Top Ten Romance Cliches
Happy belated Valentine’s Day! For the most of us who are single and not ready to mingle, here’s a list of romantic tropes often found in sappy movies/TV shows/songs/and books! Enjoy you fellow, grumbling writers, you!
- The cute meet. Boy meets girl in romantic cliché way that somehow ends up being cute. Think of losing your dog in a dog park or both buying ice cream at the same time. It’s a cliché that could only happen in the movies, because in real life, let’s face it: we’re all socially awkward beings.
- The leading guy/girl is way out of the protagonist’s lead. You stare at him/her across the room and they seem to light up from behind with a halo of awesomeness. It’s nice, for the cardboard cutout of a character to win.
- Money is no issue. Date on a helicopter? Check! Romantic date on an expensive private island? Sure, why not? Money seems to flow like water, even in outrageous locations such as NYC or L.A. because, let’s face it, it’s a lot more fun to spend money in a fantasy setting than it is to be frugal.
- The soundtrack includes at least one instrumental ballad that the main couple dances to.
- Beneath the stars/moonlight/a backlit white canopy.
- Who said flowers were romantic? Give me food over flowers. I need food to live. I can’t eat flowers.
- There’s a rival. Because romance isn’t romance unless it’s a love triangle.
- LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT! I’m looking at you fairy tales and unrealistic expectations of true love.
- TRUE LOVE. I’m looking at you fairy tales and unrealistic…
- Being single = being sad. Now, this is perhaps the most overused cliché in romance. And it’s one we need to fix! You can’t love anyone else until you love yourself. That’s the most important message of Valentine’s Day… (Forever alone).