular story line that would guide them as they write. It will certainly help you if you do this.

A draft often involves a step by step summary of how your story will flow. If your story will be short, this will not be very complicated, because your plot will be limited to a few characters (with action revolving around one of them) and usually a single setting.

However, from the look of things, this story might be long. The issue of chapters comes in. If you plan to write a book with chapters, you have to determine before hand what criteria you will use to determine what constitutes your chapter. The scope of a chapter might be determined by time, or a major event. It is up to you.

A draft will usually define the characters, the setting, the introduction, the middle, and the end of your work.

It is a fine idea to fully determine beforehand the characteristics of your characters; how many they will be; who will be the protagonist; the antagonist and so on.

The setting should also be determined before hand. Are you going to use an exotic or familiar setting, maybe of your home, London? It helps a great deal to use a setting you are familiar with. I derive great pleasure from using my home setting for most of my works. Try it and see how your imagination will be sparked off by describing familiar sites.

Therefore, when drafting your work, these are the areas for you to concentrate on: the setting, characterisation and the plot.

Remember that a draft is simply a plan for your work. You may make it as thorough as you can or as devoid of detail as you can.

When drafting your plot, remember that a plot consists of five distinct parts:

The Exposition, wherein you bring out the setting and fully define your characters and conflict.
Rising Action, wherein your characters start making movements to solve the conflict.
Climax, where the action is at its peak.
The Falling action and...
The Resolution when the conflict is resolved.

Therefore the draft of your plot will simply be a summary of events under the various sections that you have defined for your work.

When you actually start writing your work, Angela, bear in mind that a Romantic story pays particular attention to the character descriptions, especially of the various emotions they use. Your aim should be to paint vivid descriptions of the emotions your characters undergo that will move your reader. You should endeavour to get your reader into the minds and hearts of your characters, so to speak. Pay also particular attention to their actions. Actions speak louder than words at times, and so that is what you should endeavour to do.

Avoid telling your readers each and everything. Let them infer that from the action or behaviour of the character.

For example, instead of saying, "Sarah was nervous," you can say, "Sarah backed away slowly, staring at him with big round eyes. Her lips started to quiver as she fought to find her voice."

There's quite a lot I can say, but let me just summarise if for you:

Plan your work, i.e. make a draft.
Use a familiar setting.
Fully define your characters.
When Describing your characters, endeavour to bring out their emotions. Do not tell the reader what is happening. Let her infer it from the action.
Let the action centre on your two many characters. Involving too many characters will distort the romantic nature of your story, maybe even defeat its purpose.
Structure your story line to follow a known format. Most love stories have a predictable story line. However, try not to be predictable or else you will sound boring.
Make the reader love the characters. By so doing, the effect will be greater when misfortune strikes.

Angela, that is about all I can say for now. Please keep in touch and inform me on your progress. I am certain your story will be a success.

If you still feel that I have not really answered your question, feel free to get back to me anytime!

All the best!