How to Write and Sell a GREAT Romance Story

An Introduction to Romance

Romance writing has a long history.

As far back as 3000 BC, ancient Sumerians reported that once, long ago, the gods were so taken with the beauty of earthly women that they left Heaven to come down to Earth to be with them.

The gods apparently paid a high price for this pleasure, but it was one they seemed all too willing to pay.

For their sins, the gods became earthbound and lost their right to immortality.

The ‘lost’ Book of Enoch probably represents the very first piece of romantic fiction in the history of the world.

It’s got everything.

Beautiful, salacious temptresses, young and innocent virgins, simple crofters and shepherds outshone and intimidated by tall, athletic demigods that burned with desire for their women – these romantic heroes were lost in love, forgoing all, even life itself, for the object of their passions.

It’s almost like some prehistoric version of Desperate Housewives!

Who could resist these stories?

You’re right. No-one.

But that was the point.

These stories were written to convey messages.

They were meant as metaphors for the human condition.

Tales concerning real issues like morality, justice, goodness, sin and enlightenment.

Similar themes are taken up later and explored in the relationships of the gods and heroes of the ancient Greeks and Romans.

Though these stories of passion, adultery, bravery, lust and violence may seem obscure and sometimes contradictory to us, their meanings were very clear to the ordinary people who occupied those civilizations.

Beneath the seemingly supernatural references to men and women made into animals by the gods, at the heart of these tales is usually a central premise.

That we, as humans, have a choice.

We can either love, live and be guided by our baser nature or we can better ourselves.

Once the imagery is taken away, we can see that this basic conflict of interests is

explored endlessly in ancient myths, as it still is today.

Regrettably, the early Catholic Church did much to supplant romantic literature for almost a thousand years in what is now called the Dark Ages.

The church used its own concept of ‘Christian’ love to make real passions like sex and desire seem dirty and unwanted.

It systematically used these concepts to undermine the importance and power of women.

Probably as a reaction to this, the Grail legends that grew out of central Europe at the end of this time were a part of a revolution in thought the Church tried its hardest to quash.

Much to the horror of the early Catholics, the chivalric tales of the 10th to 13th Centuries were the first major literary exploration of intimacy, love and sexuality.

The stories were considered especially radical because they placed nobility and duty right alongside a newfound respect for women.

Normally brave in the face of danger, dashing Knights would quake and pale in front of an aloof maiden’s beauty.

In these stories, to be rejected was the norm.

To yearn for the unattainable beauty of a woman was a noble and just cause for the ‘pure’ man who would go so far as to ride out and save a Kingdom in an often vain attempt to ‘prove’ his love.

Later, probably the greatest love story ever written was Romeo and Juliet, a story now so familiar I doubt anyone in the Western World could fail to relate the premise and the fate of its ‘star-crossed’ lovers.

It’s a story as timeless as stone, as relevant today as ever.

Remade, of course, as West Side Story.

In more recent history, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is often cited as foreshadowing the format of the modern Romance novel.

The characters of Heathcliff and Cathy are fiery, their relationship stormy.

The plot twist and turns and yet the love stays strong throughout.

It’s a much-maligned book in ‘literary’ circles.

Critics say it’s badly written, almost juvenile in places, the work of an incompetent!

And yet, despite all this – perhaps even because of it! – it’s credited as being the first truly modern romantic novel.

Next, more background…

Your Motivation

Many new writers think that writing Romance is easy.

Some of them even harbor the thought that, should they fail at ‘real’ writing, they can always churn out some romance and they will make enough to live on.

This is wrong thinking in the extreme!

One of the main things that has struck me over the years is that romance writers are very sincere about their work.

And they unanimously have this advice for the novice:

Don’t do it for the money, because if you do, you will likely fail.

Writing convincing romance fiction is an act of honesty and integrity.

You must believe in everything you write, otherwise your reader will know, deep down, that you’re faking it.

I’m not sure why this is true but it seems to work on some unseen level.

Write with a cynical heart and your writing will lack credibility.

You must write romance with total sincerity.

When you do, there is no formula to constrict you and you can fill all of your pages with honesty and conviction, which is the best any writer can do, after all.

But to write with honesty your mind should be clear and focused.

As I will explain more fully later, I believe clarity of vision and a strong,

compassionate view of the world are the keys to creating excellent, believable romance.

So, throughout the course, I suggest you just be yourself, be honest but always positive in your attitude and consider ‘learning’ to be the life-long process it is for us all.

That way each of us will benefit from knowing each other – and working together to help you create the best romance novel you can!

Four Pre-Course Exercises

These suggestions are not compulsory but will certainly help you.

You do not need to send me these exercises – they are for your own benefit and enjoyment.

If you like you can post your written exercises to the forum connected to this course.

1. Make a list of five romance novels you regard as good examples of the genre. Write out very brief outlines of the plots and list the reasons why you think the books work better than others you have read.

Note what you consider to be flaws too.

2. Spend a little time everyday (about ten or twenty minutes) getting in touch with yourself and your feelings.

Brutal honesty is the key.

Consciously analyze the way you feel about love and relationships.

How would you write about those feelings?

How would you describe them in words?

3. Make it a habit to find some quiet time and relax.

Calm yourself, breathe slowly, and mentally coax away your worries and concerns.

For five minutes every day, try to think of nothing except blue skies and sunshine.

Imagine thoughts as clouds that you can ‘push’ out of your consciousness.

Try to achieve a sense of silence and peace, however fleeting.

4. Try writing 200 words on any subject before and after the above exercise.

I think you’ll notice a profound difference in the second piece of writing.

See you in the next lesson!

Lesson 1: Romance Writing, its Place and Purpose

Romance fiction is designed to entertain.

At its best, it can transport a reader to a fantasy place where happy endings are guaranteed, where there are always resolutions to problems and the girl inevitably gets her perfect man.

Is that your understanding? Perhaps.

From an objective (some might say cynical) point of view, romance fiction is an exercise in marketing.

Publishers like Harlequin and Silhouette have identified a very large need, which they set out to fulfill.

(55% of all books sold are romances, worth over $3 billion a year.)

From a romance publisher’s point of view, the writers actually get in the way of this process.

Don’t be naive about this.

If they could get robots to write romances, they would.

To them, it’s all about product.

If a MS doesn’t do what it’s supposed to, it’s of no use to them.

That’s why they reject about 97% of all books submitted.

It’s not personal.

They just want you, the writer, to get it right.

EXACTLY right!

But, unlike many other publishers, they will usually try and aid you by making helpful suggestions.

If they think you have potential, they will go out of their way to tell you exactly what they think is wrong!

In this context, criticism is good.

It shows you’re on the right track!

And now of course, you have more control because you can publish your own romance books on Amazon.

But why would you want to compete in this market?

Well, because it can be a very good career move for a writer.

It’s steady work with good advances and fair royalties. At 2000 words a day, you can write a good romance in about a month, and, have it on digital bookstore shelves within the next month.

And once readers like your books, they remember your name.

Which means, in effect, you’ve got them for life.

Many respectable novelists start out writing genre fiction.

It’s a clear and well-worn path to success.

But what brings writers to romance in particular?

There are probably as many reasons to write romance fiction as there are romance authors.

Ask a roomful of them and all of them seem to have their own personal slant, their own individual reason for doing it.

But there are some pertinent similarities.

What’s clear immediately is that only very rarely are successful romance writers motivated by money.

Yes, they enjoy paying their bills with book royalties but that’s not why they sat down to write in the first place.

Like all of us, they want to express themselves, tell stories and be liked – and paid - for that talent.

But unlike the struggling, bitter artist who wants to rage against the world in his writing, the romance writer wants to improve things.

She wants to add meaning to the world and show that there can be a better way.

She wants you, the reader, to know that there is hope, and that there can be wonder.

Romance writers (and many other artists) believe it is their duty to show that the human spirit is noble and can triumph against adversity.

But is writing about romance important?

It depends. If your purpose in life is to enrich other people’s lives then yes.

If you have other agendas, it might be frustrating.

What do I mean by this?

Well, think about this.

Almost as soon as a writer reads back her own work or receives some positive feedback, she is aware she is in command of a powerful medium.

One she might use to advantage.

She realizes she might be able to persuade a reader into accepting her point of view.

Isn’t that the reason why YOU tell stories?

Don’t you write to persuade people to believe and concur with your version of reality – even if only for a while?

It's a powerful gift and it's good, but there is a down side.

As adults, we have issues with politics, injustice and various other concerns like poverty, the environment and crime.

We might sometimes use our writing to address these issues, even if only in our fiction.

This is all well and good.

But it is not always appropriate for genre writing.

Romance writing in particular is not a platform for discussing issues you might have about the world.

It is not a soapbox.

While reading your romance, readers are not interested in social reform or your views on anything but love, courtship and relationships.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that real life can’t intrude on the romance genre. It can, does and should.

But, if you want to succeed, you must not write with your personal baggage uppermost in your mind. You must write solely for your readers, with the respect and honesty they deserve.

Romance writing is also about being mature, objective and clearheaded.

To write good romance, you should probably consider yourself a storyteller first and a 'writer' second.

At this stage in the course, I want you to start thinking about your philosophy on life.

Ideally, it should be positive, compassionate and most of all, optimistic.

If it’s not, take a good long look at yourself.

Are you negative? Are you pessimistic? Do you have low self-esteem?

If so, I recommend doing some degree of self-analysis.

Easy to say I know but in practice, it’s not really as difficult as it sounds. It’s a lifelong process anyway.

The best way to do it is this:

Whenever you find yourself dwelling on a negative thought, turn it around, argue it away. Always try to see the positive.

See it as your JOB to do this, for the sake of your future readers.

And, though it might take years, you should aspire to becoming the sort of person that believes everything will come out right in the end.

Why not? It usually does, doesn’t it?

Frequently Asked Questions

Writing is new to me. What will I write about?

Plotting is central to good storytelling (the thing you will write about!) and is something we’ll be looking at AFTER we’ve dealt with characters, motivation and back-story.

Dialogue is important too.

A whole supplemental lesson is given over to it in a later lesson, where I’ll introduce you to a special technique I call, “Conflict Management”.

Are the exercises in this course designed to help me write a whole romance novel, ready for submission to a publisher?

Yes, absolutely.

However, my experience has shown that learning is a process.

In order to do something as ambitious as writing a novel, there is groundwork to be done first.

The course is designed help you through that process.

Study the lessons, do the exercises and you will be much better equipped when you begin your novel.

Should I study the publisher’s writer's guidelines first or try to write a story first?

We’ll be covering guidelines in the next lesson.

But yes, you should always study a publisher’s guidelines before submitting any work for publication.

It will save a lot of heartache – and work!

If you plan to self publish you have more leeway of course.

There’s no-one to tell you what to do!

However, if you want to write the kind of romance people most often buy, this course can still tech you a lot.

How much is the payment for a book accepted for publication?

How long is a piece of string?

First time authors can receive advances from zero to $500 to $10,000 depending on many factors.

However, the important thing to remember is that at the beginning of your career, an advance is actually a liability.

The publisher is expecting to recoup your advance, and more.

If you do not sell enough books to do that, you will be lucky if you can get anyone to even look at your next MS, let alone publish another book.

As I’ve said before, it’s best not to think about the money.

Leave that to literary agents.

That’s what they say they’re for.

When they’re not simply stealing your money.

Next the myth of the romance formula… 

The Myth of the Romance Formula

From a strictly scientific point of view, a formula is something that works every time.

Immediately, from this definition, you’ll realize the word cannot apply to writing romance.

Because, if there was such a thing as a formula, we could duplicate it and we could get published ‘just like that’…something that clearly isn’t the case.

I prefer to use the word ‘format’.

The guidelines produced by romance publishers vary from year to year, depending on changes in their marketing strategy and the whims of the editors in charge.

However, for the last 50 years or so, the romance story format has been this simple 5-step premise:

1. Take two clearly defined characters

2. Make them attracted instantly

3. Set up obstacles to their union

4. Let them duck and weave and eventually overcome those obstacles

5. And get them together at the end

Learn this by heart – it may seem deceptively simple but it is crucial to your understanding of the romance genre.

If you write a book that does NOT follow the five step premise, you will not have a written a romance.

I can’t stress how important this is.

More involved publisher’s guidelines will tell you what kind of people should ideally populate your stories, where you should set the action and in what time period and other things like word count, pacing and dialogue.

Let’s not get bogged down with that yet.

Let’s just take our time looking at this basic 5-step premise.

Yes, there are certain ‘types’ of heroines and heroes that publishers and romance readers want - and expect -  to see.

They want larger than life, attractive, talented and beautiful people because they’re convinced (and have the book sales to prove) that’s also what their readers want.

The heroine should be healthy, sexually mature, and not normally over 30.

She should be strong, feisty, and not easily intimidated.

Her motivations must be good and moral, though she is allowed to use underhand tactics and lie occasionally to get her man.

She is motivated by love but is never promiscuous without a good reason.

The man is always older than the woman.

Always.

He can be anything up to 40, but no older.

He’s strong, virile and good-looking.

Importantly, he’s never met the right woman before he meets our heroine.

He can have dark secrets, hang-ups and even seem to hate women…as long as these are all surmountable problems he – or she - will overcome before the end of the story.

Writers, especially older ones, often ask me if it’s okay to have lead characters that are more mature; - as in, over 50 or 60+.

Well, you CAN but – be warned – you will have an uphill struggle when it comes to publication.

While the demand for more mature romances may be growing SLOWLY and there are certain publishers who already service this demand, the vast majority of romances sought by publishers are those that involve YOUNG heroes and heroines.

This is what the market wants – if anything the trend is downward – to younger

romance characters.

This is simply a reflection of our age – and the demographic of the buying public.

Bear in mind that if this is your first shot at romance writing, your chances of acceptance - and sales - are greatly increased by following this advice – that most readers want romance to happen between between 20 and 30 something characters.

Back to the other guidelines.

When your characters meet there should be an instant attraction.

If you’re telling the story from the heroine’s point of view, she must somehow know that the male hero finds her attractive – and in some way he can’t control or even understand.

And though there may be a mountain of impossible obstacles to their eventual union, the heroine too, must know she is smitten forever.

Okay, this might be sounding a little formulaic up to this point.

But, to me, this is where the scenario becomes interesting.

Because, given this basic outline, within these seemingly strict guidelines, the writer – you – is allowed to do any and everything you want!

But how do you proceed?

Last lesson we looked at creating character bios.

These are important.

Not only do they define where your story will go but also how it’s told.

More on style later.

For now, take your two main characters and give them a history.

Create childhoods, family, careers, motivations, foibles and ambitions.

Now create a time or an event when your characters meet for the very first time. What circumstances have led them together?

Why do their lives coincide?

A good story opening should be a compelling time or event, full of portent and excitement.

But here’s the clincher:

When they meet, the reasons why they CAN’T get together – yet! – should be totally clear and obvious to all and sundry.

This is what you’re after.

Right from the start, the reader is willing the characters to get together, they’re wishing and hoping the action will play itself out and lead to the inevitable.

The catch?

The format again.

After two, three or maybe a hundred obstacles, they must come together (no pun intended) at the end, mutually happy, with no reservations, to pledge their undying love (even if it only lasts for the next fortnight!).

The fun part of writing these sorts of stories is that you can create as many obstacles to their union as you like, the more difficult, the better.

The more misunderstandings, the better too, however minor.

Remember. It’s only a formula if it’s been done before. If you’re true to yourself and honest, you will produce writing that is unique, fresh and original, no matter how strict the guidelines.

A rose is no less beautiful for being rooted to the same spot.

As the saying goes, bloom where you’re planted and make the very best of what

comes your way!

Creating Dynamic & Believable Heroines

Everybody is different.

Everyone falls in love in a different way, for different reasons and in different circumstances.

Falling in love is an exciting experience that changes you in physiological, psychological and emotional ways.

Science has shown that it is actually a physical condition not unlike catching the flu or taking a drug.

People read romances because they want to experience or re-experience that unique, exquisite feeling (albeit once removed).

The trick with good romance writing is to make this experience as believable as possible for the reader.

How do you do that?

Make your heroine as real as possible, in every way.

This aids reader identification.

And how do you make your heroine real?

Easy.

Base her on yourself.

Even if you’re a guy.

To really get inside a character you need to explore your own feelings, transplant them into your character and co-exist with her for a while.

Imagine a time when you fell in love.

What were the circumstances?

How did you feel?

Try to remember how every facet of life took on new meaning, new depth, and even the smallest of incidents and interactions grew in meaning and magnitude.

That’s what your heroine will be going through.

Over the course of your story, many things will happen to her.

At each twist in the plot she will be living in the present moment, totally focused on her actions and the actions of others, especially the object of her desire.

Falling in love for her is a process that will consume her totally.

It’s your job to place that experience in the mind of your reader.

To do that with credibility you will need to call upon your own feelings and emotions.

In this sense, your character does have to BE you.

She can still be the perfect heroine you might aspire to be.

But with some of your traits, it will be a lot easier to control her character if she has similar reactions to your own.

This can be especially useful if you get stuck in the middle of your story.

In this all too common scenario you can stop and ask yourself, what would I do now?

What would I expect to happen?

What do I want to occur?

And what might happen to frustrate me?

Of course, some would argue that this is what writers do anyway.

So this is no new technique, not actually a revelation - it’s just what we do.

We invent characters that are thinly disguised facets on their own personalities.

This is good…and can serve us well in our writing careers.

I’m merely suggesting you go a little further.

Do all the work you would normally do on your female character.

Make notes, think hard. Build her up physically, psychologically and emotionally, including all the back-story you need – more than you will ever talk about in your stories – and then superimpose your own personality on to her.

Do this as a meditative exercise at least once or twice, and your heroine’s personality will attain a depth and uniqueness only YOU could have given her.

Self Belief

The next step, of course, is to write with honesty and conviction and not feel embarrassed doing it!

This is a technique that can take years for an author to master successfully. But it's well worth the effort.

It's practice that counts for much here.

Get used to writing down your deepest darkest secrets, in the third person if necessary.

Also practice writing about intimacy, physical, spiritual and literal.

After it's done, you'll probably find that it's not quite as painful as you thought.

Quite the opposite sometimes.

It can be a welcome release.

Also, readers will appreciate your candor.

You'll find that the more honest you are, the more you might feel potentially uncomfortable, the more your readers will like what you do.

Because it's your faults, your secret desires and your most fabulous dreams that make you, and will make your heroine, uniquely dynamic and compelling.

Keep writing!

Creating Fun, Poignant & Realistic Motivating Factors

What’s motivation?

Not yours (although that’s important!) but your characters'.

What makes them tick? Why do they do the things they do, say the things they say?

Motivation is most often a term bandied around by actors.

What’s my motivation for this scene, they say.

Why am I behaving this way?

They ask this question for good reason.

Actors know that without the appropriate motivation there’s no point to an action or line of dialogue, therefore just ‘playing it out’ will lack any credibility.

The same is true in romance fiction.

When it comes to your own fiction, get used to asking yourself why your characters do the things they do, act the way they act, etc.

When John pours himself a glass of water, ask yourself why?

Is he thirsty?

Perhaps he’s rabid. It makes a difference, doesn’t it?

If Jenny wants to rob a bank, why is this her only alternative?

Is she just sick of being poor, being blackmailed or is there some deep seated psychosis that drives her?

In the writing classes I run, all too often we see plot outlines that have characters doing things without sufficient explanation.

If your characters merely act out the plot because that’s what you want them to do, they will most likely lack depth.

Motivation and having an agenda gives them that depth.

You need to subtly introduce motivation into your descriptions of your characters. Either by telling pertinent facts about their lives, childhoods etc., or by showing them acting in idiosyncratic ways.

Motivation can be broken down into two main areas.

Primal and Circumstantial.

1. Primal

These are part of the human condition, common to all of us and include the following:

The need for security (real or apparent).

The need for love.

The want of sex, physical desire, lust.

Not forgetting other ‘base’ emotions like instinct, intuition, faith, belief and trust.

Basically, these are the things we all experience, regardless of circumstance, to a greater or lesser degree.

Use these motivations liberally, accentuating certain of them to heroic proportions where appropriate.

2. Circumstantial

These are unique to everyone.

They include all the experiences, past and current, that have led your characters to where they are now.

Their relationships (from childhood on), their environment, background, major influences (like close friends) and the various situations that might happen in the course of your story.

When you’re developing influencing motivations for your characters, try not to fall back on cliché.

My agent tells me publishers are getting very tired of seeing the ‘Unholy Trinity’, as in the, ‘alcoholic father, battered mother, abused child’ scenario.

Think outside the square to create more unusual upbringings.

The events that shape motivations are not so important as how your character DEALS with those motivations and influences.

Are they logical about them, illogical, driven, obsessed, lucky, charmed, unlucky, accident prone or permanently at odds with others because of them?

In a romance story it’s too easy to say that your heroes are motivated by love and love alone.

To be credible in fiction you need more.

You need fully rounded people with a whole range of emotions, desires, goals and ambitions.

Not just blank characters with big passions but personalities with other wants and needs too, some of them simple and trivial, like real people.

Next we look at what your characters actually want.

For fun, make a list of aspirations your characters might have. For instance:

1. Climb a local hill

2. Own a kitten or puppy

3. Sing ‘Close to You’ on the Karaoke

4. Ride on the back of a motorbike

5. Go to the Mardi Gras

6. Get an expensive haircut

7. Meet a celebrity

8. Learn to drive a truck

9. Organize a fund raising event

And so on.

If you run out of ideas, ask your friends and family, even strangers about their dreams.

Probe gently.

You might be surprised at how many people harbor secret little desires that they’re almost embarrassed to tell you about, but, with work, could perhaps make excellent ‘hooks’ for your own fictional characters.

Try to think of less obvious motivating factors, traits that might tug at the heartstrings.

Selfless charity, for instance.

Perhaps your heroine is driven by an ardent desire to help autistic children paint pictures.

That would make her endearing.

Or perhaps the male hero promised his grandma he would see Paris for her (he eyes failed her at the end).

We might want him to go!

On Coming Up With Ideas

This is going to sound like strange advice, but trust me on this.

Whenever you get what you think is a good idea, think of another one to take its place.

Why?

Because 99% of the time we writers tend to think of the same idea first time around.

Also because publishers - and readers - have seen almost everything before and want (and need) you to surprise them.

Your first idea is probably the one they’ve seen before – many times - so go the extra mile and extend your thinking.

Every time. (I got this tip from a publisher!)

Realism

Okay. There is one more way to impress in romance that has yet to be explored fully.

And that is by being more REALISTIC.

In real life we love lots of little things about each other.

The way the sun reflects off a lover’s hair.

The way they scrunch up their brow when they’re thinking, or the way that back tooth becomes visible when they laugh.

Think ‘intimate’, without being coarse.

Mention the trivial things.

The downy hairs on the back of the hand, the curve of the chin, the feel of lips brushing against the shoulder.

Describe how it feels, really feels.

Not in flowery language but in real terms.

Going for the classic ‘hearts and flowers’ vocabulary is a cliché and the easy option.

Using hyperbole instead of common nouns makes you seem pretentious.

What’s called ‘purple prose’ doesn’t mark you out as sincere, only lazy.

Overblown language and sickly sentiment is not the way to go.

It doesn’t create pathos or poignancy anymore.

It merely shields the reader from true emotional identification.

Try not to go for the obvious.

For example:

She melted into his arms, surrendering to his urgent desire.

Yuk! This kind of thing is just not believable.

For a start, people don’t ‘melt’ and ‘urgent desire’ is such a worn out phrase in romance as to be almost laughable!

Look at these two examples.

Here is a bad ending:

Gale dozed in the afterglow, hugging her man in ecstasy.

How she yearned for the future and relished the years of passion to come.

Not terrible, but much more believable is this:

‘When their lovemaking was over, she lay in the crook of his arm, her hand resting lightly on his smooth, bare chest. In the half-light, she listened to him breathing, wondering if he was asleep, or merely dozing.

Gale smiled to herself. How tame he seemed; this great man, once so remote and cold. Now, things were different, better, she thought. Now, she could face the future with surety – and more than a little hope.’

Not only does real emotion sound more convincing, it uses a lot more words!

Honesty pays dividends!

To conclude: When you’re looking for motivations to drive your characters, ask yourself two questions.

1. Why does this motivate my character?

And,

2. Is it believable?

Keep asking these questions of your characters and their motivations and don’t be satisfied by the trite, obvious answers.

Think laterally and don’t be afraid to be different.

It’s worth spending time on the details, the specifics are what makes us human.

Because, in the end, it will make your story seem so much more special to your readers.

You’ll notice that much this course so far has been about developing good and credible characters.

This is because without good characters there is no story.

Also because you should let your characters tell you the story rather than you imposing a plot on them.

The exercises in the next section will help you in this process.

Exercises

1. Take your list of ten plot points from last set of exercises and start to construct scenes that will SHOW how these points unfold.

Whenever you feel inclined to ‘tell’ the scene, stop and reconsider how you might ‘show’ the same thing.

For example, instead of saying ‘she was angry when her authority was questioned’, have her BEING angry when her authority is questioned by someone.

2. Take your two main characters and write dialogue between them.

Have them at odds with each other.

Let them argue their point of view and never back down.

Cover at least two pages like this, as if you’re writing a film script.

Keeoing if you’re on a roll.

It’s all useful.

3. Write one scene from your story, complete with intro, action, dialogue and the ‘point’.

4. If you get stuck writing, close your eyes and repeat to yourself 10 times, ‘I am a great writer.

I write well and quickly and my mind is always full of good ideas.’

Then, open your eyes and start writing, without thinking, for ten minutes without stopping.

You’ll be surprised by the result.

*

Composition Tips

The trick with romance stories is to keep the idea as simple as possible.

And, as always, to concentrate on character first and story second.

Do this by first coming up with two or three people, developing them as you would in any fiction.

Give them personal agendas that are odds with each other and imagine obstacles one of those characters might experience in pursuit of their goals.

As with any romance fiction, you must have a happy ending where the heroine overcomes her obstacles to achieve enlightenment, and/or a positive outcome. On the way, you may explore inner conflicts, misunderstandings and physical obstacles to a romantic union.

Nowadays the fashion is for first person stories that ring true.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are true, just that they seem it!

Of course, there’s a great temptation to write about your own experiences or at least fictionalize them.

I’m not sure this is altogether a good idea.

Life is generally more complex than fiction and doesn’t always lend itself to good storytelling.

In critique groups, I’ve noticed the following scenario is all too common.

A writer will read out their story and the group will then dissect it.

Often one will say they found a particular scene unrealistic.

Without fail, the writer will leap to their own defense and say, ‘But that’s

the way it happened!’

It’s almost uncanny how ‘truth’ is somehow less convincing than fiction!

Best to stick to fictional scenarios for this reason.

Yes, draw on your observations about life and describe emotions are best you can but when it comes to story, make sure there are good reasons why things happen and convincing reasons why your characters act the way they do.

Point of View – My Point of View!

The following question is similar to one I get all the time.

I thought it worthy of discussion.

In the past, it was a question that bothered me too.

Rob, I would like some more input on point of view.

How to stay consistent, whose point of view (POV) to chose, etc.

Is there a rule on how to decide or perhaps some guidelines?

Yes, there are guidelines that many romance writers notoriously ignore!

Okay. I know romance writers like to switch POV.

It’s something I’ve had to accept, even though it always grates for me.

Some romance writers argue vociferously that it’s not possible to create convincing romance without knowing what both parties are thinking.

I totally disagree.

I think fiction generally is more compelling and believable the LESS you know of the other characters’ thoughts and feelings (apart from the main protagonist, of course).

But take this next piece of advice to heart.

Learn it.

Write it down.

Put it on the fridge.

Repeat one hundred times a day, until you get it!

In contemporary fiction the rule is: Stay in one person's head until there's a break, either in the text or at the chapter end.

That’s it, no argument.

Why? Simply because POV switches confuse readers and can destroy the illusion of an 'invisible' author.

What do I mean by that?

Well, in the late 1800s, authors tended to tell stories from a distance, as if hovering above the action, or sitting on the sidelines, reporting what they saw fit, including thoughts, and commenting on whatever occurred to them from an onlooker’s perspective without tact or shame.

Think Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, George Eliot and Samuel Butler, even Gustav Flaubert.

However, throughout the 1900s, as the novel as an art form refined and grew more defined, there was a move towards creating greater reader identification.

This meant that the less the author made his presence felt, the better the writing was deemed to be.

Also, the need for the author to comment was seen increasingly as unnecessary and intrusive – even pompous.

Modern authors get close to their readers hearts and minds by being inside one character at a time.

One at a time!

Why?

Because ‘head-hopping’ startles the reader out of what is known as the ‘fictive dream’.

Simply put, it ruins the flow.

Result?

The reader no longer believes she's ‘inside’ a real character because the previously invisible author has just entered the story and shown that this character / reader relationship is an illusion.

Not good.

Okay, I know it's still kind of acceptable in romance because of the need sometimes to get 'reciprocal confirmation' that, for instance, a statement from the heroine is understood (or misunderstood) by the hero.

Head hopping is probably a convention that romance writers may die fighting for.

But that doesn't make it right.

Good editors are all too conscious that it’s mostly amateurs (and old die-hards who have always done it) that consistently switch POV.

Professionals tend to stop doing it when they realize how confusing (and irritating) it is!

Plus, it's one of the criteria a good editor will use for judging a new writer's work.

Your work might need to be that much better to compensate for this POV ‘flaw’ in your writing.

If there is a rule in romance writing, it's this.

Change character POV mid-scene if it's absolutely justified and integral to your story but DON’T if you can possibly help it!

And if you are going to do it, at least use a break (one blank line) to alert your reader you might be going into another character’s head.

Surely, it’s the only decent thing to do!

A Quick Pep Talk

You might be asking yourself now, where do the exercises stop and the real writing begin?

I’ll try to answer.

The exercises I suggest at the end of each of the lessons are, in a general way, designed to help you get used to the story (and especially the novel) writing process.

Many authors fail because they don’t make the transition from writing short pieces to taking on a longer, more structured work.

I know that it can very daunting to begin working on a novel – imagining all those empty pages that need to be filled.

The trick, as always, is to keep writing and to keep finding reasons to write.

Hence the exercises I’ve been suggesting to you.

Only by writing can you work through issues and resolve problems in your stories.

Only by writing can you effectively quash self-doubt.

Think of it this way.

Writing is the medium of your creativity.

But the POINT of the creativity is your stories.

If you want to write fast and well, you need to ‘get past’ the writing part to what really matters – that is, the edifice, the work of art you create BY writing.

So, yes, the work you do on characters is vitally important.

As is creating obstacles and their resolutions, which then become scenes that string into a coherent story.

But the real point of the exercises is to help you visualize how stories take shape in your mind, how they gain substance and become ‘real’ THROUGH writing.

At some point in this process, something ‘clicks’ in the mind of the determined writer.

The need to write a story seems to strengthen into a compulsion that he or she can no longer fight.

And, I firmly believe, it’s this compulsion that makes you an author writer who finishes books rather than one who just starts them!

Okay, sermon over. On with the next lesson.

Exercises

1. Take a piece of paper and draw a line, from left to right, a gentle incline leading to a peak about ¾ of the way across the page, then a slight incline down.

Put markers at regular intervals on the slope, demarking your plot points, or obstacles, or chapter delineations.

This is a rough visualization of your story.

Does the action intensify as you move up the hill?

Does your action peak at around point 7 or 8, and does it then roller-coaster ride to the end?

It should.

If not, rearrange your plot points so that the obstacles become larger and the emotions more strained as your story unfolds, ideally leading to a headlong rush to the crescendo.

2. Take your ‘overcoming obstacle’ scenes and make notes about how you might link these scenes together.

What events need to happen in order for the next dramatic scene to unfold.

You are now building a rough template for your novel (or story) during this activity.

3. Keep working on those individual scenes from the last lesson.

They don’t have to be perfect.

A first draft is just that.

Most romance novels have been drafted many times (up to 20 sometimes!) before they are published.

Get used to reworking your material.

Don’t be afraid to change things around, sometimes beyond all recognition.

It’s the mark of a professional.

4. During your meditative time, visualize words becoming things.

I know it sounds surreal but try it.

Because, in a sense, naming an object, writing down the letters that name it, brings that object to life.

Meditate on this process and consider it a miracle.

It is.

Then realize that, when you’re writing, you are actually an architect of that miracle.

Sites, Setting and Locations in Time and Space

In most of what are usually called ‘Category Romances’, authors tend to choose settings that have apparent romantic appeal.

Romance readers want to be transported emotionally, but they generally also want to be moved ‘physically’ to exotic or other evocative locations.

What might be called ‘glamorous’ locations will usually contain a combination of strong natural elements (mountains, beaches, markets, local color, impressive architecture) and dramatic weather (storms, heat, snow etc), which can be used to accentuate drama, action and conflict in your story's scenes.

Traditionally these are places like France, Africa, South America, and the East and West Indies.

However, there’s no reason why you can’t set your romances anywhere in the world – in theory.

Indeed, many modern medical, corporate and erotic stories are set against the harsh realities of city dwelling.

I think it’s a question of perspective, inference and appropriateness.

There are three main points to consider when choosing your locations.

1. Is it likely that both of your lead characters would be in this part of the world? Do their careers dictate this specific location?

Or are they passing through simultaneously?

If so, why and how?

Ideally your location should be critical to the story, as in it couldn’t have happened anywhere else.

Try to imagine the movie “Casablanca” set anywhere other than in Morocco!

Do you know the area well enough to write about it?

If not, can you spend time on research?

Writing convincingly about a location is not just about knowing the place, it’s the little things too.

The weather at certain times of the year, the street names, the native flora and fauna, the accents of inhabitants.

All these things add color and veracity to your story.

But the cardinal rule is: Only write about places you have actually been and know well!

2. Can you use your descriptive skills to create accurate portraits of the locations?

Good description is not always about lots of detail.

Just the odd phrase can sometimes be very effective.

For practice, write sample paragraphs describing streets, houses, town squares, malls and markets in your locations.

Highlight good, succinct phrases. Later, use these snippets of detail in your scenes.

Make notes during your research about the following: The food eaten locally. The clothes people wear, from all sorts of backgrounds.

The types of houses people live in at each end of the economic scale.

Try to spot idiosyncratic details like the types of adverts they have on hoardings and bus shelters.

Note the local politics.

What do their newspaper headlines say?

What interests the local people?

All these details add credibility and flavor to your settings. Collecting this kind of detail can be especially important if you’re writing Historical Romance. Of course, you have some leeway with the truth here because no-one can disprove your version of the

past but you will need to read and research your historical locations carefully. Many fans are intimately acquainted with the historical periods they favor.

The 1800s are a still a particularly popular time, usually

categorized as being located in England (Regency), the ‘Deep South’ of the US (think Gone with the Wind etc), and Outback Australia during the Gold Rush and the time of the Bush rangers.

There’s no reason why you can’t think farther a-field though, say India, Malaysia, the West Indies, even China.

Though there are some conventions, there are no absolute rules to say you can’t use a particular setting, although some romance editors might disagree.

War zones or areas of extreme poverty might not be too easy to justify, for instance.

If there is a rule it would be this.

If there’s a locale you know intimately well or can easily research, then use it in preference.

Setting can be more than just a place to set the action.

In the best tradition of authors like Conrad, Hardy and Austen, you should use local conditions that have a direct bearing on the action in your stories.

When you construct scenes, think of your setting as the OTHER principal character.

Compare these scenes.

She held him tight, though he tried to pull away.

‘I can’t do this,’ he said, the words torn from somewhere deep. ‘Laura, no!’

She released him and stood back. Her heart was beating hard, her breath short.

He stared down at her, face rigid, eyes cold and lips tight.

‘Why not, Dirk?’ She couldn’t hold back her frustration with him, not this time.

His words were barely audible when he said, ‘It’s just too soon…’

Okay, reasonably interesting, emotionally engaging but a little colorless.

How much better is this?

Behind her the falls roared.

Water vapor formed a soft translucent mist around them.

She held him tight, though he tried to pull away.

‘I can’t do this,’ he said, the words torn from somewhere deep.

Icy droplets formed on her brow and slid down her face and neck. ‘Laura, no!’

She released him and stood back.

The grass underfoot felt cold and unpleasant.

Her heart was beating hard, her breath short.

Silhouetted against a darkening red sky he stared down at her, face rigid as the mountains, eyes cold and lips tight.

‘Why not, Dirk?’ Spray plumed from her mouth.

She couldn’t hold back her frustration with him, not this time.

His words were barely audible against the roar of the waterfall when he said, ‘It’s just too soon…’

Get the idea?

You can use setting to intensify the drama in your scenes.

It can really help to create big, enduring pictures in the mind of your readers.

Even if your scenes are set in bars, clubs, offices or in darkened rooms, use the surroundings to accentuate the emotions.

Of course, there will always come a time when your lovers forget where they are and focus exclusively on each other.

At least, we hope so!

Tie Down Your Dialogue!

I am often asked for advice on dialogue.

As much as 50% of the text can be safely taken up with dialogue in a romance novel, sometimes more.

So, what’s the trick to keeping it good and snappy?

First of all, the standard advice:

It should be natural and credible at all times.

Read your dialogue aloud.

Better still get someone else to read it out and rewrite bits they stumble over.

Beyond that, dialogue should always move the plot forward.

This means leaving out exchanges about making tea, going to the shops and making arrangements to see each other later UNLESS the exchanges are charged with significance.

Now for my more specific advice:

Whenever you read back what you’ve written, ask yourself, ‘Is this dialogue TIED to the plot?’

In this case T.I.E.D. stands for: Tension Information Emotion Drama

For every line you write, get used to asking if at least one of these four criteria is fulfilled.

1. Does the line create tension?

2. Does the line offer new (or forgotten) information?

3. Does the line convey emotion?

4. Does the line create drama?

If the answer to all of these questions is no, the line is probably unnecessary.

Delete it.

This advice will help you create good dialogue in any fiction.

However, in certain circumstances, seemingly trivial dialogue can tell the reader a lot about certain characters.

As in real life, we don’t always say what we mean or what we feel.

If a reader knows a character well enough, they will understand why they have trouble verbalizing their emotions sometimes.

Other times, bland dialogue exchanges can actually help to heighten tension.

It all depends on context.

Take this exchange:

‘How are you?’ he asked. ‘

Fine. I’m good. You?’

‘Yeah, uh, not bad.’

‘Good, I’m glad.’

Definitely a bad way to start a book.

However, if the reader knew that ‘he’ intended to propose shortly, or that there was a killer under the bed, then the conversation would take on a whole new meaning and significance.

Conflict Management

But most dialogue, as a rule, should sparkle.

The best way to do this is to use what I call, ‘Conflict Management’.

This may take some practice to master but more often than not it’s to do with attitude: your characters’.

The advice is this:

When your dialogue isn’t directly taken up with plot, try to create conversation that is just a little bit adversarial.

When you write, imagine that any statement made by one of your characters as actually bait for another.

And that its reply is similarly designed to provoke some sort of barbed response. In arresting dialogue, the participants will play devil’s advocate to the other’s point of view: verbally jousting and sparring.

The way to achieve this convincingly is (as always!) through strong character definition.

As long as your character’s agendas are strongly fixed in your mind, you should be able to imagine how any comment might provoke a defensive reaction.

That’s good.

Because in books, talking is not just about establishing or exchanging information, exploring emotions or even creating a rapport with someone.

In fiction, the primary purpose of dialogue is to create drama and to entertain or enlighten.

To do that well, your characters’ conversations should always be tainted by their personal agendas.

That way they’re not only being true to your vision of them but more importantly, true to themselves.

It also makes dialogue a lot more fun to read!

Take this scene as an example.

A couple are planning for the future:

Patricia wants children but Dan wants a house in the country.

‘You said you liked going to the mountains,’

‘That was before we got married, Dan.’

‘So now we’re married, you feel different? Is that what you’re saying?’

‘You tell me what I’m saying. You’ve always been the expert.’

‘And you’re not?’

‘I just want more, Dan. More than just fun for us.’

‘You want to sacrifice our happiness for the sake of children?’

In real life this exchange might be very stressful.

In fiction it is engaging and credible.

The same technique works for couples who don’t know each other so well. ‘Would you like to come out for coffee?’

‘Can’t you afford dinner?’

‘Well, I hadn’t thought that far ahead.’

‘You surprise me. Don’t men always imagine the outcome first?’

‘Are you always so forward?’

‘Do you always answer a question with another question?’

‘You haven’t answered my first.’

See what I mean?

This might be nerve-wracking in real life but it seems natural and fun on the page.

This type of dialogue technique is actually taught in basic screenplay writing.

If you watch a lot of TV Soaps, movies or more especially stage plays, you’ll notice this kind of dialogue prevails.

But perhaps there’s something else to consider when writing dialogue between your lovers.

It’s a well-known theory that the real difference between men and women is that while men can only think of one thing at a time, women can hold three or four conflicting thoughts in their mind simultaneously.

Being a man, I don’t know whether that’s true but it would certainly explain a lot!

For a start it would explain why men make lots of stupid, spur of the moment decisions.

And how women seem to be able to ‘see through’ what’s being said to some other more intuitive meaning.

Seriously, when you’re writing dialogue scenes for romance, I’d recommend being aware of this difference.

Perhaps by making the man’s conversation one-dimensional and literal, while making the woman’s responses more complex.

Just a thought.

Anyway, don’t forget the main lesson here.

When editing your final draft, make sure your dialogue is T.I.E.D. to the plot!

How Much Sex is Too Much?

We all know this quote from Shakespeare: ‘If music be the food of love, play on.’

Few people know the rest of it: ‘Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, the appetite may sicken, and so die’

The message is clear: Too much of a good thing will kill you!

The same is true of sex in romance novels. Either it’s good and necessary for the story or it’s too much. And too much never works!

Okay, there are no rules which say: Your characters must have sex six or seven times during a romance novel, or that they must have sex by page thirty.

Rather the guidelines suggest that sex between your lovers, (even on the first date) should always contain elements of commitment and knowledge of the consequences. Just like in real life, eh?

In romance, our ideal characters, unlike us, only have sex for the right reasons.

Or, if for the wrong reasons, have a million reasons why it was wrong and will never do it again!

Your heroes can only have sex for the following reasons (and this applies to nearly all popular fiction and not just romance).

1. Either for love or at least genuine respect that will lead to love or understanding.

2. Or, to strengthen their attachment.

Also, they must be aware of the consequences, whether it be resulting commitment, possible pregnancy and, in the case of unprotected sex, the threat of STDs.

You might only want to brush over these things but it’s worth mentioning them, if only in some cryptic way, to show that your characters are responsible and mature.

As I’ve said before, readers attach enormous significance to trivial events, especially the ones writers dwell on.

If you, as the author, are seen to attach significance to a love scene by writing about it, so will your reader.

I’ve read some awful amateur romance novels that deal with sex in an almost cavalier way that make their heroines seem shallow, open to abuse, or frankly just plain promiscuous.

These are not endearing qualities in a protagonist.

It’s fine for your heroine to have sex with the man she feels a strong attachment and desire for, as many times as she wants, as long as that love is reciprocated.

However, it’s equally important for your heroine not to have casual or promiscuous sex UNLESS she it makes her feel vengeful, angry, even dirty.

She can even feel insecure and used, as long as she’s not actually raped.

The important thing is that she FEELS!

And that the reader feels with her and is not made to feel uncomfortable or sickened.

If sex in your story is told without adequate emotional content it will be seen as

gratuitous and unnecessary.

Conversely, if sex is a large part of the relationship and you can make it important to the dynamics of the relationship, you can have as much sex as you like!

The trick is to think ‘sensuality’ and intimacy rather than sexuality.

Whereas the latter is titillating for its own sake, sensuality and intimacy is only arousing in CONTEXT.

The last thing you want is for readers to skim the pages looking for the ‘dirty bits.’

Making your sex scenes more genuine and sensual will stop readers regarding your novel as ‘smutty’ and see those scenes as integral to the whole ‘torte’.

Regarding condom use. Some writers mention them, some don’t.

There’s no real guidelines (even in erotic romance) except that sex between characters should be consensual and further the plot.

I think if your characters don’t at some stage find out about their sexual histories in the course of their relationship then it’s probably wise to mention condoms or other forms of birth control - just to err on the side of political correctness.

Also, most readers will assume that unprotected sex will inevitably lead to pregnancy.

It always does in books, doesn’t it?

I’ll leave you with a typical set of romance publisher guidelines.

Notice just how specific they are, and how in line with what this course

has been harping on about!

“Your romance must include strong, well-developed characters, a happy resolution, or an ending that is emotionally transcending and/or empowering. Sensual, but not graphic or gratuitous sex. Lively dialogue. Romantic tension between the hero and heroine is all-important. The read should be entertaining and/or cathartic. Violence and abuse is not romantic: if included, must be integral to the story and the perpetrator must be punished.”

Hearts, Flowers and Weddings – the New Thinking

In many modern Romances, marriage is often seen as the last resort, and not always the best or most honorable choice available to the protagonists.

The implication here is obvious.

That, outside of the less popular ‘Sweet Romance’ genre, marriage is not the option it used to be.

Previously, marriage was the only way to go!

Modern women know that marriage is not always the end result of a perfect relationship.

Nowadays it’s quite acceptable to have your heroes swear undying love for each other without having to mention the ‘M’ word.

Indeed many Romance novels end with a sex scene or rather, a conversation after the sex scene where the lovers are in rapture, making promises and generally being exquisitely happy.

Of course we know that, in the real world, this “afterglow” state is anything but perpetual but, for the purposes of closing a story, as long as it leaves us on a high, this is a perfectly acceptable way to close to a romance.

Not so a few years back.

In the 1980s, Kathryn Falk, then editor of Romance Times, outlined the TORTE romance writing system, where she suggested that when authors write about love, they should be aware readers want not just a nibble or

a slice, they want the whole darn pie!

(For those unsure of the meaning of this, a torte is kind of rich cake covered in nuts and sometimes cream, said to originate in Austria.)

The TORTE system not only required hearts and flowers and marriage, it required that every facet of the male hero’s personality be dissected to the satisfaction of the heroine and indeed that the heroine run the entire gamut of emotions, so that she was entirely sure she’d met the man of her – or any woman’s - dreams.

This was to ensure that the reader could be in no doubt of the perfection and lasting quality of the relationship. Now we live in a world where the fairy tale, while still just as valid, is primarily recognized as an ‘invention of the participants.’

This is good.

It means that given certain personality traits, the writer can resolve only those issues necessary for a plausible union. This is Penny Jordan’s approach to the genre.

She’s written over 70 Romance novels and each one seems fresh not only because the characters are modern and sassy but that they have deliberately limited agendas.

Those agendas generally lead to (inevitable) conflicts that Penny resolves within the confines of the characters, and no more.

That’s not to say we should all write like Penny Jordan. You’ll have noticed that I never suggest that we should try to write like anyone else.

We should always strive to be ourselves, in whatever genre we write in.

An Interlude

We can’t really consider the romance genre properly unless we mention Barbara Cartland (1901-2000) and that perhaps that she should be on the list of romance authors to read.

Lots of young girls grow up on her ‘sweet’ stories that seem rather dated already.

But she does still have something to teach us about romance writing.

Hence this interlude!

Barbara followed a simple pattern.

The female was usually 17 to 20 years old, a virgin, and in some wry predicament.

The male was usually 10 to 15 years older and either added to the damsel's predicament or saved her from it in spite of herself.

The female character was usually as strong headed as the male, making for interesting clashes.

They would clash until desire would force them to give way to their already burning love.

Basically fairy tale stuff.

But not bad.

It’s fairly common knowledge that she used to dictate her books and could finish one in a week.

I’ve often wondered how much of her books she actually wrote - and how much was the product of her secretaries, but perhaps I’m being unfair.

Her stories were generally well researched and at the very least she did know how to entertain.

I guess it's unfashionable nowadays to recommend her as an example of good romance writing because her stories are often criticized for lacking realism. However, at the very least she was a staunch supporter of the genre, an entertaining personality and, let’s face it, for about 50 years she was the biggest selling romance writer in the world.

She must have been doing something right!

Ignore the obvious bathos/pathos and perhaps limited worldview and there's a lot to be learned from her work and more especially her work methods.

(She could write a book in a week, for goodness’ sake!)

Okay, on with the course.

By the way, one of the reasons I rarely mention other writers is that I don’t believe that anything much can be learned by retrospectively attaching significance to certain authors, their writings, or even their books.

I know, as a writing teacher, that puts me in a minority.

Looking backwards and attaching attributes to certain writers is the critics' favorite tool but to my mind this technique is self serving, limited in its helpfulness and for the most part irrelevant to your potential creativity.

Artists create, in that they invent new things. Artists can have no way of knowing what they're doing is right or wrong or that it will be successful or not. They especially have no idea what some critics will consider ‘important’ later on.

Plus, when it comes to writing, what worked once cannot be said to work every time. What is a brilliant idea one week is old hat the next.

I believe the only way to write well is to be true to yourself and do your best, and leave others to see its significance, power and place.

I digress...

But the point is that although the giving of flowers and chocolates (even jewelry and cars!) might seem romantic, it is not enough for the modern reader.

Similarly, the female being swept off her feet is inadequate to the modern reader. Even great sex won’t do it. The modern reader needs

your heroine to feel loved, cherished and yes, worshiped but only by a credible suitor, one the female has analyzed, tested and trusts beyond any uncertainty.

And while it’s tempting to end every romance novel with a marriage, because the modern reader is more sophisticated (and perhaps a little cynical), it’s not absolutely necessary.

But as any closing credits of any Hollywood romance movie will testify, it won’t hurt, either!

Your Writing Space

I’m assuming that you’re writing some of a romance story by now.

If you’re not, I understand.

Life doesn’t always arrange itself to support us.

If you’re not writing regularly, or if you’re finding it difficult to find the time, try negotiating with your life, friends and loved ones to get the time.

If that doesn’t work, pray… I’m not kidding.

If you’re sincere enough, sometimes your prayers are answered – if only because

your subconscious (or partners listening in!) will finally realize how important this one thing is to you!

1. When you have the time, create a conducive writing space.

If you haven’t done so already, you need to create a space to write where you let out an involuntary relaxed sigh when you return.

You need a place to call home. Where you can write without distraction.

Where sometimes just the sight of your surroundings makes you want to sit alone and get some words on a page.

All these visual and mental cues are important to the writing process.

2. Many romance writers say that you should fill your writing space with things that inspire you to write romance. Flowers, lace and chocolates, pictures of sexy mean and models of heroines.

Whatever turns you on!

The important thing is to put things around you that get you in the mood for writing romance.

Maybe soft music and a glass a wine will do it for you!

Whatever it takes is okay.

3. Whenever you feel any doubt about your abilities, lose faith in your understanding of the genre or you capacity to write well, use your meditative time to tell yourself that you are unique, original and infinitely talented.

Because you are.

Q&A

Here are a few questions I’ve been asked in the past that may help you:

Rob, I have just acquired a Nora Roberts book - I heard it said that since she is such a prolific writer her books are trash, sugary sweet…well, if this is an example of her trash the woman is a genius. "Summer Pleasures" is mesmerizing. So, Rob, is a romance novel characterization - or plot or both or neither?

It has to be both but my feeling is that when characterization is strong the plot becomes much more believable.

I’ve read many romance novels in the line of research for this course and the good ones always have strong central characters you care about.

Their actions are credible, some would say almost predictable, because you know what they’re going to do and think given any situation.

So, as I always advise: get your characters right first, give them depth and make them lovable to yourself before you string a story around them.

When in doubt, let THEM decide the plot.

Do that for both the heroine and the hero and you’re on to a winner!

What's the deal with condom use (or forms of birth control) in sex scenes?

Some romances incorporate them, some don’t. See the lesson on sex for more info.

Naming my books is the weakest part of my writing. Got any tips?

As writers we can agonize for weeks, months even years over this sometimes.

Usually the tip is to find a phrase in your story and twist it around and shorten it to something punchy or clever.

Otherwise, write out your novel’s theme or one line story statement and paraphrase it in literary terms. Like this: Say your story statement is: ‘Jessie’s love for Patrick overcame her shyness.’ Take the concept and create a title from it

like, Timid No More or Unreserved Passion or Coming On Strong or Unchained Love.

Get the idea?

BTW: With romance, if at all possible the title should sound positive and affirmative. Downbeat titles don’t sell as well. (Apart from Gone With The Wind, of course!)

*

I hope you find the following useful!

Dear Rob, I haven't finished my novel yet but can I send a synopsis and sample chapter to a romance publisher? Or should I finish my novel first?

More and more professional writers are not writing their novels first.

They’re learning to play the game. 

Who can blame them?

You know what getting a novel accepted is like!

Why waste so much time writing novels that might not be accepted?

Okay, usually romance publishers expect you to have written one or two novels the first time they hear from you.

They at least need to know you are capable of that.

They want to know you’re serious and that you’ve got past the first two (probably bad) tries at a good romance.

However, once you’ve proved you can write and sell books, try to find agents and publishers that will commission your novels from a synopsis.

It’s not that unreasonable.

After all, non-fiction books and Hollywood movies are commissioned this way all the time.

How should manuscripts be typed, double-spaced or not in a romance novel manuscript?

The submission guidelines for romance are the same as for any MS.

Double-spaced with plenty of margin.

Use only Calibri, Arial or Times Roman font on clean white copy paper.

Plus your name, book title and page numbers in the top right hand corner.

Should we obtain a list of guidelines first from prospective publishers before attempting to write a romance novel?

Yes, every time.

Hi Rob – I really enjoy your courses and always look forward to working with you. My question relates to my own struggles with the story I am writing. What do you think is an acceptable time frame for a story? Is there a rule of thumb?

I realize each story has its own dynamics but perhaps you could give me your insight on how much time can elapse and the story still work.

There are no real rules in this regard.

Whatever works for your plot is right for the story.

Just as in real life, some romances happen overnight, some take years to come to fruition.

Use the time scale that works for you.

It’s literally impossible to be specific but if you twisted my arm I’d say that a week of intense emotion can make for a good story.

In your opinion what are the main differences between category romance and mainstream?

Sometimes the lines are blurred but in general category romance follows the publisher’s guidelines.

Mainstream creates its own - the proven author defines her own romance guidelines, which her fans then come to expect.

I hear it's hard to get your foot in the door with category romance but almost impossible with mainstream.

For those of us who don't enjoy writing category have you any tips or should I take up knitting?

Category romances are about the freedom to write within predefined limits.

When I read romances, I get the feeling good romance authors enjoy the whole edifice they create more than writing the words on the page.

Romance writing is a craft, rather than an art.

It’s about the vision rather than the tools.

Knitting is an interesting analogy.

When you’re making a scarf it’s not the knitting that matters, it’s the end product that keeps your little ones warm in winter that counts!

What's in, what's out and what's always acceptable?

‘Marriage of convenience’ has always been a player and last year ‘babies’ seemed to be the big thing.

Any idea what's the flavor at the moment?

It’s never a good idea to second-guess trends, no matter how tempting!

Mainly because by the time you notice a trend, it’s usually past.

You know that I always say, ‘Just be yourself and go for the honest issues that concern you’ but maybe this time I’ll say a little more.

Look to young people.

Examine the lives they lead.

Don’t be cynical and judgmental.

Put yourself in their shoes and think about what might become

important to them in the years to come.

Lack of men who want to marry?

Single parenthood?

Aging grandparents to look after?

Careers to pursue?

The threat of technology and mass unemployment?

War?

Racial integration?

Drug abuse?

These are the issues that will color the choices young people will make, including the choice of books they will read.

If you’re ever stuck for what to do next, talk to young people and ask them what they want or would like to see happen in the world.

Then see your next job as helping them in some way through your writing.

Power Plays, Dreams and Perfect Pacing

There’s a certain dynamic to relationships that’s endlessly fascinating to most human beings.

Maybe that’s why romance novels are so appealing.

I tried very hard to come up with a simple analogy to help quantify what’s necessary to get that dynamic working for you in your romance writing.

The best I could come up with was a game.

In a game, opponents battle each other to establish who is the better player.

They test each other, find each others’ strengths and weaknesses, and the result can be beautiful and fascinating to watch.

In a romance, your lovers will be playing out a game, of sorts.

A game of seduction, or cat and mouse where the difference is, of course, at the end, both will end up winners.

But during the course of a romance story, your main characters will be vying for position in each other’s affections.

There will inevitably be power plays where each is effectively testing the other to see whether he or she is suitable, adaptable or sincere.

They may do this in a variety of ways.

By confrontation.

Often the protagonists will deliberately provoke each other to illicit a response – to see what kind of man or woman they are.

For instance, at some point in the story, your heroine might deny that she even likes the hero, or try to make him jealous, or make herself unavailable to him or disagree violently with him on some principle he holds dear.

These are all things we know that in real life might threaten a relationship, but in a romance novel are designed to bring the lovers closer together (eventually!)

A common technique is the use of misunderstandings.

You see this used all the time.

Typically, one of the lovers will misconstrue some event and instead of the other merely pointing out that the information is false, they freeze, speechless with anger, fright, pride, whatever and a drama is played out until the misunderstanding is resolved.

Similarly, events are sometimes constructed like those stage farces where only certain characters witness an event and then are constrained by the plot from revealing the truth until later.

But there are other ways of testing your characters.

They might face challenging situations, alone or together, where you plot dictates that they are threatened by some external element.

Their lives might be threatened for instance.

Or one might have to make a choice between their potential lover or a friend in need.

Because, just like a game, there must an element of uncertainty in your romance.

You must give the impression that, at any stage, right up to the end, it COULD all end badly, or just not work out.

Of course it won’t, the reader knows that as well as you.

But, despite there being an inevitability to a romance story, you must play the game too.

You need scenes that mirror life - where couples aren’t sure of each other, where there are doubts, where there are arguments, stand-offs and moments of regret, despair and anger.

Because before your characters are ready to commit, they want to know they’re making the right decision.

So they push each other to their limits.

Only in this way can they (and your reader) be sure that they are ‘made for each other.’

There’s a central conflict in romances that you must exploit.

It is the conflict between dreams and reality.

Both your hero and heroine have an ideal they aspire to.

They know what they want but reality doesn’t appear to provide it for them. The romance novel is essentially an exercise in resolving that disparity.

The heroine dreams and fantasies of the perfect relationship are the criteria by which the heroine moves forward.

But she wants it all.

To be flattered, gratified and encouraged, valued and validated.

To me this is probably the reason why romances are so popular.

It’s where readers have THEIR fantasies of a perfect relationship fulfilled.

It’s definitely the area where most romance writers linger in their writing.

To emulate this is simple.

In between bouts of exposition, you need your characters to analyze their actions and speculate on events before and after they happen.

This not only creates relief, it creates balance in the story.

Here’s an example.

Rock is a millionaire who wants to acquire a building for his company expansion. Phoebe is the young kindergarten teacher who looks after kids in the building.

Simple enough premise but already you can see there are plenty of opportunities here to play off the lovers against each other with fiery exchanges, misunderstandings and dramatic set-tos.

But in between the dramatic sequences, you have plenty of material to explore while the characters are assessing their lives and their lovers in the light of each new event.

Good fiction writing is not just about describing the events, it’s about the anticipation of those events.

In writing, you create that sense of anticipation by having your characters constantly asking questions of themselves and evaluating their current status. Like this:

Ever since she found out it was Rock who wanted the her building, she wasn’t sure how she felt about him.

Could she love a man so callous and uncaring?

If his company always came first, where would she come in his priorities?

I’m sure you get the idea.

Charles Dickens summed up the whole business of writing successful fiction with this wonderful quote:

Make them laugh, make them cry, make them wait.

Never was a truer word spoken.

Exercises

1. Write a chapter using this format:

i. Dramatic Event

ii. Then, analysis of it by heroine/hero

iii. Their internal speculations, followed by

iv. A resolving event which triggers:

v. Another dramatic event.

This format is so common in romance novels, it’s worth writing set pieces like this to get the hang of them.

The following is a great exercise I picked up years ago from a book on writing for radio by Colin Haydn Evans.

2. Take two characters.

They both have something important to say to each other.

Now, construct a dialogue sequence where neither of them actually states what’s on their minds.

Keep writing until your characters run out of things to say - which may be never.

You’ll be amazed just how interesting the dialogue becomes.

3. If you’re ever stuck for romance story ideas, try this:

Think of someone real or imaginary you regard as sexy and desirable.

Make a list of doubts you might have about their suitability as a partner.

Invent plot events that would challenge and resolve those doubts.

Voila, you have a template for a romance story!

4. During your meditation time, contemplate the dynamics of relationships, how they ebb and flow.

Try to get a sense of how you can use these dynamics in your writing.

Overcoming Obstacles

You’ll remember back to the beginning of the course I said that plot was about characters and the obstacles they face.

I advised that for a good romance story you should set up at least 10 obstacles to a relationship and move on from there.

Well, of course the whole point of setting up all those obstacles at the beginning is to overcome them all!

But how do you do this without seeming contrived?

Well for one thing, you have an advantage.

The romance reader desperately wants your heroes to overcome their obstacles. So as long as you’re even a least bit credible, you’ll be pleasing your reader no end!

First of all, there are five main categories of obstacle.

1. Mental

2. Physical

3. Spiritual

4. Emotional

5. Circumstantial

All or some of which have their place in the make-up of your lead characters. For instance:

If Patricia has an attitude problem, say she doesn’t believe that Dan is a suitable lover, you will need to arrange the plot to banish her doubts.

We will need to see Dan gradually changing during the book, or working his way beneath her skin, or ‘being there’ when she needs him.

This will subtly alter her worldview until their pairing is inevitable.

Similarly, if there are physical reasons why the main protagonists could not be together, these too must be resolved.

For example, Jack could be an International Tennis star whose commitment to his game precludes him from settling down with Liz.

It’s not enough just to have Jack give up his passion for the convenience of your story.

You will need to invent credible compromises.

Perhaps that Jack becomes a coach and Liz becomes his assistant and this realizes her dream of traveling to foreign lands.

Another example:

Britney has a dream that one she will own a farm in Kentucky, just like her grandfather.

Her potential beloved, Nigel, is a keyboard player with a rock band.

Their seemingly disparate careers are overcome when Nigel is offered a contract to write a rock musical and he needs somewhere quiet to work…

There may be a host of reasons why two people are seemingly ‘not to be.’

But the job of the romance writer is to come up with plots that draw these people closer together.

Pauly, a professional skater, is depressed after the death of her mother.

Dave takes her avoidance of him as rejection and carries on with his life as a TV producer, surrounded by distracting maidens.

Pauly gives up her career and mopes about the house, wondering what to do with her life.

A solicitor gets in touch with her to tell her of her mother’s inheritance.

Now she has the money to fulfill her dream: to put on an ice show.

She gets a call from WBTV who want to televise it.

They have a producer lined up.

It’s Dave.

You see how using your plot to resolve obstacles can make a story fun to read? In romance, it’s most common that two people, although attracted instantly, have far different aspirations, and disparate circumstances.

So, in this sense, overcoming these different aspirations and circumstances is what your romance story is about.

Stacy is a WWF activist working in Central Africa.

Her job is to save animals from extinction.

She’s fanatical about preserving life.

At a party she meets Rael, a Belgian game hunter.

They fall in love, neither knowing the other’s career.

The rest of the story is taken up with how they learn to deal with each other’s point of view.

Perhaps Real is badly mauled and realizes he’s scared and vulnerable for the first time in his life.

At the same time, Stacy, through a friendship with a university professor, begins to appreciate that responsible culling can be an effective way of preserving a species. Gradually, the lovers come together.

In romance, it is more satisfying when both parties work together to resolve their obstacles.

Jenny has a problem with commitment.

She’s spent most of her life afraid she will get hurt the way her mother did.

Dirk is strong and determined to break through her fear.

The plot resolution should include at least two elements:

1. Jenny’s own triumph.

Perhaps she sees her sister succeed in a relationship and learns from it.

2. Dirk’s own efforts help with that transition.

Perhaps Jenny arranges a test of his fidelity which he passes.

Study a few romance novels and you will note that usually the last part of the novel is taken up with the characters ‘talking through’ their differences.

As in real life, even with the most difficult of obstacles, the characters end up maturely discussing their differences, reassuring one another of their love and commitment to the other and assuring themselves and each other of the bright and hopeful future ahead.

Climaxes, False Starts and Denouements

By now you’ll have a pretty good idea about what is expected from the ending of a romance novel.

Your ‘roller-coaster’ plot should peak with a decisive piece of action that resolves the major hurdles encountered by your protagonists.

As it’s romance this will result in the coming together of your lovers on equal terms ready to face a bright and happy future.

But your ending should also fulfill the following functions:

1. Resolve all other plot elements. (Sub plots, sub character challenges, conflicts etc)

2. Tie up all the loose ends.

3. Provide a satisfying closure

When you read the first draft of your story, make a list of all the characters and ask yourself whether there’s any unfinished business you will need to close off. If there is, don’t write one last page neatly explaining what happens to who, why it happened and when.

Work back and place ‘closing off’ scenes prior to the main denouement.

And, as always, show don’t tell.

For instance, you may have a minor character called Jane.

Astute readers will remember her and want to know whether she turned out okay too.

Don’t wait until the last page to tell us, ‘And by the way, Jane found a new partner and everything was looking good for her.’

Instead, perhaps ten pages from the end, actually show Jane meeting a new partner and leaving the reader clues that she will be fine.

Similarly with plot devices like specific events in your novel, make sure there are no open-ended scenarios left unresolved.

Actions that other characters are engaged in, however minor, will leave the reader frustrated if they are not resolved or worse, never mentioned again.

Be mindful that anything and everything will seem significant to your reader.

If you can’t satisfactorily resolve certain characters, consider erasing all trace of them.

Your story will undoubtedly benefit from this type of editing.

The final way of properly achieving closure is to have some sort of ‘moral’ to your story.

This goes right back to the story statement you put together when you first started your novel.

(Remember I said it would become important?)

It’s necessary that your story statement is finally ‘proved’ at the end.

This provides a ‘point’ to your book, a reason for the reader having spent time reading it.

If you are not satisfied that your ‘story point’ is proven you may need to go back and rework parts of the end-plot so that it does.

One great technique is to have a big climactic ending where everything is resolved, getting the protagonists finally together… and then split them up with some serious major obstacle one last time.

This technique is useful because it defies the reader’s expectations.

It also has the advantage that the reader will be rooting for the happy ending, which despite being a cliché, is necessary for full closure of a romance.

Try it.

It works.

Many thanks for taking this course with me.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did preparing it!

In what ever you do, keep well and happy.

And don't forget to KEEP WRITING!

Rob Parnell

Your Success is My Concern

Fast Writing Exercises

Hopefully, you are pounding away at your romance novel as we speak.

So I thought a few exercises on fast writing might be appropriate.

1. For romance, it’s best if you write the way you would speak.

Relaxed, chatty and fun, as you would talk to a friend.

For practice, try tape recording a short paragraph, making up the story as you go along.

If you’re not used to it, this can be quite hard at first.

But it’s a useful tool to see how your brain works.

2. Listen hard to your ‘internal voice.’

You know – the one that prattles on in your mind whether you want it to or not.

Ideally, you need to get this ‘internal voice’ under control.

If you can, you can use it to write.

Write fast enough and you can keep up with it.

This technique is called ‘stream of consciousness’ writing and can result in long lively passages of writing that are perfect for the romance genre.

3. Experiment with writing fast, without thinking, for ten minute bursts.

The more you do it, the better you get.

Learn to trust your instincts when you write.

When writing first drafts, always write the first thing that comes into your head. Worry about what you’ve written later.

You’ll be surprised how good a lot of this ‘unconscious’ writing can be.

Writing Romance Short Stories

For a full exploration of the short story genre, you could do a lot worse than get my course on the subject. Or my book from Amazon. In it, I mention the classic Romance ‘formula’, which I call the ‘123Bang’ system. Basically this means your short story follows this format:

1. Obstacle

2. Obstacle

3. Obstacle/Resolution

BANG: The twist

You see this format all the time, especially in romance short

stories up to 1000 words, but it can be used just as effectively for longer

works. Here’s a simple example:

Obstacle One:

Dianne wants to meet the gorgeous man across the room. He’s oblivious to her, engrossed in another female.

Obstacle Two:

He is alone suddenly. Dianne plots how she might accidentally bump into him. On her way over, she trips and falls.

Obstacle Three:

She looks up and he’s gone. She curses and then notices he’s helping her stand up.

Bang, the Twist:

He asks her out. Dianne asks about the other woman. She’s his sister.

Here’s another example from a story I wrote for a UK magazine called Fast Fiction (it was accepted straightaway!) It's called 'Doing the Business'

Obstacle One:

Dennis is having dinner with a client in a hotel. She’s making eyes at him though he wants to remain faithful to his wife.

Obstacle Two:

Dennis’ business partner calls him and says he must do whatever he must to get the deal from the client. The client too implies his “services” are part of the deal.

Obstacle Three:

They head back to their rooms. In the lift, she pounces on him. He fights her off and goes back to his room, depressed but faithful.

Twist:

It was a set up. His wife calls to say the client is a friend, testing his fidelity.

He has passed the test. Plus, he got the deal for the company.

Ideas and how to find them

The following exercises are to do with coming up with ideas for more romance stories; if you’re planning on a writing career, it’s important to have plenty of back up.

Because it’s generally a mistake to get too hung up on one book or story.

To be a full time romance writer it’s wise to always have ideas for more stories.

Romance publishers assume most readers read one or two romance books a week!

So don’t let yourself get bogged down with one story.

If it doesn’t flow naturally, put it aside and start on another one.

You can always come back with fresh eyes to old stories.

Writing well is about practice.

The more you write the better you get.

If you get stuck, you’re basically wasting time because you’re not writing!

1. Think of two characters that seemingly have nothing in common.

Detail their lives, agendas etc.

Now assume they are instantly attracted.

List how they might overcome the obstacles to their union.

2. Exploit a fantasy.

Imagine you’re on holiday alone.

You see the most gorgeous person alive pass you on the beach.

Invent a history for that person and imagine how you might get past all of the obstacles and make them your own.

3. During your meditative time, imagine that ideas are like water, and that everywhere you go, it’s raining!

Advice: don’t get too attached to your ideas and don’t imagine that they’re the only good ones you will ever have.

Most full time writers will confirm: the more you write, the more ideas you get.

Plus, the more you write, the more you will want to write.

It becomes an ever-increasing spiral.

Trust me.

Remember that it’s only beginners who think that ideas are hard to come by.

Professionals say the opposite: they are besieged with so many ideas, they hardly know where to start!

That’s because they write first and look for ideas second.

It’s the only way.

It’s about perspective.

Once you realize the world around you is teeming with impressions and actions and fun, you won’t know how you missed all these inspiring cues!

Whenever you write for a publisher, you should always follow their guidelines and read at least half a dozen of the stories they print.

Do this before you start writing.

It’s the only way to get it right.

Because the editor knows what the readers want and is looking for a particular style and flavor.

It’s pointless sending in MSS that you know in your heart are not exactly right for the publisher.

You see, writing for publishers is not primarily about you expressing your creativity.

Not when you’re just starting out anyway.

It’s basically about writing to order.

And don’t think of that as selling out or anything so seedy!

All the greats have done it…

Dickens, Scott Fitzgerald, Du Maurier…so you’ll be in good company!

But, to be honest, the publishing industry is contracting and the opportunities for self publishers growing.

Being self motivated and unafraid to publish your own books is the way of the modern author.

In this climate, it’s easy to get cynical, especially if you’re unimpressed by the stories you read online or sealing well on Amazon.

But it’s a mistake to think, ‘I could have done better than that’ because ‘that’ is often exactly what readers want!

Don’t be fooled.

Most of these stories are written by well-seasoned writers who know exactly what the publishers and their readers want…and work hard to give it to them.

As an exercise, practice writing 2000 word stories or chapters.

Edit them savagely down to 1000 words, making sure everything is there for a reason.

Most often romance stories sound casual, even conspiratorial.

They use everyday language and are told with familiarity, without pretense.

Work on this aspect.

It’s actually more difficult than you’d think to sound effortless!

Look for everyday situations that you think readers will relate to.

Make your characters heroic, sensitive and believable.

And remember the things I’ve taught you in the rest of this course.

The formula works every time!