Make A Living Writing Romance

The only way to get published is to submit to agents and editors. If you don’t submit, they’ll never know about your or your story.

This week, instead of working on craft your writing exercise is two-fold.

#1 Make a list of agents and editors who are looking for submissions in your genre. Remember that epublishers are growing in demand and profitability. Don’t discount submitting to electronic publishers too. The best resource for this information is Writer’s Market. You can find a Deluxe Edition HERE.

#2 The second part of this exercise, once you have your list, is to write your synopsis. This is tough for many writers. However, right now you don’t have to worry about anyone reading it. Just write. Explain your story. What happens?

First person perspective is often one of the easiest and often most compelling viewpoints to write from. It can be tricky for some. If you’re new to first person or are having trouble with it, use this fantastic exercise to help you move through the process.

Time:

10-60 minutes

Write a “diary excerpt” from a character of your choice – if you’re currently working on a romance manusript then choose either your heroine or hero and write a diary excerpt for them. Choose a scene or plot element you’re having trouble with.

For example, if you’re struggling with the scene where the hero realizes he’s in love with the heroine – have him write a journal or diary entry to express his feelings.

If your heroine is struggling to overcome an internal conflict, for example she has been burned by love recently and just doesn’t want to go there. You can journal her thought process as it relates to the conflict.

What this exercise provides:

1. Internal dialogue for you to use in your manuscript
2. Help understanding your character and their motivations

Have fun!

In the romance genre, it doesn’t matter what sub-genre you’re writing your characters, the two folks who fall in love, should have a HEA or Happily Ever After. It’s one of the defining characteristics of a romance novel.

Of course all rules are meant to be broken and some are broken quite well. Heather Webber’s Lucy Valentine Series is a wonderful romance series but there’s no HEA. This is often the case with a character driven series and the reasons should be obvious – if the characters get together in the first book, there’s no reason to buy the second book.

That being said, 99% of romance stories do have a HEA and it makes sense to become skilled at writing them. Why? Because a bad ending ruins the entire book for your reader. Bad endings have motivated me to completely eliminate a writer from my list. A book MUST have a satisfying HEA if you hope to sell well and garner another book contract.

So….

Time:60 minutes

This exercise is simple. Grab a romance novel from your bookshelf. If you don’t have one, and you really should be reading romance often, then grab a non-romance book from your shelf. It must be fiction.

Rewrite the last page. Write a HEA that you want to read. This may take some time to brainstorm. That’s okay. Give yourself a day or two, no more, and brainstorm a different ending – one that’s still ends happily.

Have fun!

Time – 30 to 60 minutes

Most romance is written in third person perspective. You write from both points of view using “he” and “she” to describe the characters.

Take a scene from an existing manuscript. It can be a completed manuscript or a work in progress.

Find a scene you’re struggling with or would like to improve. If you have a character you’re struggling with this exercise is particularly insightful. Rewrite the scene from a first person perspective. Keep the same point of view. If the scene is from the heroine’s perspective, then write it through her eyes. If the scene is from the hero’s perspective then write it from his eyes. If you have a villain or secondary character then write it from their perspective.

Once you’ve completed the scene in first person, take a look at the description and characterization you used. What can you use to enhance the scene in your original manuscript?

Whenever you’re struggling with a scene or character reaction/response consider writing it in first person. Let your character tell you what they see, feel and think.

Time 10-30 minutes

They say writing a kissing scene is harder than writing a sex scene. Here is your chance to practice and prove your salt.

Write a kissing scene that steams the windows. No clothes will be removed in this scene. Kissing only!

Ok tongues…plunder away!