When you write a romance novel, you start out with one big advantage. They like ice tea and hot romance, and I say that with affection as a true southerner.
The majority of these women read romance novels at least once a month, but over a third buy more than one romance novel each month. And these readers are seasoned. If you crunch the numbers, the average reader was read well over romance novels in their lifetime.
She wants to see a heroine she can relate to. So, create a heroine that reflects your average reader. Your heroine and the reader should share some sympathetic characters.
Here are some ideas you can use to reflect the reader in your romance novel:. Make him imperfect. Make the reader fall in love with him, too. Make the reader care about both main characters. Take your time to create rounded and realistic characters.
He should have faults but a true admiration for the heroine. And he should have a growth arc through the story as well. What is driving these two characters in a collision course with each other? I highly recommend creating a character bible. In a bid to push the characters towards a happy ending, writers may ignore motivation. Motivation is the reason why a character does something.
It can be something they believe about themselves, something they believe about the other person, or something they want to happen or not happen. Motives are usually born in the backstory. The reason why a character opts for one course of action over another is based on something that the reader may not know but you should definitely know.
You may give glimpses to the reader, but as the writer, should always know the motivation of each character at every point within your story.
So, the question is, should you go graphic and ultra specific with a fully fleshed out I warned you about the puns sex scene? How is it possible?
As it turns out, this reader, at least, gave Perfect Rhythm a chance, bought it, read it—and loved it! This story has helped me understand that not everything is black or white but a wide spectrum of colors. It has given me a different view of sexuality. The love [scene] is one of the most endearing and overwhelming scenes I have read lately. Clearly, for her, Perfect Rhythm has everything that makes a good romance novel. So I started thinking: what is it that makes a great romance novel?
What are the must-have elements that will make readers go back to re-read it again and again? I could list more elements—such as supporting characters or setting—but I believe these five aspects are the core of what makes a great romance novel.
Hot sex scenes and sizzling sexual tension might be on the list of must-haves for some readers, but I believe that you can have a truly satisfying romance without those two things, as long as you have the five elements I listed above.
Subscribe to Sandra Gerth's newsletter for writers to get writing tips, free books for writers, and a handy cheat sheet for writing great beginnings sent to your in-box. All I can say is YES to all of it. You also hit the nail on the head for me there at the end. And when it is done in that way, focusing on those types of scenes repeatedly, instead of the small nuances around one another and the slow growing pull toward one another, by the end of the books I just feel empty.
Still might consider it a good read, for the time, but not one i would feel pulled to read again or ponder on the characters many days after the fact. I just notice my heart tightens and I forget to breathe when I read those slight touches or those secret glances that get caught and the half smiles.
With your novels I have yet to ever feel that. Rather, as a reader I've encountered romance novels where the romance gets so buried in the larger narrative that the book no longer holds to the category.
While I don't want my love story to be one dimensional, it must feel essential to the book. This admonition represents the tricky balance every writer of romance must establish, maintain a breathless, heart-stopping romance while keeping it tied to a compelling, broader narrative. I've discovered it's the books that deftly manage this balance that keep me turning pages into the wee hours of morning and drive me back to the bookstore in search of other titles by the same author.
Another point that might seem obvious, but I've reached great heights of frustration waiting for the romance to show up in a so-called romance novel. I'm not equating sex with romance, and when I say 'sex' I don't mean the deed itself, but rather everything that leads up to that physical culmination of romance. Building physical and emotional tension lies at the heart of an irresistible romance.
Stolen kisses, a brief touch, salacious daydreams, and almost-but-not-quite encounters all contribute to a reader's investment in the novel's central relationship. I've come across a surprising number of romance novels where no tantalizing scenes appeared until the last third of the book. Delayed gratification has its merits, but also its limits. A last aside, fussy and personal , regarding historical romance: maintain sensitivity to a modern reader's ability to stomach forgotten English.
An example: I was more than a little surprised when, in the midst of a particular romance, I slammed up against a tension-ruining wall.
It came in the form of a single word. Dear author, as a former professor of history I appreciate that you're writing a historical romance that takes place in the early nineteenth century and focuses on the lives of the oh-so-proper British upper crust. For me pulchritude does not evoke its actual meaning, "beauty which pleases the eye. In the midst of satin stays, heaving bosoms, and sultry gazes I cannot stomach pulchritude. Not for the sliver of an instant.
And yet, much to my dismay the word appears not once but a few dozen times in the narrative.
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