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Mindee Arnett
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What a great post. You broke it down so clearly. I’ve heard talk about GMC before but never so succinctly. Thanks!
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Clara Kensie
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Hey, Mindee! I’m so glad you found this post helpful! xoxo
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ali.labdon
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Hi! Thank you SO MUCH for this, it’s fantastic, and I will certainly be using it for future projects. Also, I just added your books to my Goodreads To-Read list!
At the present, my manuscript has an ill-fated love story. The characters are drawn to each other, and have a genuine “we’re meant to be together” relationship, but they never quite come together. Would you say the way to create that chemistry without actually having them be successful would be the opposite formula of the GMC? By that, I mean, do you think it would pack a harder emotional punch if the characters helped heal each other’s emotional wounds, but then got in the way of / ruined their conflict goals? Or if it would be more powerful for them to help each other achieve their conflict goals, but either don’t heal, or make their emotions woulds worse? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Best,
Ali-
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Hey, Ali, great question! One thing I should point out before I answer it: if you are writing a romance novel, it MUST end with an HEA (happily ever after) or at least an HFN (happy for now). In other words, at the end of a romance novel, the couple must be together. Otherwise it’s technically not a romance. It’s a rule of the genre.
If you’re not writing a romance, then you can absolutely have your h/h heal each other’s emotional wounds so they resolve their conflicts and meet their goals, but because of circumstances, they go their separate ways at the end. That would be a huge emotional punch! Conversely, if your characters achieve their conflict goals but don’t heal their emotional wounds, they haven’t truly met their goal. It’s not as satisfying an ending, and your readers will feel cheated.
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Brenda S Cox
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This was an epiphany for me. I never realized that you could create romantic chemistry by having the hero and heroine help each other with their GMC’s. But now I can see this in lots of books I’ve read. Thanks so much!
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That’s awesome, Brenda! I’m glad my post was so helpful!!!
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Bluejules
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This was such an informative post. It actually helped me solve a problem about my MC’s motivation that has plagued the manuscript since the beginning. Thanks so much for sharing!
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Hooray! I’m so happy this post helped you solve a problem, bluejules! That’s wonderful.
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