Let’s Write a Story

I’ve had some people ask me about the different kinds of scenes that can be submitted for Blogfest. Now, this may sound crazy, but—any good old scene where one, or both, of your characters realizes “Wow, I love this person” will do.


I like to see where my characters take the scene. Initially, I may have some sort of rough draft or outline about what’s going to happen, but the characters are the ones that get the final say. If they end up taking the story somewhere else entirely…so be it. They know what they want more than I do (consciously, anyway).

13 days until the Love at First Sight Blogfest and I’m still shuffling  different ideas around in my head. There are so many potential characters that are battling for my attention, and even more that keep popping up to say “how’d’ya do?”. So how’s a girl to chose one scene to post?

There are ways to form the barebones of a story. The Story Architect by Victoria Lynn Schmidt is a great place to start. In her book, she lists 56 “classic” story themes that are used in every genre of fiction. If you want to take a look inside, you may view a bit of it here. While I love this book (and recommend it to anyone writing fiction), it isn’t exactly cut and dry for a romance scene for the LaFS Blogfest. We don’t want a whole plot do we? Some people may be inspired to create a novel around their LaFS scene, but for now, I just want a scene—a hot and steamy scene. 

So, in lieu of anything better, I’ve decided to write my own list of themes—themes for Blogfest.

Blogfest Architect: Types of Love

• Opposites Attract: the wrong people with the right feelings. Love against all odds.
• Holy cow—I love you!: Some personality types fight the whole love-at-first-sight experience. Instead, write the scene where your character(s) realize that they are in love.
• Head Over Heels: Do your characters steal little glances at each other when no one is looking? Do they blush when the object of their infatuation speaks to them? If so, they may be head over heels .
• Infuriating Infatuation: ‘The woman drove him nuts! Pompous and bossy—a pigheaded know-it-all. He thought he’d always wanted a nice girl with a pretty face. Now, he wasn’t so sure.’ This is another of the holy-cow-I-love-you themes.
• Forbidden Love: Romeo & Juliet is a classic for a reason. Who doesn’t love the idea of breaking the rules for love? How can something so wrong feel so right?
• Unrequited Love: Taylor Swift’s Teardrops On My Guitar says it all. Pining after someone who’s in love with another person is a hell of it’s very own making. No one said love at first sight has to be mutual.
• Fairy Tale Love: The stars align and falling in love feels so easy. Talk about a fairy tale…
• Childhood Love: Jack and Jill have been in love since the day they went up the hill. Jack may have broken his crown but Jill stayed by his side while he healed. After all these years, he’s never forgotten her. Now, it’s time to track her down and confess his love. Maybe she feels the same way…
• Hero Love/Damsel in Distress: Need I explain?

Want to challenge yourself?

• I’ve read that some people are going to switch point of view Blogfest. If you usually write from the female perspective, try writing your scene from the male POV and vice versa.
  
  
• Try writing a “historical” love story based on characters that already exist—or existed. Take advantage of creative license! There are plenty of time periods to chose from. Try on of these stories or find one of your own.
  
  
  
  • Lancelot & Guinevere
  • King Henry VIII & Ann Boleyn
  • Napoleon & Josephine
  • Ferdinand & Isabella
  • Marc Antony and Cleopatra
  • Eurydice & Orpheus
  • Adam & Eve
  • Samson & Delilah
    
    ♥ Want more historical romances to choose from? Consider your wish, granted— Top 20 Most Famous Love Stories in History & Literature.
    
    
• Retell a classic and make it your own.
  
  
  
  • Cinderella
  • Gone With the Wind
  • Ariel the Little Mermaid
  • Aladdin
  • Jack & Jill
    
    
• FanFic. Is there a book, TV show, or movie that messed something up? Fan Fiction lets you fix it…
  
  
  
  • Lost
  • Burn Notice
  • Weeds
  • Desperate Housewives
  • Vampire Diaries
  • Twilight
  • Outlander
  • Werecats Series
  • Avatar
  • Bones

Have I forgotten a good one? Anyone have any other themes to add to the list?

I hope I’ve stuck a creative nerve. If not, there’s always the next blog posting. Don’t forget to sign up for the Love at First Sight Blogfest!

Happy writing!

PS. If anyone needs additional inspiration, I have some terrific poems on my inspirational blog, To Keep it Going.