I like to study craft a bit every day. Especially when I’m stuck writing a scene or structuring a novel. A good craft book will ask you questions you hadn’t thought of before. A great craft book will ask you a question you didn’t even think should be asked.

Recently, I was asked, in formulating a romance novel: Why is your hero the absolute worst person your heroine could fall in love with right now? Why is your heroine the least suitable woman possible for your hero? Now, how do they get past that?

When I first read these questions I started to laugh. I mean, isn’t the whole point of a romance that your hero and heroine are perfect for one another? But the more I thought about the question, the more I realized how it crystalizes the conflict in your book, and forces you to resolve it before you ever write down a single word.

But, I thought to myself, that’s not how real love stories work, is it? We end up with someone who we think fits just perfectly, don’t we? Then I started to laugh, because I remembered my own love story. I had a little mental checklist of all the things I thought I wanted in a man–my husband seemed like he was the exact opposite. But in getting to know him, I realized he was everything I needed and never even knew. 

So maybe love really does work that way.