"Six" and Romance

Quick update on "Six:" I just got back from the all-state clinic, and as soon as I get a handle on schoolwork, I'll update. I'll hopefully have it up soon.

Now, on to romance. This is something that's been floating around in my head for quite a bit now and has been growing as I write "Six" and a few original projects.

When dealing with romance, especially not-so-good romance, it's usually pretty simple to identify the problem: everything is perfect and happy and fluffy and everyone wants character Q to get it on with character G. Que pitfall #1--no conflict.

There's also another category of ehh romance that people are less apt to recognize. Some writers take Stories Need Conflict a bit too seriously and end up with a romantic relationship that leaves the reader asking, "Why are these two even together?" Que pitfall #2--no romance. (Having two characters kiss or sleep together does not constitute romance.)

Before moving on to my next point, I want to repeat something that I've heard countless times before: "Writing is a balance." The keen-eyed will notice that the two common pitfalls of romance, like most pitfalls in writing, are opposites. You have to find the blend that works best for your story, and no writing guide on the planet can tell you what that is.

My third point is a bit more obscure and personal. When you write something, you should write it for a reason. If you're writing a romance to get two characters together, chances are that you are writing for the wrong reason.

A trip to any local bookstore or fiction 'site reveals hundreds of stories of people getting together; in order to stand out, you have to write about something more. If you don't, your work will never surpass mediocracy. When I write, I write about how a romantic relationship changes the characters based on their life situations. I'm not saying everyone has to do that, but there should be some value to every romantic piece beyond romance, in the same way that an action piece is never only about who stabs whom. The romance should be there, and it had better be good, but if you want to succeed, it can't be the be-all end-all of your fic.

For example, the romantic subplot in Echoes is about how romance can get in the way of greater things and how Fox's attitude towards it changes throughout the story. In Redemption, it's a story about Wolf's internal conflict. In "Bed of Lies," it's about the chaos and tension it can unleash.

I had this discussion with someone a while back and figure I'd share it: with all my Star Fox fics, I usually end up writing about Fox and Wolf in some way, but the stories are never the same. Each story is a different story, a new take on a different situation. They all share the same basic romantic subplot (though Redemption is by far the most in-depth and ill-executed, falling into Pitfall Number Two), but their different foci allow for the development of much different stories.