Typical YA Paranormal Romance Storyline:
A plain girl feels an instant connection with an amazingly attractive guy who keeps going hot and cold on her. Girl is so confused by is standoffish behavior. In the end, girl discovers X secret that proves to be the reason gorgeous guy was so hot and cold. Boy secretly loves girl but didn’t want her to get hurt.
Does anyone know what book I was talking about? Yeah try substituting the underlined words with names. I can think of a ton of books (some of which I love) that fit this pattern.
Forest Gump said "My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" Everyone clap for Forest Gump’s momma because she was right. This also applies to love. You never know what type of love you’ll find, but you can bet it’s worthy of telling.
Writing about different types of love can make your story more unpredictable because honestly we all know how the example above ends.
My One and Only
"And you made it so real
You showed me something that I couldn't see
You opened my eyes
And you made me believe"
You showed me something that I couldn't see
You opened my eyes
And you made me believe"
-Crazier by Taylor Swift
I talked about true love last week, but it’s worth mentioning again. Even though it’s used a lot, I think true love is such an enjoyable thing to read about. Look at Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (I ADORE THIS BOOK! IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET, GO READ IT NOW!!!). Anna and St. Clair’s love felt so real that my heart would clench during most of the book. I felt absolutely everything in that book, and isn’t that part of true love? To feel every emotion so strongly that it takes over you. Even though true love seems to be everywhere, real true love makes the most amazing read.
Unrequited Love
"And I can't even see anyone when he's with me
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night"
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right,
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night"
-Teardrops on My Guitar by Taylor Swift
Unrequited love is so sad. It’s hard to love someone who doesn’t love you. I see this a lot in books where the best friend is in love with the MC or the MC thinks the love interest is in love with someone else (even though he totally loves her). I think unrequited love is so important because I think everyone has loved (or at least crushed) on someone who didn’t feel the same way. It’s part of life. It hurts, but when real love comes you realize why that crush never worked out.
Buried Love
"I don’t let nobody see me wishing he was mine
He stands there then walks away
My god if I could only say
I’m holding every breath for you..."
He stands there then walks away
My god if I could only say
I’m holding every breath for you..."
-I’d Lie by Taylor Swift
I don’t know about others, but I’m really secret about who I like. I don’t like to talk about it because I guess I’m scared of them not liking me back. It’s so easy for someone to mention who you like in passing and then that information going back to them. Rejection is scary! Conflict: Does he like me? Also fear of rejection can be your MC’s great fear impacting all of their decisions.
Past Love
"You're so in love that you act insane
And that's the way I loved you
Breakin' down and coming undone
It's a roller coaster kinda rush
And I never knew I could feel that much
And that's the way I loved you"
And that's the way I loved you
Breakin' down and coming undone
It's a roller coaster kinda rush
And I never knew I could feel that much
And that's the way I loved you"
-The Way I Loved You by Taylor Swift
It’s weird seeing someone for your past you cared about. Past loves are hard to pull off in YA unless you’re talking about a childhood love because the teen years are when you fall in love. It’s hard to stuff a past relationship, breakup, reunion, new relationship in 300 pages without feeling cramped. I love past loves though. Past loves are a great way to bring up backstory and show how your MC has changed over time. Though BEWARE: Don’t TELL the reader how your MC loves this past love interest SHOW THEM!!! (I get kinda annoyed being TOLD someone loves someone else without just cause. I sit there going “BUT WHY?”).
Slipping Through My Fingers
"And I'm dying to know is it killing you like it's killing me, yeah?
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now."
I don't know what to say, since the twist of fate when it all broke down,
And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now."
-Story of Us by Taylor Swift
Sometimes life moves so fast that you don’t realize something is happening like how you’ve grown apart from a loved one. Moments slip through your fingers only to become memories. I think it would be interesting to see an MC try to regain a relationship after being emotionally or physically distant (maybe with a past love?). Sometimes you have to fight to regain love, but I think the journey can be such a compelling read.
This isn’t even every type of love, but I hope I got someone thinking about their love in their stories. Though at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what type of love you write about as long as the reader feels every emotion along with the MC. Love that makes you feel every emotion is the most compelling. Good or bad. Love makes everything better.
What are your thoughts on love? Should I do another post about other types of love?
