“I took hold of that scourge -filled ship and crushed it between my limbs, hurtling it into the second sun, the red one that gave me strength. But I was too late." Terraformer
One thing that every romance writer faces especially when writing a series, is how to keep a couple apart. It’s a difficult thing to accomplish and readers hate it, but it’s a necessary thing. Otherwise the tension is gone and your readers walk away disappointed.
I am a huge fan of a television show called Moonlighting with Bruce Willis and Cybill Sheperd. I loved, loved, loved watching every week to see if they were finally going to be together. For years they dangled the relationship and tantalized viewers until we finally got what we wanted and the couple got married. Then, guess what happened? The ratings fell and the show was cancelled.
This is something nobody wants. I love Happily Ever After endings as much as the next person but to get there too early is to kill the romance. For me, this happened in Twilight. When Edward and Bella got married in the beginning of Breaking Dawn, I felt like Edward disappeared and mainly became a tortured man wringing his hands on the couch.
Thankfully Jacob was still around.
You see where I’m going with this right?
So, without further ado, here is the list I’ve compiled from various internet searches and from my own experience, not personal experience. At least not all of them. I meant my experience as a writer. I’ve basically divided the list into two categories-Physical Barriers and Emotional Barriers.
I hope this lists helps. I know I often wrack my brain trying to come up with yet another way to torture my star-crossed lovers. This list is a work in progress so if you have thought of something I’ve missed, please leave a comment and let me know what it is.
I think it’s time to head back to my book now to throw another problem at my heroine and see how she deals. =)
This entry was posted in Writing Advice, Writing Tools.
New York Times Bestselling author Colleen Houck is a lifelong reader whose literary interests include action, adventure, paranormal, science fiction, and romance. When she's not busy writing, she likes to spend time chatting on the phone with one of her six siblings, watching plays, and shopping online. Colleen has lived in Arizona, Idaho, Utah, California, and North Carolina and is now permanently settled in Salem, Oregon with her husband and a huge assortment of plush tigers.
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