Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Romance...

One of the hardest things for me to do was decide if I should have an element of romance between the 2 main characters in my newest book, The Stone of Camelot. I didn't want Gwen to be thought of as a sappy heroine who is just as interested in finding a husband as finding the stolen artifact and Adele. I wanted her to be a cross between Indiana Jones and Nancy Drew; to never be the victim because her emotions got in the way. I believe I succeeded in that. The element of romance is just a slight side bar, and not a main topic throughout the novel.


On that note, tell me who your favorite romantic characters are. Romeo and Juliet? Elizabeth and Fitzwilliam Darcy? How about Scarlett and Rhett from Gone with the Wind? What made them your favorite characters? Was it the unrequited love? Their devotion? The fact that they DIDN'T end up with each other at the end? or the fact that they surpassed all obstacles to stay together.

Can't wait to hear from you,


~Anngela

17 comments:

  1. Ok so I have to say its a tie between Romeo and Juliet and the kids from Bridge to Terabethia. The first for their un-flinching devotion to each other. The latter because its young love, "puppy love", and there is no othr purer form.

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  2. Well im a guy so dont really have favorite romantic characters but my mom and sisters have made my father and i watch many chick flicks so i guess i will have to go with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but also christine and the phantom in phantom of the opera. And if i have to say another i would have to say Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt in what women want.

    Joshua Lawler

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  3. I am a huge fan of couples in novels. Unfortunately, nowadays the couples just seem annoying in novels so you really have to resort to more historic couples. My favorite couple in famous literature is Odysseus and Penelope. She waited for years for her husband and remained faithful to him through it all. She was surrounded by other men, all trying to marry her but only loved Odysseus, even after he was believed to be dead! That is the greatest couple, the one who proves love has no time limit and no barriers.

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  4. Schro! You had to go and pick the topic most guys arent really interested in now didn't you. well I guess I have read a few novels what had romance as an element in them but romance itself was never the main focus of the story. I would suppose that my favorite couple so far has been Charles Darnay and Lucie Manette. I really enjoyed "A Tale of Two Cities" it had a very interesting plot despite a couple moments of stagnancy. I just enjoyed how thy had such a strong love when being faced death, and perhaps it was the purity of the love they shared that inspired Mr Carton to die on Charles' behalf.

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  5. Ricky, I agree that puppy love is the purest form. WIthout it, real love couldn't begin.

    Josh, I have to say I'm impressed you even know who Elizabeth and Darcy are. SO MUCH SO, that tomorrow you get an extra high five after class! :) I think for me, the phantom would be included in their if nothing else, for the music. :)

    ~Schroeder

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  6. Haley #3, I've always admired Penelope for her faith fullness, even when others told her Odysseus was dead. (Let's ignore the fact that he was filandering, though. :) )

    Ryan, I never said this would be easy, I only offered it as an option. That's a Dicken's book I"ve never read. I might have to pick it up when I have a spare moment. :)

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  7. My favorite romance couple i also agree would have to be elizabeth and mr. darcy! i think its adorable how they couldnt stand each other at the beginning but then they fell in love. Another one of my favorites would have to be Emma and Mr. Knightly. They are best friends and they soon realize how perfect they are for one another. :)But my all time favorite is from the book Ella Enchanted, Ella and Prince Charmont.
    -hannah engebretsen, period 5
    p.s. becca is a total romance person and she is all in favor of you adding romance to your novel.

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  8. Oh Schroe. there's so many to choose from, Darcy and Elizabeth and dont get me wrong because im definately not going with the whole twilght thing but i really like Allie and Noah from The Notebook. i just like the idea that they find each other at the end and that Noah as an old man still sees that beauty in Allie and its just really cute. :)
    and it makes me ball everytime i watch it.

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  9. Along with what Katey said, Noah and Allie are probably my favorite characters too. They do get married and what not, but in the end Noah just wants Allie to remember him. Its a heart breaking story knowing that these kinds of things with couples actually happens. I did kinda feel bad for the guy she was engaged to, I don't remember his name, but the poor guy was left right before the wedding. She did the right thing it would have been harder in the long run to still be in love with another man while being married to someone else. While as Romeo and Juliet don't end up in a good bind of death together. I love their story, because no matter what society was telling them they kept trying to save their love for one another. They didn't give up, well until Romeo thought Juliet was dead, they pressed on before that time and yeah they snuck around but they knew their love was true. They both knew they could never find themselves loving anyone else if one of them was gone. And again I could go on. I just enjoy seeing a story with a love worth fighting for!

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  10. by the way I hope you are feeling better Schro!

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  11. Katey and Em, The Notebook is a story that always makes me sob at the end. No lie! Em, you've really made me think of ROmeo and Juliet in a new light, too. It's not my favorite Shakespeare, but now I might have a different respect for it. I could NEVER figure out (even as a Freshmen in High School) why they thought their love was a forever love when they were only 14 and 16. BUT, like I said, you brought up points that I never considered. Today, you're the teacher. :)

    And I'm much better, sweetie. Thanks.

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  12. There are so many to choose from yet i would also have to go with Noah and Allie. Their love was forever, and not many cases in life are like that. I would also have to say Holly and Gerry, from, P.S. I love you, this love was real, yet had problems, which effected their marriage, but Gerry left, he died, and left Holly desperate and in pain by her loneliness love. As, for Holly, she had her Gerry in her heart forever, because even though they had problems, they truly loved each other, and their love was real. I mean there is, "happily ever after", yet in many cases love falls apart, and dies.Yet, that is how life is, in reality, our life is not a movie, yet our love towards someone might be, even though it can't be possible.

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  13. Noah and Allie from The Notebook are my absolute favorite! When they were torn apart by her parents, it just broke your heart. She went on to find someone else who she thought that she might be able to love if she couldn't have Noah. Even though it seemed that she had moved on, she hadn't. The entire time they were apart she never stopped thinking of him. When she saw the house he rebuilt, all of the feelings came flooding back. Time couldn't change the way they felt for each other. It was an unconditional love that was so natural; after years they were right back where they were before, happy and in love. Noah even remembered that Allie wanted a room to paint in overlooking the river :]

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  14. Ok, so when i first saw this post the first couple i thought of was the couple that is in A Walk to Remember. Ya, I know that is a movie but it was my first thought so I figured I couldn't go wrong. I thought of them because they went through a lot to be together. The guy in the story, Landon, starts off as such a jerk and Jamie, the girl is the perfectly innocent churchgirl. They start to migrate together and he really turns his life around. We then find out that she has cancer and it's really sad because he is so in love with her. She ends up dying at the end of the movie but that makes the story even better. It is better because it shows that it is better to have loved and lost than to not love at all.

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  15. Although i know that Mrs.Shro does not like it, i really do love Titanic. The reason I love Titanic is because it seems to be very realistic to me. I truly believe that there is love at first sight and I also think that Rose and Jack really did have something that not many people find. Although they spend very little time with one another, to me its enough. Because when its true love, true no-doubt-in-your-mind love you dont need much time.

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  16. My favorite romantic characters are Edward and Bella from the movie Twilight. I like their romance because even though Edward tells Bella to stay away from him, he still watches Bella and makes sure she is okay. I do think it is weird that he tells her not to be friends with him when he is the one who cannot stay away from her. But besides that little detail, I like that he tries to protect her to the best of his abilities. I also like the fact that they don't have sex but they still show love towards eachother. That is how I want my relationship to be.

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  17. My favorite romance is in a documentary called Legacy. It is about a Jiu Jitsu pioneer that focuses all his might on MMA. In it Renzo Gracie and his wife go through ups and downs of his life. From him winning title to his brother dying. He needs her through out to help him get through the tough times and their love shines through.
    John Owning

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