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Synopsis
'Thinking of writing Romance? You NEED this book' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ reader review
Love sells and sex sells and you can earn your living writing about them for novels, novellas and short stories as well as serials for magazines, anthologies and websites.
This book holds the secrets of how to achieve success.
Recommended by readers!
'A great guide to writing romance' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Genuinely useful . . . I recommend this one' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Packed with information . . . an illuminating book for anyone starting out in the field and well-worth the read' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'Definitely a book to keep near to your keyboard! ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
'As good as a paying for an expensive seminar. Excellent book' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
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As well as drawing on her experience as a fiction writer and creative writing tutor, in this 'must-have' book Sue Moorcroft has included questions from aspiring writers - with illuminating responses from published writers and industry experts.
Romantic fiction encompasses everything from chart-topping chick lit and romantic comedies, through gritty sagas, sweeping historicals and smouldering erotica to liver-twisting affairs with vampires. Bright, emotional, involving, intelligent storytelling about love and desire is what readers want and will pay for.
Do you want to know how to create emotional punch? (Or even what emotional punch is?) How to control dual time lines? Spring your work out of the slush pile? Write a tender love scene that excites passion rather than hilarity? This book reveals all.
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Sue Moorcroft is an award-winning novelist. Her emotionally compelling fiction has hit No. 1 on Kindle UK, top 100 on Kindle US and made her a Sunday Times bestseller. Her novels, short stories, serials, courses and writing guides have sold around the world.
As a creative writing tutor, she has worked at the University of Leicester, the London School of Journalism, Adult Learning Services Northants, Writing School Leicester, Writing School East Midlands, Writers' News Home Study and various other organisations. She's also delivered workshops and courses in the US, Italy, France and Dubai.
Release date: April 15, 2010
Publisher: Headline
Print pages: 238
* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.
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Love Writing
Sue Moorcroft
What is romantic fiction? Read these phrases:Purple passionBodice ripperPink and fluffy
Now forget them. They’re nothing to do with current romantic fiction except that journalists like to invoke them from time to time.
Instead, think bright, emotional, involving, intelligent storytelling about love and desire.
Now that’s romantic fiction!
Many people think that the terms romance and romantic fiction are interchangeable. But they’re not. Romance is part of romantic fiction but refers to a particularly intense and close focus genre where it’s not his story; it’s not her story; it’s their story. Romantic fiction encompasses everything from romances to chart-topping chick lit and romantic comedies, through gritty sagas, sweeping historicals and smouldering erotica, to liver-twisting affairs with vampires and shapeshifters. If there’s a romantic relationship at the core of the story – it’s romantic fiction.
Good romantic novels provide long hours of escape for roughly the cost of a single cinema ticket, transporting us through the hard – and hard up – times and never jeopardising any existing relationships. Reading romantic fiction grips you by the heart.
Writing it is like falling in love.
You can’t concentrate on anything but what colour his eyes are, how she wears her hair, his naughty smile, how she’ll react when she finds out about his ex, how he’ll behave when the chips are down.
You shove your kids’ socks in the oven and the chicken in the washing machine while you mentally arrange the births and marriages in your saga, think up a funny incident that has the potential to descend into disaster for your romantic comedy or wonder when you’ll have time to research parlour manners in the nineteenth century for your historical romance. Increasingly a student of human nature, you’ll goggle at your friends’ relationships dissolving and reforming and slyly note the best bits on napkins at dinner parties.
You’ll realise that romantic fiction is preoccupied for longer with obstacles and misunderstandings than it is with resolution and if you let your central female character (heroine) have your central male character (hero) too soon it will be a really boring – or short – story!
Book deals in the news will catch your interest; you’ll dream of earning enough to leave your day job and see yourself affording a new computer and a big leather chair, having a private phone line so that your publisher and agent can always call you. (Although you might one day discover that time away from ringing phones becomes your burning goal!)
Because love sells and sex sells there are plenty of writers who earn their living writing about love: novels, short stories and serials for magazines, anthologies and websites. These are writers who have learnt their craft, studied the market and the publishing world, and who have learnt to persist.
And who, normally, have learnt to work hard.
When you’re writing about romantic love, sexual love frequently follows. Erotic fiction is an expanding area of publishing and where the boundary lies between hot romantic fiction and erotic fiction is largely a matter of opinion so, for both those reasons, and because lots of people like to read it and to write it, erotic fiction will have some pages of its own.
More on genre, later, because to know what genre or sub-genre your work falls into is imperative to editors, agents and booksellers, so it’s imperative to you.
You’ll need to know where in a bookshop your novel will be found and which country that bookshop is in. Your work might be published in English throughout the English-speaking world and in translation all around the rest of the world, but, generally, it will be published from one place. Each place (market) has its own range of popular genres and it’ll help you to identify them early on. You might think it’s lunacy for someone to demand, ‘UK or US?’ before you’ve even opened a new file entitled My Romantic Novel on your laptop but it can save you a lot of time and a gigantic amount of disappointment to know.
You’ll need to get an idea of who the readers are in a particular market and what it is they want to read. It’s true that satisfying an editor comes before satisfying a reader but you don’t stand much chance of doing the former if you haven’t got to grips with the latter.
Once you’ve learnt what your readers want, you need to give it to them, relentlessly, so that they stick with you for every word of every page. There’s no worse indictment of a book than being put down half-read.
A good way to learn what the reader wants is to read the type of book you’re going to write. Not so that you can steal ideas, characters or plots but so you can absorb and understand how that kind of book works, so that you’ll never submit a book that has an unhappy ending to a romance line – sometimes called a series: romances that are similar in length, outlook, sensuality levels etc, - or singe the sensibilities of a sweet romance editor by sending red-hot action.
Keep reading. Read this year’s books. There are fashions in everything and publishing is no exception.
There are few things so discouraging as having your book rejected not because you can’t write – but because you wrote the wrong book.
Try this:Visit a bookshop and search out the books like yours. Are they in the A-Z shelves? Or on shelves containing named categories: romance, women’s fiction, historical, saga, romantic comedy, chick lit? Does the publisher have its own section? Is your book likely to earn a prominent position in the shop? Are there banners and offers and other promotions?
Consider how your book might be placed and whether you’ll be satisfied with the result.
You may not change anything but it’s as well to be realistic from the start.
Now go and do it in a few more bookshops …
HEROES AND HEROINES
It’s not true to say that the only romance is a heterosexual romance but I will refer only to a hero and a heroine. It’s going to drive us all demented if I keep switching to a hero and a hero or a heroine and a heroine.
I realise that it’s more precise to use terms like central female character and central male character or female protagonist and male protagonist but none of those terms are fun, sexy or romantic. When your central female character is lusting after your central male character … It’s a bit clunky.
So, let’s look at our hero and heroine.
They are the most important characters in your book. There may be more than one hero and more than one heroine. A romantic comedy or chick lit might be woven around two or even three couples and saga writers have several from each generation. These crucial characters will vary, subtly and not so subtly, from one sub-genre to another. But they’ll have the fundamentals in common.
Love your hero
Dictionary definitions of the word hero include protector, defender or guardian and, in mythology, the offspring of a mortal and a deity.
You will love your hero.
You must love your hero.
If you don’t find him desirable and loveable, no one will! Not your heroine and certainly not your reader. It’s unlikely that you’ll coax anyone into believing in an exciting geography teacher if you glaze over just typing the words.
Even if you find your hero exasperating, if you suspect him of cheating and you’ve given him a perpetual scowl, he must have a (possibly disguised) kind streak. Many a hero stalks into a book in his worst mood or scruffiest clothes and butts heads with the heroine but there will be clues to the decent bloke underneath. Flashes of Decent Bloke are often linked with visual clues – a crooked but appealing smile or crinkly eyes. Or a cute behind (my favourite).
No matter that his high-handedness has made your heroine blind with fury; he will haul her back when she steps out in front of a car. He might growl, ‘Are you stupid or something?’ as he does so but, from their first meeting, he won’t want her hurt.
And remember that first impressions count. If you make him excessively grouchy or welded to his granddad’s old woolly then your heroine’s passion for him will be implausible even though you skilfully spin him into being a heart-stopper during the course of the story. Hero qualities should always be there if you look.
A hero should never:
Take a broad view of the successful label, though. Some heroes will be racing drivers or chief executives of designer labels, billionaire playboys, artists of world renown or poets tortured by their own genius – but most of them won’t. But there will be something they’re remarkable for. It may not be their job: it might be the marathons they run for charity or being a brilliant single dad.
It will be something for the reader and the heroine to admire.
Depending upon the market you’re targeting, your hero will also be some of the following:
Some writers like a visual stimulus when creating a hero. They cut out a picture from a magazine or simply plant in their mind an image of Johnny Depp or Rod Stewart. Or they create a pastiche: Rod’s sharp features but the dark curly hair of the cashier in their local bank. It doesn’t matter what your technique is, so long as he makes you go phwoarr! when you “look” at him and he’s the right hero for your heroine. If your heroine is 50+ then Rod will probably be more the ticket than Johnny. Unless you want to wheel Johnny out as a toy boy?
Making your hero’s age appropriate is important. This was brought home to me via my son’s views on the heroes of the Lord of the Rings film. ‘The young girls like Orlando Bloom, Mum. Only the game old chicks like Viggo Mortensen!’
I, of course, had just confessed a lust for Viggo.
Jill Mansell, author of best selling chick lit novels:Creating heroes for my books is possibly my favourite part of the whole writing process – I bundle together all the different qualities I'd most like to find in a man in real life and wrap them up in one irresistible body! Better still, I can leave out the less desirable features that have been known to affect real men. I love it that my heroes never burp, fart or snore like tractors. (Oh, my other half has just looked over my shoulder and would like me to point out that he does none of these things and is perfect in every way. Hmm … )
So, physically, my heroes are seriously attractive but, more importantly for me, they have to have a fantastic sense of humour. A man who looks amazing but can't make me laugh would be the world's biggest let-down. Having written over twenty books now, each of my heroes has been different, but the one attribute I insist on is their ability to engage in witty repartee. Basically, if they're not funny, forget it!www.jillmansell.co.uk
Try this:List fifteen words or phrases about your hero. Do it quickly, let them be the first words or phrases that come into your mind. Include his employment because that’s almost always important.
Example: sarcastic, funny, dark hair, tattoos, blue eyes, eco warrior, dog owner, vintage car driver, loyal, stubble, English, self-sufficient, garage owner, likes car races, enjoys knitting.
Scan for any inconsistencies, like enjoys knitting. Decide whether it’s an inconsistency or a quirk. Quirks are allowed. Quirks are good – if they’re endearing rather than repulsive. It might be that an old fisherman taught him how to knit Guernseys when he ran away to sea; it’s part of his mysterious past.
But if enjoys knitting is an inconsistency, slap that hero’s hands every time he reaches for the needles.
Next, select five novels from the market you’re writing for. These will be easily to hand because you’ll be reading loads and loads, won’t you? Make a list for the hero of each book. Compare each list to yours. Does your hero fit in with what these publishers are publishing? If their heroes begin by being brooding and dangerous but allow love to reform them, does yours? If their heroes are doctors or surgeons, is yours? Are their ordinary blokes really and truly ordinary or do they have some strength to distinguish them? Oops … back to the drawing board.
Be really objective over this and, if you simply can’t be, give the lists to friends, especially writing friends, and ask them to make an honest comparison.
And if you admit that your hero’s all wrong – will you still love him when he’s changed?
Because if your hero’s wrong, your book will be. And if you don’t love him, neither will we.
So, how many kinds of heroes are there?
An infinite number; at least one for every book. And what is one woman’s sex-on-legs is another’s politely-glazed-smile. I mean, just look at Heathcliffe from Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights! What a troll! He could wuther all day without taking me to the heights but some women adore him.
The divisions are blurry – here’s my take.
Alpha Male
I’m going to use this term because it seems well understood.
Although he can pop up anywhere, for some romance lines alpha male is indispensable. So who, exactly, is he?
On a website aimed at young men, an alpha male is described as being cocky, sarcastic and busting on women. This doesn’t sound to me like the alpha male – it sounds like an obnoxious prat after five pints of beer.
In the animal kingdom, the alpha is the individual whom the others follow and defer to, possibly because he’s fought his way to the top. So, think self-confidence and power; he’s the leader of the pack because he’s respected, not because he’s loud, aggressive and violent. He’s direct and he’s strong – meaning strength of character rather than bulging biceps and raised veins! He’s mighty in the face of adversity and he protects those he sees as his responsibility. He may think the only way to do things is the way he does them but at least he’ll act and act decisively. You can feel reassured when he’s in charge because he excels in a crisis.
He has a capacity for anger and stubbornness. What he can’t do well is make mistakes. And admitting them is even harder.
He’s more into integrity, loyalty and honour – although it might be in his own style.
Back again to the world of wildlife, the alpha male may be the only one who mates. So the human version must be sexually attractive to women. He doesn’t have to be traditionally handsome – although he often is, in buckets – but there will be physical attributes … yes, we’re back to phwoar! He’ll have a high sex-drive and, probably, a procession of beautiful women moths will flutter around his charismatic, adventurous, sometimes naughty, complicated flame.
He’s successful and often there are a lot of financial rewards attached. But even if he’s a river guide or a ski instructor, he’s the best river guide or ski instructor.
For most of the book he may seem completely untameable – until the heroine proves herself the only one who can tame him. And when he finally falls in love … he does so completely.
Of course, he may also be sarcastic and cocky. Some of them are.
Q Louise Ashdown:How does the alpha male show his feelings?
A Sara Craven, author Mills & Boon ModernThe simplest way to express how an alpha male is feeling is to write part of the story from the male viewpoint, so that the reader is constantly aware of what’s in the hero’s head and heart as he embarks on this emotional journey he wasn’t even expecting to make.
He realises that he probably has to change some of his attitudes and beliefs in order to win the girl he is beginning to love, and this in turn leads him to all kinds of self-discovery before he can be truly happy.
However, if you settle for the single viewpoint, you will have to provide less direct clues to his state of mind.
For instance: Body language – is he relaxed or tense? Does he stride into the room or stroll? Are his arms by his sides (open), folded across his chest (aloof and guarded) or hands on hips (aggressive)?
Facial expression – is his smile cold or tender, mocking or simply teasing? What do his eyes say? What’s going on behind the mask? The reader will know even if the heroine doesn’t.
When he speaks can we take his words at face value, or is there a sub-text? What is his tone of voice? Does he shelter behind monosyllables? How does he address the heroine? If he’s formal at first, when does this begin to break down? What endearments does he use?
What act of kindness, generosity or selflessness does he commit in order to change her perceptions of him, and make him appear warmer and more vulnerable.
And, as the song says, ‘It’s in his kiss’.
Beta Male / True Friend
In contrast, we have the true friend hero.
His overwhelming feature is his niceness. He’s not a pushover, he has determination and grit, but you can rely on him for pretty much anything. His sincerity is beyond doubt and he’ll often be characterised as a single father or otherwise pushed outside his comfort zone and left to cope manfully, an ordinary guy in extraordinary circumstances. You might think of him as Mr Right. He’s got a sense of humour, too.
He’s usually successful, in his own way. It may or may not bring wealth.
His phwoar! factor will be high and he will represent security but passion will bubble under the surface.
Q Louise AshdownHow do you keep a beta male looking sexy and not weak?
A Nell Dixon, who writes romances for Little Black Dress.For me the answer is in the balance between the hero and his heroine. Just as pairing an alpha male with a beta female can make him appear overbearing, cold, arrogant and unlikeable, pairing a beta male with an alpha female will leave him appearing weak, wimpy and passive.
A well-written beta male is confident in his own skin, he is aware of the needs of others including the heroine and it’s his quiet certainty that is attractive to the heroine and the reader. The heroine knows she can’t take him for granted but that she can count on him listening when it’s important and supporting her through the decisions in her life.
Many beta heroes are portrayed in caring or nurturing roles: single dads, doctors, fire fighters, and gardeners. These are all roles that strike an emotional chord with the reader. None of these images can be perceived as weak and this helps to build the caring, sensitive but very masculine picture of the beta hero.
Power is often equated to sexiness and the beta hero needs to have that aura of understated power if he is to make the reader as well as the heroine fall in love with him. He doesn’t need to wear it openly, unlike the alpha male, but his heroine, and the reader, know it’s there.
A good example of this can be seen in the character of Jane Austen’s Mr Knightly. Unlike Pride and Prejudice where the alpha male Mr Darcy is paired with (for her time) the alpha female, Lizzy Bennett, In Emma, Mr Knightly is just as masculine and strong but in a different way. His quiet, calm character is paired with the frivolous Emma. His strength contrasts with her gaiety and grounds the scenes in which he appears and, as readers, we are left in no doubt about his feelings for her even if Emma herself is sometimes rather obtuse.
www.nelldixon.com
The Loner
The idea of a loner as a hero may not hold instant appeal but if you watch Clint Eastwood films you’ll find his Dirty Harry or Blondie (the “good” of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) the epitome of the loner hero. A tortured soul, he doesn’t forgive easily; he broods on wrongs and hides his vulnerability. When hurt, his barriers are formidable.
He doesn’t prioritise sartorial elegance but if he makes an effort he can look pretty stunning.
He’s dogged and cussed. Give in to love? Not easily! And if he has to rescue the heroine he’ll let her know that it’s a MAJOR inconvenience. But he won’t leave her to the wolves; he’ll scowl and growl but scramble her to safety, success before style.
I think he’s a good choice if your sense of humour is t. . .
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