building bonds

by Chyn

Hi. In a romantic novel, what are some of the techniques to let readers see and feel the tight bond/love between a couple at the start of the story?

In my story, the protagonists will be separated once the conflict starts and would just be together again in the middle of the story, so I was planning to build their strong bond at the first few chapters in order for the readers to understand more of what they actually have. but well, aside from the cheesy lines and stuff, are there other techniques?

Answer: Sometimes rather than have the lovers all head-over-heels, it's better to design the characters so that the reader can see how right they are for each other--how well they work together in handling some problem or situation, how their traits complement each other, even how they can challenge each other in ways that bring out the best of both of them (especially how they challenge each other). You want them to see eye-to-eye on some issues, or hold some values that the rest of the characters do not (creating a you-and-me-against-the-world feeling). At the same time, each should offer the other a different and challenging, but valuable, perspective.

In fact, the two lovers may not even like each other at first, but still get inside each other's heads. Seeing how they interact is more important than cheesy lines or hollow gestures.

In a typical story structure, there are five drivers or turning points. The first is the inciting incident--the event, without which, the rest of the story would not happen. In a romance, this may be the event in which the two lovers meet or their relationship is established in the reader's mind.

The second driver is usually when this relationship becomes romantic. This marks the start of the complication phases or act two. I'm guessing it's right after this that your characters are separated.

In other words, it can work to create a situation where the romance was just getting started when it is suddenly put on hold.

The third driver, sometimes called "the point of no return" causes things to accelerate. This may be where they get together again.

The fourth driver is generally the "black moment" or the relationship crisis (when something happens that threatens to drive them apart). And the fifth is when they find ultimate true love in each other.

Hope that helps.

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