Hello, I'm a long time reader of the forums, first time poster.... I'm writing a story of war in a sci fi setting. At its heart, the story is really a love story between the 2 main characters and how love can conquer all. The male lead goes through a huge transformation and is able to overcome all due to the love of the female lead. I'm just having a real hard time deciding how to do it. I am planning my story as a trilogy and am trying to decide if I should have the two be completely in love and intimate with each other by the middle of the trilogy or wait till the very end before they announce their love for each other. If I go for the latter, I plan on using a lot of sexual tension and the reader will know that they both love each other, but due to the war and the small fact that they are trying to survive, they arent really able to act upon their love until the very end when they would have their first kiss. I love the idea of waiting till the end, but I need the reader to understand how much they love each other before the last act without it coming off as a surprise or completely unrealistic. Anyone give me suggestions on which they think would be better? Thanks in advance.
it sounds like you have your idea in the words you just wrote. why not go with that since its what you believe is how it should be. my only thought would be to ease the sexual tension. it tends to be a used too much and draws away from love story told. There is a wide line between love/erotic/porn and since you choose to make this a love story, i think hinting at their desires would be better. emotionally it would be stronger. sex is an emotion, but its fleeting, love stays eternally, good or bad, it always remains, scars or smiles. good luck
It would be more like you said with hinting. They would both love each other, but they never come out and say it due to fear of rejection (male lead) and because of the situation they are in. As far as the sexual tension, it would be more along the lines of them finally being alone in a quiet place with both of them wanting to be intimate, but it doesnt happen for whatever reason. My hope is to have the reader wanting them to kiss so bad it drives them crazy. Like I stated earlier, the plan is for them to have their first kiss at/near the end of the entire story. My main concern is just having it come off believable instead of having come off as convenience just to say they lived happily ever after.
write from within the character, not from without, should be no problem with the believability of the love then.
Make it last till near the end, but make sure you don't get the readers annoyed by how long it takes beucase I would get real antsy waiting through three novels. Also I think that you should put them on oppistie sides of the war. So they can't be together intill the end of the war. The only trouble is how they see each other. That would be perry nifty.
I think this is an interesting concept although I myself am a bit leery about a trilogy where the two main characters don't get together until the very end. It will be difficult to write well enough that readers don't get annoyed and I'd love to see you pull it off ~Lynn
Whenever it comes down to love and science fiction, I like it when the genre doesn't scream love. I like it when it's ambiguous and you have very little idea. I honestly think of Han Solo and Leia, they're in love but Han has that callused attitude and Leia is really prissy. It's the perfect sci-fi love story in my opinion.
Thanks for all the pointers everyone. I agree with what a lot of you have to say. It would be very difficult to pull off. My male lead is going to be someone who has been a loner his whole life. His life has been extremely difficult and has a lot of anger inside of him. Its going to take quite some time for him to let go of his anger and have enough self confidence to see that the two of them together would work. There will be many other factors going in to why they just can't be lovey dovey with each other. Its not going to play out with them making googly eyes at each other and playing footsie for the entire story. It will be more subtle. If anything, it will be more along the lines of Mulder and Scully from the X files. We all knew they loved each other, they just never acted on it until the end. Once they did though, many fans were so happy after years and years of sexual tension between them. As far as the love story in a sci fi setting, my story is a love story disguised as a war/action story. Love will ultimately allow my lead character to prevail and allow him to let go of the anger and hatred he has harbored his entire life. The war/sci fi part is just a means to an end. The love story will be the true bread and butter.
The best approach to a love story is with love. I think that waiting until the very end with a lot of sexual tension would work well. It really all depends on the story and you as an author to be honest, so I can't definitely say.
Writing a good love story is hard. The novel I'm currently working on also has that theme to it, and it's a challenge. There's that sweet spot that's just right, and pitfalls on either side. You can be too quick and obvious, which will probably involve cliches and will leave your readers yawning at your cookie-cutter romance, or you can be too slow and overly subtle, leaving your readers wanting to punch you and your characters in the face. That being said, I think frustrating your readers *can* be a good thing if you pull it off right. We all remember stories that piss us off but keep us reading because they are so well done. In the end, it all boils down to whether or not you can justify the frustration. If the two characters are just being stupid about confessing their feelings, watch out. If there is a real reason why they can't, or shouldn't, then it can be great (such as being on opposite sides of a war, like someone mentioned). In my story, the male main character is slow to realize how he feels, partially because of his past, and partially because of circumstances that distract him from really thinking about his relationship with the female main character. Probably the biggest difference in my story is that it only spans a little over a week, so his "cluelessness" isn't too far fetched. If your story is supposed to span a trilogy, then that's probably not feasible. XD Coming back to what I first said, writing a good love story is hard. Love is complex, and no two relationships are going to be exactly the same. To write a good love story, you have to reach deep down inside and come up with some original stuff, and carefully tip-toe around dangerous cliches at every step. Sexual tension is good, but don't dramatize it too much. It's like a spice--a little bit will really add to the dish, but too much will totally ruin it. The last thing I want to say is from personal experience. My last girlfriend told me that the chase is the most exciting part of the relationship process (shortly before she dumped me lol). After moping about it for a week or so, I really stopped to think about what she said. Keeping that in the back of my mind, I started to evaluate most of the love stories I felt were really good, and I discovered that they all saved the intimacy and "confession of love" until the end. I personally think that's the way to go. The chase builds up the suspense, and a good love story will have readers practically aching to see the resolution. After the two characters finally get together, the "excitement" aspect is gone. There is still a wealth of other stuff you can explore in that new context, but the thrill of the chase is done. If you want that thrill, save the confessions of love for later in the story. Good luck with your story! May your characters' love blossom into something beautiful.
i actually really like your idea. if you make them get together later in the story, then there has to be a very good reason why they wont get together in the begining. because their love is forbidden like romeo and juilets, or because one of them is older and the other one is still a minor. or something. it just has to be a really really good reason if your going to make them get together in the end. but if your intending that there is no real reason that they arn't getting together then make it natural to have them fall in love in the middle and get together. goodluck and i really want to read this book. so hopefully you come to a desicion quick. lol =)
Having them "fall in love" in the middle can be a good compromise if you want to follow how their relationship is after they finally get together.
