RomanceEverAfter
|
|
|
People You Should Know A Conversation with Ross Howard, A Cure for Kirby, Meet Monica Davis and Geir Ness. The Beauty of Change Series Historical Romance Column and Book Reviewer: Kaye Hatfield NEW! Sam DeMarco Have you dreamed of starting your own business? Sam DeMarco, owner of Compliance Team, did and he tells us how he made his dream a reality! Photo Gallery Romance & You (Articles) Romantic Memoir
Quotes & Poetry Expand your quotes and poetic horizons by visiting our various Quotes & Poetry categories: Thought of the Week: Time for New Beginnings A series of 8 articles by Melissa Hamilton comprising a collection of principles that will allow you to make your vision for the future a reality. Read about the Amish, India, Philippines, Greece, & Rome.
|
Lindsay
Longford
Also, stop by and read her write up in the The Writing Craft. She discusses her new book Dead Calm and her experience working with Silhouette, and words of advice regarding the business of writing romance at Lindsay Longford - Writing Craft.
Why do you enjoy reading and writing romance? I love the stories, the emotions, and, yes, quite frankly, I love the assurance of the happy ending. In a troubled world where so much is out of our control, there's real comfort in knowing I'm going to enter a fictional world for a time where good things are possible. I'm a sucker for a happy ending, I confess!. Share how you as a writer go about effectively creating the "pace" of a story so that your story is a page-turning romance? The assumption here, thank you!, is that my story is a page-turner! I do try to give the reader a book that will keep her reading late into the night. I've learned that pacing depends on a lot of variables: my voice, the particular scene, and chapter structure. For instance, my voice tends to be southern and descriptive. As a result, I try to use that as a strength in emotional scenes and in lovemaking scenes. In other scenes, primarily action scenes, I focus on using short, subject-verb sentences and lots of dialogue to create a fast, slam-band pace. In a chapter where the focus is chiefly on action, I sometimes use short, popcorn scenes--Mary Higgins Clark does this a lot, and it automatically speeds up the pace. How do the "voices" of your characters emerge? Hmmm. Dunno? :) I hear them in my head. Until that happens, the story doesn't take off. Once the characters start "talking," I'm on a roll. Sometimes I hear a voice I hadn't expected, and that changes the story. I had a villain in Dark Moon, for instance, suddenly appear, and I hadn't known he/she was the killer! Same thing in No Surrender. I thought the evil-doer was one person--nope! Suddenly a different character--and I'm not going to say whom!--just started chatting away in my head! What qualities do you seek in a romance novel that make it a "keeper"? For me this answer is the same whether the book is a romance, a mystery, lit light, or serious literary fiction. A book that touches my emotions and makes me lose track of where I am becomes a keeper for me. Sometimes that will happen because of the story situation, characters, or the writer's particular voice. Usually it will be a combination of all three. What makes the romance genre unique and exciting as opposed to any other genre? I'm really uncomfortable with the word 'opposed.' It suggests a kind of ranking to me, and that's not how I feel about books. Like many romance readers, I read widely and broadly depending on what reading experience I'm hungry for. I don't see the romance genre as in 'opposition' to any other genre, but as a rich, wonderful offering on a buffet of reading possibilities. The genre does, and uniquely, I think, afford writers the opportunity to explore an incredible variety of story lines and ideas--from historical periods, kiss and kill books, to paranormal and alien worlds. The romance genre doesn't feel restrictive to me the way some other storytelling formats do. The romance genre seems to be, like many women, adaptable and open to new elements. That openness, I strongly believe, is one of its greatest strengths. I am a fan of the genre because of its specific emphasis on emotion and connections, on creating a universe where family bonds and male-female relationships have the power to make the world better. I think these themes are important because they remind us of the best instincts of humankind--to nurture, to create, and to love. Yeah, you bet I love the romance genre!
Return to Return to The Writing Craft Return to |
|
|
Photo Gallery
