Hello, MB4 friends and fans,
Today we are featuring a fascinating guest blog by bestselling author
Victoria Howard, author of three romantic suspense novels,
The House on the Shore, a Joan Hessayon Award 2009 finalist and 2009 London Book Festival Honorable Mention,
Three Weeks Last Spring, a Pushcart Prize nominee, and
Ring of Lies. Please help us welcome Victoria to
Murder By 4 today, we are very honored that she stopped by to teach us a bit about her genre!
Warmest wishes,
Aaron Lazar
lazarbooks.com
"It’s just a romance novel..."
The term ‘romance’ encompasses nearly every existing novel genre and
writing romance has long been known as the best place for aspiring writers to
enter the writing field. Today’s readers don’t just want boy meets girl
romances. They want to read a novel where the author skillfully weaves the love
story between the protagonists with conflicts, misunderstandings, and obstacles.
A story that will keep them glued to the page, desperate to know how the
heroine will solve her problem and finally have a meaningful relationship with
the hero.
In 2010, the romance novel in all its guises accounted for $1.358
billion worth of sales* and is the single best-selling genre. Impressed? You
should be, especially when sales of mystery books only amounted to $683
million.
Before you can begin to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, you
need to understand the sub-genres of romance and choose that which best fits
your writing style.
These are just a few from which you can choose:
· Contemporary novels are set after World War II.
· Chick Lit has elements of romance and are about
the main character, her friends and her life.
· Historical novels are usually defined as being
set before World War I.
· Paranormal, futuristic, fantasy, science
fiction, contain such things as vampires, ghosts, space travel, etc.
· Regency novels are set in England in the period
1811-1820.
· Romantic suspense, contain mystery and
intrigue.
· Erotic Romance novels contain explicit love
scenes, but the hero and heroine must have an emotional connection, which distinguishes
it from pure erotica.
· Romantic Crime Drama and Mystery
· Native American Romance
·
Inspirational/Christian
Romance
Publishers today are interested in more than just the love story and are
looking for manuscripts not limited by plot devices, time frame, setting, or
length alone. For example, these are the submission guidelines for the
Harlequin Intrigue Imprint.
“Taut,
edge-of-the-seat, contemporary romantic suspense tales of intrigue and desire.
Kidnapping, stalking, women in jeopardy coupled with bestselling romantic
themes are examples of story lines we love most. Whether a murder mystery,
psychological suspense or thriller, the love story must be inextricably bound
to the mystery where all loose ends are tied up neatly…and shared dangers lead
right to shared passions. As long as they're in jeopardy and falling in love,
our heroes and heroines may traverse a landscape as wide as the world itself.
Their lives are on the line…and so are their hearts!”
Having decided which sub-genre your
story fits into, there’s one further choice to make before finally sitting down
to write.
Romance novels fall into two
categories; single title or mainstream novels and category romance.
Single title novels are all about the one man-one woman
journey, just like category romance novels, but they have a longer word
count—anything from 80,000 to 150,000 words. They also include more subplots,
so the story is not just about the man and woman falling in love, there are
more secondary characters and the story often includes scenes of a sexual
nature.
Despite the name, single title novels, are not always standalone novels.
Some authors prefer to write interconnected books, such as Elizabeth Lowell’s
Donovan, or Rarities Unlimited series.
Single title romances remain on the bookseller’s shelf for as long as
they are in demand. On average, authors write and publish one single title book
a year.
Category or, as it’s sometimes called, ‘series romance,’ are books that are
released in order and by month. Each category has a distinct identity, which is
based on the level of sexuality, the degree to which the story is realistic,
and the type of characters and settings. They may be part of the Harlequin
Historical, Presents, Tender, Blaze, or Contemporary series or Mills and Boon
Nocturne, Medical or Intrigue series. They are written to strict guidelines
with limited word counts of anything between 50,000 to 60,000 depending on the
series. They have a limited shelf life, usually three months, and a number of
titles are released in each series every month.
The primary focus of the category romance is the relationship between
the man and the woman, and the novels must have an emotionally satisfying and
optimistic ending.
Category romances are widely regarded as clichéd, often unrealistic,
poorly written, disposable stories that set out only to fulfill women’s
fantasies.
Having read this far, you have
probably now realized that writing a romance isn’t quite as easy as you first
thought. But stick with me, and I’ll
guide you through some of the essential elements required to make your novel a
success.
1. Heroes
and Heroines
They are the most important characters in your book. What’s more important is they all have
something in common – they have to be someone the reader can identify with,
someone they will care about. You need to know what makes them tick – how they
react in certain circumstances. Did they have a happy childhood and if not, how
has this affected them. To this end, I find it useful to write a short
biography for each of my main characters.
Every work of fiction needs a hero –and the romantic hero differs from
other heroes in fiction in that he must evolve from being self-centered with a
closed heart to loving fully, in other words, he must learn to commit.
Bonnie Tyler’s song, ‘I need a hero’ sums up the modern romantic hero
perfectly. ‘He’s gotta be strong, and he’s gotta be larger than life.’ He’s the
guy we want on our side. The one who’s a little bit dangerous, the one our
mother warned us about when we first started dating.
There is one thing the heroine always is: attractive, fascinating, sexy,
and most of all, likeable. We want to be able to identify with her. Readers
want endearing, well-intentioned, strong, but not too strong women. Someone who
will stand up to the hero when necessary, and who is not afraid of expressing
her point of view.
At this point you need to decide who will drive your story, your
heroine, or your hero. This will enable you to decide which point of view the
story should be written from and give your character a voice.
2.
Conflict
Conflict is the
mainstay of fiction and it’s impossible to write an interesting book without
it. Think drama. Think how to put your characters through hell, test their
resolve to succeed at every turn of the page.
A great way to drive your book and give your plot shape is to give your
characters two goals – an external and an internal goal.
So what do I mean by external goal? The external goal is usually
something simple and obvious – catch the killer or thief. The villain’s goal,
on the other hand, might be to exact revenge on the police officer who put him
in jail, or plant the bomb that will destroy the small town that shunned him,
etc. It’s the external goal that drives the plot forward, and obviously, the
protagonist’s goal is going to directly conflict with the antagonist’s external
goal.
Whatever the internal goal, the hero or heroine have to change and
evolve during the course of the novel and become better persons through their
relationship with each other.
The key is to create a character that is strong in his or her ideals,
and values, but who is prepared to listen and, if necessary, change. The hero
also needs to be a good ‘people reader’ so if the heroine is a little naïve
he’s the one who sees through everyone else’s lies. He also has to be human,
and make mistakes and learn from them. His strengths are the qualities that
make you fall in love with him.
But external goals and inner conflict isn’t the only trait characters
need.
To create excitement, something must impede both the protagonist’s and
antagonist’s efforts to overcome their goals. Without it there is no tension or
curiosity, to make you, the reader keep turning the page. Every major character
must have something at stake, something to lose, as the book reaches the final
climax, the extreme stakes for both contribute to the growing drama. Most
suspense novels sooner or later become about life and death.
3.
Emotion and Love Scenes
Your characters’ emotions will engage those of your readers. It’s no
good just telling the reader how the character feels in any scene. You have to
show your characters feeling all the vital emotions and passion. After all,
love and desire are potent bedfellows and the reason the reader chose your book
from the other hundred or so on the shelf. Showing emotion will also give your
novel pace, tension and character development. At this point in your writing
it’s always worth asking yourself ‘what is my audience reading this for?’ When
you know what they expect only then will you be able to fully engage them in
the story.
Love scenes are essential in any romantic novel, from gentle kisses to
full blown sex. Again you need to engage the reader’s senses. How does the
heroine feel when the hero touches or kisses her for the first time? Does her
skin tingle? Does her pulse quicken?
Sex scenes aren’t appropriate for every sub-genre of romance and
therefore it’s essential to understand what ‘heat-level’ is appropriate for
your book. One way to do this is to check the publisher’s submission
guidelines. Some authors find it difficult to write sex scenes and leave their
characters at the bedroom door simply implying that love-making has taken
place. Others will describe the act in detail. The solution? Know your own
boundaries and write only what you feel comfortable with.
4.
Research
There are some people who would argue that research isn’t essential in a
romance novel. I would disagree, especially if you are going use a real place as
the setting of your novel. Place a church or a restaurant on the wrong street
corner and there will always be someone to point out that you’re wrong. Make
sure you give your hero the correct type of handgun when writing romantic
suspense or thrillers, as again, there will always be someone willing to tell
you that cops, or the FBI don’t use that type of weapon.
Finally, if you can put all these elements together and write a
creditable story, then you stand a very good chance of having your manuscript
published. But remember: first drafts are rarely ready for publication. Your
manuscript needs to be correctly formatted as per the publisher’s/agent’s
guidelines, polished to within an inch of its life, and be error free.
* Source Simba Information, AAP
Victoria Howard is the author of three romantic
suspense novels; The House on the Shore,
(a 2009 Joan Hessayon Award finalist and 2009 London Book Festival Honourable
Mention), Three Weeks Last Spring, and
Ring of Lies. She is also the author
of several short stories, including the Kindle short, A Little Protection.
Born in Liverpool, Victoria trained as a medical
secretary, and subsequently worked for the National Health Service. She spent twenty years living on a croft in
the Highlands of Scotland, managing a company involved in the offshore oil and gas
industry.
During those rate times when she isn’t writing,
Victoria can be found curled up with a book, gardening, designing
knitwear, walking her Border collie, Rosie, or travelling the world.
Victoria is also a member
of Romantic Novelists’ Association and The Alliance of Independent Authors.
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