
Jessica Sherry
15+ Romantic Gift Fails for Story Ideas
Valentine’s Day got my crazy-writer-brain thinking about romantic gifts and how, oh so often, they can go wrong. Whether its V-day, Christmas, a birthday, anniversary, whatever, these are gifts that maybe shouldn’t be given—unless specifically asked for, of course. In fiction, a romantic gift fail could drive the plot forward in a telling and amusing way—it’d say to the audience, hey, this guy, gal, or robot isn’t right for the main character. Here are some not-so-great, unasked-for gift ideas:
A treadmill—a co-worker received one for her birthday from her husband and it did not go well for him
A kitchen aid mixer, unless of course, your significant other is into baking. Otherwise, it’s a not-so-gentle shove into the kitchen
A cookbook, another shove into the kitchen, again, unless they enjoy it
Wrinkle creams, duh
Hair regrowth treatments
Subscription to Jennie Craig or Nutrisystem or the like
Recycled jewelry—this can be sweet, like a family heirloom, or creepy, like jewelry that used to belong to other girlfriends/boyfriends or bought from a pawn shop, making it a badge of a failed relationship
Spanx
A gym membership
House cleaning supplies
Anxiety teas, pills, gummies, etc.
Products for excessive sweating
Awkward self-help books
Anti-snoring products
A framed picture of the gift giver--without you; kind of cocky, right?
The same gift over and over again showing a minimal amount of thought, effort, creativity
Really, anything that says to the person, you need to change
More ideas on gift-giving can be found here.
How might the wrong gift propel your story? Share your awesome story ideas below.
Looking for more ideas? Check out www.coffeebrained.com