Yes, when it comes to romance we tend to appreciate the big sweeping gestures. We're not fully satisfied until we've gotten the happily ever after where the hero was willing to risk it all for the sake of the heroine.
Those grand gestures are all fine and good, but it's the little things that make us (and our heroines) fall in love with the hero.
To prove my point, I've borrowed examples from a couple movies I'm sure most of us have seen before:
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| NEVER BEEN KISSED |
Josie realizes how special Sam (Mr. Coulson) truly is when he volunteers himself to ride the Ferris Wheel, despite his fear of heights, simply because she had no one else to ride with. And then he tops it off by telling her he feels like he can really
talk to her. *sigh*
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| 27 DRESSES |
Jane and Kevin can barely stand each other, until one little song plays on the jukebox in a dive bar out in the middle of nowhere. Next thing you know, they're dancing on the bar and getting hot & steamy in the backseat of his car. Who knew "Benny & The Jets" karaoke could provide the spark for true love?
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| How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days |
Andie and Ben were both secretly using each other in an attempt to further their careers. Neither expected to actually fall in love, but for Andie things changed quickly after an afternoon spent playing "Bullshit" with Ben and his family. Watching him interact with his family shot an arrow straight to her heart, where all his smooth loverboy lines had missed the mark.
Bottom line, it's all the little unique pieces of a man that make us fall in love with him. Don't forget to add those things into your stories. We tend to fall in love in fragments, our characters should too.
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7 comments:
I think that you bring up a very good point. It is not only the big actions that help us fall in love but the little ones too. I love the Josie and Mr. Coulson reference. His response after he tells her that he can talk to her made me fall in love with his character and it was so small you almost miss it.
Marie Rose, I know!! I still love that movie and watch it at least once every couple of months, even though it came out more than a decade ago. (A fact, I found strangely disturbing when I was looking for the picture last night. How have we gotten so far from the 90's already?!?)
Very well said! I've never seen 27 Dresses before, but now I really wanna see it!!
"Bottom line, it's all the little unique pieces of a man that make us fall in love with him. Don't forget to add those things into your stories. We tend to fall in love in fragments, our characters should too."
That's an excellent point. Romance novels tend to be about epic sacrifices, but sometimes the small gesture is all you need.
Yay, I do this!
You're right, Tracy. It's these gesture that mean the most to US, and open our protagonist's eyes to the great guy in front of her.
Great advice! I love adding little pieces, but sometimes I worry the reader will miss them.
:c
It's the little things that mean the most - whether in life or in books :) Good post Tracy!
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