Every romance has to have that moment when we as the reader jump up from our chairs and are tempted to throw the book against the wall, furious that these two can’t be together. In other words – it has to have a BLACK MOMENT.
Your black moment is where everything goes south. It’s when the hero loses the heroine, maybe he finds out some truth about her and turns his back, or maybe she finds out something about him and runs away. Maybe the external obstacles become so large that they can’t be overcome and both turn away. But you need to force these two apart, and you need to make miserable. Really despairing, so that they are in a worse place emotionally than they were before they met. Make us hurt – because only if we really hurt – and they really hurt will we long for them to say, “I don’t care what it takes, I gotta be with him!”
The big black moment in Cutting Edge comes when Kate says she’s going to quit skating – and Dorsey realizes he loves her and doesn’t want it to be over. And he doesn’t care if he skates, as long as he’s with her…
When you’re deciding what kind of black moment to create, ask: What would drive these two apart despite their love for each other?
You see, only in this black moment will they also be poised to change, to see their faults and weaknesses and have the motivation (the thought of living without the person they love) to confront them. The black moment leads up to the epiphany…and finally…
The Happily Ever After ending!
Romances should end happily. Even if something bad happens at the end – lik eone of the characters die – they can still have a moment when their love is sealed forward, and they’ve given each other something that will empower them for their journey alone. An example of this is Cold Mountain – not your classic romance (mostly because they were in love with the hope of love rather than truly each other), but a romance all the same. And although it ends sadly, Inman has given his woman the knowledge that she was loved, and that her hopes were not in vain. (and of course, a child.)
So, give the reader a sigh, something that makes them say, “well, I’m glad I just spent eight hours reading that story.” The character don’t have to get married, but we do want to see them overcoming their internal obstacles, sacrificing their external obstacles for each other and finding a way to be together. It’s lovely if, in the end, they think they’re giving up something for each other, but really, they’re gaining the world. Tie up the romance thread and give us a hint as to why they will be together, happily, forever.
In the final scene of CE, Kate and Dorsey skate, and we don’t know if they win the gold, but it doesn’t matter, because she’s found her match… When he says to her… “remember, I said I loved you first,” we know the competitiveness is still alive, yet that is the spark of their relationship, which tells us that they will live happily ever after.
Whether you’re writing a full-out romance, or just a thread of a romance, these elements will make your romantic thread strong and help weave the story together in a way that will satisfy even those unromantics out there.
Our next step in the journey is: Overcoming Temptation – where your hero is misled, sometimes by the lack of ability or knowledge, or some weakness in himself. We’ll be diving briefly into the MIND OF A VILLIAN! And touching also on the elements of suspense in a story.
Don’t forget to head over to Voices and let us know what your favorite romances are! Have a great weekend!
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