Help! I Want To Be A Romance Writer
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Is there a great love story brewing in your mind? Do you hold out hope that the fairy tales you read as a kid will really come true some day? If so, you may have what it takes to be the next great romance writer. In addition to an eternal belief in happily-ever-afters, here's some insight to what makes romance writing one of the most popular and fun genres of fiction to write.

Read, Read, Read
Almost every romance writer you ask will tell you that their love of the genre did not come to life when they put pen to paper but when they began reading. For every writer, reading is a critical element to build background and to develop a deeper awareness of the language and craft of the genre. Using romance novels as your textbooks will teach you what works and what does not.

Choose Your Sub-Genre
Within romance exists an enormous variety of sub-genres--everything from cowboys to cops to cyber worlds, from sweet love stories to sizzling tales of intrigue and murder. Each sub-genre has its own vocabulary, flavor, and reader expectations. And since most publishers specialize in acquiring specific sub-genres, knowing the one you want to write for is a necessity.

Dynamic Dialogue
Every line of dialogue in a romance must accomplish three goals simultaneously: advance the story, intensify the hero/heroine connection and deepen the conflict. For this reason, having your character say "Good morning" doesn't have nearly the impact of "I heard about the murder in your neighborhood this morning." Additionally, dialogue can be used to show rather than tell the emotions of a character. By changing "Your mom doesn't listen" to "Your mom is a spiteful, mean woman who can't see your shortcomings," you've added a dimension to the connection and the conflict.

Sensational Scenes
The promise of a romantic relationship draws readers into your story, but what keeps them engrossed from page 1 to page 218? A combination of character growth, balanced action and narrative, good dialogue, a compelling plot and fresh writing—in other words, sensational scenes. The most memorable romance novels make the reader care from page to page. The end of every scene must leave the reader wondering what will happen next. As one conflict is resolved, another more intense conflict occurs. By building scenes that capitalize on this momentum and deepening emotional involvement, that make the reader wonder how the hero or heroine will get themselves out of this conflict, the curiosity and genuine concern about the character will make the reader unable to put down the book--the highest compliment of being a romance writer.

Strong from the Start
What sells a romance to the editor and ultimately the reader? A strong opening line. Editors receive upwards of 200 manuscripts a year. Being able to hook the editor from the first sentence is a key to getting from the slush pile to the contract. That immediate spark will also help your published story become a best-seller with readers. Research shows that most readers read only the back cover blurb and the first line of a story before deciding whether or not to buy the book. If your first line is dynamic, immediate and sparks their attention, you've made a sale.

Love Grammar and Language
Ask any editor the number one reason for rejecting a manuscript and the answer may surprise you: grammatical, spelling and typographical errors editors don't have the time or patience to correct. What does this mean for you? You may have the next Gone With The Wind, but if improper punctuation makes your first sentence longer than the Civil War, the manuscript won't make it further than the editor's slush pile. If grammar isn't your strong suit, you can join a critique group or trade manuscripts with another writer you trust to make corrections.

Never Forget the Key Elements
While every top-selling romance novel is different, each contains the same elements in different degrees. Romance editors and readers expect successful novels to contain:

1. A focus on the relationship and accompanying emotions of the hero and heroine
2. Strong characters: a heroine the reader can admire and cheer for and a hero that any woman would love.
3. A critical situation that sets the main conflict into motion.
4. A main conflict, made of smaller obstacles, that keep the hero and heroine from resolving their internal and external conflicts and keep them apart.
5. Romantic conflicts that build slowly through increased sexual tension. The story doesn't need to include explicit sexual scenes but the more compelling and believable the underlying sexual tension is between the hero and heroine, the more readers will invest emotionally in the story.
6. Resolutions to the conflicts that create more conflicts. Dramatic tension to keep the reader involved until the final page draws readers and editors back for more.
7. A happy ending. The hero and heroine end the story with a commitment (not necessarily marriage) to each other. Each character will ultimately sacrifice something important to them to make the relationship work. Bittersweet endings are for mainstream and literary novels. If it isn't a happy ending, it isn't a romance. Period.

• Manuscript: the unpublished form of the story you are writing
• Partial: usually considered to be the first three chapters of a manuscript
• Full: your complete manuscript
• Synopsis: an outline or condensed version of your manuscript
• Editor: a person who works for a publishing company and buys manuscripts
• Unsolicited Manuscript: a manuscript you send to the editor that was not requested by the editor
• Slush pile: the unsolicited manuscripts an editor hasn't read
• Agent: a person who agrees, for a fee or percentage of your manuscript sale, to represent your work to editors who publish your type of story
• Query: a short letter of introduction sent to an editor or agent including information on your manuscript where you ask if the editor/agent would like to see your manuscript