Romance plot conventions

[oyceter]

Because I am having a very interesting conversation with Justine right now...

What are the romance tropes and conventions that drive you nuts? Why?

And which ones almost always work for you? Why?

And which ones are the ones in-between? I.e. if done well, they totally work, and if done poorly, they prompt chucking the book at a wall.

Bonus question: does Doomed Love work for you? What counts as Doomed (or, should I say, DOOMED)? What about love triangles/quadrangles/geometric shapes?

(Note: these aren't limited to romance novels, but to any narrative that involves romance-with-a-small-r.)

Also, please put spoilers in spoiler text! <span style="color:#333333;background:#333333">Spoilers go here</span>

Comments

[oyceter]

I think the eyes open about the DOOMEDness is what makes or breaks it for me. But only if it's actual DOOMEDness, as opposed to the people fatalistically resigning themselves to a fate that may not be fated, a la "your romance is not actually doomed, you just think it is because you didn't bother asking." But I also like DOOMED Love with two people who are fatalistically resigned, but only if they're horribly broken and the relationship is really dysfunctional and involves and lot of powerplay.

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

Hee! I like all caps DOOM! Did you ever see the movie Last Night with Sandra Oh? Vaguely a romance but mostly a pretty excellent look at what people do in the face of ultimate DOOM. I've always thought of it as the Canadian version of Armageddon - instead of riding a rocket to save the world, everyone politely gets ready to die. But Callum Keith Rennie has a lot of sex in it...

[oyceter]

Oh, I haven't seen that! I'll have to check that out when I am in an apocalypse mood.