Writing Romantically

For my Mondays about Me posts, I think I'm going to spend the next little while teaching you about a few things I learned during my writing conference! Why? Because they are important to me and it gives you an insight into the things I think about each day while writing!
So here goes:

I write romance. My book that is being published in September is a romance. I love to read romance too. So I attended Sarah Eden's class about Writing Romantically.

Here's a few things I learned

You need to have an emotional connection between the characters and it has to have time to grow. It doesn't have to be perfect, just has to be real

You have to create a need to be fulfilled by the other character (something they can't fulfill for themselves). If there is no need, there is no foundation for their love.

The couple needs to be something to each other that no one else is (or can be). The readers need a reason to root for them.

When the reader feels the same emotions as a character, they are more likely to be interested in that character's story and want for them to get their happy ending.

Since I write romance, this was very informative to me. I look back on stories I wrote when I was 13 & 14 and I can only laugh at how shallow the characters are. It amazes me that somehow people can assume that having the girl hate the boy one minute and then love him the next is a normal reaction. It doesn't work that way! But as any beginning writer, those are the mistakes I made.

Thankfully I learned, I got better, and I practiced until I created the story of Lord Hyacinthe and Lady Vivian. Now, I'm not saying it's perfect, but hopefully it will bring some amusement and joy to my readers in the future!

So that's what I learned, and I always keep learning and getting better. Perhaps my next love story will be better still! Here's to hoping I can incorporate these wonderful tips.

Thanks Sarah Eden!