by Naomi L. | February 12, 2016 | J.C. Wolfe's Writing, Poetry |
If I could be with you today,
I’d never leave your side.
I’d stay with you from dawn to dusk
And through the eventide.
If I could spend the day with you,
I’d make it so much fun.
We’d play all day and through the night
Until the morning sun.
If I could hold you close today,
I’d never let you go.
I’d smother you with snuggles
(As you only too well know).
If I could touch your lips today,
I’d kiss you long and deep.
You’d know from all my passion
That my love is yours to keep.
But I can’t have you for a day
Until I know for sure
That I can have you all my life,
Now and forevermore.
Someday I’ll be with you again,
And then we’ll know at last
The perfect days together
That we’ve missed in years gone past.
So wait for me, my love; someday,
We’ll make our dreams come true.
Until that day, remember
That I always will love you!
Happy Valentine’s Day to my adoring boyfriend! Thank you for always loving me so much, no matter how far apart we are. I love you, sweetheart!
by Naomi L. | February 10, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing, Tropes |
It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and that means it’s the best time of year to indulge in some romance! To mark the occasion, I went through some of the romantic tropes on TV Tropes and put together a list of my favorites. So to help inspire your romantic creativity for Valentine’s Day, here’s a list of my top five romance tropes. Enjoy!
1) The Power of Love
Of all the romantic tropes I’ve ever seen in fiction, The Power of Love is by far my favorite. It’s the main reason romance has always been one of my favorite genres. I have a weakness for stories in which love triumphs over hate and helps characters grow and change for the better. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I honestly believe that love can indeed conquer all. This one doesn’t even have to be a romantic trope, as love comes in many forms, none of which are necessarily the strongest or most influential of all. Whether it’s the healing magic of True Love’s Kiss or the driving force behind a mother and father‘s protection of their children, The Power of Love can change the world!
2) Love at First Sight
I admit it’s ironic that this trope is on my list given that I’m not sure I completely believe it can happen in real life, but I absolutely love reading about true love at first sight in fiction, especially when it works out in the end. There’s just something so uplifting about the idea of two people instantly connecting on a spiritual level and knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that they’re meant to be together. Love at First Sight can go either way: the couple may really be perfect for each other and eventually earn a Happily Ever After, or they may simply be sharing a passion that’s doomed to burn out (in which case it’s really more of an infatuation at first sight).
Of course, if the two lovers are a good match but the story calls for them to be kept apart anyway, this can become a tale of…
3) Star-Crossed Lovers
Admit it, you knew this was coming: another chance for me to gush about Romeo & Juliet! The most famous Star-Crossed Lovers in literature (and the trope namers), the young protagonists of my favorite romantic story shared a passionate and dangerous love affair that was doomed to a tragic end. Though a strong case can be made that Romeo and Juliet were indeed soulmates, the sad truth is that their love was not strong enough to overpower fate. Of course, it’s still fair to say that their love did triumph over hatred in the end: by taking their own lives to be together eternally, they finally ended the feud between their families.
The tale of Star-Crossed Lovers is one of the greatest literary devices that can demonstrate the powerful contrasts between love and hate, and that’s probably what makes it one of the most enduring plot structures in the history of romantic fiction. It seems no matter how many times this tragic story is retold, Romeo & Juliet never gets old!
4) Childhood Friend Romance
On the other side of the love spectrum, we can also see two people who have known each other their whole lives but who only develop feelings for each other in maturity. Some of my favorite love stories involve a Childhood Friend Romance, a story about characters who’s affection for one another started at a young age and eventually became the foundation for a solid loving relationship (my favorite example is the seven-book buildup to the relationship between Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley).
It doesn’t have to be a romance that began in childhood, of course; my parents, who met in their young adult years, are a perfect example of how any relationship that started as friendship can blossom into everlasting love. Still, there’s something about a story of two lovers who were meant to be together since childhood that warms my heart every time. Can you say “D’awww”?
5) Babies Ever After
Whether two characters fell in love at first sight or grew to love each other over time, a happy ending is a happy ending, and my favorite kind of happy ending is one that keeps on going. I don’t know about you, but I’m not always satisfied with just “and they lived happily ever after, The End”; I want to see what happens next! That’s why I love a good epilogue, especially one that shows the main characters in the future with children of their own!
I’ve made it only too clear in the past how much I love the Babies Ever After trope: the most popular story I’ve ever written is a second-generation fanfiction set in the universe of my favorite video game characters. The idea of the canon characters having families in the future was so fascinating to me that I just couldn’t resist writing my own story about it! Not that I have anything against the choice not to have children; I just happen to have a soft spot for family love and next-generation characters. May the stories live on!
What about you? What are your favorite romantic tropes?
by Naomi L. | February 5, 2016 | Flash Fiction, J.C. Wolfe's Writing |
Does he know?
I ask myself this question every day, every time he looks at me, every time he talks to me, every time he smiles at me. Whenever I think I’m figuring out the answer, he distracts me and keeps me guessing. Sometimes I think he does it on purpose, just sitting there concentrating, brow furrowed, pencil between his teeth, like he knows he’s the cutest thing ever without even trying.
He must know.
Maybe he really is clueless. I never gave him a reason to suspect anything might be different. We’ve always been close. He talks to me so casually, like I’m just one of the guys. He seems innocently unaware of how my heart skips a beat every time he looks me in the eye or touches my shoulder or says my name. Somehow that makes him even cuter.
He couldn’t know.
Discreetly, he glances over his shoulder, then he pulls a bar of chocolate from his pocket and offers me a piece under the table. The librarian is strict about the no-food-or-drink policy, so it’s almost like he’s taking a huge risk for me. I take it with a smile and hope he doesn’t notice my face turning red.
Will he ever know?
Sometimes I wish he hadn’t been such a gentleman at the spring dance. I wish he hadn’t insisted we go together, or asked me to dance, or joked about how I’m the only girl who understands him. That’s how this all started: he made me see him in a whole new light. It was the first time I ever really thought of him as a boy. Now I have to tell myself over and over that we’re just friends. Just friends. The words sting like ice in my heart, this stupid fragile teenage heart.
He’ll never know.
I know I have to accept that he may never see me as anything more than his best friend. And yet I can’t stop asking myself that one question.
Does he know… that I love him?
by Naomi L. | February 3, 2016 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
Is it February already? Honestly, where does the time go? To kick off Valentine’s month, why not have some fun with a few “What If?” Writing Prompts in the romance genre? See what tales of love you can spin around these ideas! Enjoy!
What if… you accidentally drank a love potion that made you become infatuated with the first person you laid eyes on?
What if… you lived in a society where you were the only person who believed in love?
What if… you developed feelings for someone you hated when you first met?
What if… someone you thought was your worst enemy turned out to be in love with you?
What if… you had a highly intuitive pet who kept trying to lead you to your soulmate?
Have fun writing some more romantic stories!
If you have any “What If?” writing prompt suggestions (for any theme), please feel free to share them in the comments below. Ideas I like may be featured in future “What If?” posts, with full credit and a link to your blog (if you have one)! Also, if you’ve written a piece based on an idea you’ve found here, be sure to link back to the respective “What If?” post. I would love to see what you’ve done with the prompt! Thank you!
by Naomi L. | January 8, 2016 | Flash Fiction, J.C. Wolfe's Writing |
Stella was the loneliest girl in the whole town. But she was also the most hopeful. No matter how many boys overlooked her or how many young couples she saw holding hands, she never lost faith that her turn at romance would come.
Especially now that someone had finally noticed her.
She sighed as she gazed longingly out her window. The night sky was speckled with stars, not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect setting. Now all she had to do was wait. Just one, she thought eagerly, glancing around the sky. Come on, just one…
And then she spotted it: a shooting star falling down the sky, its tail shimmering brightly against the dark backdrop of the night. It shone only for a second before it vanished, but it was enough.
Smiling, Stella closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose. Time to believe in magic.
I wish for him to see me the way I see him. She urged the thought into reality with all her heart. Please, please, please…
Suddenly, a ping on the glass brought her back to her senses. Stella opened her eyes and lifted the window pane to peer outside. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked down into the yard: standing on the grass below, gazing up at her with an innocent gleam in his eyes and a rose in his hand, was the boy who had smiled at her.
Jimmy grinned as the girl appeared in the window frame. Her heart racing as she leaned over the sill, Stella glanced up at the night sky with a smile and whispered, “Thank you.”
Never again was Stella the loneliest girl in town, not since the night she discovered the magic of shooting stars and the joy of one heartfelt wish come true.
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