February, the month of love, and you might also be thinking about penning your first romance story.
Every genre has its own requirements and romance isn’t an exception. It took me many years of trial and error to get the whole romance writing thing down to an art. What I slowly learned (as the rejections piled up), was there are five essential elements to a successful romance. While I can guarantee you’ll get a contract for your story but without them you’re going to get a ‘not right for us’ responses.
So here they are-
The Initial Meeting
When characters first come in contact with one another it’s a key moment but in romances it’s a crucial moment. It’s the first layer of the romance…they see one another and they take note of one another. There’s a reaction…it could be physical or emotional, even both, and there’s the immediate attraction to that other person.
Look at her, she’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen.
OMG, that man has the bluest eyes…I think I’m in love.
However, if you know romances as well as I hope you do, you know it’s not smooth sailing even though these two people are attracted to one another. We have to put something in their way. This leads me nicely into element number two-
Conflict
Every story needs conflict but the romance feeds on it, In fact, it propels the plot. You can have internal conflict which stems from inside the character.
So think about the above and now you get…
Yeah, but I’ve been burned one too many times by the pretty girls.
And you can have external conflict which isn’t connected to the personality of the character but an outside force.
So in the second example you’d get…
Shame he’s CEO of the company that bankrupted my dad’s company.
And this then leads to the next element-
Push Pull Factor
We, romance writers, push them together and won’t quit. They keep running into one another, despite trying to avoid one another. These characters are smart they know what’s at risk if they let their guard down. No matter how many times we push them together, the couple pulls themselves apart…and yes, readers keep turning the pages.
And all this just causes the next element-
Sexual Tension
There’s nothing like not getting what you really want to drive you crazy and make you tense and in this case, sexually tense. I want to kiss him…I want to get her into bed…but I can’t because he’s not right for me, or she’s a heartbreaker. There’s also the emotional element that’s running through their heads and the reader’s getting more on edge, yes, tension is running high for them too and then you give them what they want. The couple gets together and it looks like everything is going to be okay. However, this is a romance so the reader requires element number five…
Black Moment
It’s that time in the story when the reader can take a sigh of relief, phew, these two are going to make it but I sense something here and bam, you offer the black moment where something unexpected has raised its ugly head. A secret from the past, an accident, or some misfortune…the reader turns the pages, knowing this is romance and you’ll give them what they want (the happily ever after), but seeing how you get the couple there is their reward.
Make sure you have all these elements and you have the beginning of a published story. Good luck with yours and Happy Valentine’s Day.
Do you have a writing question you’d like answered or what to see a specific topic covered in the Writer’s Room in 2018? Leave a comment and let me know.
Susan Palmquist is the author of 100 plus books including writing instruction, lifestyle, romances and mysteries. Under her pen name, Vanessa Devereaux, she writes erotic romances and erotica.
Since 2010 she’s been tutoring aspiring authors and offering workshops through various chapters of Romance Writers of America. She recently launched a mentoring/coaching service for both aspiring and established writers. You can learn more about Susan and her work at www.susanpalmquist.com www.vanessadevereaux.com and her writing blog at www.thiswriterslife.com and check out her self- paced writing classes at https://writersroom.zenler.com/
Contact Susan about her coaching/mentoring service at susanpalm2010@gmail.com
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