My name is M. Rose Gardner and I am an aspiring author of contemporary romance. This is my first article for A3 and I hope you enjoy it.
You may be looking at the title and wondering why the goal in a romance isn’t falling in love? Actually, the only person who should have that goal for the hero and heroine is the author.
Romance with suspense or romance with glamour?
Why pick one when you can have both?
Lynette Eason
I met Lynette a few years ago at a writers retreat, and our paths have crossed again at other conferences. She’s a kind-hearted, humble, and talented writer. So it was a delight to chat with her about her latest novels in the Blue Justice Series. The first book in the series, Oath of Honor, is a page-turner with an intricate plot. And a cute little dog named Mozart.
Becky Wade
Becky and I discovered we have something in common—we’re both the oldest of our siblings. And so is her heroine in Falling for You, the second novel in the Bradford Sisters Romance Series. The paths of a famous model and a famous football player cross again when they’re enlisted to help a young girl solve a family mystery. Will the love they experienced before be rekindled? This story is a page-turner, too!
The next Novelists Unwind Giveaway will be announced on Saturday, October 6th, at novelistsunwind.com. Be sure to enter for your chance to win a print edition of an amazing inspirational novel.
Meet Johnnie
Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won’t forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides (Tyndale), made the CBA bestseller list. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr.
Here’s what we know so far about Susie, our romantic heroine. We’ve made her Jewish, with fears of rejection, and by profession, a rabbi. What she notices when she looks in the mirror, is her nose. Because of it’s length, she thinks she’s ugly. Her voice is smooth and soothing, but she stutters when she gets nervous. She has flowing chestnut hair with great styling body. Her eyes are dark and beautiful, lips the perfect proportion.
[bctt tweet=”The romantic heroine’s flaws leave room for complementary strengths in the hero.” username=”@A3writers @donnalhsmith @AlmostanAuthor”] #amwriting #RomancingYourStory #AlmostAnAuthor #CraftingTheHeroine
This time, let’s change her name to suit who she is.
We’ve been calling her Susie, but maybe we should find a good Jewish name for her, such as Hannah, or Tovah, or Rebekkah. What do you think? Tovah reminds me of the actress, Tovah Feldshuh. I like the name. No one but a Jewish girl would have a name like that. Tovah’s her first name.
Maybe Cohen should be her last name. Tovah Cohen is a great Jewish name. Cohens, as I understand it, are descendants of the Levites, those charged with taking care of the tabernacle and the temple. Sounds good for a woman rabbi.
Thinking of the connotations of the name you choose for your romance heroine is important. And, it’s precisely why in renaming Susie to Tovah, we’ve left little doubt as to Tovah’s heritage, background, and race.
If you name your heroine Bree, what nicknames would other characters come up with? Breezy, as in air-headed? You probably don’t want that connotation.
Once you have this basic information about your heroine, you can begin to add personality traits, backstory, and all those things to make Tovah a three-dimensional character.
Before diving into Tovah too deeply, we can begin to craft the hero. We’ll get to him next time.
[bctt tweet=”In naming your romantic heroine, choose a name that will reflect and personify your leading lady.” username=”@A3writers @donnalhsmith @AlmostanAuthor”] #amwriting #RomancingYourStory #AlmostAnAuthor #CraftingTheHeroine
How are you liking Tovah so far? Leave a comment and let me know.
Donna L.H. Smith is married and lives in Pennsylvania. She is a graduate of Christian Writer’s Guild Craftsman and holds two degrees in communications, with experience in publication and broadcasting. She blogs regularly and serves two Christian writer’s organizations. Her first novel, Meghan’s Choice, was an Operation First Novel semi-finalist. For more information, visit her website at www.donnalhsmith.com. Facebook: Donna L.H. Smith Twitter: @donnalhsmith
The heroine is the key to any romance. Yes, we women also want a great guy for her to end up with, and we’ll talk about crafting him, too, at a later date. [bctt tweet=”The romantic heroine is the reader’s alter ego. She controls everything the reader feels. #amwriting #writingromance101 #craftingtheheroine” username=”@A3writers @donnalhsmith”] #amwriting #writingromance101 #craftingtheheroine
The great majority of readers of the romance genre are women. The reader identifies with the heroine, and in a sense, becomes the heroine. Readers cheer her on and rejoice in her victories, gets irritated when she gets angry, and we feel her frustration with herself or others when things go wrong. So, how do we craft a heroine your readers will love? Let’s craft a heroine named Susie.
It doesn’t mean she’ll be anyone that could be recognized. All it means is that there are reference points which the reader can slip into Susie’s role, and be able to essentially think like she thinks, and feel as she feels. She’s not perfect, she’ll have flaws, foibles, and insecurities, like we all do.
Susie is going to be dealing with things most women never will. She still has to be identifiable, and the readers must be able to identify with her. They won’t necessarily be able to say, “That happened to me.” But you need to get the reader to go along with you. The best way to do this is to have Susie respond the way the reader would. How would you respond to any given situation? That would give you a bit of a clue as to how Susie will?
All romance, up until almost the last page, is the sparks flying between the heroine and the man she ends up with. What emotional inner conflicts can you give your heroine that will create sparks with the hero? What fear does Susie have that could potentially keep her from ending up with her hero? Deciding that is a beginning. Let’s say Susie fears rejection, because several boys dumped her in high school for the head cheerleader. That’s kept her from entering the dating game, so she doesn’t have much experience in dating “etiquette.” What scenes could that bring to mind?
[bctt tweet=”Crafting a heroine is important to any romance. The heroine must be likeable, identifiable, yet human and engaging. #amwriting #writingromance101 #craftingtheheroine” username=”@A3writers @donnalhsmith”] #amwriting #romancewriting101 #craftingtheheroine
How many romances have you read? Leave a comment and let me know.
A prairie girl from Kansas transplanted to Amish country, Pennsylvania, she’s married to a wonderful man since 1987. She’s a member of a great church, where she serves as a greeter and on ministry team. On Sunday afternoons, she stands a two-hour prayer watch at her local 24/7 House of Prayer. She also enjoys reading, occasionally reviewing books, and of course, writing. A graduate of Christian Writer’s Guild’s Craftsman program, she holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication. She is also a member of ACFW, RWA, and AWSA. Her debut novel, Meghan’s Choice will be released in late 2017.
So, you think you want to write a romance? It’s a great genre. [bctt tweet=”We all love fairy tales where the prince and the princess live happily ever after, right? Where romance got its start.” username=”@donnalhsmith @genremonkey”]#amwriting #romancewriting101
Think of some of the greatest romances you’ve ever read or seen in the movies or on television. I’m not talking about love stories, although those are pretty neat, too. But a romance is a happy ending, where a love story is not.
Sales of romance novels tops one billion, yes billion, dollars, most every year. That’s a lot of sales. Romance accounted for one-third of the overall fiction market in 2015, the last year stats were available for.
Why? I think most of us are romantics at heart. Especially women, which account for most of the sales of romance stories, no matter what sub-genre––such as historical, suspense, or contemporary. I write historical romance. Westerns are my favorite time period, because I grew up watching many westerns on television. I’ve read many good westerns in the past few years.
My first tip about writing romance––and this may sound elementary––is to read a lot of romance. Over the past several years, since writing became my passion again, I’ve probably read at least 300, yes––three hundred stories where romance was a major element (I’m being conservative in my estimate). I’ve read so much, I know what I like, and what I don’t.
This is important when deciding to write romance. First, know what you like. What time period, what kind of characters you want your two main protagonists to be, and where will your story be set?
But first, read. Read. Read. One of my pet peeves for writing historical romance is the question of: how to get rid of dear-old Dad or the father figure in authority over the heroine? With all I’ve read, I’ve seen two plot devices: 1) Father dies 2) Father doesn’t have daughter’s best interest at heart. Within the second one, the father, or father figure, will “sell” their daughter, niece, or ward, into marriage with a jerk, generally speaking, for money. Honestly, can’t you do better than that?
I decided I would try. It’s a tired plot device to make the father figure a jerk. I don’t like those stories as well. But maybe it’s just me. In my book, Meghan’s Choice, which will be released later this year, Meghan’s father is a good man, but he makes a hard choice. He tells his daughter she needs to grow up and learn to manage money before she marries. A very unique concept for 1871. But he’s a forward thinking, progressive man, and he wants the best for his daughter. We’ll see what readers think.
[bctt tweet=”In order to write romance, you should read a lot of romance in your favorite sub-genre before writing your own story. ” username=”@donnalhsmith @genremonkey”]Although, let your ideas percolate in your mind as you read. #amwriting #romancewriting101
What do you like about romance? Leave a comment and let me know.