I was working on future Facebook posts and hit on the idea of posting on how I tackled the meet cutes in my books. That led to this blog post discussion/review of this critical element of any romance.
According to various writing books and experts, every story flows through a variety of beats. The critical one for a romance is the "Meet Cute" beat. This is when your main characters have their initial meeting, hence the name…the meet cute.
After introducing my characters, how they first meet, and their reactions are important moments in the story. I prefer tingles or sparks of awareness hitting each one during their first meeting, but I haven't always held to that preference.
In Resolute Love, which contains the meet cute for The Consequential Love Series, Leigh discovers a wounded and nearly frozen to death Garrett in the backyard during a blizzard. They experience instant positive reactions to each other.
However, in Accidental Attraction, Zach's immediate response to Emily is anger because her shank from the driving range ruined his chance for a course record. Of course, he quickly realizes the error of his ways.
In Restoration, Alex expects to meet with an aging, stoop-shouldered farmer. Imagine her surprise when Seth shows up—young, tall, muscular, and handsome. When they shake hands, mutual awareness occurs, and their romance is in high gear from the start.
Sparks Fly hops back to a questionable meet cute. Ivy suspects Caleb of being a con man out to fleece her grandma. When they meet, Ivy confronts Caleb with glares. He actually backs away from her. There's no touching, no tingles only wariness and hostility. As he remarks to Avis, the grandmother, "Rather intense, isn't she?" Needless to say, Ivy and Caleb get beyond this initial hostile meeting.
With Playground Antics, I returned to tingles of awareness with Beth and Jace's first meeting. The development of their attraction builds within the confines of the story and with each meeting.
In my current work in progress, Green Eyes & Dimples, Beth and Matt's meet cute doesn't require touching, although they do shake hands but without tingles. It's more their initial impressions and thoughts during the meet cute. We learn of Tracie's reaction as it happens, and Matt's is uncovered shortly after.
Bottomline, a romance needs a meet cute. It's a critical moment in any romance.