Geez, I have no idea if that title is right or not, but my problem is this: I've got these two characters that aren't really MCs, but they are the parents of the MC. They are from different countries and are supposed to hate each other, because the dad(Lupine) has weird powers and the mom(Alyn) doesn't. Anyway, Lupine starts to court her in the form of a wolf, because he wants to know what she's like, and I'm drawing a blank in the department of how they start falling in love. They don't do much, Alyn reads stories to him and they talk, so I'm trying to find a good way to make them fall in love. Any suggestions?
Romance is not specialty; that said, I have some suggestions. Think about what characteristics Lupine likes in a woman. Does he love a dry sense of humor? Make Alyn quick and witty. Do the same with Alyn--find out what she likes in men, and give Lupine some of those qualities. Now stick in them in a situation where they're stuck together for a day or two, so they have time to notice those qualities. You'll have a more believable romance that way. = )
You said she reads him stories? Well, there you go, that's a perfect catalyst for a romance. Just build off that and expand upon your characters like daturaonfire said, and you will be set.
I'm assuming its normal for a wolf to be courting a person in your fantasy world? Unless you really wanna test your reader's boundaries, its not gonna be at all physical (cuz ew. really...) so yeah, you just need to get them to connect through dialogue. GLHF!
Well, the thing is, his power is to take the form of a wolf. And Alyn is admittedly freaked out in the beginning. No, I'm not getting physical with this at all. It takes place in a time period where sex is for marriage and no where else. And eventually he does tell her that he's really a man, not a wolf.
romance can be terribly complicated, in stories and in real life. Romance novels take advantage of plot, setting, and character traits to build up the romance, which makes the story. If you dont have the time or patience to wait for your characters to fall in love, you may have to speed things up. Luckily, fiction is a form of escape, and fantasy doubly so. As a reader I am willing to suspend a great deal of disbelief for the sake of story, as a writer I depend on it. Old folk tales didnt even explain why characetrs fell in love, they invented things like 'love at first sight' and 'love spells' and 'glass shoes' One of my favorite stories (tragedy) is how one day Cupid accidentally scratched himself with one of his own arrows. The god of love fell under his own spell and fell in love with the first person he saw, a mortal named Psyche. Their romance was doomed, and all their 'pain' is real, but the love Cupid felt for her was completely contrived and deliberate by design of creator. Sometimes I care less what made them fall in love than what happens after or because of it (Princess Bride; what made Wesley love Buttercup? Who cares?)
Zeus (or was it Odin?) once seduced a woman while he wore the shape of a bull... I know he was a god and all but still, that's always impressed me. As far as falling in love... what attracts you to another person? Translate that attraction into affection and adoration and you'll have the beginnings but love is, as others have mentioned, a tricky creature to describe. You could watch some romantic comedies and see if they inspire you. Apart from that, write from where you live and use 'only the names have been changed' versions from your own experiences.
Eloisa James and Julia London are two romance authors who tend to put in sub-plots of non MC falling in love. I seem to recall several ones where this happened without much happening outside of talking and interactions, though I can't remember the books. It's a fairly common subplot in the romance world, so you may just want to surf some books until you find a few good examples.
lol, yeah, it was Zeus The woman he seduced (abducted really) was Europa, the so-called mother of Europe. It was a Cretan tale, post-Minoan, probably Mycenean. The lunar bull was a scared animal for many ancient people, its horns symbolized the crescent moon, and many ancients had lunar calendars, etc. Sorry, Im a buff for ancient history and mythology!
Just thoughts. These are just a few thoughts after reading your post. I've always liked interest in a tiny aspect of a person leading to a sort of infatuation. You say that she reads to him? How about while stocking her in wolf form her finds her reading aloud to herself and sits and enjoys the story while lurking in the shadows? Make careful not to how the character enjoys her reading or writing if that be the case. Her voice. You could make this purely physical, and avoid the actual concept of "Love" if their existence is to merely establish the hatred do to these creepy powers, as it is much easier to dismiss someone on shallow facts (such as these powers) when only physically interested. On the side of the female..can't recall name as I type....they should meet (along with the actual courting) should occur outside of his wolf form, as if your setting this disagreement to be based around his powers. I think her not knowing of the existence and being able to claim a trust issue is more idea. In that case, I think it is best to look at what others have metioned quick wit etc, but you need to make it come back to the reading of stories between the two, without exposing his wolf form.
Ooh, your book sounds like a werewolf story! Werewolves are awesome! Anyway, regarding your romance question, I've taken my hints on the subject from all the shounen (boy) manga I read. Usually, in most shounen manga, there are things that happen to the main character and his love interest that make it obvious they have feelings for each other, but the beauty is they never have to say it. An excellent example would be the love between Ed and Winry from "Fullmetal Alchemist". Throughout the course of the story it becomes really obvious that they secretly love each other through the way they interact with each other and the way Ed goes out of his way to deny that there's anything between them. Eventually Winry confesses to herself that she loves Ed, but Ed still denies it despite it being eye-soringly obvious he loves her too. Therefore, the interactions in the story have created an interesting love-denial relationship between them. They've never confessed to each other, though (yet), which is what makes it nice. Being able to pick up a characters feelings of love and devotion for another character without there having to be any actual mushy romance; that, to me, is an amazing way to write romance so maybe you could try that with the human and the wolf. Perhaps, as someone said, you can show the wolf finding her voice attractive or maybe have the light of a light source (sun, moon, whatever) shine on her in a way and have the wolf notice by staring and thinking a comment about her beauty. Or maybe have him think something like "She's kinda cute." Ed did something like that, too.
