valtmy

@christi-eaton  No, I haven’t…

@sam-kowal  @jane-maree  @jenwriter17  @dragon-snapper  @rochellaine  @skredder  @valtmy  @kate-flournoy  @daeus  @anyone

Sci-fi books that you’d recommend, anyone? I seriously need to read more of it… Oh! Or Steampunk! I’ve never read Steampunk and I really want to. Unless it isn’t a book genre……

@valtmy I never read specifically romance books, and I don’t usually like romance subplots in any genre, so yeah, I have a lot of pet peeves. 😛

I don’t know it anyone has said this already, but really, it drives me bonkers when they don’t respect each other. Like, they see their partner talking with someone else, and IMMEDIATELY they think…[Read more]

@valtmy The “obvious” thing might actually be a pet peeve of mine… but overall to eliminate it I suppose you’d make the two people who are destined for each other be indifferent to one another, but they never really consider each other in “that” way.

And for the sensitive/artsy guy with the strong female protagonist, I guess it might be a trope…[Read more]

@valtmy Yes, I think the artist will work.  I think I remember reading that somewhere, actually, where the artist admired the girl so much as a piece of God’s artwork that he overlooked the fact that she was a woman, and therefore didn’t have love for herself, but just for her beauty.  This eliminates him from both the love triangle and the v…[Read more]

@valtmy Yess! I adore a sweet meet cute! *dreamy sigh*

I have a soft spot for the reverse of what I’ve said previously. Additionally:
I love seeing characters put together surprises for someone they love (like a gift, or planning a special dinner, etc.)
I like seeing characters just having fun spending time together. This shows the reader that they genuinely enjoy one another’s company.
I love seeing…[Read more]

@valtmy Oh, and you asked if there were any romance cliches we like…I actually like practically all cliches and I love stereotypes!  So that’s a hard one. 😀

Okay.  My favorite is probably when the guy rescues the girl.  I’m fine if the girl rescues the guy sometimes, but I really like the girl who is strong emotionally, but gets into ph…[Read more]

@valtmy One place I have heard of that made a stalker less creepy was when Q chases Captain Janeway around in Star Trek: Voyager.  Q is an alien with strong powers and can appear and disappear at will, as well as snap his fingers and give her flowers, or whatever.  Her second-in-command is freaked out by this, because Q could obviously just ta…[Read more]

@valtmy Totally agree about the kissing.  That’s what I was going to say.  A timid hand-hold or hair-push-back is much more romantic to me than a sudden weird kiss.

There is one other thing I never can decide if I love or hate.  It’s when the sidekick falls in love with the heroine, but she has no eyes for anyone but the hero, so he un…[Read more]

@valtmy Prepare for a rant.

I really dislike love triangles. Immensely. I will not read books that otherwise look good if it looks like it will have a love triangle. I feel like if a girl is in a relationship with two guys (as it normally is in these situations) she is leading them both on. She doesn’t really love either of them if she “loves”…[Read more]

@valtmy I don’t like it when once people fall in love, they HAVE to overcome everything to be together. Like, it’s not an option to choose not to be together for whatever reason. Also impulsive kisisng when they barely know each other yet, or when the strong girl protagonist realizes that she’s actually in love with the sensitive/artsy guy that’s…[Read more]

@valtmy
I should probably clarify that I’m not saying these things should never be used, but they should be used intentionally. Perhaps you are trying to make a point about how people idealize romantic relationships, and think that a bf/gf will solve all their problems.

@valtmy
This is not only used in romance, but I see it used a lot in that context. I personally really dislike when writers use misunderstandings to create conflict, and every time I think “If they could spend five minutes talking to each other, this would not be an issue.” If you do use miscommunication to create tension in a relationship, I…[Read more]

@valtmy Love triangles, brooding and moody characters, too timid love interests, possessive behavior, stalkery behavior, yandere. Those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

@dragon-snapper
I think that can be effective, but in the sequel I’m working on right now the external antagonist isn’t the main conflict of the story. I think it would be misleading if I did that in this instance.
I think it’s very important to think of it as a *new* book. If there’s nothing new, then there’s not really a point in telling the…[Read more]

@valtmy Thanks! I confess most modern fantasy is increasingly boring…

Thanks for the lists! Lots of useful stuff here 🙂 Although I may need to make it a trilogy to use everything that caught my eye 😀 And thank you for your vote of confidence!!

@skredder @valtmy @gh24682468999 These are all super great ideas, thank you all so much. Just one thing, @gh24682468999 What is Grammaly? I, in all my years of searching the internet, have never heard of it.

@kballen If you’re entering this into a contest, I would suggest putting this through Grammarly or having someone check over this for grammar/punctuation, just to polish it up.

Great concept!! I love how you vividly describe each setting, especially in the opening sentences.

If Harold is part of your MC’s ability to time travel, maybe you could…[Read more]