Fingers brushing, gazes holding, or inside joking… however it starts, it’s the moment when a romance takes a turn, when the reader feels a little jolt of excitement, like they know exactly where this is going. The reader is able to spot the beginning of a romance even before your characters do. And it’s this feeling, this shift and shared knowledge between writer and reader, that I live for in Romance stories. Because no gaze, hand hold, or joke is ever accidental when a writer is behind it. In this article, I’ll teach you some ways to create that spark and keep readers invested.
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In honor of making V-Day as queer as possible, I’m bringing you some of my favorite recent YA reads featuring queer romance! I decided to branch out of the romance genre for this, so you’ll find my favorite queer romances within graphic novels, science fiction, and fantasy.
1. City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn The heiress and the outlaw is always a great trope but turns out it’s even better when it’s gay. Unfortunately, the romance takes a slight backseat here as the main characters stay focused on a) not getting their organs harvested and b) saving a family member, but I suppose those reasons take fair precedence over a love story. Winn’s debut is a fast-paced, plot-driven book with a stunning world, fantastic characters, and plot twists all around. The romance is beautifully built, and Winn is amazing at getting readers to really root for the main characters. As writers, our craft revolves around words. The ones we choose, the ways we place them, and what do they reflect. Communication shapes our perspective and language offer us the opportunity to build the world around us. And, throughout the globe, there are hundreds if not thousands of words that are unique to one language. I believe that it is useful to know new concepts and cultures through words, so here are two of my favorite words in Spanish that do not have a precise English translation.
The 14th of February is coming in just a few hours and as people go to flowers & chocolate shops (or order them online ‘cause you know) to celebrate love, here I am single and listening to podcasts, not as alone as the celebration might make me look.
On Valentine's day we get too focused in celebrating just 1 kind of love: heteromantic / sexual that we sort of forget about the others. That’s why you should listen to Love and Luck: The Romantic literary movement was characterized by beautifully dramatic works, coming from places of deep strife and pain. Many of the prominent Romantic authors had incredibly difficult lives, dealing with issues like mental illness, physical illness, and addiction, just to name a few. Often these themes became present in their works, portrayed in a more romanticized way. For example, the symptoms of horrifying illnesses like tuberculosis made their way into the beauty standards of the time and were used for dramatic effect in countless works of fiction.
To many, Romanticism as a movement seems to be a way for writers and readers of the time to process the cruelties of the world around them. By making their suffering into something beautiful, it would give the pain a purpose, beyond the senseless and blind hurt that the universe will randomly bestow. Authors like Charlotte and Emily Bronte portrayed suffering and unstable male protagonists in a way that seemed not only normal, but as something artistic and Romantic. The allure of tragedy has always been present in fiction, from early mythology, to Shakespeare, and through to modern-day dramas that seem like one catastrophe after another. 11 Romance Tropes RANKED2/11/2022 Tropes are ingrained into how we talk about Romance books. Sometimes they don’t even feel like tropes because they feel so normalized. It’s in book marketing too:
“10 Fake Dating Book Recs!” “Your Next Classic Enemies to Lovers Romance” “Rivals to Lovers Must-Reads!” It’s easy to assume the word “trope” is synonymous with “cliché,” but that’s just not true. The best tropes are riffed on and feel fresh in their stories. A book having a trope doesn’t make it unoriginal or repetitive. Writing with a trope is actually great because the audience has some familiarity with what they are getting themselves into. That being said, there are some tropes I’d just rather avoid. Let’s get into the totally objective ranking of 11 popular Romance tropes with some book recs along the way. Trigger Warning: self-harm and suicide. Also, spoiler alert. Tis the season of romance. Whether you’re feeling the love or not, it’s a great time of year to brush up on love stories. Romances are about connection and acceptance, usually resulting in mutual attraction. But the manga and movie A Silent Voice puts a twist on the love story as we know it.
In A Silent Voice, written by Yoshitoki Oima, the protagonist Shoya Ishida grapples with guilt and shame from bullying a deaf girl Shouko in middle school. Isolating himself in high school, Shoya contemplates suicide, but instead decides to try and make amends with Shouko. He sets out to redeem himself by befriending Shouko. When People Sh*t on YA Romance2/4/2022 “What are you reading?” someone asks you.
“Twilight.” “Ugh, that’s so basic.” Has this ever happened to you? Has someone ever hated on something you liked just because you liked it? Teenage girls — and I mean those who identify as female/fem. presenting specifically — have been fighting against (and participating in!) this dialogue for as long as they have liked things. As we kick off the month of February, I have been moving forwards into the next stages of my transition. I’m set to be starting HRT on the day that this article comes out, and am making steps towards gender-affirming surgery. It has been a five-year-long process for me to get this far, and I have started to unpack a lot of the baggage that has come along with being out as trans from a young age. Specifically in how it has skewed my idea of romantic relationships.
Ah, it is finally the month of February. A time for romance and relationships, booing at couples on Valentine’s Day and buying yourself a bunch of ice-cream. It may still be cold outside, or finally warming up for you, but one thing’s for sure is that a spark of fiery passion has ignited through the hearts of most of the writing world. What a wonderful time indeed!
Fortunately, I am immune to this phenomenon, and so I’m here to talk about something I find to be often disregarded in this season of romantic love, and that is the value of platonic relationships in the media. Although they are often overlooked among their romantic counterparts, there is something special about friendships that needs to be addressed. Even if I’m unable to completely persuade you of their importance, here’s to hoping that I’ll at least change your perspective a bit. Categories
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