Love…Oh the “L” word to top all “L” words. You don’t have to write a romance novel to write about love. It is included in almost every story in many different ways. Experiencing love through life can be so impact-full it can change someone forever. It can be described as love for a significant other, a child, a family member, or even a furry family member.
We will talk about the life changing love between significant others in a minute…But let’s start with the other kinds of love.
The love of a parent for a child. No one understands this kind of love without being a parent themselves. However there are many different kinds of parent and child relationships out there. You don’t have to give birth to that child to know you would do anything you could to keep them safe and raise them as your own. There’s adoption, parental figures in a child’s life who help influence them (sometimes even better than their parents if they are in a rough home situation), grandparents who raise that child, aunts, uncles, etc. There are just so many parental figures out there and scenarios that people can relate to or sympathize for in your stories. Someone who has taken that child under their wing per say. These situations will impact that child and make them into who they become as an adult.
In reality you either have a close family, or not. Or that one close family member other than your parents that you share a kindred spirit with. For me it’s my Grandma on my fathers side. She has always been that one person other than my parents that I could talk to and feel completely myself around. To describe her is to describe the light in a dark room, or that first breath of fresh air when you step outside on that day with the perfect temperature. You could always be yourself with her, she always made everyone smile and feel loved. Her kindness, her smile was infectious, and she would never judge you for your mistakes. There are people who have their entire family behind them on everything they do. That incredibly close family. There are others who like I said have only that one person, or people that they are closest to but either way that is another form of love.
Siblings, to describe the love between siblings can be difficult to do. On one hand you love them and would do anything for them (in most cases, there are the siblings relationships that are unfortunately not so close), on the other hand there are times when they can frustrate you to no end. In your stories you can always write it either way but just make sure you capture the emotion that surrounds it. (I wrote about emotions in an earlier blog post.) The unwavering love between siblings, it will always be there no matter what. Different family dynamics and situations, where there are older siblings and younger siblings with a large age gap that can cause the older siblings to sometimes act more like parents at times. These are all just examples of relationships that can create a type of love for you to write about.
In your novels, or stories don’t forget to include these relationship dynamics. I’ve written many times about making your stories relatable to your readers. Writing love in one way or another, or even many ways in your novels make your characters relatable. Everyone has someone they love in their lives.
Furry family members can give people another kind of love as well. For some it may provide a love in their life that is completely void of it, due to many different reasons. For others it provides even more love in your life and fills a small gap that you never knew you had. The love of a pet is a special bond that requires no words, just the understanding and love for each other. You will take care of and be there for them and they will do the same for you. They can provide comfort for people in emotional situations, and help people through difficult times in their lives, big or small. This love is different from a love for another person but still just as important in many ways.
Finally lets talk about the love between two people, significant others. In many novels people write about epic loves, sometimes tragic loves. But there is always that reason for being. The love like no other and the person they are meant to be with. You do not need to write a romance novel to talk about such a love. Even if you include elements of love you can develop a love story within another. Much like the current novel I am working on, it is a Psychological Thriller with elements of romance thrown in. Meaning there are really two stories going on here. The love between two people and the Thriller aspect of the story as well (the relationship between the killer and the potential victim).
When you think about a love with a significant other, some of us are lucky enough to have found our soul mates and writing about love may be easier for us than others. Even so, don’t let that discourage you as writers, we are readers as well. So, even if you have yet to experience that love in real life remember, you may have or are able to experience that love through the writings of others. Which can help because you don’t have to experience something to write about it. If so than some of the best selling authors of the world would have been out of a job lol.
Falling in love can have its challenges as well, no situation is completely perfect. So if you write about love write about the messy parts of it as well. Every couple will have at least mild disagreements. I believe the love story in my novel is perfect (as I’m sure all writers do when they are not only in love with the idea of the story but also feel close to their characters) but I make sure to include those raw messy moments of a relationship and will continue to in part 2 of my novel when I write it.
We all experience love in one way or another in every day life. Don’t be afraid to write about it. Especially don’t be afraid to experience it, not only in writing/reading but in real life as well. You never know what you will find when you open your heart up to love.
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Until next time….JUST KEEP WRITING.
Tiffany’s Writing Journey 