So I finally finished reading the Golden Heart entries for the preliminary judging. My category was novel with strong romantic elements. Whew! I have to say that they weren't better, a few were pretty good but there was one thing that 5 of them had in common.
Cheating Spouses or boyfriends.
Can we just put a moratorium on this plot point please? There has to be some other way for a couple to end their relationship besides the man cheating. How about they've just grown apart? He needs to find himself? He's embezzled all their money. He's decided to become a Catholic priest, a Buddhist monk, an Orthodox Jew and he wants a wife who's religious. Anything but the wife/girlfriend catching him in the act, unless it is with a guy. That would be different.
One of the entries actually had the husband cheating with his dental hygeniest named Tiffany. Seriously, my ex-writing partner/best friend and I used this 11 years ago in a sitcom pilot script. It's now a cliche of a cliche. And why does the other woman have to be such a bitch?
As I said, all the stories were interesting apart from that one plot point. I know that there are only so many plots out there, I think it's about 28, but this one needs to be retired. And I know that men cheat, but I would like at least some originality in the cheating if you're going to use it. Make him a compulsive sex addict, or have him meet up with his old high school sweetheart who is now widowed and he realizes that he never stopped loving her. Or a voodoo spell backfired.
Just throwing that out there for the cosmos.
EKM
