Ideas for my stories come from a variety of places. Sometimes I need to think about an idea for a while before I can begin to write. Let it percolate, so to speak. Other times the story comes to me fully formed. It’s as though the story has found me, and only I can tell it. I call these stories “gifts.” They don’t happen often, but when they do, my fingers fly across the keyboard to get the story down.
No matter how the idea comes, there are certain things I need to know before I start to write. First, what type of story will I be writing. Once I’ve decided it will be a romance, I still need to know if it will be sweet, spicy, suspenseful, contemporary, paranormal or historical. I even need to set it’s length. The decisions I make will impact how many ingredients I need to add. It’s kind of like baking without the calories. I wouldn’t use the same ingredients for a pie that I’d use for cookies. The same is true for the author before they write their story.
Romances, by their nature, are relationship driven. There are certain ingredients you must include to have a compelling story that keeps the reader turning the page.
Every writer, no matter where they are at in their writing journey starts every story at the same place; the blank screen or blank sheet of paper.
As the author, only you can decide how much of each of the following ingredients you need to add.
Ingredients of a romance
Every romance starts with a heaping helping of Boy Meets Girl – An event, goal, or circumstance occurs to bring our hero and heroine together.
Add a big scoop of Interest/Need — Something about their individual situations makes their hearts vulnerable to romance.
Add a cup of Why – The core reasons why they belong together.
Add two cups of Why Not – External and Internal Obstacles between the hero and heroine conspire to separate them.
Stir in a dose of Wooing – Events or situations that allow the hero and heroine to fall in love.
Add between a cup and a gallon of Sizzle – Dialogue that creates romantic tension.
Add an appropriate helping of Kiss – The romantic tension leads to the physical connection
Throw in a fist-full of Breakup – The biggest Why Not (Obstacle) rises to push them apart and scrape open their wounds.
Add a generous dose of Make Up – The wound is healing and the Big Why (the core reason they belong together) saves the day.
That recipe sounds easy enough doesn’t it? However, if you have not premeasured each ingredient before you begin to write you may find yourself with a story that doesn’t work.
Stir until you reach the Big Gesture/Sacrifice/HEA (happy ever after) – The Hero or Heroine are able to prove their love through big gestures/sacrifices in order to stay together and find the love they’ve always long for.
I can’t claim this ingredient list is mine. I came across it in How to Write a Brilliant Romance by Susan May Warren. If you want more details about using each ingredient, If you want to write romance, I recommend her book, The 10 Ingredients of a Romance. You won’t be disappointed. I also want to thank Susan for permitting me to use some of those ingredients for this article. You can also find out more about her at http://www.susanmaywarren.com
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 1st place in the Blue Seal Award for General/ Contemporary/ Romance Novels at OHCWC 2017.
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