A successful Darcy Arc can be
accomplished in seven steps.
First, have your Darcy-hero enter the scene with a bad attitude.
When we meet Fitzwilliam Darcy its
clear he doesn’t like Austen’s heroine, Lizzie, Lizzie’s family, or the whole
town, for that matter.
In Twilight, the whole Cullen clan keeps to themselves, including
Edward. Edward literally puts his nose in the air when he meets Bella.
In The Hunger Games, Peeta’s family owns a bakery and is considered
well-to-do. Katniss’s memories of Peeta show him tossing burnt bread at her as
though she’s a beggar.
After trying to get along to no
avail, both our heroines decide that these guys are jerks and they move along.
But not so quick!
Next, our hero and heroine are thrown together for some reason.
Darcy and Lizzie dance at a ball.
Edward and Bella are lab partners in school. Peeta and Katniss are selected as
tributes in the games.
While spending time with one another
our Darcy-hero begins making statements or moves that suggest he may be
interested in our lovely lady. She begins to question her original opinion of
him, but not for long. After a moment, his walls go back up and his bad
attitude returns.
Then some danger befalls her that only he is aware of.
In Pride and Prejudice, Darcy’s old nemesis, Wickham, takes an
interest in Lizzie. In Twilight,
Edward saves Bella from street thugs. And in The Hunger Games,Peeta tries to help Katniss win allies in the
training arena.
After this danger, he confesses his love, in an unromantic or
suspicious way, but she rejects him.
At Rosings, Darcy delivers that
gawd-awful proposal. Edward can’t decide if he wants to kill or kiss our girl
Bella. Katniss isn’t sure that Peeta’s overtures or genuine or gameplay.
It's not until they all have time to process a bit more that they come
to see that they were indeed wrong about these prickly men.
While visiting Pemberley, Lizzie
sees a different side of Darcy. Edward keeps his fangs to himself and watches
her sleep. After he saves her life in the games, Katniss is now certain of
Peeta’s affections.
As our heroine’s hearts are softening, the hero comes to her aid again, expecting nothing in return.
Lizzie finds out that Darcy saved
his sister in secret. Edwards sucks the poisonous blood out of Bella’s wrist
without killing her. Peeta proves his love when he’s ready to swallow those
poisonous berries for Katniss.
Each of our heroines realizes she
definitely was wrong about her hero. She misunderstood this prince among men.
Finally, our Darcy-hero sees a glimmer of a chance in her eyes. When he confesses his love again, she
accepts him.
This time when Darcy proposes,
Lizzie accepts. Edward pledges his love forever, which is a long time in
vampire speak. And Katniss accepts Peeta’s love...eventually.
I followed this seven part plan when
I crafted my hero, Khial, in my Pleasure Hound serial. Khial doesn’t hide his
distaste for my heroine, Chanyn, when he first meets her. After many ups and
downs in the plot, will Khial follow the Darcy Arc and admit his true feelings?
And if he does, will Chanyn come to see Khial for the prince he is?
AUTHOR
BIO
Ines
writes books for strong women who suck at love. If you rocked out to the twisted
triangle of Jem, Jericha, and Rio as a girl; if you were slayed by vampires
with souls alongside Buffy; if you need your scandalous fix from Olivia Pope
each week, then you’ll love her books!
Aside
from being a writer, professional reader, and teacher, Ines is a very bad
Buddhist. She
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Excellent blog, Ines! Thanks!
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