MaryGold
terrified to be known, desperate to be understood
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- 1-3 posts per week
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- romance. angst. drama. modern. fantasy. supernatural. adventure. crime. period pieces.
Saying "I Love You"
The month is February, romance is brewing, companies are profiting off of the mass's romance and need to confine to the traditional Valentine's day ongoings, and many members of society are still unaware of the paganistic origins of Valentine's day, and that August is the official month of romance. But this thread is not about Valentine's day, it is about the core of it that we come to understand today: love. Romantic love to be exact.
What is love? A question posed by many through the course of history in world media, including by both South Korea's popular girl group formed by JYP Entertainment Twice. It is still unknown whether they have found the answer to the question to this day. Everyone has their own answer and truth to the question in general, many all relating to each other, and others described quite differently. The question itself may never have an official and universally accepted answer, and the ways that we write and express love is the same.
With confidence, I can say that the most written genre on this site is romance. It is not always a fulfilled romance, but it is there, in group roleplays and especially in one on ones. And still, some of us may have difficulty writing it. Simply having your character say the words "I love you" is not enough to convince the audience, let alone the person on the receiving end of the words. Love is expressed in numerous ways not just in those three letters.
Gary Chapman, the writer of The Five Love Languages: How to Express Heartfelt Commitment to Your Mate shows the general ways people experience and express romantic love. They are listed as such:
Words of Affirmation:
Words of affirmation are literally expressed through language. Words of encouragement, appreciation, affirmation, compliments, etc. Verbally showing love through messages, whether orally or vocally.
Physical Touch:
Physical touch is shown by giving affection through physical means. This does not drop immediately into sex, but and/or the little things too. Simply running hands through a partner's hair, kissing their cheek, holding their hand.
Acts of Service:
Acts of service are doing kind acts for the object of affection. This could be helping your partner with the dishes, giving them rides to work, opening doors for them every time, etc.
Quality Time:
Quality time is giving your time to your partner, simply spending time with them. And this can be anything as long as you're there with them, sharing with them your undivided attention.
Gifts:
Gifts are not as mundane and basic as giving random things to your partner but giving thoughtful gifts. Those gifts may be simple as "I thought of you". It shows the time and effort that the person getting the gift went through for the other.
You can take a quiz HERE if you would like to see what your love language is. If you don't have a partner or never had one in general I still encourage you to take it, it is all good fun. You can use the power of deduction and imagination as we do on this site.
Now that you have a general idea of other ways to express love, here comes the mini exercise to help you write romance.
In 500 words write a blurb of your character (doesn't matter who, new or old) expressing their love without saying the very words "I love you". You can use any of the acts as a reference or something on your own entirely. It's okay if you go over a hundred or a little under the specified word count. Do your best!
BONUS: Take the quiz, screenshot your results and share it!
BONUS: Take the quiz, screenshot your results and share it!