Archive for February, 2010
The other day I had to run my 11 year old somewhere. When I jumped in the car I glanced in the rear-view mirror and said, “Drat! I don’t even have any make-up on yet!” My son looked over at me and replied, “Mom, you are just as pretty without your make-up.”
I posted this precious bit of conversation on my FaceBook account, warning all parents of 11 year old girls that this boy was on his way - and promptly received an offer of arranged marriage between my son and someone’s daughter. 
When I told my son about the offer, he refused, for some strange reason - even when his dad promised him we’d allow at least 2 weeks for him to get to know the girl before the wedding.
Now let’s look at this situation in light of romance, which is, after all, what this blog is about.
If you have your two main characters in a similar situation and the girl comments that she doesn’t even have any make-up on yet, you can take your story in one of several ways.
- If you want the story to turn mushy, you have the hero tell her just what my son told me.
- If you want the situation to turn tense, he might say, “Yeah. You don’t want to scare the natives.”
- If you want to raise a little jealousy you have him comment casually that he’s never seen so-and-so without her make-up on and he bets she’d look just as good without it on as she does with it.
Okay, so here’s a little exercise for you:
“Come on. We need to go.” Brad held the door open for Kara.
Kara snagged her purse and coat from the hall-tree and glanced at her reflection in the mirror over the entry table. “Oh! Drat! I don’t even have any make-up on yet.”
Finish that scene with one sentence of dialogue from Brad. Give us the emotion you would attempt to invoke and then his line of dialogue. Like this:
Jealousy.
Brad stared out across the lawn, suddenly seeming to have forgotten her presence. “I’ve never seen Sophia without make-up on. Do you think she’s just as pretty without it as she is with it?”
I’m looking forward to your lines!
