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@power (first and foremost) @loopylin @freed_and_redeemed @esther-c @trailblazer @godlyfantasy12 @lightoverdarkness6 @highscribeofaetherium @rae @smiley @keilah-h (when you get back!) @anyone
Heyo! I have a new project in the works over the summer; it is a fantasy romance inspired by the likes of The Princess Bride and Jane Austen. I have written some romance subplots before, but never a directly romantic story… *Sshh* don’t tell my dad XD I absolutely love my action-inducing premise, but I will not be sharing everything right this second as I love my secrets. :]
However I was wondering if anyone has enemies to lovers tips? I am specifically pondering over this process because one of the two is literally a villain. He is forced to participate in most of his villainous deeds, but this doesn’t negate the fact that he’s used to villainy and isn’t the kind of guy to ask questions before smashing things. Meanwhile, the girl is his rival on the good side. How long would it take for you to trust a long-time enemy?
They will probably be forced to work together, thereby creating space for dynamics to shift. I also want a slightly comedic friendship between them before Cupid gets a word in edgewise. Are there any extra tips you are willing to share? Anything about future friends or lovers from opposite sides?
“Everything is a mountain”
@grcr @theducktator @beth-torres @arcticanimals @linus-smallprint
Trying to ease those with less posts in.. if you want. This is just a welcome-if-you-want-to 😉
“Everything is a mountain”
Nice to meet you!
I will say, romance is not my area of interest and I have tried to avoid any romance in my books. (However, there are still two characters that I am suspicious would end up falling in love anyway.) However, that does not mean I have nothing to say to help you.
In the series I am currently reading, there is a situation where someone on the enemy side who has been hinting down the protagonist and his friends for quite some time turns out to be his forgotten brother. The protagonist is very suspicious of this guy at first, especially since he cannot recall any evidence of having a brother. However, after his brother risks his life, going against what he had been for earlier, the protagonist starts to trust him again and is quite happy to have his brother on his side. His brother also was not just blindly helping him just because he wanted to be with his sibling, the brother does research to make sure he is not making a mistake in betraying his side.
Now in your situation, they are forced to work together, so that is a little different, but I think a similar thing might still work. If the guy starts to show in his actions that he has changed, then the girl would be more likely to trust him. That trust would increase if there was evidence he was not changing just to be with her.
I hope this is helpful and I hope your protect goes well!
Hello!!
Ok, I’m not the best at romance, but here’s a few tips I can think of right now:
- Establish why the two dislike or hate each other so much. This will add more tension for when the two are forced to work together.
- Build up to the friendship first, because that might take at least few chapters depending on how much they dislike each other. Maybe the villain and girl discover something they both are passionate about or went through similar experiences that cause them to bond? Something where they both find common ground and form some sort of bond over it.
- Show little moments where both of them see the good sides of each other, which will cause either one to begin questioning if they were right in disliking the other so much.
Hope these help!
"No! Monkeys should have pets, all monkeys should have pets!"
Nice to meet you! Yes, if the villain’s “redemption” ended up looking like just a strat to get the girl, I would be devastated with myself. Good reminder XD What series are you referring to?
Thanks for that! I especially like your idea of giving them common ground 😀
“Everything is a mountain”
I guess I have dug myself into a hole here. Now, by telling you the name of the series, you will receive major spoilers for it unless you happen to have already read it. Oh well…
This is the Five Kingdoms series by Brandon Mull. It is a fantasy series written for 9-12-year-olds about a boy named Cole who dives into a fantasy world to save his friends who were taken in there. It’s all right all right and pretty clean. Some of the magic may bother some people, for example, I just finished book 4, in which Cole becomes a ghost. The rules for being a ghost differ from what they typically are and it just feels more like Cole is in a world where he does not need to eat or grow tired from running. It did not feel demonic. I think that might be the biggest content concern with it, but it is a fun read. I might do a more detailed review after I finish it.
Oh my goodness, I know a show with a protagonist named Cole who turns into a ghost… O.O Anyway you’re fine, I don’t assume magic in books to be demonic as in fiction it’s typically natural/neutral.
“Everything is a mountain”
Hey, another Five Kingdoms fan! Nice. I love that series
“Nothing says autumn like slurpin’ apples.” -my uncle
@whalekeeper I have no idea how to write romance, but good luck! I know it will be an awesome story if you’re writing it
“Nothing says autumn like slurpin’ apples.” -my uncle
Thanks for that! I especially like your idea of giving them common ground 😀
Thanks, hope writing your book goes well for you!
"No! Monkeys should have pets, all monkeys should have pets!"
Enemies to lovers is my favorite romance trope! I don’t have a ton of experience, but here are my suggestions. The villain could save her life at the risk of his own. They could be having a normal conversation in which she says she likes something, and he remembers and gives it to her. They could both be nerds about the same obscure thing. He could save someone she cares about. She could get sick/injured and he could take care of her. (That is one of my favorite things)
Maybe I will read Five Kingdoms. My brother liked it, but I hated Fablehaven by the same author, and was scared to try Five Kingdoms. XD
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
I’ve written/read a lot of ya romance-ish stuff, but I’ve actually never touched enemies-to-lovers before. XD I don’t really have any tips to share, but everyone else had some good advice!
Write what should not be forgotten. — Isabel Allende
Indeed.😆
The squirrels are collecting more nuts than usual this winter. I've already lost 3 relatives.
Your utter regard for my antiphilbibliophilation and philbibliophobia is indeed. . . touching. . . Or at least, I’m definitely touched in the head! (But you likely already knew that. 😜)
My sagely sageful advise and device:
- Turn it into a badly done fractured fairytale of Romeo and Juliet by killing off the bad guy and the good girl in a tragic way.
It worked for Shakespeare. 🤷♂️
You will love what you spend time with.
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