What Aspiring Romance Novelists Should Know

Romance novels are a billion-dollar industry and one of the few places where women are the predominant force. Every year, thousands of 'would be and hopeful' romance novelist are at their keyboards or putting pen to paper, longing for that coveted contract, phone call or acceptance letter in the mail that tells them that a publisher wants to publish their book. As someone who reviews a lot of romances, from erotic to the sweet, and who enjoys and respects the genre, here is what I believe aspiring romance novelist should know before throwing their hat into the romance ring.

Have strong, three-dimensional characters

This is true for anyone who is trying to write any type of fiction. As someone once told me, "Go deeper with your characters." How to do that? Get to know your characters, take them out for coffee (figuratively speaking of course) and ask them about themselves. It may sound like a strange thing to do but it helps and, in most cases, works.

Characters can break or make a story. I have read romance stories, no more than fifteen pages, where I felt that I have truly gotten to know the characters. A really good romance novelist can make a reader care about a character in one to two paragraphs and the great ones in one sentence.

Why? Because they know who their character are, how they would act in any given situation and has an emotional connection to them. Do not underestimate readers. They will follow a likeable character, one that they genuinely care about, through the most improbable plot points imaginable. That is not to say, that I have not given good reviews to romances where the characters are dark or troubled. I just reviewed a book where the two main characters were very self-destructive people. But I cared for them and by the end of the book, I loved them. Why? Because the writer took the time to make sure that I would.

Enough already with the Sex