A Love Story

Did you know that romance novels account for 49% of the paperback books sold in the United States? That’s an amazing figure, especially considering how many other genres of books there are out there. Obviously, somebody must be reading those books. In fact, a great many somebodys are reading those books.

Somehow, the heroine in those romance novels always falls in love with the hero. She never has a headache, tells him that he needs to take a shower or complains about him working too many hours. She falls in love with the him, because he takes her breath away.

So, what makes romance novels so popular? It’s that old idea of a knight in shining armor rescuing the princess from being trapped in the ivory tower and riding off into the sunset together. Granted, they all don’t have the ivory tower and the white knight may be wearing jeans, but the idea is the same. Women are in love with the idea of being in love.

Now, being in love isn’t the same as love. Nor is being in love with the idea of being in love the same as being in love. Women are motivated by their emotions, so what they want that emotional high that they feel when they are in love. They want the excitement, the feelings and to be cherished.

Okay, let’s be real here, everyday life really isn’t like that. Washing the dishes and changing the baby’s diaper just doesn’t have that emotional impact. It doesn’t take a woman’s breath away to wash the laundry, although sometimes they wish it did, especially if we’ve been sweating a lot. Women read those romance novels because they’re looking for something that their life is lacking.

So, why not make your own romance novel or at least romance short story for your wife. You know, you don’t even have to be a writer to do that. If you can write as well as you did in the eighth grade, you can create a great story for your wife. That’s because it’s not so much about the writing ability, it’s about the imagination that goes into the story.

Start with chronicling a typical day. Now, let me tell you a secret here; most days don’t have enough activity in them, so mix days together to create an interesting day. Then, have the hero (you) show up at different times throughout the day to sweep her off her feet. Your arrivals and leavings must be mysterious, without rhyme or reason and always unexpected. Maybe she’s watching her favorite soap opera or game show and you show up in the middle of it, grab her and dance a tango. Finishing the dance with a huge kiss, you run off again without a word. Later, you show up again, as she’s vacuuming the bedroom, unplug the vacuum and take her in your arms to kiss her. At lunchtime, you kidnap her and take her to her favorite restaurant.

Use your imagination, have fun, come up with what you’d want to do with her, if you could do it. Don’t get overly carried away with the sex, although that should be there too. The idea is to be totally uninhibited in expressing passionate love in a number of ways, not just through sex. Assume that she’ll accept whatever you want to do and write it that way (let’s not get too kinky here).

Sound crazy? Yes, it is. But it’s a great way of expressing to your wife how you’d really like to show your love towards her. Most of us have trouble doing that. We’re afraid that we’ll be rejected, or afraid that she’ll think we’re foolish, or the kids get in the way, or we just don’t know how to express ourselves. That’s okay; for many people, being able to express themselves through something fictitious helps them overcome their communication barriers. Maybe it will work for you.

I guarantee you that she’ll laugh when she reads it. Don’t take that as something bad, take it as something good. She’s not laughing at you, she’s laughing because the ideas you are presenting are so far off the norm, that she doesn’t know how to react. Maybe your ideas are making her nervous. That’s okay, she’ll probably love it anyway.

So, what’s the next step? Maybe living out some of that fantasy.