Jill Williamson is a chocolate loving, daydreaming, creator of kingdoms. She writes weird books in lots of weird genres like fantasy (Blood of Kings and Kinsman Chronicles), science fiction (Replication), and dystopian (The Safe Lands trilogy). She had a podcast/vlog at www.StoryworldFirst.com. You can also find Jill on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or on her author website.
The meet cute. This is a Hollywood term for when a future romantic couple meets for the first time. It can apply to friendships as well, but this is a must-have moment in the romantic comedy genre and in any romance story. My new WIP has a romance thread, so I’ve spent the last few days working hard on that meet cute moment, trying to get it just right.
The options are pretty much endless for how you can engineer this first encounter. Some common tropes involve:
-A mistaken identity like in the movie Ever After when Danielle thinks the prince is a horse thief and pelts him with apples and a tongue lashing.
-Incorrect assumptions of character like with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
-A bad first impression like in Bringing Up Baby when Katherine Hepburn’s character continually annoys and eventually begins to stalk Carey Grant’s character until he can’t help but love her. Or how Buddy annoys Jovie in Elf. She says, “Go away,” and he just keeps talking.
-Making the attraction obvious like in My Big Fat Greek Wedding where Toula can’t stop staring at Ian. This scene always makes me laugh, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Here are my top five meet cute scenes from the YA books on my shelves:
5. Prince Haegan and Thiel from Ronie Kendig’s Embers. After crippled Haegan’s sister makes a pact to switch places with him, he flees the castle with working legs. As guards are chasing him through tunnels beneath the castle, he collides with someone. This person helps him up and propels him along with a small group of others, all running from the guards chasing Haegan. This person turns out to be Thiel, the leader of a ragtag group of commoners and a girl and . . . so much more. (But I can’t say. Because spoilers.)
4. Princess Alia and Prince Wron from The Piano Girl by Sherri Schoenborn Murray. Princess Alia has been trying to reach the kingdom of her betrothed, but on her journey, she catches the swamp pox, which makes her face hideous. To make matters worse, she gets put into prison for hunting on the king’s land. While she is in the dungeon, Prince Wron comes down to question her about her about another prisoner. They have their first conversation, and Prince Wron has no idea that he is speaking to his betrothed.
3. Marty and Abby from Replication. This is my book, but I can’t help it. I’ve always loved this scene. Marty, a clone, has escaped from Jason Farms in the back of one of the doctor’s pick-up trucks. This story takes place in Alaska in winter, and it’s very cold outside. Marty sneaks into the house and into one of the rooms upstairs. Abby’s room. She later comes in and finds him, and starts yelling at him. She thinks he is JD, a boy from her high school, and thinks that JD is playing a joke on her. Until JD calls her on her cell. Marty is not JD, but they do look identical.
2. Eleanor and Park from the book of the same name. Eleanor meets Park when she can’t find a seat on school bus and everyone is waiting for her to sit down. The other students are so mean! And Park finally scoots in and tells her to sit with him. At the time, he thinks she’s a total loser, but it’s an “Awww” moment for Park as his compassion overrides his cool.
1. Katie Parker and Charlie Benson from In Between by Jenny B. Jones. They don’t meet until the end of book one (their romance carries through the trilogy), but this is just about the best meet cute ever. Katie has been dragged along on another one of Mad Maxine’s crazy adventures. (Mad Maxine is Katie’s foster grandmother.) This time, Maxine has Katie up a tree, looking through the window of Trudy Marple’s house, trying to find out if her boyfriend Sam is cheating with Trudy. Katie tells her Maxine that she sees Sam dancing . . . with a guy. Before the situation is fully understood, the tree branch Katie is perched on cracks, and she falls into the swimming pool. Maxine vanishes. Sam comes out and rescues Katie, drags her inside, where she finds out that Sam was here getting a dancing lesson from Trudy’s grandson Charlie, a boy who attends Katie’s high school. Ahh… So fun.
How about you? Do you have a favorite meet cute from a book or a movie? And if you’re not into romance stories, how about a best friends meet cute, like how Harry and Ron met on the train or how Achan and Shung met while competing against each other in a short sword and shield match at tournament? Share your favorite in the comments.