This probably would have been more appropriate for Valentine’s Day but as any writing teacher will tell you, when you get inspired write it down, don’t wait around.
I was reading an article today about the ever-changing definition of “forever.”
For example, if the tabloids are to be believed, every day a new Hollywood relationship breaks up and, if a showbiz marriage lasts more than 5 years, we hear they’ve been “together forever.”
On the flip-side, just this past year I’ve stumbled upon a dozen articles about couples still crazy about each other well into their 70s, 80s and even 90s.
So, how long is forever?
As an exercise:
Define forever for all of the characters in your story. Is your hero a romantic who wants to spend the rest of their life with someone? Is your villain a love ’em and leave ’em type who refuses to settle down? Does your hero’s best friend secretly love them and consider something as simple as a cup of coffee together part of a relationship?
Once you’ve decided on how all of your characters feel about love and the concept of forever, it’ll be much easier to figure out how they will react to things and interact with each other.