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New Gay Romance Short Story! (5 Minute Read)
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The Dark Side of Romance: Abusive Relationships in Fiction
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a sucker for a dark brooding romantic interest. (Team Edward forever.) But I’m also a survivor of multiple abusive relationships, some of them legitimately dangerous. As a romance writer, I’d like to look at the problems with these fictional relationships, and how we can address them in future stories.
Here are the three main issues with dark romance:
- They’re just… misunderstood? Okay, I fall for this one myself, but it’s a serious problem. Oftentimes, the romantic interest in these cases has some traumatic backstory, and this is used as the reason they act so toxic. Yes, a traumatic backstory and conflicting or complex emotions can add to the depth of a character, but if at any point you wonder if this person is capable of actually hurting you… that’s not depth. That’s a red flag. Unfortunately, when we see enough of these fictional relationships, we can ignore red flags in the real world because we have been conditioned to think that our partner is just complex and misunderstood, when really they are just plain abusive.
- They’re doing it because they love me. Controlling behavior in fiction is often seen as a sign that they are protective and they just go about it the wrong way. Like the obsession with knowing where the main character is at all times and even breaking their car or following them when they go out is just a way to keep them safe. Good intentions don’t make stalking and control okay, and if we see enough of this in fiction, it’s easier to dismiss it in real life as just a sign that they are just overprotective. In reality, these behaviors lead to dependence on them and the need to look over your shoulder at all times.
- But I can save them! No, you can’t. And you shouldn’t have to. Of course we should be there for someone we love, even if they are going through some emotional upheaval or processing trauma. But their trauma shouldn’t give you trauma of your own. Too often in fiction, the main character makes extreme personal sacrifices to make the love interest comfortable. In the end, the love interest heals their trauma and it all ends up being worth it. But that’s a fictional story. In the real world, making all these sacrifices will often lead to you giving up more and more of yourself to make the relationship work, and your partner probably won’t work on any of their trauma either. The relationship might end up working, but it won’t be because you saved them. It’ll be because you sacrificed yourself for the relationship.
As writers, we can change these toxic narratives.
We can still have some of the dark traits in the love interest, but we have to include accountability, working on themselves, and the main character should set and enforce boundaries that need to be met for the relationship to continue.
I know, this doesn’t sound as sexy and fun as the usual dark romance relationships where sometimes the danger can be the spark of it, but fiction is a powerful medium, and we should try to be more careful what we write and the repercussions it might have for our readers.
How I Find Writing Inspiration from My Everyday Life
You’ve probably heard the phrase “write what you know.” And it’s true. Writing about topics or experiences you are familiar with can help your writing to feel more realistic for the reader, and it saves you research time. But maybe you’re thinking that your life isn’t interesting enough to be turned into a story. The truth is that almost anything can be!
Below are five ways that I get ideas from my everyday life when writing stories. (Yes, even magical or paranormal stories!)
- Characters: The People You Know.
Anyone you meet can be the inspiration behind your next character. Now, of course, we need to use some creative license and ensure it isn’t too similar to them, as this can lead to hurt feelings or awkward encounters if they ever happen to come across the story. However, to create believable characters, sometimes you need to base them on real people. This can be a nagging parent, that hot guy you saw on the subway, or your best friend from elementary school. Anyone you meet can be turned from fact to fiction with just a little writing magic.Anyone you meet can be the inspiration behind your next character. Now, of course, we need to use some creative license and ensure it isn’t too similar to them, as this can lead to hurt feelings or awkward encounters if they ever happen to come across the story. However, to create believable characters, sometimes you need to base them on real people. This can be a nagging parent, that hot guy you saw on the subway, or your best friend from elementary school. Anyone you meet can be turned from fact to fiction with just a little writing magic.
2. Places: The Setting of Your Own Story
Whether you write contemporary fiction or out-of-this-world sci-fi, the places you have gone can be used as the backdrop of your book. For example, my novel, Miner of Mine, is set in a small town in Utah, where I lived for six months. It’s easy to craft a believable setting when you have your own memory to pull from. It also makes it easier to use the five senses when describing it, because we are already familiar with the place and the way it made you feel.
3. Memories as a Backstory
Sometimes we forget that characters had a whole life before the events we zoom in on for our story. And even more difficult can be crafting that backstory in a way that seems genuine, allowing the character’s previous experiences to shine through as they move through the plot. Personally, I draw inspiration from experiences that have happened to me. It helps me to guide my characters because I know exactly how they are feeling and how they might react to these new situations. For example, most of my characters have either trauma from their family and upbringing, or they have suffered an abusive ex, or even the loss of their partner. These are relatable to me, and I know that by showing this in my own characters’ stories, my readers find similarities with the characters as well, which leads to a deeper connection for them with the story overall.
4. Hopes and Dreams
Every character, even the side characters that barely feature in your story at all, have their own goals and motivations. This aspect of characterization is especially important for your main characters, though. If they don’t have a goal or an idea of where they want their life to go, how will they know what choice to make when faced with the conflicts in the plot? Now, setting up the hopes and dreams of your character might feel silly if your story is simplistic or based in the real world. But even simple goals (and, in fact, especially simple goals) can make your characters feel like a real person. I like to look at my life and the events in my life that I used as inspiration in my stories when I pick their goals. It can be something as simple as getting their own apartment or finding peace and quiet, maybe falling in love, or adopting a puppy. Of course, big goals can really push the story along as well, but the simple goals from our everyday lives are sometimes the most raw expressions of what it means to be human.
5. Quirks
Every character needs flaws as well. This can be an opportunity for us to become more self-aware as we craft these characters. Is there a way that you make your coffee, a specific pair of shoes you love to wear, or maybe an aversion to reading ebooks over paperbacks that makes you who you are? When you friends and family describe you to others, what do they usually say? Characters in fictional stories need these, too. These particularities, or in some cases flaws, help the reader to relate to the characters. I love to look at the little things I do and sprinkle them into my characters.
How to Be a Successful Writer: The Secret I Learned in Writing School
What is the secret to being a successful writer?
It’s the question every aspiring author asks themselves. And while personal definitions of success are different for each person, there is one universal rule that you need to succeed in any writing genre.
They never told us this was a rule. They slipped it in, silently every week, until it took over our writing.
What is writing school like?
I studied creative writing for both my bachelor’s and my master’s degrees. And while we were allowed to choose a writing concentration as well as a literary specialization for our reading courses, the classes were, overall, the same.
Each week we had some reading to do, discussions, and some writing assignments. We were writing stories weekly, and sometimes it required writing every day.
And that was the secret skill. The skill that many writers forget how to do:
We were taught how to write anytime, anywhere, and on deadline.
It’s a well-known fact that most writers never finish their first book. Most estimates put it at less than 5% of authors that complete their manuscript.
So, by those odds, you are a successful writer by simply being able to sit down and write.
I’ve met so many writers who tell me they struggle to sit down and write unless they are “in the mood.” But the secret to being a successful writer is to write.
Any day. Any time. Any mood.
Now, go write something.
Happy writing!
What Makes Fictional Settings Feel So Real? Examples from Popular Fiction
I love books where the setting is central to the plot.
In fact, I would say that in these cases, the setting itself is a character in the story.
In this post I’d like to share with you three things that make these setting so memorable. (And, if you are a writer, how you can write settings that will really have an impact on your readers.) I’m also going to share some examples from Popular stories to give you an idea of what this looks like in action.
A setting plays a deeper role in a story when it:
- Uses all the senses. When we walk around the world we aren’t just seeing the places we go, we are experiencing them will all of our senses. Instead of just describing the way a setting looks, be sure to add the way it feels, sounds, and smells to help your reader feel immersed in the setting as they read.
- The characteristics of the setting allow it to affect the plot and the other characters in the story. If a character is dealing with feelings of seclusion, loneliness, or self-reliance, then setting your story on an island or a cabin up in the mountains would be a great way to reflect these inner struggles. Having a setting that reflects the inner world of your characters or that physically affects their choices or conflicts can really make the setting stand out.
- The little details matter. Every story has a setting, but the little details about the settings are what make it real. It’s one thing to say a character is standing in a garden. It’s another to say that they are standing in an overgrown garden with a chipped white fence where the gate creeks loudly and the weeds snag at their skirt as they walk down the rocky path to the dirt road. The details give the setting its personality.
Below I’ve provided some vivid examples from literature where the setting has a lot to do with the overall story and the charter’s experiences.
- Love in a Fallen City by Eileen Chang – The first novella in this collection starts with beautiful descriptions of the house and garden, but it intentionally reflects the blend between Eastern and Western aesthetics. This sets the deeper themes of the story by reflecting the characters’ struggles in navigating a social class system that blends Chinese and English cultural expressions.
- Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman – The setting in this story is really the central focus, while the characters are merely moving through this world at the mercy of what the setting has in store for them. Neverwhere is unique in that the setting is both fantastical and modern at the same time. The story takes place in London, but not just the way we experience it today, and instead in a parallel universe of sorts where fantasy becomes reality. Gaiman’s more popular story, Coraline, uses those sensory descriptions I mentioned earlier, and even though the book is short, the setting really makes the story extra creepy.
- The Writer’s Retreat by Julia Bartz – This story, like many other thrillers, utilizes a house in a secluded area as the backdrop of the terrifying drama that unfolds. Similar stories include The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, and We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer. These stories, and the circumstances faced by their characters, would not be possible if they were set anywhere else. That’s the power of a well-chosen setting.
- Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling – The magical world and Hogwarts Castle are half of what makes this series so captivating. Just take a look Universal’s “Harry Potter Land” in Orlando. It really is the setting of a hidden magical world within our modern world (much like Neverwhere) that makes these stories feel so real for us. And more than that, this setting was well-crafted down to the details awhile also containing expansive world building.
Settings really do have the power to take us to a whole new world, and to feel the emotional depth of a story as we walk side-by-side with the characters, wherever they go.
*Author’s Note: In my blog I might reference stories or authors that are considered controversial. However, throughout my studies I have taken the stance that removing the artist from their art is sometimes necessary in order to see the beauty of the fantasy behind the grim reality. After all, that’s what stories are for. They give us hope when the world lets us down. Unfortunately, sometimes that person that lets us down was the one holding the pen.
Elizabeth Penn 