So I was having a discussion this morning about what is more interesting to read in a romantic suspense book---a couple that is working their way toward each other during dangerous circumstances and having those first stirrings of attraction/love, or a couple that is already together.
At first my response was, it depends on the story and how well-written it is, because if the plot is stupid, it doesn't matter about the couple. But then I thought a little more about it.
There are movies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith about a married couple in the spy business, but I don't think those are the norm for a reason. As many TV writers tell you, it is hard to write material for a couple when they're already together. The tension leading up to a couple getting together is what sells it. (I'm reminded of one of my favorite spy shows, Alias, and one of the things that totally sold that show was the relationship with Sydney and Vaughn. I loved them). I think the same may be true in books. Who didn't love the relationship between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth? *le sigh*
But if we go back to TV shows for a minute, in my favorite show, Castle, (only a month until the season premiere. Eeee!) many people have been clamoring for Kate and Rick to get together for at least two years. The writers have thrown obstacles in their path, some of them stupid, but regardless, it's taken four seasons for them to get close to taking their relationship to the next level. Writer/producers/fans have all gone back and forth and it came down to, "we don't want the Moonlighting curse." Meaning, of course, that old show Moonlighting with Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis which is "proof" that supposedly once a couple is together it kills the show. (Although I think there were extenuating circumstances beyond the getting together on Moonlighting, but that's another story.) Then the creator of Castle came out and said that he feels there's a lot of intricate stories you can tell once a couple is together. Yay! I think so, too, but it takes more creativity and work, I think. I hope he makes that come true for Castle this season.
Anyway, I digress. For me, in my favorite books I love the tension with the couple, the dance and the romance while skirting terrible danger. In my own books, I always write the couple as getting to know each other and falling in love under stressful circumstances. In the project I'm mapping out now, though, it's the sequel to Ribbon of Darkness, and Kennedy and Ethan are already together. This is a new experience for me and I'm wondering if I can do it justice just because dynamics are different when you have a couple that is already together vs. one that is just getting together. It's fun and exciting and scary, too.
What do you think? Do you find almost-couples or already couples more interesting to read about? Who are your favorite fictional couples?
I'm an award-winning romantic suspense novelist, but in my free time I love to review books and my fave TV shows, as well as pass along great book deals, and eat Canadian chocolate---not necessarily in that order.
10 comments:
I prefer to watch either the beginning or the end of e relationship. So, either they weren't together, and ey come together along the way, or they have been a couple, and the chaos tears them apart (or there was a betrayal! She's a spy! Ahhh!).
In real life, I root for couples to strngthen their relationship and come closer together, but that rarely makes for an exciting story. And for hat to be fidelous, one of them usually has to be "dead weight" (since the dual-spy/duel-hero dyad is pretty rare, as you mentioned). And dead weight is annoying.
S, I'm with you. I love watching them fall in love during the story.
But, yes, good plotting and good writing trump pretty much all else :)
It does depend on the story—and the audience. Moonlighting isn't the only show whose ratings dropped when the couple finally got together. (Why do you think Ross and Rachel really broke up? Ratings, baby.)
Well, really I think depends on whether there's tension. You can find some pretty boring romance novels out there about people getting together. And you can find some pretty boring novels about people already in relationships. It's the tension, the unanswered questions, the suspense of not knowing what might come that compels us to read.
(Tiny quibble: Mr. & Mrs. Smith were assassins.)
LOL Jordan, you and your quibbles. Ha!
Gina, so glad we're on the same page! :)
Even though I don't read much romance, or watch much TV that includes it, I think it is indeed more interesting to watch a couple get together.
I'm quite fond of William Monk and Hester Latterly, from the books by Anne Perry. Of course, they do get married eventually, but they always seem to be off working on different cases, at least at the start of each mystery.
Vin and Elend from the Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson are other favourites of mine. They got together, too ...
And Olivia and Peter from my favourite TV show, Fringe. :-)
One of my favorite shows of all time, The Scarecrow and Mrs King, impacted not only the way I write about couples getting together in the thick of danger, but the story had an exciting backdrop of the spy business, which I used in three of my books. Drama is what makes things exiting at the beginning of a relationship. Drama can also keep an existing relationship amped as long as there is love involved.
I prefer the couple already being together, personally. This way, my eye muscles aren't strained by all of the rolling.
Is it the furtive glances? The casual bumping into each other? Perhaps it's the misunderstanding that drives a wedge between them until some 3rd party can clear the misunderstanding? Or maybe it's one-sided, and the other side is just too stubborn/misguided/clueless/pretentious/suicidal to even consider romance?
Or is it the got-off-on-the-wrong-foot and they're just annoyed with each other until they discover they have so much in common and why were we fighting in the first place? Or maybe they just start kissing, preferably in the rain, or some other location that in the real world doesn't lend itself well to intense PDA, but hey, it's fiction, so we can get all hot and steamy in an old church or a port-o-potty.
Maybe... maybe I'm not destined to write romance. I would like to try my hand at it, but I'm going to have to go unconventional, because the conventional drives me BONKERS!
Favorite TV Couples: Chuck and Sarah, Kate and Castle (do not like the couple-term Caskett), Monica and Chandler, Niles and Daphne, and of course, Luke and Lorelai. (To some extent: Monk and Trudy.)
Best speculative literary romance: Rohan and Sioned (Dragon Prince series from Melanie Rawn)
Worst speculative literary romance: Rand and Elayne and Min and Aviendha.
Melanie, I still need to watch Fringe!
Debra, as you know I'm a Scarecrow and Mrs. King lover, too. :)
Jon, a PORT-O-POTTY? Seriously? Ewwww. But I agree with you on many of your other points. No eye-rolling scenes in my books. I hope. Ha!
I am literally in the middle of writing a "family saga" I think both types of writing can be interesting if done well. In my first book (coming out this September!!!) my character is married. There's plenty of tension and trouble for them. Second book the MC is alone and doesn't want to be tangled in a relationship but ends up anyway. Third the couple is now married and facing trials and other suspense and I feel all of them work well.
Maybe I'm just biased because im the author.
I am literally in the middle of writing a "family saga" I think both types of writing can be interesting if done well. In my first book (coming out this September!!!) my character is married. There's plenty of tension and trouble for them. Second book the MC is alone and doesn't want to be tangled in a relationship but ends up anyway. Third the couple is now married and facing trials and other suspense and I feel all of them work well.
Maybe I'm just biased because im the author
Another thought: this is why writing a direct sequel to a romance is hard unless we break the characters up, and that has to be for a good reason, but a good reason that they can overcome.
So I guess it's hard even then ;) .
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