The podcast discusses the importance and commercial success of the love story genre. It explores the components of romantic love and the significance of love stories. It also delves into subgenres within genres and cultural sensitivities. The chapter ends with an exploration of obligatory scenes in love stories.
Mastering the love story genre can greatly benefit writers in any other genre due to its consistent and timeless form of storytelling.
Innovation is crucial in love stories to bring fresh elements, subvert clichés, and surprise the audience.
Deep dives
The Love Story Genre and Its Significance
The love story genre is highlighted as the most important and commercially successful genre in fiction writing. It is emphasized that mastering the love story genre can greatly benefit writers in any other genre as well. The love story genre is identified as the most consistent and timeless form of storytelling due to the universal human desire for meaningful relationships. Love stories are seen as metaphors that help us understand how to navigate relationships and form bonds with others. The importance of the proof of love scene is highlighted as a critical moment in every love story.
The Three Subgenres of Love Stories
The three subgenres of love stories are explained: obsession, courtship, and marriage. The obsession subgenre focuses on desire and usually ends tragically. Examples of obsession stories are given, including The Great Gatsby. The courtship subgenre explores the journey from attraction to commitment, and it can be presented as a romantic comedy or a serious courtship drama. Pride and Prejudice and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days are mentioned as examples. The marriage subgenre focuses on intimacy and deals with issues such as fidelity and deep understanding of one's partner. Kramer vs. Kramer is cited as an example of a marriage story.
The Obligatory Scenes in Love Stories
The obligatory scenes in love stories are discussed. These include the lovers meet scene, the confession of love scene, the first kiss scene, the lovers breakup scene, the climactic proof of love scene, and the lovers reunite scene. Each of these scenes plays a crucial role in the development and resolution of the love story. Examples from various movies and novels, such as Moonstruck and The Great Gatsby, are mentioned to illustrate the significance of these obligatory scenes.
The Significance of Innovation in Love Stories
The importance of innovation in love stories is emphasized. It is noted that love stories often follow certain conventions and can be predictable for audiences. Therefore, the challenge for writers is to bring fresh and innovative elements to these stories while still meeting the audience's expectations. By creating unexpected twists, subverting clichés, and surprising the audience, writers can make their love stories stand out and resonate with readers or viewers.