Love is in the air and you might
get swept up in it and decide it is time to take a stab at writing romance.
Some people are mistaken into thinking that romance writing is easier than
other types of fiction writing, that there is some easy formula to follow. I
once had a conversation with a writer of literary fiction who was undermining
romance writing and I told her at the time that she should try to write “the
first kiss” scene in a fresh exciting way and she’ll get an inkling of how
tough romance writing can be. Romance readers want good writing and good
writing requires developed plots and characters.
The Basic Ingredients of Romance
Fiction
1. A heroine the reader can identify with
Most romance readers are women and
they want the heroine to be someone they like. The heroine doesn’t need to be
exactly like the readers, but she must be someone they can empathise with. They
must understand her motivations. They must see some bit of themselves in her.
2. An irresistible hero
Your hero must be someone the
readers fall in love with too. He doesn’t need to be the best looking guy in
the room, often the most irresistible men aren’t. Big and brawny is not what
most women are looking for. They want men who are intelligent, empathetic, and
funny. At least that’s what the polls say.
3. A believable plot
How likely is it for the rich
business man to fall deeply in love with his uneducated maid? Not very, let’s
be honest. And though Shakespeare got away with women disguised as men, it’s
not a plot most modern readers will buy. Your plot should have a lot of twists
and turns, but they should be believable.
4. A happy ending
Romance fiction ends with a happy
ending, the hero and heroine overcome whatever is keeping them apart and by the
end of the book the two finally get together. It doesn’t have to be marriage or
even them falling into bed together, it could be that they finally get passed
whatever has been keeping them from being together.
Tips for writing romance
1. Saying “I love you” is not always the best way of saying I love you
I love you in dialogue is a bit
boring. Try something fresh. Your heroine has been away for 27 days. She
returns and she’s with your hero. She asks, “How have you been?” He says, “I
had 27 bad days, but everything’s perfect today.” That screams love, doesn’t
it?
2. Make your readers love your hero by his actions
He loves a certain kind of
chocolate, but when his sister is visiting and there’s only one left; he lets
her have it. He’s late for an important meeting at work, but half-way there he
realises he forgot to feed his cat and he turns and goes back home to do it.
The annoying old lady from down the street is visiting and doesn’t want to
leave even though it is obvious to everyone but her that the hero and heroine
want time alone. Though he can’t wait to be alone with his love, he walks the
old lady home because she’s afraid of thieves in the night. All of these help
to show the reader how great your hero is.
3. No one is perfect
Be careful not to make either your
hero or heroine too perfect though. Give them flaws. Maybe she’s arrogant.
Maybe he is a bit unambitious. The flaws can add to your tension that keeps
them apart.
4. Tension must guide the plot
Tension in romance is caused by the
reasons they cannot be together. There is external tension. They can’t be
together because he lives in Harare and she lives in Joburg. They can’t be
together because her mother hates him. That’s external tension, things
happening outside of them. But internal tension is more powerful. She can’t be
with him because she still thinks she loves her old boyfriend. He can’t be with
her because he slept with her sister and he feels too much guilt.
5. Decide on how hot it’s going to be
A lot about the hotness of the
intimate scenes will decide on the author’s preference, but also where you
intend to send the manuscript. You should read the publisher’s guidelines.
Nowadays most romance publishers have a wide range of imprints that cater for
various amount of hotness all the way up to erotica so you should be able to
find a place where your story fits.
Good luck getting romantic!
(This first appeared in my column in The Voice newspaper, It's All Write, 14 Feb.,2014)
I think what I find so difficult about writing romance is trying to keep it fresh and original. Romance has been written every which way since the beginning of literature, and the market is saturated with romantic fiction. How do you tell a love story that is honest, interesting and new?
ReplyDeleteI think romantic fiction is one of the hardest genres to write and power to anyone who does it, and does it well!
I don't know, that can be said for most types of fiction. I think people meet and fall in love in a million ways, as many as the people who exist. Yes, perhaps finding interesting ways to protray that first kiss can be challenging.
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