Signs of Love: How to Show Your Characters Are Falling for Each Other

At some point one or both protagonists must accept that they are in love. Do you want them to start the book in love, out of love, growing back gradually towards it, or have just one of them come to realise it? Perhaps love has existed unrequited for many years. Maybe hate—or even basic friendship—grows into love.

1. Build It

When we already know that one protagonist is in love, there must be something else to keep the tension going. Otherwise your story is going to be over by page three:

“She had loved him since she was fourteen. He had always known this. He said ‘I love you too. Let's get married and have six or seven babies.”  The End.

So when do you let the reader know that the character realises they're in love? This scene is critical. It shouldn’t make the reader fall over laughing or throw the book out the window. It's ok if they can see it coming, but ideally you should avoid scenes like this:

"They blinked and suddenly fell in love."

That's cheating the reader of the experience, and wasting all those writer skills you've been developing.

2. The Hidden Pearl

Yes, maybe he is a troglodyte, and she's a shrew. Nevertheless, there must be something to allow the reader to see the potential in a love relationship. If you're writing from the woman’s POV, we may see the man as a hog, a player, or utterly ruthless. From the male POV, the heroine is a spiteful and selfish, or selfish and ruthless, or cold and focused—gender biased words work well to, but don't be lazy...women have enough to deal with in the modern world of stereotypes.

You've also got the potential for her falling for him when she knows—as we do—that he spends his week-ends, not philandering, but working at St. Ormonds with the tiny victims of third-degree burns.

At some point all the heroine's mistaken assumptions should be revealed. The hero's good side must emerge so that the setting for the attraction is there. Or perhaps the hero discovers his devil woman is an angel. She's not the headlining lap dancer at Club Coco Loco as he'd always assumed; she's helping underage girls who've been trafficked into prostitution.

3. Streams of Consciousness

They're warbling on internally and the word love slips out in relation to the protagonist. "Hold up, what? Wait a minute, I'm not in lo—!"

Oh yes you are...

4. Mate, You're in Love

Someone else tells them. Of course they'll be in denial, but it's like the Borg: Resistance is Futile. Everyone knows. They've all seen the signs. Because you put them there. Wait, you did, didn't you?

5. Oh, No!

A life-threatening incident, a drama, the possibility of never seeing that person again because they're going to Paris to work, Guguletu to mission, Waikiki to surf...that tends to bring the emotions home.

This is where you can pour some environmental overload in...the sounds, smells, heartbeat, laughter, tears, shock, colours, the world spinning like a carousel: the whole caboodle. Just pick a few of those elements and mix a little at a time, letting your reader share that journey of realisation.

6. That Same Old Feeling

This love affair starts from way back, usually in kindergarten, or as childhood sweethearts, destined to be together. Everyone has bet on it. Sadly there are unexpected separations, moving aways, mixups. And suddenly fifteen years later, they're reunited.

Except now, one of them is married, divorced, widowed and/or a parent.

Yes, it can happen even in romance. None of these factors preclude a happy ending. There are entire genres on those developments. But in working towards your desired outcome, don't do anything silly, like having them all out on a picnic and a bee stings the three's-a-crowd character and ends them leaving the way clear.

Leave such bizarre tragedies for real life.