History Creator / NicholasSparks

** During the separation period of many couples, one of them (usually the man) [[IWillWaitForYou pines for the other]], refusing to date anyone else on more than the most casual basis, while the other (usually the woman) finds a SecondLove. Usually from here, she will start leading an AwfulWeddedLife or finding out that her new partner has CommitmentIssues, which provides the perfect excuse for her to seek out her OldFlame and become a SympatheticAdulterer. After this, the woman is [[SexChangesEverything torn about the fallout]] and the man nobly [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy gives her his blessing]] to go back to her RomanticFalseLead, which she may do, at least for a while, or not.

* RomanticFalseLead: Comes in three varieties:
** The sympathetic DisposableFiance who [[DudeWheresMyRespect never does anything wrong]] and accepts that the hero(ine) loves someone else more:
*** Lon in ''The Notebook''
*** Kevin in ''The Choice''
*** Tim in the film version of ''Dear John''
** The BitCharacter who [[StaticCharacter never does anything at all]] and only exists to get ditched:
*** Martha in ''The Notebook''
*** Monica in ''The Choice''
** The HateSink who has never deserved the hero(ine) and is lucky to have had them for a minute. Their loathsomeness may take one of several forms:
*** DomesticAbuse (Kevin in ''Safe Haven'')
*** [[TheAlcoholic Alcoholism]] (Frank in ''The Best of Me'')
*** [[GoodAdulteryBadAdultery Bad adultery]] (Jack in ''Nights in Rodanthe'', Josh in ''Every Breath'')
*** [[TheSociopath Sociopathy]] (Richard in ''The Guardian'')
*** Simply [[JerkWithAHeartOfJerk having a heart of jerk]], which may include one or more of the above (Belinda in ''A Walk to Remember'', Keith in ''The Lucky One'', Vivian in ''Two by Two'')

** SympatheticAdulterer: During the separation period of many Sparks couples, one half of the couple (usually the man) [[IWillWaitForYou pines for the other]], refusing to date anyone else on more than the most casual basis, while the other (usually the woman) finds a SecondLove. Usually from here, she will start leading an AwfulWeddedLife or finding out that her new partner has CommitmentIssues, which provides the perfect excuse for her to seek out her OldFlame. After this, the woman is [[SexChangesEverything torn about the fallout]] and the man nobly [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy gives her his blessing]] to go back to her RomanticFalseLead, which she may or may not do.

* OneTrueLove: [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism The ideal]] Sparks promotes above all others. Couples in Sparks novels tend to [[LoveAtFirstSight sense their connection instantly]], simply by [[WindowsOfTheSoul looking into each other's eyes]]. Within weeks or even days, they will [[WhatIsThisFeeling recognize this feeling]] [[LoveEpiphany as love]] and [[FourthDateMarriage commit to each other for eternity]]--emotionally, anyway, since something will [[StarCrossedLovers usually require them to separate]], often for years or even decades, until [[LoveWillLeadYouBack love leads them back]]. During this time, one half of the couple (usually the man) pines for the other, refusing to date anyone else on more than the most casual basis, while the other (usually the woman) may start leading an AwfulWeddedLife or dating someone with CommitmentIssues--which provides the perfect excuse for her to become a SympatheticAdulterer with her OldFlame. In several cases after this, the woman is [[SexChangesEverything torn about the fallout]] and the man nobly [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy gives her his blessing]] to go back to her RomanticFalseLead, which she will typically do, at least for a while. If they do reunite for good, the couple will live HappilyEverAfter; if they don't, it's usually because [[BusCrash one of them has died]]. No matter what, no half of a Sparks leading couple is allowed to be truly happy with [[UnrequitedLoveLastsForever anyone but the other half]].

* LoveWillLeadYouBack: For a variety of reasons, the StarCrossedLovers at the center of the stories are often separated by years, even decades, before they get back together. One half of the couple (usually the man) pines for the other, refusing to date anyone else on more than the most casual basis, while the other (usually the woman) starts leading an AwfulWeddedLife or dating someone with CommitmentIssues--which provides the perfect excuse for her to become a SympatheticAdulterer. In several cases after this, the woman is [[SexChangesEverything torn about the fallout]] and the man nobly [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy gives her his blessing]] to go back to her RomanticFalseLead, which she will typically do, at least for a while. Either way, no half of a Sparks leading couple is allowed to be truly happy with [[UnrequitedLoveLastsForever anyone but the other half]].

* OneTrueLove: [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism The ideal]] Sparks promotes above all others. Couples in Sparks novels tend to [[LoveAtFirstSight sense their connection instantly]], simply by [[WindowsOfTheSoul looking into each other's eyes]]. Within weeks or even days, they will [[WhatIsThisFeeling recognize this feeling]] [[LoveEpiphany as love]] and [[FourthDateMarriage commit to each other for eternity]]--emotionally, anyway, since something will [[StarCrossedLovers usually require them to separate]] until [[LoveWillLeadYouBack love leads them back]].

* SympatheticAdulterer: Several of his works--''The Notebook'', ''Nights In Rodanthe'', ''The Best Of Me'', etc.--have the protagonist cheating on their significant other, but this is always justified by the unhappiness of the previous relationship and/or the true love of the new (sometimes rekindled) one.

* CoitusEnsues: Almost every Sparks movie depicts a round of lovemaking, often [[TheirFirstTime the couple's first]], which is always [[GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex gentle, romantic, perfectly timed, dimly lit, mutually satisfying, and free of any discomfort or awkwardness]], [[IdealizedSex even when one or both partners are virgins]]. None of these scenes shows any nudity more scandalous than a quick glimpse of {{Sideboob}}, and any sounds from the actors louder than heavy breathing are [[TheModestOrgasm drowned out by music]].

* SexEqualsLove: The leading couple never has sex for the sake of having sex; they always pledge their love to one another immediately before, during, or after TheirFirstTime, if they have not already done so. Prior to this, they [[CantActPervertedTowardALoveInterest never think of each other in a sexual way]], even if physical attraction is present. Subverted in the film version of ''The Longest Ride'', in which Luke and Sophia's first time appears to be primarily physical.
** On the other hand, should the hero or heroine have any sexual encounters that take place outside the context of the central romance or a previous committed relationship (and they rarely do), they usually [[SexIsEvilAndIAmHorny feel deeply ashamed about it]].

* BlackHoleSue: Both halves of a Sparks leading couple are this. There are two types of additional characters: [[BlackAndWhiteMorality those who support the central romance and those who oppose it]]. Those in the former group are always able to [[EveryoneCanSeeIt recognize the developing romance before the people in it]] do, and their function in the story is to keep that romance moving on schedule. These people may form half of a BetaCouple with a partner who exists for the same reason. Some in the latter group may make a HeelFaceTurn, but those who don't often conclude their role in the story by having the hero(ine) [[GetOut sever ties with them]]--or, on the extreme end, experiencing a KarmicDeath.

* BlackAndWhiteMorality: In the Sparks universe, there are two types of characters: those who support the central romance and those who oppose it. Some in the latter group may make a HeelFaceTurn, but those who don't often conclude their role in the story by having the hero(ine) [[GetOut sever ties with them]]--or, on the extreme end, experiencing a KarmicDeath.

* TheConfidant: Could be a sibling, a parent, a best friend, or an elderly EccentricMentor. Their function in the story is to give one of the protagonists advice that keeps the central relationship moving on schedule--such as being the first, [[EveryoneCanSeeIt but certainly not the last]], to recognize that one protagonist loves the other. They often form half of a BetaCouple with a partner who exists for the same reason.

* WeightWoe: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]: Sparks does not think highly of characters who are unwilling to relax and enjoy a hearty meal or a sugary treat.

* ShoutOut: In ''The Choice'', a brief mention is made of [[Literature/TheNotebook a blissfully happy married couple who had to move to a nursing home, where they died together]].

* ShoutOut: In ''The Choice'', a brief mention is made of a blissfully happy married couple who had to eventually move to a nursing home, where they died together. Could they mean [[Film/TheNotebook Noah and Allie?]]

* TearJerker: The undisputed king of it.

** Is the couple reuniting? CueTheSun.

* ComboBreaker: The average Sparks novel [[RomanceArc follows a couple through meeting, falling in love, overcoming an obstacle, and reconnecting]]. There are two exceptions to this pattern:

* GoodPeopleHaveGoodSex: The couple's [[TheirFirstTime first round of lovemaking]] is always gentle, romantic, perfectly timed, dimly lit, mutually satisfying, and free of any discomfort or awkwardness, even when one or both partners are virgins.

* ToplessnessFromTheBack: Pretty much every Sparks movie features a sex scene, but none shows anything more scandalous than a quick glimpse of {{Sideboob}}.

* MyBelovedSmother: The heroines of ''The Notebook'', ''The Best of Me'', and ''The Choice'', plus the hero of ''The Last Song'', all have nosy, hypercritical mothers who are determined that their daughters should be proper [[SouthernBelle Southern belles]].

* DamselInDistress: Several Sparks stories feature the man rescuing the woman (and her child, if she is a GlamorousSingleMother) from something.

** ''Dear John'' and ''The Longest Ride'' both feature the hero's dangerous line of work coming between him and the heroine.

* InterclassRomance: Most of his works have this, frequently as an obstacle to love. Usually the man is a WorkingClassHero, or at least has a job that requires getting his hands dirty in some way, although he may have literary HiddenDepths. Meanwhile, the woman is a [[HigherEducationIsForWomen college girl]] with more artistic interests. When she has a RomanticFalseLead, he is always a WhiteCollarWorker, which we are meant to view as less masculine and/or down-to-earth.

* MyBelovedSmother: The heroines of ''The Notebook'', ''The Best of Me'', and ''The Choice'' all have nosy, hypercritical mothers who are determined that their daughters should be proper [[SouthernBelle Southern belles]].

** ''Message in a Bottle'', ''True Believer'', ''Nights in Rodanthe'', ''Dear John'', and ''Every Breath'' all feature a couple meeting unexpectedly and falling in love in coastal North Carolina before one of them is compelled to return to their job in another state or country.

** To drink, sweet tea before dinner and beer or red wine afterward--unless a character who is DesignatedEvil is doing the drinking, in which case they'll take hard liquor.

** To drink, sweet tea before dinner and beer or red wine afterward--unless a character who is DesignatedEvil is doing the drinking, in which case they'll take hard liquor.

* SleepingWithTheBoss: [[AvertedTrope Averted]] in most cases: Several Sparks heroines have bosses who flirt with them regularly, but their reaction to this is more {{Squick}} than PowerIsSexy. Played straight in ''Two by Two'', however.

** Many Sparks movies feature the leading couple [[StargazingScene discussing and observing astronomical phenomena, at times looking at the same stars while miles apart]].

* DatingWhatDaddyHates: Multiple Sparks hero(in)es must contend with their parents' disapproval of their love interest.
* DinnerAndAShow: When one protagonist's family throws a party (most commonly a fancy garden party), expect drama to ensue.