I think romance is friendship and attraction sort of meeting together and that does influence what I'm writing a lot. I try to establish the attraction, obviously, but I also think it's important to show the characters having actual conversations about things other than their feelings for each other - and to develop their friendship on the page.
Veronica RothBut that wasnยดt the first time I ever saw her. I saw her in the hallways at school, and at my motherโs false funeral, and walking the sidewalks in the Abnegation sector. I saw her, but I didnโt see her; no one saw her the way she truly was until she jumped. I suppose a fire that burns that bright is not meant to last.
Veronica RothYeah, well," I say, "I left Abnegation because I wasn't selfless enough, no matter how hard I tried to be." "That's not entirely true." He smiles at me. "That girl who let someone throw knives at her to spare a friend, who hit my dad with a belt to protect me-that selfless girl, that's not you?"... "You've been paying close attention, haven't you?" "I like to observe people/" "Maybe you were cut out for Candor, Four, because you're a terrible liar.
Veronica Roth