In the first episode of Netflix’s new series, “Girlboss,” Sophia (Britt Robertson) is mugged. Her purse is snatched from its perch on her arm and she falls to the ground in a heap as the thief runs down the street.
Fortunately for her, Dean (Johnny Simmons), a charming hot-dog vendor who has been watching her from afar, is there to rescue her. He runs after the mugger and tackles him to the ground. The purse is returned, and Dean asks for nothing in return. They have a brief exchange about the attack, and then he walks away.
In that one moment, Dean showed what it takes to be a true romantic hero: he saved his love interest from danger without wanting anything in return (except maybe her phone number). This is what every woman craves: a man who will save them from danger without even asking for a kiss goodbye.
As a love story writer, I can teach you how to steal your audience’s heart by stealing your leading lady. You don’t need to wait for fate or destiny or magic; all you need are these 5 easy steps:
When you watch a romantic comedy and the leading man gets the girl, it’s usually because he takes this five-step journey:
Step 1: Meet and Fall for the Girl
The first thing he has to do is meet the girl and fall for her. This is where we get to know him and his goals. Maybe he’s just broken up with his girlfriend. Maybe he’s tired of dating all these girls who don’t really understand him. So when he meets this girl, maybe she’s in a unique situation where he can help her out. She’s in a jam and he helps her out of that jam, so she falls for him and now they’re both interested in each other but there’s some obstacle keeping them apart. It could be a misunderstanding or maybe they have to run away from gangsters or something like that. But they’re both interested, but they can’t be together yet.
Step 2: The Obstacle Appears
This is where the love interest becomes the obstacle to their romance. So one of them becomes engaged to someone else or one of them has to leave town or go on vacation or one of them has to marry someone else because of some promise they made years ago or maybe they have to pretend not to like each other because it
Recently, I’ve been watching a lot of romantic comedies. I started out with the classics: Dirty Dancing, When Harry Met Sally, Pretty Woman…and then somehow ended up watching The Notebook about four times in a row. Some would say that I have a problem. But in my defense, Ryan Gosling is more attractive than any human being has the right to be. [Editor’s note: He looks like he belongs in the wolf pack from Twilight.] Anyway, all of these movies follow the same formula: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, and boy loses girl. What makes them so relatable is that they are all about stealing your soul mate away from them.
There are five easy steps to steal someone’s heart and soul.
1) Make eye contact
2) Make physical contact (non-creepy)
3) Give compliments
4) Flirt with him/her
5) Tell jokes
Step 1: Pretend you’re an idiot.
Step 2: Make a big, sloppy mess.
Step 3: Say you love her.
Step 4: Watch her make you a better person.
Step 5: Live happily ever after.
1. Be charming and witty, but don’t be afraid to be rude, obnoxious, or angry.
2. Put your effort into getting her to care about you (and not the other way around).
3. Do something cool that you’re good at and let her see it (but make sure she gets the impression that it’s easy for you).
4. Remind her that there are a lot of women out there who want you, but don’t seem too eager for her to join them.
5. But most important of all: Have fun doing it.
