First, They Meet

The fact that you are writing a romance it’s a given that your hero and heroine have to meet each other.  The romantic relationship can’t begin until they do.

I once heard an author of another genre say that in a romance, the characters always meet by physically running into each other. While we know that’s not true, I’ve seen the technique used many times.  It’s called a “cute meet.” Some authors not only feel it’s necessary, but are highly skilled at introducing their hero and heroine in unique, memorable, or sometimes funny ways.  

Maybe their characters physically run into each other. Perhaps the hero/heroine find themselves booked into the same cabin and it’s the only cabin available, or the heroine’s best friend gives her the keys to her family’s vacation home and the hero (the best friend’s brother) shows up to use the home at the same time. Maybe, the hero and heroine inherit the same house, ranch, or business with the stipulation they must work/live there for a certain period to claim their inheritance.

These all are openings I’ve seen. However, they don’t represent all types of romances. The romances in which best friends fall in love don’t have the same initial meet. There seems to be a different kind of first meeting in reunion romances where the hero and heroine were teenage friends or lovers years before the story opens. Perhaps one of your lead characters are hard working single parent striving to raise their child, or your hero or heroine believe they are too busy with their career for a romantic relationship.

No matter the circumstances, the first meeting is more than a physical greeting between the hero and heroine. It is the first milestone you, as the author, must reach. The reader expects that the initial encounter between the hero and heroine will happen within the first chapter. It represents the first spark of attraction or perhaps the first confrontation between the two characters.

When a reader picks up a romance novel, they are already accepting the promise that not only will the characters meet, but they are eager to go on their journey to find love. If you need to make them wait for a few pages, be sure you are layering in the hero and heroine’s character traits and hint at their internal and external motivation or conflict by having at least one scene in each character’s point of view. In those first pages, you also promise your reader the story will be funny, suspenseful, or filled with angst from past hurts that the hero or heroine must overcome to find love. 

From page one, the reader begins to root for the hero and heroine’s happily ever after. Don’t let the hero and heroine’s first meeting become a disappointment to your reader.

Rose Gardner’s writing journey has come in two phases. The first was focused on contemporary category romance. After a break, she returned to writing contemporary heartwarming stories about love, hope, healing and the power of forgiveness. During the first phase of her writing she was a finalist in thirteen contests and won her category in seven including a 2007 RWA Golden Heart finalist in the Long Contemporary Category, and 2nd runner up in the Harlequin Super Romance Conflict of Interest Contest in 2008. More recently she won 1^st place in the Blue Seal Award for General/ Contemporary/ Romance Novels at OHCWC 2017.