Of
swashbuckling pirates and bare-chested cowboys. Heroines as innocent as
Juliette and as strong as Scarlett O’Hara. I call it the genre of love. Romance
books emphasize emotion over libido and the thoughts of the characters are
followed closely, even more than other forms of literature. You can have
historical romance, contemporary romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense,
western romance, fantasy romance, time travel romance and medical romance.
The
setting will usually depend on the kind of romance you will be writing.
Contemporary romance requires that your heroine be places in a setting where
she can hold a job. Time-travel can be either in the future or in the past. The
setting is often underused in romance novels as it isn’t a major function of
the genre. But creating a vivid setting that interlocks with your characters
could be the difference between a file on your computer and the local bookshop’s
shelves. You can weave even the most mundane of environments into an exotic
paradise that will tantalize the reader’s senses. For whatever setting you use
ensure that you have the details of the time period right.
The
main characters in a romance novel need to be unique and interesting. There are
two main characters in a romance novel, the hero and the heroine. Often the
heroine is the major view point character. The Created Heroine must be accessible
to the reader. She must inspire sympathy and be real i.e. she needs strengths
and flaws. She is beautiful but unaware. The hero on the other hand will be
strong but not unbending. He can be a goal oriented leader, a rebel, a dependable
friend, an irresistible rogue, a geek or a warrior. In typical romance novels,
the heroine will be in her early twenties while the hero is older, in his
twenty of thirties.
A
romance novel is much more than two people meeting, falling in love then living
happily ever after. For one the meeting needs to be unique just to start off
the plot with a big bang. Yes - the two people will fall in love, but they will
try to resist it at all costs even if it’s quite obvious that they are suited
to each other. If they do fall in love, their love must be met by a whole load
of conflict. Their first attempt to get to each other cannot be successful; any
success should be temporary. The feelings of your characters must be fully
developed even as they try to earn their love. The ending doesn’t have to have
a wedding ceremony, but it must be emotionally satisfying.
Sample Resources
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