Purple Prose:
romance

If you write straight romances or novels with a romantic subplot, you’ll want to check out Writing Love: Screenwriting Tricks for Authors by Alexandra Sokoloff. I’ve read a few books on writing romance, but this is the best one I’ve seen.

Unlike other books that deal with the topic of romance, Alexandra focuses on what she’s known best for: story structure. If you haven’t read her first book (Screenwriting Tricks for Authors), you might want to do that first. But for $2.99, it’s worth it. Alexandra assumes you’ve already read the book before reading Writing Love. If you’re familiar with story structure, it’s not as big a deal if you want to skip on.

One of my favorite parts of Writing Love, which is worth the money alone, is the chapter on ‘love story’ elements. In it, Alejandra talks about scene and story setups that you will find in romance. These include: call to adventure (when the protagonist first notices her future love interest), the reluctant heroine, mistaken identity, handcuff the couple together (not necessarily literally).

Another thing I loved is that she took ten well-known romance movies (e.g. Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sense and Sensibility, While You Were Sleeping) and analyzed them according to their romantic storylines. This includes how the various ‘love story’ elements were used to drive the story. She also discussed how the rules of fairy-tale structure can be applied to your book.

Overall, I highly recommend Writing Love for all writers who include romance in their stories.
Do you write stories that have romance as their main story line, or are they usually subplots?

Last week, Heather Howland (managing editor from Entangled Publishing) conducted an amazing online workshop. Here are some key points she stressed when writing kissing or sex scenes in YA stories:

• Avoid the cliches we are now seeing A LOT in YA stories. For example, the tugging of the lower lip during the kiss. Many of these things are found in adult novels and are not true to the teen experience. Heather rolls her eyes whenever she reads them in manuscripts. She’s probably not the only one.

• It’s all about the emotions. With adult novels, there’s more emphasis on the mechanics of the kiss or sex or everything in between. Not so with the teen experience. Make sure you have the visceral reactions (no clichés please) and lots of introspection. The focus should be on the introspection (something I still need to work on) and not on the choreography.

• Avoid being graphic with the naming of body parts (I can’t list them here because this is a PG-rated blog, but you get the idea). There are incidences when it’s okay, but this is when the character is viewing the act in a clinical sense. Most of the time, you want to avoid this. Examples used were Forget Me by Jennifer Ecols and The Anatomy of a Boyfriend by Daria Snadowsky.

• Write for teens. Don’t write steamy to make adult readers happy. Remember, the teen experience varies when it comes to sex. Someone who has never gone that far might be uncomfortable if you get too descriptive.

• Study how other authors do it (well). Below are a few of the books Heather used excerpts from to demonstrate her points. In the lecture (which I can’t do here), she explained why each excerpt worked.

If you have a chance to take a workshop from Heather (like Sex in YA), I highly recommend it. She’s a great instructor. Someone had a question about rape in YA, and Heather delayed her originally scheduled lesson to post on the topic. She also accepted anonymous excerpts from our WIPs and gave feedback on them. That alone made the course worth it. We all learned a lot from reading her explanations on why things worked and why they didn’t.

What cliches are you tired of seeing in YA or romance?

(This workshop was offered through YARWA, the YA chapter of the RWA).

(Geez, I’m dreading to see what google search words bring people to my blog now!)

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Update on the course I mentioned last week: Students will be refunded since the instructor is unable to finish the course due to health issues. Hopefully she gets better soon.

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In stories with romance (either the main story line or the subplot), the ultimate ending is when the heroine captures the heart, and vice versa, of the hero—her soul mate. But does that elusive individual really exist, and how do you know if you’ve found him? I mean let’s face it, just because we fall in love with someone, it doesn’t mean he’s the one.

And what about in paranormal novels (YA and adult)? If one of the individuals is immortal and the other one is mortal, it sure would suck if they’re supposed be soul mates. They would only have a few years together before the mortal individual dies. And the immortal character would have to spend a lonely eternity mourning his lost love.

Fortunately there are several ways to deal with this:

• Turn the mortal into an immortal. Then they’ll have a happily-ever-after for thousands of years (hopefully they still like each other after all that time).

• Find a way to make the immortal character mortal. This way they can both grow old together (because a senior citizen dating a teenager is very icky!).

• And let’s not forget reincarnation. The disadvantage of this is the character has to wait around until the love interest is the right age. And then the character has to hope the love interest has a long life. It would be a bummer if he finally finds her, and she dies a few weeks later. It would be an even bigger bummer if this happened every time she is reincarnated, like in YA paranormal novel Fallen by Kate Lauren.

Why do readers of romance keeping turning the page instead of rushing off to clean the toilet? (I mean, other than the obvious reason.) It’s because they want to know what happens between the hero and heroine. This is true regardless if you’re writing YA novels, romantic suspense, paranormal romances.

But it’s not enough to give the two characters a happily-ever-after from page one (save that for the ending). You need to create tension and conflict between them, which is maintained throughout the story.

According to Leslie Waigner (Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies) this can be achieved by creating an emotional conflict (one that grows from the heart) between the two characters that has nothing to with the plot. After that, you can throw all kinds of complications at them.

However, don’t confuse emotional conflict with intellectual conflict. Intellectual conflict comes from the head, such as opinions.

Remember, at the end of the day, the reader cares more about what’s in the hero’s and heroine’s hearts than what’s in their heads. (Okay, you know what I mean.)

Even if the romance is only a subplot, you still want to keep these things in mind when you write this aspect of the story.

What keeps you turning the pages of a novel (and it doesn’t have to be about romance)?

“The story is the journey for truth. The plot is the road it takes to get there.”

This quote comes from the nonfiction book, Emotional Structure: Creating the Story Beneath the Plot—A Guide for Screenwriters, by Peter Dunne. But don’t let the part about it being for screenwriters turn you off. It’s an amazing book for fiction writers, too.

In it, Peter discusses the three-act structure, and breaks it down according to story (emotion) and plot. But unlike other books dealing with structure, his approach to the characters is different. There are three types that he uses. The protagonist and antagonist you’re familiar with. What’s different, and doesn’t necessarily apply to all types of stories, is the co-protagonist. Peter describes this individual as:

“The co-protagonist usually starts off in the piece as someone who is not fond of the protagonist. The co-protagonist almost immediately challenges the protagonist on every level. The protagonist can’t wait to solve his problem quickly and put this person out of his life forever. But, boy, that is so not going to happen. . . . Revealing themselves, exposing vulnerability or weakness just makes things worse. But while they fight on one level, something else is happening on an internal level. And it scares them.”

The book shows you how to effectively translate this into the plot and story. It doesn’t work for every type of story. If you’re writing a James Bond style novel, then you can skip it. If you’re writing one with a strong romantic element, then it’s the perfect book for you. But it doesn’t necessarily have to have romance in it. The key focus of the novel will be the development of trust between the protagonist and co-protagonist. This could be mother and daughter. Sisters. Two individuals who become friends. The main thing is they’re after the same goal, even if their motives are different.

Another thing I loved about the book is that Peter includes a script for a movie that was never made (too bad!). I wasn’t going to read it at first. I’m a novelist not a screenwriter. But it’s worth studying along with Peter’s comments. And the best part is I couldn’t put the book down. I had to know what happened next. I can’t say that about most nonfiction books.

There’s so much more to Emotional Structure than I could explain here. The post would be too long if I tried. Overall, I highly recommend it if you’re writing the type of story I described.

Any questions?

This is an excerpt from my WIP, Shot in the Dark (YA contemporary). Maddie and Daniel were watching a movie at his place. She fell asleep and had a nightmare. This is their first real—and I mean steamy—kiss together. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, they’re not dating—yet.

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“Sorry,” I say, voice little more than a croaked whisper. “I guess I should have warned you about the nightmares.”

He sweeps a strand of hair behind my ear, the same worried expression still on his face. “Are they because of the attack?”

The intensity in his eyes ignites a spark inside me. The warmth of it flickers hungrily, wanting, needing something more.

Half aware of what I’m doing, I lean toward him. His faint spicy smell soothes me, makes me feel safe. My gaze drops to his mouth then we’re kissing.

It starts out sweet and tentative at first, but the desire to soak him in, to taste him becomes overwhelming. With my teeth, I gently tug on his lower lip. A muffled moan escapes him. He tangles his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer, if that’s even possible.

The warmth inside of me swells as his lips part and our tongues dance together, touching, teasing. It never, ever, felt this way when I kissed my last boyfriend, and I never want it to end.

I tentatively slide my hands around the waist band of his jeans and inch them under the edge of his t-shirt, eager to touch and explore every part of him. Okay, almost every part of him. There’re some places I’m not ready for yet.

My earlier exhaustion has vanished. All I want to do is keep kissing him and escape the memory of my nightmare.

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For more steamy kisses, check out the list on Christina Lee's blog (my partner in crime for this blogfest). There are tons of great ones to get you in the mood for today.

First, I want to remind those of you who signed up for the Kiss Already Blogfest that it's for this coming Monday. I can't wait to read all the entries.

Now for the That's YAmore Blogfest . . . .

This is an edited version of an excerpt from my WIP. Maddie is Nordic skiing with Daniel, the potential love interest. She's faking a sprained ankle after he attacked her with a snowball.

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Daniel’s so busy examining my ankle, he doesn’t notice me scoop up a handful of snow until it’s too late. He tries to dive out of the way, but doesn’t move fast enough. I shove it squarely into his face.

Laughing, I roll onto my side and try to scramble to my feet. Only this time Daniel’s the faster one. He grabs my wrists and pins them on the snow above my head while I try to squirm my way to freedom.

An evil gleam appears in his eyes. “You surrender yet?”

“Never,” I breathe, suddenly aware of his muscular thighs on either side of my hips, his face close to mine. If I thought my pulse was fast from skiing, that was nothing.

For a long second, I wonder how his lips would feel against mine, but then shove the thought aside. It’s so wrong on too many levels.

I try to twist away from him, but he tightens his hold. He then shifts his weight so that one hand keeps both of my wrists in place, and with his free hand, he unzips my jacket. The cold air kisses my bare stomach. My long sleeve t-shirt must have wiggled its way up during our wrestling match.

He takes a handful of snow, and with a devious grin, rubs it onto my stomach. I shriek at the freezing sensation and try to buck him off.

“You asshole!” Maybe it would have sounded more convincing if I wasn’t giggling.

He grabs another handful of snow. “Surrender?”

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There you go. For a much steamier excerpt, check out my entry on Monday's post.

Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, and Christina Lee had a brilliant idea:

Why don’t we have a JUST KISS ALREADY BLOGFEST?

So here’s the deal, on Monday February 14th at 7 am EST, post an excerpt that is no longer than 250-words (it’s tiring to read long excerpts) in which there is actual kissing. No near misses allowed!

You can include a short intro if it’s really, really necessary, but the key word is SHORT.

It doesn’t have to be YA, and it can be an excerpt from an author you admire (just make sure you give credit where credit is due).

Just sign up with Mr. Linky below or on Christina's blog and check out 3-5 other posts involved in the blogfest (more if you like). It can’t get easier than that.

Oh, and don’t forget to spread the word. Thanks!

Any questions?

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Psst. I have a secret.

As most of you know, I write, read, and breathe all thing YA (young adult). And I pretty much only crit or beta read YA novels plus the occasional MG (middle grade) book—with one exception. One of my closest friends writes women’s fiction.

Before I got hooked on YA novels, I read historical romances (I was planning to write them one day), medical thrillers, and a few Patricia Cornwell novels thrown in for luck.

I’ve never read, in my entire life, any women’s fiction (or at least I think don’t I have), unless Harlequin romances count. Hmmm. Do they?

Anyway, my friend recently decided to take a break from her WIP. But not only did she decide to start working on a new novel, she decided to explore a new genre (for her): erotica.

Now, other than the steamy parts in the historical romances—and I mean seriously steamy—I’ve never read the genre before. But being the diligent critter that I am, I thought I should read a few for RESEARCH. Yes, that’s right, it’s strictly for research.

And of course, my husband, being your typical male, was more than delighted to hear about my selfless sacrifice to benefit my friend. *grins*

So my question is: how far will you go to help your writer friends?

And in case you’re wondering, since I’ve just finished reading my first romantic erotica novel (and it was hot!!!), I have no plans to write the genre (though I’m definitely doing some more research to help my friend out. *winks*). I’m YA all the way.

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