How to Write Romance Novels Part One

How presumptuous of me. Who am I to undertake such a topic? Yes, I have been published, but other authors have written more books with greater success. Yes, I do have a (actually two) degree in literature, but we're not talking literature. Or are we? You've probably heard some of what I have to say before, and maybe you know more than I. Nevertheless, I feel passionate about the subject (no pun intended), so I wanted to share with you my thoughts on the writing process especially as applied to romance novels.

Genre fiction is a fairly new phenomenon. Before the 1900's, there were simply novels. No one categorized them, but even then novels were considered the lesser child of literature. Modern thinking required that we categorize books into various genres. In one way, it makes reading easier. If someone likes, say, science fiction, then he/she knows where to look for science fiction in a book store. On the other hand, categories makes it too easy to dismiss certain types of fiction and miss out on others. How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh I don't read that kind (insert genre that you look down upon here) of book"? (British punctuation, BTW. Much more sensible I think.) Or if someone reads exclusively in one genre because he/she enjoys it (nothing wrong with enjoying a genre), he/she can miss out on wonderful books simply because he/she doesn't consider looking for a book in a different genre.

So genres can make handy labels or limit a person's reading (BTW, literary fiction is nothing more than a name for a genre). Romance is just one such label. If you've been watching the news on the recession lately, you've most likely heard that the Romance Novel industry is recession proof and is in fact doing great business in this economy. Romance novels make you feel good. You are guaranteed a happy ending and a few hours of escape.

I can hear the first snorts of derision. "That's because they're fluff." "That's because they're formulaic." That's because no one who thinks reads them." Really? RWA ® statistics will tell you that romance outsells every other genre, and that its average readers are college educated. And its authors come from a wide variety of fields and educational backgrounds, including lawyers, professors, doctors, teachers, EMT's, social workers, actors, and yes, even housewives (Hey, my mother was a housewife. I defy you to call a woman of her background anything but remarkable.) As for formulaic...well, I'd say all fiction is formulaic and I'm going to be exploring that formula in the upcoming weeks. Yes, romance is a story of a man and a woman (although not always, and the boundaries are expanding, especially in erotic romance) with an emotionally satisfying ending, but aren't mysteries formulaic as well? As well as fantasies, horror novels, speculative fiction, and literary fiction? I hear you protesting. Those books have variety. Um, have you read romance recently? You can find everything in romance novels including mystery fantasy, sci fi, and literary elements. And most of the time you can find romance or at least a love story in the other types of fiction. Love and relationships make the world go around.

Enough about defending the genre. Here's the first thing I want you to ask yourself. Do you love romance novels? If you don't, find something else to write. If you're in this to make a quick buck or to get published, you're in the wrong game. If you don't love what you're writing, it will show and your book will suffer for it. And trust me, no publisher will publish you in romance if you're just phoning it in. Just because romance is the biggest genre, doesn't mean it's easy. Writing is tough--wonderful, but tough--why would you spend hours, days, weeks, months working on something you neither enjoy or respect?

OK, so you love romance. Terrific. Your next question is, "What kind of romance do you want to write?" There are genres within the genre in romance, and sub genres within the sub genres. What books do you enjoy? What kind do you usually read? Do you have the temperament and the time for historical research? Are you comfortable writing sex scenes? If so, how sexy? Are you wanting to write lighter books or angst-filled books? Humorous or serious? Category or single title? Paranormal or contemporary? Vampires, werewolves or ghosts, oh my? Space ships, fairies, aristocracy? Sweet or sexy? Inspirational? Suspense? So many questions to answer.

You might already have a story that's been whirling around in your head. If you do, then you're already ahead of the game. There is no idea warehouse to find your story in, but ideas can come from anywhere. I once wrote a book based on a brief news item I saw on TV about a man who adopted an injured owl. The owl had only one wing, and the man would perch the owl on his shoulder and go roller blading around Lake Michigan in Chicago. The owl would lean into the wind and pretend he was flying. The man lost sixty pounds. But that story was the spark that ignited a novel called The Sea Eagle.

So gather your thoughts, and go ahead and start writing. I'll speak about other elements next week, starting with THE HOOK.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Ready and Willing by Elizabeth Bevarly
His 7-Day Fiancee by Gail Barnett
Glitter Baby by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Before the Scandal by Suzanne Enoch

Emotions

When I was a kid, I cried a lot. My parents called me too sensitive and often didn't know how to handle me. What they didn't realize was that I also laughed a lot, sang a lot, danced a lot, played a lot, just felt a lot. The stuff I went through in high was high drama for them and my teachers (remember I went to boarding school). Because they didn't know how to deal with such an emotional daughter, they told me to keep feelings hidden. And I did learn to. I stopped crying, but I also stopped laughing, singing, and dancing. I don't blame them--to this day my mother says she has no imagination and leads a very controlled life. That's not bad. It's how she wants to live.

But I am passionate. I'm not speaking sexually; I mean I have deep feelings, and I think I'm finally old enough (it's about time) to give in to those feelings. I'm allowed to feel passion about things. So I laugh again, and cry. I argue with vehemence and am often accused of being angry, when I'm not angry at all, just passionate about my subject. I enjoy things with greater relish again. I dance, sometimes even in public places especially with my daughter. And I'm proud that I cried in three separate places at the movie UP. My favorite thing is laughing and I'm always searching for new things to laugh at and with. I'm finding ( after decades--yes, decades--of thinking I should hide my emotions) that the cathartic aspect of letting my emotions show is actually giving me a more fulfilled life.

And that emotion is going into my books. I make myself cry regularly when I write. I also make myself laugh a lot. And when my characters face injustice, I seethe for them. I can only hope that emotion comes through as my readers read my books.

So have a good cry. Or a good laugh. Funny that both those phrases exist: "good cry" and "good laugh." I don't find irony there at all.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens
Ready and Willing by Elizabeth Bevarly

Local Conference

In November my local RWA chapter is hosting a one-day conference with a fantastic line-up.

2009 LERA Write From The Heart Conference

Come join LERA, Dianna Love, and Mary Buckham (with special guest Sherrilyn Kenyon) as they present their innovative, day long workshop:

From Thought To Plot

This interactive workshop will be held on Saturday, November 14th, from 8:30 to 5:00 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center,2401 12th St. NW Albuquerque, NM, just five minutes from Old Town Albuquerque.

Book signing after the conference at Borders at ABQ Uptown (2240 Q St. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110). Authors will include Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dianna Love, and Mary Buckham!


Are you kidding? Sherilyn Kenyon? NYTimes best (BEST!!!) selling author Sherilyn Kenyon, who is also one of the nicest ladies out there. And her cohorts, who present some of the most highly rated workshops out there? This is an opportunity you don't want to miss. Go to www.leranm.com for more info.

And if you're family (You know to whom I am speaking), I'll even let you sleep on my floor.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
All About Love by Stephanie Laurens
(Boy, reading has slowed down since I'm trying to finish up my WIP before school starts NEXT WEDNESDAY!)

The Process

I am back from the RWA conference, pumped, and ready to work. I'm working on revisions and having a great time revisiting THE WISH LIST to get it ready for you to read. There's something about attending a writers' conference that rejuvenates and restores the writer's soul, not to mention all the great things you learn (about yourself and the craft) and all the great books you bring home. Of course, it also drains your energy, so sleep is good for a couple of days.

While I was gone, I received a question (Thanks, Eva):

How do you chose which story to write and stick with when there are so many beginnings in your head?

The answer isn't as straightforward as you might think. I personally like to work on one thing at a time until it is finished. Ideas are always whirling around in my head--the next book, characters that need a book, scenes from books I didn't even know I was going to write--but I work on one thing at a time. Part of being a professional (which by the way does not mean that you earn your living at writing) is completing manuscripts. Having first chapters, half finished novels, or outlines doesn't mean much if you actually want to get published. You must have a finished product at least once (more would be preferable).

But once that finished product is done, then what? If you have a contract to complete, it's the next book of that contract. I still have the third book of my trilogy to write; when the revisions for WISH LIST are finished, I'll be finishing the rough draft of SPELLBOUND, and when that is done, I'll get started on TOIL AND TROUBLE. The only reason I've interrupted my writing of SPELLBOUND is because revisions come first.

If you have the luxury of making your own choice, you can choose anything. I go with whatever (whoever--those characters can be obnoxious) is yelling the loudest. But I do stick with it until it is done.
EXCEPT...
Once you are published, you can start selling on porposal. For Romance, that's usually an idea, three chapters and a synopsis. One of the hardest things I've done was learn to let go of a project just after starting it, after letting it gel into a story, and getting to know the characters. They are still in my head, yelling louder than any ideas, but they have to wait until I sell them.

So once again, my answer is less than definitive. I have to add only one more thing: You have to do what is right for you. What works for me isn't what's right for you. You have to discover for yourself your own method. There is no one answer. How's that for indefinite?

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
To Good to be True by Kristan Higgins
Witches Incorporated by KE Mills
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

I got nothing

I have no thoughts this time. Absolutely nothing is coming into mind as I try to blog. No wisdom, no wit, no complaints (well, I have complaints, but I'm sure you don't want to hear me whine about my family--don't get me wrong, they're good people, but sometimes, ARGH, you just have to put up with them, because you won't change them and they won't do things the way you want them to do things. How hard is it to learn where everything goes in the kitchen. And then the pettiness beast rises up in me and I'm not willing to help as they need stupid things. Wait, didn't I say I wasn't going to complain?), no ideas. I am working hard on book two (SPELLBOUND is the tentative title) of the new series and it's going well, not as fast as I'd like (see rant in parenthesis) but I'll be done with the rough draft by the end of July. Then I can meet the characters in book three (TOIL AND TROUBLE).

So I am here simple to wish you all a happy Fourth of July, and I'm asking that you think about what it really means to be patriotic.
--Gabi

Books, I'm reading now:
Careless in Red by Elizabeth George
Atlantis Unleashed by Alyssa Day

Stupid Backyard Games

I just finished playing five holes of golf. Before you get too excited, it was backyard golf. Armed with wiffle golf balls (there's probably a real name for those things, but I don't know it) and my husband's clubs, we pounded in the two croquet end posts at either side of the yard, and proceeded to play: me, my husband, and two daughters. A hole consisted of hitting the post on the other side of the yard.

Not only did this game prove how very little Tiger Woods has to fear from me, but it also proved how much fun stupid little things are when done with the family. So on this Father's Day (tomorrow), play some stupid games with Dad. I don't have my dad anymore, but I do have great memories of the games (mostly tennis and canasta) we played together. Trust me. You'll love the the time spent with the him of your Father's Day (whether it's your dad or the dad of your kids.)

And if you're the dad, Happy Father's Day.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Highland Scandal by Julia London
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling (What? I had to read it again before the movie next month)
The Duke Next Door by Celeste Bradley

Being Liked

I found a review of one of my older books on line yesterday. It was a beautiful review (she--I'm assuming it was a she--loved the book, gave it the highest grade she could, and basically glowed about it.) If you're interested, here's the site:
http://www.channelingboards.com/Romance/page1.html#Ever%20Yours
If the owner of the site is reading this, thank you. I hope you how much you made my day when I found it.

Being liked and enjoyed is an odd part of this business. As an author, I know that I shouldn't take reviews personally, that everyone's taste varies, that not everyone will like every book, and that we shouldn't even want that. As an author you want to evoke strong emotions in your readers, but strong emotions also means strong dislike in some readers. If everyone likes a book, that probably means the book is meh. But if some people love a book and others hate it, then you've done something special. Nothing is worse that doing OK. Succeed with glory or fail spectacularly, but either way go for the big emotional response.

With my new series of books coming out next year (in a new genre, under a new name), I feel a great deal of fear: What if it's not liked? What if no one wants my type of book? What if I never sell anything again? But ultimately none of that is important. I am writing with all the skill I can, putting in ideas that I find important, and hoping that out there someone will like what I've done and said. I can do no more. Fear is the one of the hidden aspects of writing you don't often hear about. However, doing the writing despite the fear... well, courage is something to be admired even if it isn't your conventional courage. It may not save lives, but it is admirable. It is the picture of someone having the guts to follow a dream, of living a life uncompromised.

Whoa, I didn't mean to wax philosophical.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz
The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
Third Circle by Amanda Quick