Tag: romance

Lesson 2: Cut those romantic declarations you’ve been slaving over, the ones that sound long-winded and dorky no matter how hard you try. Go for the action; the telling gesture is infinitely more effective than telling dialogue.

Lesson 3: Use your metaphors; chances are they’re already in your book. What do your heroine and hero do for a living? What gifts do they give? What things do they prize? What objects or actions characterize their relationship with each other? Find those concrete things, figure out their deeper meaning, and enhance them in your final draft to add power and depth to your lovers’ relationship.

Lesson 4: Before you send that manuscript out, take out all the on-the-nose dialogue (and internal monologue) you can. Then look for places where your characters can briefly say what they don’t mean and mean what they don’t say.

Lesson 5: If your conflict is “they can’t have sex”, your story is too weak to play. Recast it so that when your lovers do connect, things get more complicated for them. You know, like in real life.