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What is a meet cute, you ask?
If you've ever watched a rom-com, you already know, even though you may not be aware of it.
A meet cute is that moment when two characters (who will form that lovely romantic connection in the story) meet for the first time. Usually, they meet in a humorous or "cute" sort of way, though more dramatic ways are fine too (think, P&P or Jane Eyre).
What a meet cute provides is a sudden spark, a "teaser" of more to come, a little look at how these two are going to interact together.
It can reveal an immediate attraction or repulsion, but, of course (in our HEAs), the repulsion turns to attraction through the course of the story.
Think of some of your favorite movies for examples.
Here are a few "classic" examples:
Maria and Captain Von Trapp on The Sound of Music
- Why is it "cute"? She's dancing in the empty ballroom and he bursts into the room in all of his serious "state" :)
Don Lockwood and Kathy Seldon from Singing in the Rain
-Why is it cute? As Don Lockwood (a famous silent film star) is trying to escape some rather energetic adoring fans, he jumps into Kathy Seldon's car. Kathy, at first, is terrified of the "stranger" jumping into her car until she recognizes him, but pretends not too and then feeds Don a little humble pie :)
Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly from You've Got Mail
-Why is it cute? Well, it's all the MORE cute because we (as viewers) know that Kathleen and Joe are already in an online relationship, yet the characters have never met in person (and don't even know each others' names). So when they meet for the first time in Kathleen's shop (and we know Joe is trying to take over little bookshops), we're already rooting for them. Hint: F.O.X.
One more?
Iris meeting Miles in The Holiday (which actually uses the term "meet cute" in it, but I also think when Iris meets Arthur Abbot, though it's not a romantic meet-up, just really sweet).
There are tons of great meet cutes, both in historical and contemporary romances. The live-action Cinderella, Notting Hill, Return to Me, Kate and Leopold,...the list goes on!
But meet cutes happen in books too! I ADORE writing meet cutes!!
This is the couples' first meeting and, as a writer, it's a great opportunity to make the moment memorable and set up the "tension" well before we ever get to the life-long romance or HEA :)
It's that first glimpse we, as readers, get of the dynamics of the hero and heroine! Usually, we have a little background on one or both characters so the the meet cute has a deeper meaning too.
Here are a few bookish ones that I love:
Amelia and Emerson's first meeting in the Amelia Peabody series
Sophie & Clay in Petticoat Ranch (Mary Conneally has some hilarious meet cutes).
Hattie and Miller in Jenny B Jones's Sweet Right Here
Grace and Noah in Melanie Jacobsen's Kiss the Girl
and...of course, the list goes on.
What a meet cute does is build expectation. It gives a little hint into how these two are going to be the romantic leads of the story. Fun, right?
So let's hear it from you guys!
What books have you read that have some of your favorite meet cutes?
(all photos are property of the author or taken from Pixabay.com)
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Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance “peppered” with grace and humor. Writing both historical and contemporary novels, she loves to incorporate her native Appalachian culture and/or her unabashed adoration of the UK into her stories. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the wife of a fantastic pastor, mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus. Her nineteenth novel, Authentically Izzy, debuts in November with Thomas Nelson. She loves connecting with readers and other authors through social media outlets like Facebook & Instagram. You can learn more about Pepper and her books on her website at www.pepperdbasham.com
"Gone With the Wind" where Scarlett throws the china figurine at the fireplace after an unsuccessful interlude with Ashley and Rhett rises up from behind the sofa. Just a shot across the bow, I'll probably think of others as the day wears on.
ReplyDeleteOh that's a great one, Kathy!!
DeletePeppy, I know, I know. But not everybody can pull it off. The last time I smashed a china figurine against a fireplace in somebody else's home, they pressed charges.
DeleteLOL Kathy!
DeleteI love this, Pepper! While You Were Sleeping. When Lucy is trying to sneak out of the house of the family who believes she's engaged to their son who's in a coma and is caught by Jack, the brother who can't help wondering if she is who she says she is.
ReplyDeleteOne of my all-time favorite movies!!
DeleteThat is one of my FAVORITE movies!!! And yes, I love that meet cute!!
DeleteMe, too. Back when they used to make romantic comedies that were genuinely romantic and genuinely comedic.
DeleteI agree, Mary. And everyone kept their clothes on.
DeleteJane and Titus in Jane by the Book is one of my favorites. She’s annoyed and he’s confused and trying to help. 😂❤️
ReplyDeletehee hee, poor Titus!! He's so misunderstood.
Deletewhile not a specifically romantic meet cute, it leads to one - I don't think anything can top the 'I squished a grandpa' meet cute in Just the Way You Are :)
ReplyDeleteAHHHH!! CARRIE!!!! I adore that scene SOOOO much!!!
DeleteMEEEE TOOOO (and it still makes me giggle. Every.Time.)
DeleteYou know the book is going to be a winner when you giggle from the start. Awesome book! (Audra)
DeleteSuch a fun blogpost, Pepper! I remember a friend's manuscript that began with a meet cute. The story remains unpubbed, but I loved the opening coming home scene in a local drug store when the heroine, trying to get a glimpse of the hero, knocks over a free-standing display case that crashes to the floor. Who comes to her aid? You guessed it--the hero!
ReplyDeleteNice!! And such fun!! (for the readers...not so much for the heroine, I'd suspect).
DeleteWe can't forget Anne Shirley breaking her slate over Gilbert Blythe's head for calling her "Carrots" in Anne of Green Gables.
ReplyDeleteThat is definitely an ALL TIME FAVORITE
DeleteOh! Or when PJ thinks there's an intruder in The Wishing Season by Denise Hunter and breaks a clay pot over Cole's head.
ReplyDeleteHmmm. I might need to rethink some things. Both of my cute meets involve the heroine breaking something over the hero's head. I'll have to think of one that breaks that pattern.
LOL. Maybe Denise was inspired by Anne!
DeleteMy favorite revent meet cute is in Suffering the Scot by Nichole Van, when Lord Andrew Hadley first meets Lady Jane. She's just wrecked her rig and fallen into a stream, and he arrives with a friend and "rescues" her. It's hilarious!
ReplyDeletehee hee!! Okay, I've not read that one by Nichole yet!! But it's on my list even MORE now
DeleteOh yay! It's SO good. And the second book has a meet cute behind a curtain (at a ball).💗
DeleteYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteSeveral years ago, a young woman got into the backseat of the young adult leaders car, waiting for the rain to stop. The leader was talking to a new member of their group, a tall, rather handsome guy who was having some girl problems. As he finished, he ended with ‘Women are snakes.’
ReplyDeleteThe girl in the backseat couldn’t take it anymore. ‘You’re dating the wrong women.’
Both men turned to her, looking startled. The young man finally responded. ‘Then what kind of woman should I date?’
She didn’t miss a beat. ‘Someone like me.’
He married that girl a year later, and we celebrated our 39th anniversary last week.
I know it’s not in a book, but I just had to share!
Love!! Another proof that nonfiction can be so much better than fiction :)
DeleteI've been sorting through Meet Cute opening scenes in my own books and settled on Over the Edge. Seth Kincaid races toward gunfire and finds a woman, unconscious, bleeding. He grabs her and runs for the doctor. Just as she's finally starting to stir, another man comes in and says, "Are you Seth Kincaid?"'
ReplyDeleteSeth turns only to be handed a baby. A baby he's never heard of who looks just like him. He turns to look at the woman he's never seen before. But then, he's got a spotty memory. His wife and child have tracked him town. And she's coming to kill him for abandoning her.
Yep! I loved that one too!!
DeleteOne of my fave Mary Connealy meet cutes is when Tucker and Shannon meet in Now and Forever - her tackling him off the side of a cliff into a raging river to escape a charging grizzly bear & him thinking he's just been killed by a woman he doesn't know. LOL
DeleteI thought about that one. Nothing like meeting as you catapult over a cliff.
DeleteJen Turano always has fun meet cutes! The 'go as you please' quadrille scene in Behind the Scenes is a particular favorite :)
ReplyDeleteOh yes!! Such fun!!!
DeleteLoving all these examples. Some I've read and some I haven't. A cute meet just sets up a book nicely.
ReplyDeleteLove Bethany Turner's Wooing Cadie McCaffrey with Cadie standing on her desk holding her birthday cake when Will walks in. :) Another memorable one is in Carla Laureano 's Lunch at the Bittersweet Cafe, when Mel is baking at the bakery and Jake drives up in a mustang in a snowstorm and begs her to let him inside.
ReplyDeleteOooh, yes!! WHAT FUN!!!
DeleteOh, this is so much fun and cites so many favorites! The whole thought of "Meet Cute" is a crowd-pleaser, isn't it? Crazy fun! Pepper, I love this and welcome to full-fledged Seekerville SEEKER status. :) I love that you're here!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love the one in Cutting Edge where they run into each other in the hallway of the ice rink. She says: “What were you raised in? A barn?” He responds: “Honey, where I’m from we stand for the national anthem.” It sets the enemies to lovers, bantering tone so well. Then it ends with that great exchange at the end, which shows that the banter is never going to end.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great reminder! That was such a fun movie and that meet cute too
DeleteI am so late to this party! Sorry Pepper! My days seem to be out of sync.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun, inspiring post. I love the initial meetings, they're so different from the last chapter (of course!). You covered so many of the best cute-meets. What's left? You've Got Mail is on the list and is my all-time favorite movie from meet rumble to "I love you!"
I love having you onboard as an official Seekerville Seeker!
(Audra)