Fun dates to read about?

[Bhuku]

Some things are more fun to do than to read about and vice-versa. There are exceptions, of course, and at the end of the day it all comes down to how well it's done... but still, some dates are easier to make fun to read than others! What are some of your favorite dates to read/write about?

Favorite: game dates, active/sporty dates, cooking dates, dance dates
Least favorite: dinner dates, movie dates, opera/theater

 

[ElaineA]

Hmm, interesting question. I don't think I've ever written an actual "date" into my romances? Not a planned thing both parties consider a date, anyway. I tend to like writing people doing things that interest them both (like skiing), and conversely, where one MC is much more proficient at a thing than the other (such as horseback riding, or waltzing, or researching), and their love of the thing works as both character-building and a vehicle for the other MC to see them in a unique light.

For me, it would be pretty hard to read or write about a date where the characters can't communicate (a movie, especially, even though I personally LOVE movie dates because I love movies). I don't much enjoy reading about baking, or doing ceramics, or yarn-crafts, because those aren't activities I find interesting, but I did read an entire book about competing bakers, so there aren't many "dates" that would ruin a book for me. The only thing that I can think of as a hard NO would be anything having to do with animal death, even if it's a vet MC, or one of them is losing (or has lost in the course of the story) a Bestest Animal Friend. Just no. Never.

 

[Bhuku]

Hmm, interesting question. I don't think I've ever written an actual "date" into my romances? Not a planned thing both parties consider a date, anyway. I tend to like writing people doing things that interest them both (like skiing), and conversely, where one MC is much more proficient at a thing than the other (such as horseback riding, or waltzing, or researching), and their love of the thing works as both character-building and a vehicle for the other MC to see them in a unique light.

For me, it would be pretty hard to read or write about a date where the characters can't communicate (a movie, especially, even though I personally LOVE movie dates because I love movies). I don't much enjoy reading about baking, or doing ceramics, or yarn-crafts, because those aren't activities I find interesting, but I did read an entire book about competing bakers, so there aren't many "dates" that would ruin a book for me. The only thing that I can think of as a hard NO would be anything having to do with animal death, even if it's a vet MC, or one of them is losing (or has lost in the course of the story) a Bestest Animal Friend. Just no. Never.

I understand that! A lot of readers come to romance for escapism and having to deal with something super sad can go against that.

 

[alexp336]

I wrote what I think is my first in-book dinner date in my latest release, actually. It was an opportunity for a "protector and protected" role-reversal which went to the core of the two guys' relationship.

It was fun to write, mainly because of the constraints of "being in public and there are expectations about how to behave." Plus it was their first date together, and their first date each with another guy. So, they could communicate, but not entirely freely because of how they were each reacting to their surroundings and the emotions that came with it.

 

[Jazz Club]

Oh dear, I misunderstood the title and was wondering to myself what would be any more fun about April 14th than April 15th... Don't mind me, I'm literally Miss Rhode Island from Miss Congeniality

To answer the actual question, I'm a fan of reading/writing dates where one character has more experience/expertise in the activity than the other. Those can be good fun. I have a Christmas market date scene in my YA novel where the female MC can ice skate, but the male MC can't, so she has to kind of drag him round the rink and of course they fall over...

I also like cute dates where maybe someone's little kid cousin is dumped on the romantic pair unexpectedly and they have to babysit the little kid together. What else? Hmm. I love anything to do wit horse-riding or go karts, that type of thing. I think dinner/drinks dates can work, but since they're more mainstream and the reader has seen a lot of them before, it can be a good idea to add something unusual or unexpected, whether it all starts to go wrong in a 'one distater after another' kind of way, or one of the couple spots an ex at the next table, and tries to impress them, leading their new crush to wonder at the sudden personality change... Even dates that might seem like they're gonna be dull can be made more exciting if you throw a curveball into the mix.

And I'm not a fan of those grand gestures that would freak you out in real life, like on the second date someone whips out a private jet and whisks the other one off to Paris or Tokyo. In real life, you'd run a mile

 

[ElaineA]

And I'm not a fan of those grand gestures that would freak you out in real life, like on the second date someone whips out a private jet and whisks the other one off to Paris or Tokyo. In real life, you'd run a mile

Or, oh, god, the dreaded Jumbotron Proclamations.

 

[Janine R]

Or, oh, god, the dreaded Jumbotron Proclamations.

Where you end up married to the dweeb because you couldn't embarrass them by saying no

 

[Elenitsa]

I have written dancing dates, sport watching dates, comparting specific traditions and holidays, meal dates (sometimes not even dinner, an early morning breakfast on a stop on the route between two cities was interesting and unusual) and movie dates (it worked, because they talked about the movie afterwards and it showed something about each of them as characters, plus that it counted that he was not too forward in the darkness, which could be a problem on a date...