Love Story

This last weekend, my husband and I went to a marriage conference offered by our church here. It was a really great conference!

One of the verses they mentioned was Genesis 2:18, which says, "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him.'"

Thinking on what to write on Scribble Chicks today, I started thinking about this verse. For those of us who write fiction that has some romance in it, how do we apply this verse to our characters?

I think so often we're told to focus on the conflict. "Where's the conflict in their relationship?" "Without conflict, there's no story!"

That's true, but unless there's a real sense of compatibility in your story, it won't ring true. Sleeping Beauty stories - where it's nothing but conflict and the characters themselves don't ever talk to each other (seriously. They only sing. I like Jon's singing voice, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle him singing to me all. the. time.) only work in Disney movies.

I can think of a hundred reasons why Jon and I are perfect for each other. If he's strong in one area, I tend to be weaker and vice versa. We fit each other in so many ways and yet, that doesn't mean that there's never conflict.

So, when you are crafting your next story and working through your next characters, think about the "helper" part of the verse. Why do your characters belong together? Why should we - as the readers - want them to end up together? And when they do end up together, is it a believable pair?