Isle McElroy, the author of the novels The Atmospherians and People Collide, which was released in paperback today, says they usually don’t know the ending of a fictional story while they’re writing it. When Hinge partnered up the writer with a real couple, Bella and Corinne, for the No Ordinary Love anthology, the end was already written. McElroy had to work backwards – and discovered a new-found appreciation for the small details of love along the way. No Ordinary Love is an 80-page anthology of modern romantic prose challenging love story tropes and cliched narratives by celebrating the plot twists of real love. It features the stories of six real couples who met on Hinge, written by six groundbreaking authors: Roxane Gay, R. O. Kwon, Oisín McKenna, John Paul Brammer, Brontez Purnell, and Isle McElroy.

You can read Bella and Corinne’s story now at No-Ordinary-Love.co or grab a physical copy of No Ordinary Love in New York or London from September 23-30. Ahead of the release, we spoke to McElroy about falling in love with little things, embracing cringe moments, and re-examining your rigid dating non-negotiables.

What’s a love story you wish you wrote and why?

Isle McElroy: It may not be traditional, but I think one of the most moving love stories that I’ve seen in recent years is the movie After Sun. Even though it isn’t a romantic love story, I find it so touching how it eventually moves into an adult romance. It talks about how the relationships we have with our parents can shape our relationships as adults. I totally bawled my eyes out and walked out of that movie, so excited to write. I wish I had written it and had come up with that idea myself because it captures so many things that I thought and felt before.

Did starting with a real couple change your writing process? If so, how?

Isle McElroy: It definitely put a limit on the things that I could imagine. It was nice because I had an opportunity to work with people who already had a built-in foundation of love. I didn’t need to ask myself, ‘Will they or won’t they?’ I knew they would, and that allowed me to focus on some things that were really interesting, such as the dynamics of how people come to fall in love with each other. The missteps and sweet moments that allow people to fall in love. I normally write from a place of discovery and usually don’t know the ending when I’m writing fiction, but this was a great chance to focus on those small moments.

What surprised you the most about Bella and Corinne’s relationship story or timeline?

Isle McElroy: What surprised me the most was how they so quickly came to accept each other and support each other. I found that really beautiful. I was pleasantly surprised by how the two artists were able to understand each other in ways and build a relationship neither of them had anticipated. Bella had to step back and accept the reality of dating a dancer, and it wasn’t the fantasy she envisioned. It was a real-life person.

I love that the story starts with a non-negotiable from Corinne (that’s then broken). What do you think the story adds to conversations around dealbreakers in dating today?

Isle McElroy: I think there are certain dealbreakers that should be nonnegotiable, such as abuse. However, I do think that, oftentimes, dealbreakers prevent us from ever really knowing a person. To me, that’s what’s most exciting about the pieces of art I love and the people who I love. How do I come to know them in ways that surprise me? You change and evolve over time, and your perspective of people changes, so I think it’s important to have a sense of both what you think you want while also being open to discovery. That’s what’s most powerful about any kind of love – we can surprise ourselves with the things we want from another person, and that can allow us to grow so much.

Did the process of writing this story challenge any of your own non-negotiables?

Isle McElroy: In the past, I was very much like Bella in this situation. I had mostly dated writers in the past and was curious about what it would look like not to date a writer. Could I date someone who wasn't an artist as well? In my head, I thought I wouldn’t be able to. I thought I needed to be with someone who would sort of understand the obsession that it takes. But I found that I was wrong, and the idea that artists have a unique view of the world underestimates everyone's humanity. It’s been really wonderful and grounding in my current relationship to share the things I love the most with another person and bring them into my world.

There are ‘cringe’ moments throughout the story (the subway kiss and Bella’s father following Corinne on Instagram). What was your favourite cringe moment to write about and why?

Isle McElroy: I think my favourite one was Bella's brother commenting on Corinne's post. That, to me, is traditionally cringe, but what’s really beautiful is sometimes we think something is cringe about ourselves and, in learning to love someone, we find that they might actually really enjoy those things about us. Those things are extremely human. Maybe for someone else, kissing on the subway would be cringe, but the fact is they like each other a whole lot, and that’s what brings them together. I’ve had many a subway kiss, and everyone has a different threshold of cringe.

How did the fact that both Bella and Corinne are dancers shape how the story came together?

Isle McElroy: I definitely wanted to follow that arc of two artists coming to just understand each other in a way outside of language. That actually made it a little hard to write the story because there were things I couldn’t clearly state. I needed to describe how their bodies were able to understand each other intuitively. When speaking to Bella and Corinne, it was so clear how much they have come to love each other through dance and how they've been able to find and understand each other through dance. I’m not a dancer, so I would never know how to do for another person, but one of the most endearing things for me as a writer that really drew me to this couple is that they have this way of showing up for each other that I don't understand, but still find so moving.

What’s your favourite thing about writing about relationships? And your least favourite?

Isle McElroy: My favourite thing about writing about love is that it’s the only thing I ever want to talk about. I hang out with writers all the time, and the first five minutes is when we talk about books, and then it goes straight into who has a crush on someone right now. I think love knows so much about what we want and what we want our lives to be. There are so many moments of urgency in love, and that’s when we’re the most alive. There’s not much I don’t like about it, but the hardest moments to write about are the ones where we eventually betray each other. It’s one of the most human things that ends up happening in relationships because we are flawed. People make mistakes and do the wrong thing, and it can be difficult to capture how people can either come back together and still love each other or potentially even choose not to.

You’ve written about existing on the internet and social media before. What makes a digital connection a compelling starting point for a story?

Isle McElroy: I think a digital connection sets up a lot of expectations. There’s texting beforehand. You see photos and maybe even know what someone orders for the table or whatever question they want to answer. To me, it’s exciting because it’s a two-step process. You go into it thinking you know someone, and then you have to discover them in the flesh, and you’re forced to realise they’re either not what you thought or even greater than you could have imagined.

Did you learn anything new about your approach to relationships while writing Bella and Corinne’s story?

Isle McElroy: Writing this story showed me how valuable the small moments where we really see and are charmed by another person are. It’s changed the way I’ve brought attention to my relationships as well and allowed me to focus on those funny parts of another person. There are all of the big reasons why we apparently love someone, like their job or beauty. But, when it comes down to it, it’s also how they eat pizza or the rhythm of their snoring. Seeing how closely Bella and Corinne care for each other reminded me of all the nice things that I care about in the people I have relationships with.