All About Love

 

First Secret: Believe in love

If you write romance, you need to believe in your story – and that true love is possible.

You can’t write romance with your tongue in your cheek. It’s too obvious that you don’t mean it.

Lovers of romance read with their hearts. They become emotionally involved, immersed in the story you’re telling them. If you don’t believe it yourself, neither will they.

Countless apirant writers of romantic fiction, have been attracted by the stories they’ve heard of the fortunes to be made in this popular genre. With the glitter of greed in their eyes,  they have set out to write a commercially successful novel – and it should come as no surprise that they inevitably fail. This sort of cynicism does not belong in the world of love and romance.

More than believing in love, you must also take delight in telling stories of love – and thinking and dreaming them. You must develop the capacity to live the story along with your characters and know, in your heart, that The One does exist.

Exercise:

Take half an hour to daydream yourself a dream lover. Imagine what he looks like. What does he do, and what are his interests? What does he say when you first meet and where does this meeting occur? Is it love at first sight, or do sparks fly?

If you are a man – and two out of ten readers of romantic fiction are – then of course, you know what to do!

The character that you bring to life here might not be new. This may be someone you have daydreamed and thought about for some time, and that’s fine. Jot these thoughts down and keep them. They may form the basis for a hero or heroine of your first romance.

In our Guide to Writing Romance, we will school you in the fine art of creating compelling romantic heroes and heroines.

 

 

Module One

This module is free. Don’t even think about it. Jump right in and start today. It’s about writing romance. In fact, it’s about writing anything - well, perhaps not manuals on automobile maintenance - but anything in the fiction line.

It forms your basic introduction to the writing life.

We will teach you how to find your own voice and write with fluency and conviction. Perhaps, most important of all, we will confirm your power to make the hearts of your readers beat that little bit faster.

Romance isn’t just about heroines and heroes. It’s about using the power of your unique voice to make your reader believe in the world you create for them.

This module, which prepares and leads you into both The Guide to Writing Romance and The Guide to Writing Lesbian Romance, consists of four short sections. We’ve designed it so that you’ll have fun trying a number of writing drills, while equipping yourself with skills.

The exercises will free your inner writer, develop confidence, banish self-conscious writing and grow your own writer’s voice.