Author: Kelly Barr

Categories
Romancing Your Story

Romancing Your Genre

              In today’s world of literature, no matter what genre you read, you are likely to come across romance. I read a broad range of genres: historical and contemporary romance, fantasy, YA, mysteries, crime novels—pretty much everything except science-fiction, horror, and erotica. I don’t mind a steamy scene, but don’t give me details. In all of the genres I read, most of the books in those genres include some romance, whether it be the main story line, a single scene between minor characters, or just a hint of attraction between characters.

              What does this mean for writers? It can mean a couple things: 1) you can include a romance in whatever genre you are writing, if you choose to; 2) adding a romance to your genre may appeal to and attract a larger audience.

              Everyone has a need to be loved. Maybe that’s why it’s so popular to include some type of romance in a novel of any genre. I recently read a murder mystery that was written like an old classic, but the detective found the woman, who received a threat against her life, attractive. He thought about the possibility of a date with her. That was the extent of the “romance” in that book, but it still offered a taste of romance for the reader.

              In the first book of a fantasy series I read, there was no romance. In the second book, the protagonist’s romantic interest is introduced, but the romance doesn’t really become a big part of the story until the third book. Even then, it’s not the main story line. It never really becomes the main story line throughout the four books in the series. Even in the sequel, where they finally are able to marry, there are many other things they must experience and deal with before they can marry near the end of the sequel.

              Through these examples, you can see that you don’t have to be an experienced or successful romance writer to add a bit of romance to whatever genre you write. Simply add some attraction, or make the romance a secondary story line. If you want more romance, read a romance book or two, or talk to a romance writer.

              Romance is often the beginning of love and everyone wants to be loved. Therefore, no matter what genre you write, you can include a little bit of love. It will not detract from your story. It will add something to your story, and may even attract more readers to your books.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer

Categories
History in the Making

Why You Need to Get Your Historical Facts Straight

History in the making

If you’re a historical fiction writer who is under quarantine or lockdown, whether voluntary or government mandated, now would be a great time to delve into the historical period for your next novel or maybe you need another historical tidbit for your current story. Either way, getting your head out of the news for a while and going back in time may be just what you need to help you focus on something more fun and interesting than the current state of the world.

“How much research should I do for a historical novel and why is it so important? After all, it’s historical fiction, right? So, can’t I just make up what I don’t know?”

No, you can’t—not if you want to gain and keep readers. Many people who read historical fiction do so because they enjoy history. Many are history buffs. Some people want to learn something from historical fiction, and they may just do some research after reading your book to see if you had your historical facts straight. You’re bound to have at least one reader who will be ready and willing to contact you and point out where you missed the mark.

As a writer somewhere between plotting and pantsing, I will say that I am careful to research anything that has to do with the time period of my setting. For instance, my current WIP, (work in progress), is set in 1860s United States, in the west, and my protagonist needs to carry a rifle and a handgun for his job, so I Googled rifles and handguns from that time period to be sure I didn’t give my character a gun that hadn’t been created yet.

When I took that chapter to a critique group that I was part of at the time, two of the men in the group challenged me on the rifle and handgun I chose to use. I was able to give them the information of the site where I found the facts and inform them of what I learned about my chosen weapons. My choice of weapons weren’t the only historical items the men in the group challenged me on, which is why I want to know my facts.

I also have read book reviews of other historical writers’ works and have found at least one review, that I can recall, that challenged the author’s historical facts. This reader gave the writer a lower star rating because the reader was certain the author had the facts wrong.

Readers who are history buffs will know their history and expect you to know yours. They will not hesitate to let you know if they believe you have gotten something wrong, and they may write a scathing review of your work. They may also decide not to read another one of your books. We work hard to gain our readers, therefore, we need to do our best to keep them by making sure we get our historical facts straight.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer

Categories
Romancing Your Story

How Do You Write Characters of the Opposite Gender Realistically?

This was a question I saw in the Twitter writing community and realized it is a challenge, especially in a romance story. As a woman, how do I effectively write my male protagonist realistically in my historical romance stories?

Until seeing this question on Twitter, I hadn’t really thought about it. However, I spend quite a bit of time planning my characters—getting to know them—before beginning my story. I create their back stories as well, because my stories are character driven so I want to know my main characters inside and out. I think that’s a great start.

Also, in my neighborhood, my sister and I were the only girls for a long time and we had the biggest yard. Therefore we played a lot of kickball and wiffleball with boys. I had lots of boys as friends. I think spending time with boys as I was growing up allowed me to understand them and get a pretty good idea of how they act and react to different things.

It also helps to watch and observe people. I enjoy people watching. It’s an activity you can do just about anywhere.

I am part of a small critique group, and the first summer I was part of the group, there was a gentleman in the group. I submitted chapters of my historical romance story each time we met. Often when we met to offer feedback, this gentleman would remark how impressed and surprised he was at how authentically I portrayed my male protagonist. He remarked on my male protagonist’s dialogue lines as well as his reactions toward the female protagonist.

My husband and I have been married for 26 years, which I believe also gives me a good sense of how a man acts and reacts. It also has given me insight into the differences between men and women as God designed us. As we spend time with those of the opposite gender, talk with them, listen to them, and observe them we get a pretty good idea of how to write the characters of our opposite gender in our stories.

If the characters that you write of the opposite gender seem unrealistic or react to a particular situation in a strange way, take some time to observe the opposite gender, especially as they interact with someone of your gender. Also, talk with someone of the opposite gender, maybe share what you’ve written with them, and allow them to give you some thoughts and ideas.

However, I strongly encourage you to dig deep and develop your characters’ personalities, the family they grew up in, their back stories, their strengths and weaknesses, their needs and desires – everything you can think of to create a deep well-rounded character – as this will help you to write your characters, of both the same gender as you and the opposite gender as you, effectively and realistically. Spend time writing down everything you know about your character; creating your character, before inserting them into your story.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer

Categories
History in the Making

Unexpected Treasures

History in the making

As both a reader and a writer, I enjoy spending time in book stores and libraries. This year some of my reader/writer friends and I went on two Used Book Store Tours. If you haven’t been on a Used Book Store Tour, I encourage you to take one. We spent an entire day in a specific area exploring all of the Used Book Stores in that area. It was a fun and exciting adventure.

used book store tour

The store, where I took the above photo, had four floors of books. As we explored each floor, we found the history section and one of my friends asked me, “Are you still interested in the Old West time period?”

I replied, “I certainly am.”

So, he showed me a book he had discovered, and I quickly asked if I could take a look at it. He handed it to me and I sat in an old wooden rocking chair to peruse the pages. Not only did I find the book fascinating, but the illustrations were unique, and the most exciting thing was that there were two newspaper clippings tucked inside the front cover.

The book is about Virginia City in the 1860s and 1870s. The newspaper clippings were also about Virginia City – one from 1997 and the other from 2004. I was so excited as my mind started to consider the treasure I held in my hands.

At the checkout counter, I feared the clerk may confiscate the newspaper clippings, but to my joy and relief, he didn’t.

Now, I eagerly await the opportunity to sit down and read this book and these clippings, as I know a story idea will form in my mind. I will learn of interesting characters from history, a city I don’t know anything about, the history about that city – not just Old West history, but even a bit of more recent history, thanks to those newspaper clippings, and who knows what kind of story will begin to form in my head.

In another used book store on that same day, I found a book about a particular group of military men from a period in history, and as I read the inside of the dust jacket, the idea for a story pricked my brain.

This delightful experience taught me something I hadn’t considered before – a book store isn’t just a place for the reader in me. It’s also a wonderful place for the writer in me to find treasures that will lead me to my next story.

In the past, I have always gravitated to the historical fiction section of a book store or library. Now, I know to also check out the nonfiction history section. Not only can I learn something about history, but I may find my next story idea in a history book upon those shelves.

We plan to do more Used Book Store Tours in 2020 and I can’t wait to see what treasures I find on those tours.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer

Categories
Romancing Your Story

Does Romance Really Mean “Happily Ever After”?

As a little girl I was enthralled with the classic Disney tales of princesses finding their “Prince Charming” and living happily ever after—Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty. As a teenager I devoured Harlequin romance books and larger romance novels, each ending with the man and woman madly in love and the assumption that they lived “happily ever after”.

Therefore, like most girls, I dreamed of finding and falling in love with an incredibly romantic man, marrying, and living happily ever after. Now let’s pause a moment here to talk about what this idea of “happily ever after” is. When you watch the Disney princess movies or read the romance novels, there may or may not be any real tensions or problems between the man and woman that have to be worked through for them to continue having a “happy” relationship. Often, their relationship appears perfect—not a care or problem in the world. Is this idea of “happily ever after” realistic? Of course not.

Are we doing our readers a disservice if we paint this kind of perfect romance? My opinion is “yes”. I remember being quite upset when I realized that Disney princesses’ “happily ever after” doesn’t exist in the real world. To achieve happily ever after requires hard work from both the man and woman in the relationship because men and women are different. God created them to think, feel, and communicate differently, and that can present struggles and problems they must learn to talk about and work through in order to have a “happily ever after”.

Will including such problems in our romance stories, even before marriage, make our stories less, or lose readers? I think, by showing characters that face real-life struggles, our stories become richer and more relatable. Depending on how you choose to show how your characters work out such struggles, you may even be helping your reader with a struggle in their own relationship by showing them a possible solution they may not have thought about. Including such problems in our characters’ relationships can not only make our characters stronger, but strengthen the story as a whole.

As a romance writer, I have had several ladies say to me, “Why are the relationships in romance stories always so perfect? Why do they have to always have a happy ending? Real life isn’t like that. Just once I’d like to read a story that doesn’t end with “happily ever after”.

Does that mean you have to end your romance novel without a wedding or the happy couple walking into the sunset hand-in-hand? Not necessarily, but it could offer you a new option for some good tension or conflict in your novel. Or maybe, the boy doesn’t get the girl the reader thought he’d get at the beginning of the book. Maybe, he finds one that’s a better match, showing that not every relationship works out or ends in marriage.

Readers may find such a story refreshing.

Kelly F. Barr lives in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She is married and has three sons. She writes historical romance. She has also been a blogger for ten years, and every Friday, you can find her Flash Fiction stories posted for your reading pleasure. She loves her family, including the family dog, books, walks, and chai lattes.

You can find her online at:

Website: https://kellyfbarr.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kellyb_26

Facebook: Kelly F. Barr, Writer