The Meet-Cute

Now that you've selected the perfect yin to your character's yang, it's time to have them get acquainted. The first time I heard the phrase meet-cute was in the romantic comedy The Holiday.  Arthur's explanation is similar to what I found on Wikipedia:

A meet-cute is a scene in film, television, etc, in which a future romantic couple meets for the first time in a way that is considered adorable, entertaining, or amusing.

The Holiday itself is packed with meet-cutes.  For example, Cameron Diaz and Jude Law's characters have a fantastic meet-cute where Law shows up dead drunk on his sister's porch only to encounter the pajama-clad Diaz instead.

The first meeting of characters, on screen or in print, is as important as any first impression.  It sets the stage for everything that happens afterward.  Here are my tips, gleaned from years of picking apart romantic comedies:

1. Make it memorable:  One or both of the parties--as well as the audience--should be left thinking about what has just happened.  A negative first impression, like Mr. Darcy makes on Elizabeth, can be as effective as a positive first impression.
2. Make it emotional: Emotions can run hot or cold at this point, but if your characters or audience are unaffected by the meet-cute, they will have no motivation to continue. 
3. Make it sensory: This is the perfect time to involve the senses in the story. The more senses you can activate, the more readers will connect with the scene. 

Following my own guidelines, I beefed up the meet-cute from Sam James (unpublished):

Considering the early hour, Samantha felt amazingly chipper. Perhaps it was because every time she'd fallen asleep her dreams had revolved around a certain ballroom dancer with a strong, confident look in his eyes and a manly set to his mouth. She reflected on his many attractions as she swung open the gym door. The air-conditioning wafted over her as the elevator music--something from the 80s--assailed her ears.  At the door, she selected a gossipy magazine from the amply supplied rack and placed it in front of her on a stationary bicycle.  Setting the bike on the highest setting, she chose a particularly racy article and began her workout. 

She was thoroughly engrossed in both magazine and cycling when someone mounted the bike next to hers.  Inattentive to the sounds of the gym filling before, now that her attention had been drawn from the magazine, she began to feel a little self-conscious.  Sweat pooled across her shirt, stringy bits of hair were pasted to her neck and forehead, and some sort of gym-sock-like aroma hung about her. Sam wrinkled her nose. She glanced at the gym’s other occupants to see if anyone else had noticed.  
Unfortunately, she seemed to have fallen in with the non-sweating, attractively dressed, calmly chatting with each other while glaring in her general direction set.  She was about to slink discreetly out when her gaze fell on the person beside her.  The face from her dreams smiled disarmingly back at her, and added a cheery, “Good morning.”

Sam tried to respond, but her throat had gone dry, probably because her mouth was gaping open.  She must look like some kind of mentally incapacitated guppy. 

Amusement twinkled in his eyes.  “Do you need some water or something?  You must be parched.” Without waiting for a response he tossed her a bottle, saying, “Fresh from the vending machine.”

Catching it, she blinked uncomprehendingly down at it for a moment. Where were all the glib comments and clever retorts?  She popped the lid off and lifted the bottle to her mouth.

He watched, his eyes growing bigger as she downed the entire bottle in a matter of seconds.  “Impressive.”

Embarrassed and still incapable of forming complete sentences. she wiped the droplets from her chin and passed him the empty bottle.  

He smiled again, a somewhat lopsided grin and said, “Better?”

“Uh, yeah.  Thanks,” she said, resigned to the fact that his first impression of her would be as a sweaty, stinky, sloppy, mouth breather.  She turned, poised to beat the speedy retreat he’d frustrated earlier.  

“Have a good day,” he said, smiling his cockeyed grin at her retreating figure.

* * * * *

Hot or Not: Classic Disney Heroes

Classic heroes. We adore them, right? And these days, with the Tom Hiddlestons of the world, we've become a little enamored with the villians as well. But today's character study is not about the baddies, so wipe the drool off your chin and let's move on.

If we confine ourselves to solely classic fairytale heroes, the fare would be rather bland (see A Beastly Beauty). Thankfully, the creative geniuses at Disney have done a masterful job of breathing life into nameless, flat characters. (I mean, think about it, she was always Cinderella, but who was he? That's right, The Prince. Stunningly unimaginagive.)

So, for the purposes of research (i.e creating new characters, arranging new meet-cutes, or fashioning the perfect hero for your heroine to ping off of) I present:

Sarah's Guide to Classic Disney Princes 

(sorry BuzzFeed, Tom Hiddleston didn't  make the list, though we do consider him perfectly princely.)

Snow White's Prince (a.k.a. Prince Florian): The first of the Disney line-up, he left the gates with little more than a pretty face. (Seriously, who even knew his name was Florian?) He represents the Romantic Dreamer and is as caught up in the land of fairytale love as the bashful Snow. Loyal and true to his first love, he will do whatever is necessary to win her hand.  No huge fireworks or dragon-battling are required, just true love's kiss from a devoted prince. His is the story of Lasting Love.

Prince Charming (a.k.a Henry): He is the cream of the crop and literally so dreamy women line the streets to catch a glimpse of him. However, when he finds the girl of his dreams, he will allow nothing to come between them.  Evil stepmothers and stepsisters combined with all the stinky feet in the land can not deter him.  He is the passionate RockStar embroiled in the Love at First Sight scenario.

Prince Phillip: Philip is the funny, handsome, Adventurer who keeps you laughing and falling more in love each second. Even though he's betrothed to a princess, when he meets a beautiful stranger in the forest, he longs to throw convention aside and wed her instead. Little does he realize she is his betrothed or that he will have to battle unforeseen odds (this is where the dragons and fireworks come in) to free her from an awful curse and secure his Happily Ever After. Philip's is the story of Love Against All Odds.

Prince Eric: If there was ever a Love Gone Wrong tale, it's Eric's. Smitten by Ariel's voice, he vows to find and marry her, only to be tricked into wooing another.  In the meantime, he has begun to appreciate the virtues of the now-mute Ariel.  When the truth is revealed, he does all in his power to ensure her safety and win a place at her side.  He is the Fighter.

The Beast...I guess his name is actually Adam:  The Beast is the Fixer-Upper. Along the path of life, his way has become...well, muddled.  He requires the love and understanding of a good woman to help him put the demons of his past behind him and emerge from the cocoon of beastliness as a new man.  He is the type of person who is initially off-putting, but on closer acquaintance becomes endearing. His is the Love Grows out of Dislike storyline.

Aladdin: As Jafar expressed so succinctly, Aladdin is the Diamond in the Rough. He is charming, witty, and possesses the ambitions of one born on the wrong side of the tracks.  All of this is enough to catch the notice of a princess, who is drawn to him not because of his wealth or power, but because he truly befriended her.  Theirs is the tale of Friendship Blossoming into Love.

Hopefully, the above list (a healthy mix of human weakness and macho, macho manness) has gotten your creative juices flowing.  I'd love to know who is your favorite hero and how these classic characters have affected your choices in reading and writing.  Please leave me a comment!

Note: Prince whosiswhatsit from The Frog Princess, Flynn Rider, the gaggle of weirdos from Brave, and the gentlemen from Frozen have been omitted for reasons of my own.  To learn about these more modern heroes, please visit The DisneyWiki, home of the above image. (However, even they omit the weirdos from Brave, probably because they are indeed weirdos.)