I asked Romance Author Amber Lea Easton to sizzle up our
blog today with some tips on writing romance. This is a growing market with all
types of sub-genres, allowing the new to experienced writer to spread their
wings and add some love to their book.
With Valentine’s Day only a few days away and lots of
inspiration peeking around corners…maybe this little guest post will give you
some new manuscript ideas.
Tips for Writing Engaging Romance
By Amber Lea Easton
All novels, regardless of genre, need captivating characters
and hooks that pull the readers into the story.
Romance, in particular, is a character driven, highly charged
genre. In all great love stories, there
needs to be an emotional connection, not just between the characters, but
between them and the readers as well.
How do we novelists write engaging/believable romance without being cliché,
crass or cheesy? After all, emotion can
go over-the-top if we’re not careful.
Flawed
characters. No one is perfect, even if
the hero looks like a Greek God and makes you drool. In order for the reader to connect, there
must be a vulnerability that makes the character human. Why root for someone if we think they’re
superficial or mean?
Attraction. You may
think that’s easy to write, but it isn’t.
Saying, “wow, he’s hot” is lame. Think about it...when you’re attracted
to someone, don’t you have a physical reaction?
When I write attraction, I don’t tell the readers I show them through
nonverbal cues. In Riptide, when Lauren
first interacts with Noah, I write, “little earthquakes of desire rocked
through her until she thought she’d fall off the stool.” For attraction to jump off the page, the
reader needs to feel what’s happening, imagine being on that stool and talking
with that man. Non-verbal physical
reactions are key to engaging the reader in this area, which we all know is a
key element of any romance novel.
Conflict. Nothing worth having comes easily, isn’t that the
saying? Even though there is the attraction, there needs to be a conflict to
overcome whether it’s trust issues, betrayal, or, because I write suspense, a
life and death situation. Even though I
have the suspense in my novels that provides a natural plot conflict, there are
still human conflicts that need to be worked out to make the characters
believable. We all have baggage--past
heartbreaks, abandonment issues and what not--so the characters need those as
well.
Sexual tension and sex.
The sex needs to come at a natural time in the evolution of the
relationship, just like in real life. Now this timing varies from story to
story depending on character development, but the readers truly need to be
saying, “will they ever just rip each other’s clothes off already” before I
give them satisfaction. Writing sexual
tension is fun...prolonging the actual act, building up to it...not only do the
readers shift in the chairs with anticipation but so do the characters, which
makes it all that much more rewarding when the sex scenes finally happen.
Engaging romance readers is all about tugging at their heartstrings
and making the characters as believable as possible. We all want to be rooting for the happy
ending and smiling when we turn the last page.
Amber Lea Easton is a multi-published fiction and nonfiction
author. For twenty years, she's worked in the fields of journalism and
advertising with a brief detour into the financial
industry. Although she holds a BA in Communications &
Journalism, she is a perpetual student of life who enjoys taking courses on a
wide variety of subjects when time allows. Smart is sexy, according
to Easton, which is why she writes about strong female characters who have
their flaws and challenges, but who ultimately persevere.
Easton currently lives with her two teenagers in the
Colorado Rocky Mountains where she gives thanks daily for the gorgeous view
outside her window. She finds inspiration from traveling, the people she meets,
nature and life’s twists and turns. At the end of the day, as long as she's
writing, she considers herself to be simply "a lucky lady liv'n the dream."
The World of Ink Network is
touring author Amber Lea Easton’s contemporary romantic suspense
(adventure) novel, Riptide throughout
February and March 2013. You can find out more about Amber Lea Easton, Riptide and
her World of Ink Author/Book Tour at http://tinyurl.com/a2azncg
Visit
Amber at:
Website - http://www.amberleaeaston.com
Twitter - @MtnMoxieGirl
