Love is an interesting subject, and could arguably be the core element in every story. When we take a step back and think about love, what it is, and what it means to us, every person may come up with a different definition, but I believe the core of it is the same.

The dictionary defines love as an intense feeling of deep affection, yet when we define the term ‘affection’, the dictionary states that it is a gentle feeling of fondness or liking.

These are technical explanations of something that is in itself, very difficult to explain, and when you look at the definition of one term (affection) within the definition of the word ‘love’ itself, you see conflict in regards to the level weight of what it means.

This very thing is what makes love a fascinating thing to explore in stories. It never gets old, because it is something most, if not all humans experience yet struggle to define in regards to how we as individuals experience it. It is also a multilayered term. I as an individual love playing video games and love reading books. Yet my love for my parents, my brother, my family and friends is a different kind of love altogether. And to take it even further, my love of spending time with my wife is quite different than my love for my wife. Would I throw myself in front of a car to save my Playstation? No.(though my wife might argue) Would I throw myself in front of a car to save my wife? Without a thought. Same word, different meaning.

In stories, we see characters love their parents, family, friends, spouses, etc. We also see them love forging weapons, creating magical spells, cleaning and polishing guns, washing their cars, practicing the sword, etc. When we delve into these characters, we see the things and people they love, but we also get to see ‘why’ they love them. Jason loves skipping rocks across the pond because it reminds him of how he and his father did it every day after school. It was one of the only happy times in a socially trying time in his school life. Linda loves her mother, the person who gave her life and protected her as she grew older in a harsh and hard world. Yet her love for Jason is a different type, a romantic type. She loves his voice, the way he looks at her, the way he smiles when he talks about how he skipped rocks across the pond with his father.

Characters experience love in the same ways that we do, and it is one of many things that make them relatable to us, and makes us sympathize with them, root for/against them.

There are many elements that make a story great. There are many elements that make a story alive, full, multilayered, and colorful. One of those elements has so many layers, so many aspects and so much depth, that whole novels are written about characters who struggle to define it, struggle to find it, struggle to hold on to it. Some even struggle not to attain it. Not many things can cause intense joy and pain. Some characters live in love with the specter of hate just on the other side of the coin.

Love is multilayered, multifaceted, and one of the most complex and powerful aspects of life that a human can experience. It is strengthening and debilitating. It is invigorating and crushing. It can make the soul sing a celebration of life, or a dirge of loss.

Love is life.

About R J Terrell:
R. J. Terrell was instantly a lover of fantasy the day he opened R. A. Salvatore’s: The Crystal Shard. Years (and many devoured books) later he decided to put pen to paper for his first novel. After a bout with aching carpals, he decided to try the keyboard instead, and the words began to flow. When not writing, he enjoys reading, video games, and long walks with his wife around Stanley Park in Vancouver BC.

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Letting Love Simmer

February 25, 2015

Colette Black

Colette Black Craft & Skills No Comments

Lisa Mangum’s “First Comes Like” post is directly in line with mine today. When the topic for this month was announced, I thought of two movies whose titles could almost be confused with one another. Both are well-liked by the general populace, both are romances, one I love and the other…not so much. Here’s why:

While You Were Sleeping is a movie I could watch a thousand times (as long as I don’t think about Bill Pullman and Ellen Degeneres in Mr. Perfect), because I get to watch the characters meet, become friends, and over time, fall in love. This is a movie where the romance simmers, making it perfect, beautiful, and believable.

Sleepless in Seattle is another cute romance, with great actors/actresses, and I just felt let down. It seems like two people, drawn together by fate, missing each other right and left, until one of them decides to take a chance on the unknown. This is the movie’s tagline: “What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew was the only someone for you?” That doesn’t come off as romantic to me, just stupid. As Lisa said in her post “…before love comes along, there is like—in real life, and in fiction.” I feel like their connection in Sleepless is a farce, because even if fate is real, it still requires time and interaction for love to follow fate. I’m not big on the love at first sight.

The first time I saw my husband was from across a room, he was smiling and had a kind look in his eyes that I admired, and I thought, “I’d like to get to know him.” I didn’t think, “I want to marry him and bear his children.” Love takes time.

As a sci-fi/fantasy/horror writer, I like to have a thread of romance in almost everything I write. Yep, even in my horror. Don’t believe me, read my short story anthology, The Black Side. Physical attraction may come early or late, but emotional attraction is something that either develops because the characters knew each other before the story begins, or they are given time within the story to get to know each other. At the beginning of Frozen, weren’t we all a little shocked and disappointed that Anna spends one evening with Hans and is ready to marry him? But with Kristoff, they talk, annoy each other, save each other, and learn the pros and cons about one another before they fall in love.

Let’s make sure we do that in our stories. Oh, and by the way, romance is NOT sex. Romance is the emotional connection that two people make over time. You want better romance in your books, don’t even think about the sex until your characters love each other so much they can’t imagine being apart. Of course, if the sex is the primary goal, then who needs romance, right? I do.

How about you? I’d love to hear opinions on the path romance should take, and examples of books/movies where they do it right.

As a plus, here’s a post for all you Sandra Bullock/While You Were Sleeping/Working girl fans with a few more reasons why this romcom is one of the best: Yoruba Girl Dancing

A Life of Passion

February 24, 2015

Frank Morin

Author's Perspective Character Craft & Skills Frank Morin Motivation Reflection No Comments

Who do you love?

What do you love?

Everyone needs a little passion.

The interesting people in story, and in life, are those who embrace what they love with passion. It might be a spouse, family, work, or hobbies. We love people who are excited about what they do or who they are. We respond to passion. Easy example is when people tell us about a recent book or movie that we haven’t read or seen yet.

If they say, “It was all right.” No matter what our previous anticipation level might have been, it now falls a notch.

What if they say, “It was awesome! I’m going to camp out at the movie theater right now and wait until it opens tomorrow so I can see it again”? We can’t help but absorb a little of that passion. It’s contagious and exhilarating.

People do need to find balance in their life, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still feel passion for each component that makes up who they are and what they do. They just can’t let that passion lead to excess and stupid decisions.

One of the most tragic things we see in literature and in life are people who won’t follow their passion. They won’t ask the girl on a date, won’t apply for their dream job, won’t take a chance and LIVE their lives. Thankfully, this character flaw is seen most often only at the beginning of a story to highlight a hero’s dramatic character arc.

A great example is Walter Mitty in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Here’s a guy who has buried his passions so deep, he has to escape life in lengthy ‘zoned out’ moments where he dreams of doing great things. He has shackled himself to a boring job and refused to live, even though he dreams of it. The story is beautifully told, includes breathtaking scenery, and excellent music as Walter begins to break out of the repressed life he’s lived for so long and embarks on an amazing adventure that changes everything. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

In real life, it can be hard sometimes to chase our dreams, to live passionately. Are we Walter Middy before or after the moment where he decides to live?

How many times do we hear someone say, “I’d love to do that!” Only to then banish the thought and turn away. If it’s not illegal or immoral or likely to prove fatal, maybe they should reconsider.

Are you holding back, suppressing your passion?

Fear of failure is often the cause. Sure, we might fail, but at least fail while trying. Failure is a way to learn so much, but society has made failure taboo. The problem is, life is full of failures. Why not fail while doing something we’re passionate about instead of failing at life because we lack the courage to try? Here’s what a few famous people had to say about failure:

“I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” (Michael Jordan)

“It’s fine to celebrate success but it is more important to heed the lessons of failure.” (Bill Gates)

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” (Thomas Edison)

We don’t like stories of cowards, of those too repressed or afraid or timid to live. Usually in stories, cowards are either killed or, if they’re a main character, their initial cowardice is overcome as they rise to become a hero. There’s a good reason for that. Readers don’t buy stories that lack progression.

Not surprisingly, it was hard to find great examples of characters terminally afraid to live their lives, afraid to embrace their passions.

One example that came to mind for me is Pierre Gringoire, the struggling playwright in The Hunchback of Notre Dame who is saved by Esmeralda, but lacks the courage to do anything productive. He is about as completely useless a character as any I’ve ever read. I’ve hated him since I was first forced to read this dark, depressing book as a kid. Pierre refuses to fight for the beautiful woman who saved his life, refuses to fight for anything useful, and eventually slips away from all conflict, taking along Esmeralda’s pet goat, Djali, the only creature who seems capable of dealing with his pitiful life.

So be Walter, not Pierre, and embrace your passions.

What are you waiting for?