So as it turns out, I’m not very good at writing romance.
It’s not really that surprising, considering that I’ve never written a love story before. Sure I’ve written stories where two characters start a romance, but that was always a secondary concern, with no significant obstacles. I tried to make it a primary concern and a full arc in my current WIP and, well… The result was not good.
I’m a little annoyed at myself, because since I first started exploring romantic concerns myself, I’ve been told repeatedly that I’m a very romantic guy. I like rom-com movies, and I get invested in romances in fiction, whether it be on page or screen. I thought this might be a good idea for me to pursue, but as it turns out, it’s not.
Basically, I wrote what reads like an incel finally getting the date he ‘deserves’, and that’s not good. It’s cringy and the LI got turned into a flat, 2-dimensional character who’s attracted to the MC for no discernible reason. Because he’s the MC, I guess.
But the MC isn’t even supposed to be an incel!
Well, technically, I suppose he is. That might change soon, though. As originally conceived, he was a 30 or so year old virgin who always wanted to meet the right girl, but never did. I don’t want to give too much away at this point, when the plot is still up in the air, but he’s not human. He doesn’t look human, and that’s why he’s never met the right girl.
I made the LI (who was human in my earliest notes) into the same species as the MC to cement the logic of that characterization, and I really like the idea of her remaining as such. But I’m going to have to erase almost three chapters of work, and rewrite it, because… [shudder]
The problem is easy enough to trace back. The major themes of the work are racism, being an outsider, and trying to reconcile the resentment one has towards a society that rejects them with the loving upbringing one had by members of that society. That stuff just doesn’t seem to play well with romance, at least not in my writing. Perhaps a different (or a more talented) author could do better, but I can’t.
So now I’m kinda stuck. My original version was another action-oriented military sci-fi. The version it morphed into was supposed to be a wartime romance with some grounded action mixed in. I think I’m going to have to split the difference and go for a straight up war story. In a military sci-fi setting.
So basically, I’m writing Battle: Los Angeles.
I’m actually pretty good with that. I liked that movie a lot, and I think it’s seriously underrated. It’s one of those movies that I own on DVD and can watch over and over. I had it on in the background as I wrote a decent chunk of what I’ve put out so far.
But I’m still kinda bummed, because I really liked the idea of a romantic main plot.
I need to go back to my notes and revise them. I might need to remove the aspect of being a virgin from the MC, which might actually work, because I had an early idea for a scene in which he has a one-night-stand that I was a little disappointed in cutting. Of course, I can’t remember the thing that made me like that scene so much, so… Yeah. I hope by plotting it out again, it’ll come back to me.
Anyways, wish me luck! I’m going to try and keep the romance in there and as much in the front as possible. I’m just not really able to make it work as the primary plot.