Love is a Many Splendid Thing

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So in trying to decide which human emotion I was going to focus on this week, I thought maybe I'd switch things up a little and go with something more positive.

Love has the ability to overlook wrongdoings, and grant forgiveness.  Love helps us to watch out for those we care for when we see them heading for trouble.  Love allows us to be patient with others when normally we'd lose control.  Love doesn't seek our own interest, but that of other people.  Love allows us to endure even if we're being treated unfairly. Love makes it possible to endure because we combine it with empathy to sympathize with what another person is going through.

For example, when people lose someone dear to them, it can make them miserable, and on edge.  If we demonstrate love towards those who are grieving, we wouldn't allow an outlash from them or a "short fuse" to make us reply in kind.  We would acknowledge what they're going through, and respond accordingly.

How can we use the aspect of love in our writing?

Unconditional love.  Maybe a character is mistreated by another, but they still cling to the relationship.

Maybe a parent needs to show "tough love" to a rebelling teenager.

Sometimes love is misunderstood by those to whom it is directed.  Have a character who doesn't understand what it is to be loved, and who may turn on those who truly care about them.

The obvious is to have a couple fall in love.  It can even be shown in subtle actions such a touch to the hairline, or fingertip to lips, a kiss or a hug.

It could be love of a pet.

There are endless possibilities in which we can use this human emotion.  In brainstorming, what other ways can you think of, or how have you used it in your writing?

Comments

  1. Jenna CooperJune 27, 2011 at 11:48 PM

    It's really impossible to go without love in a novel. Not necessarily like the love we find in romance novels, but even a love of an object. It's really a fundamental emotion we have as humans. Even when writing about the absence of love, the importance of it in our lives shines through as a theme.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Carolyn ArnoldJune 28, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    That is very true, Jenna. I think sometimes it can be something that we don't realize even realize at the time we're writing a book - it just happens.

    Just thought it would be neat to have a discussion on this as normally we're so focused on conflict being caused from more bitter emotions. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AprilJune 28, 2011 at 11:24 AM

    I love, love. LOL. I agree it's almost impossible to write a novel about anything without love. Love of self, love of others, love and passion for a career, love of pets, love of Springtime...love is all around us and in so much that we do and think and say and share.

    A big love I'm working on right now in my WIP is mother/daughter love. Both with the MC and her mother and the MC and her daughter. The one with her mother is very complicated while the love with her daughter is simple and straightforward.

    I'm also dealing with sisterly love between the MC and her sisters.

    There's a lot of love going on.

    There's actually so much more, now that I think about it, but I'd need a whole blog to explain, so we'll stick with that for now. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Carolyn ArnoldJune 28, 2011 at 5:38 PM

    April, LOL :)

    ReplyDelete

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