How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (17 page)

For
all
genres
in
the
CBA)
we
close
the
door.
We
also
keep
the
scenes
fairly
chaste,
with
affection being
limited
to
kissing
and
not
much
beyond
that.

There are writers
out
there that
push
this
envelope
a
bit.
As
a writer,
you
have to
do
what
is comfortable
for
you,
and
appropriate
for
the
story.
I
always
remind
myself
that
my
mother
is
reading these
books.
That
helps
me
know
where
I
feel
comfortable
drawing
the
line.
But,
whether
you
have just
kissing,
or
you
have
what
I
call
the
“trigonometry”
on
the
page,
you
still
need
to
know
how
to reel
out
the
tension.

And
frankly,
sexual
tension
in
a
CBA
novel
can
be
just
as
strong
as
a
general
market
novel
if
it
is done
right.

How
do
we
create
sexual
tension
in
a
book,
and
when
do
we
use
it?
I’m
going
to
break
sexual tension
apart
into
components,
and
then
we’ll
talk
about
how
and
when
to
weave
it
into
the
story.

The Wishing –
The Pull toward each other, or setting the kindling for the attraction.

The
Wanting
–
This
is
about
building
the
romance,
or
the
physical
and
emotional
Why’s of
being
together.

The
Work
–
This
is
the
Investment
of
the
romance,
the
more
the
characters
are willing
to
let
each
other
into
their
lives.

The
What-if
–
this
is
what
they
want,
and
getting
enough
of
a
taste
of
it
to
build hope.

The Waiting
– The Push away from each other, or creating
tension.

The
Walls
–
This
includes
the
External
Obstacles
and
the
Internal
Obstacles
(and especially
the
hint
of
the
wound)

The Wink – The first kiss, or a taste of the
affection

The
Warning
–
this
is
a
larger
hint
of
the
wound,
or
even
a
slight
reopening
of
the wound.

The Wonderful
–
The full-out
kiss!

The
components
of
great
sexual
tension
start
with
the
Wishing—or
the
desire.
The
more
our characters
wish
for
romance,
affection,
and
a
happily
ever
after,
the
stronger
the
tension
will become.
Think
of
the
wish
as
the
buildup
of
steam.
☺
Or
perhaps
water
pressure
against
a
dam.
I usually
put
it
in
terms
of
the
Pull
toward
the
object
of
their
affection.
The
Pull
takes
on
three different
forms:

The
Wanting
–
The
characters
must
enjoy
spending
time
together.
Sure,
they
might
have obstacles
to
love,
but
even
the
sparks
produced
should
be
relatively
enjoyable,
like
a
good
fight.
As the
romance
progresses,
the
hero
and
heroine
should
have
an
increasing
awareness
that
they
like each
other.
They
enjoy
each
other’s
personalities,
or
wisdom,
or
spiritual
insights,
or
sense
of humor,
or
strength—whatever
it
might be as the story unrolls. (You’ll be creating those “Why” moments we touched on earlier.) They will also become more physically aware of each other—from their initial beauty to imagining what it might be like to be in their arms, to wanting to be there! The author’s job is to increase the Wanting, both emotionally and physically.

One of the best movies for romantic tension is Dirty Dancing. In Dirty Dancing, the first step of the Wanting is when Baby sees Johnny dance with his dance partner. You can almost see the longing written on Baby’s face. Then, she even gets a taste of what it might be like to be with him when he asks her to dance that first night when she “carries in a watermelon.” He leaves her breathless and alone on the dance floor . . . wanting more.

The Work – The characters should fall prey to the law of increasing rewards. This means the more they get to know each other, the more they invest, and even if they haven’t received the “reward,” they don’t want to turn around for the hope of something that lies ahead. A marathon works in this fashion. The further a runner progresses toward the end, the more the power of what they’ve already accomplished pushes them, in tandem with the reward that is promised when they finish the marathon.

If we apply this principle to a romance, the hero and heroine will continue to discover each other’s “layers,”, and find the “treasures” inside each layer. As they discover the increasing value of each other, the idea of not being with each other, even if they still have considerable obstacles, will seem more and more horrible. The reward pulls them, and the investment in the relationship pushes them through the obstacles. The key to successful Work is a slow “unlayering” of the characters, as well as an appreciation of each layer.

In Dirty Dancing there is a lot of Work involved as they learn the dance. They slowly invest in each other with the goal of dancing. Then, when Baby finds out about Penny, she gets even more involved in Johnny’s world. Baby is pulled deeper and deeper into his life and begins to know him beyond his playboy image.

The What-if – Your hero and heroine should also begin to picture what it might be like to kiss, or to be in each other’s arms, or imagine a relationship
with
the
other
person.
It
will
start
with the
What-if
of
a
kiss,
and
lead
to
more
as
the
story
progresses,
but
giving
the
hero
and
heroine
a picture
of
the
reward
helps
it
to
have
more
power.

The
What-if
in
Dirty
Dancing
is
perfect.
First
Baby
wishes
to
dance
like
Johnny
and
his
partner,
then to
be
in
his
arms,
and
it
cumulates
when
Baby
finally
dances
as
his
partner
at
the
nightclub.

Afterward,
as
they
sit
in
the
car
together,
Baby
says
“We
were
great.
We
pulled
it
off.”
She
has started
to
see
them
as
a
team.

The
Wanting,
or
the
pull
toward
each
other,
is
just
one
half
of
Sexual
Tension.
We
also
need
the
push
away
from
each
other
or
the
fear
of
loss,
if
we
want
to
create
adequate
pressure.
Think
of
the push
away
as
the
wall
of
the
dam
that
keep
the
romantic
flood
waters
from
breaking
free.
Or
the
lid on
the
pressure
cooker,
holding
in
the
steam.
The
Wanting
can
be
expressed
through
what
I
call The Waiting.

The
Waiting
is
that
time
period
where
you
are
building
to
the
first
kiss,
but
you
are
still
keeping
the hero
and
heroine
apart,
in
terms
of
their
physical
affection.
This
first
element
of
keeping
them separated can be termed The
Walls.

The
first
set
of
Walls
between
your
hero
and
heroine
are
those
External
Obstacles
—or
Why
Nots— that
we’ve
set
up
between
the
hero
and
heroine.
What
physical
elements
in
the
plot
keep
these people
apart?
We’ve
outlined
them
earlier,
but
just
as
a
review,
here’s
some
that
I’ve
used:

She’s
the
fire
chief,
he’s
a
volunteer
firefighter.
(
The
Perfect
Match
)

She’s
a
reporter
(undercover)
intent
on
proving
he’s
guilty
of
a
crime.
(
Reclaiming
Nick
)

He’s
the
cop
who
arrests
her.
(
Nothing
but
Trouble
)

She’s
a
bookstore
owner,
he’s
her
new
handyman
who
she
thinks
is
sabotaging
her.
(
Happily Ever
After
)

In
Dirty
Dancing
,
the
Walls,
are,
of
course,
the
fact
that
Baby
is
a
guest
and
Johnny
is
a
staffer—and rather
low
on
the
totem
pole
too.
Plus,
he’s
not
one
of
the
frat
boys;
he’s
from
the
wrong
side
of
the tracks.

These obstacles are key to keeping the hero and heroine from throwing themselves into each others’ arms. However, as the story progresses, these External Obstacles will feel less important than their love. This is where Internal Obstacles come in. Underlying the External Obstacles will be the hint of a bigger issue, usually something from the characters’ past that make them afraid of love. (The wound!)

Maybe they lost their first love, or maybe they caused the death of someone they loved, or maybe they come from a broken home. Whatever the Internal Obstacle is, it conspires to keep them apart on both an emotional and physical level. This wound is a much stronger Wall, and will be the hero’s and heroine’s last line of defense before the outer walls to their heart are breached. For now, however, smaller Internal Obstacles conspire to hold them back.

Eventually
(usually
about
half-way
through
the
book),
they
can’t
hold
back
any
longer,
they
have what
I
call
The
Wink.
This
is
that
tentative,
or
quick,
or
accidental,
or
even
purposeful-but- mistaken
first
kiss.
It
acts
as
a
taste
of
hope,
a
taste
of
what
could
be.

Here’s
a
secret:
The
timing
of
this
kiss
is
essential
because
once
you
allow
them
the
kiss,
tension deflates.
I
often
wait
for
that
moment
when
the
tension
feels
unbearable,
that
moment
that
it
feels natural
for
them
to
kiss—and
then
I
hold
them
back!
I
wait
until
the
next
chapter.
And
then
I
give them
just
a
taste
so
I
don’t
deflate
the
tension.
I
leave
the
characters
(and
the
reader)
wanting
more.

In
Dirty
Dancing
,
you
might
think
they
skip
The
Wink
and
go
right
to
the
big
event.
The
tension
has been
building
for
so
long,
we
feel
like
they
have
already
kissed.
But
the
Wink
can
be
something
that acts
like
kiss—a
moment
of
recognized
attraction.
So,
for
Baby
and
Johnny,
you
could
say
the
dance was
really
the
Wink.
In
many
general
market
books,
they
also
skip
the
kiss
and
go
right
to
the
main event,
but
even
that
first
main
event
is
just
a
taste
of
the
real
thing
they’ll
have
when
they
truly
declare
their
love.
If
you
read
any
general
market
romances,
you’ll
note
that
after
the
Wink,
or
that first
physical
encounter,
regardless
of
what
it
is,
it
always
causes
more
stress,
more
angst,
more longing,
and
even
a
healthy
dose
of
regret.
But
it
does
serve
to
tantalize
the
reader
to
want
more.

Now
that
we’ve
had
the
taste
of
the
happy
ending,
The
Wish
becomes
overwhelming.
The
hero
and heroine
want
to
be
with
each
other,
they
have
worked
to
get
to
know
each
other,
and
they’ve
gotten a
taste
of
the
What-if.

About
three
chapters
later,
it’s
time
for
The
Wow.
This
is
the
amazing,
we-waited-for-it
kiss!
The one
with
all
the
pent-up
passion,
and
in
general
market
stories,
often
more
happens
than
just
a
kiss. But
this
Wow
is
there
to
cement
in
the
hero’s
and
heroine’s
minds
that
the
wonderful
ending
they’re hoping
for
is
not
far
away.

In
Dirty
Dancing,
we
have
the
Wow
in
the
old
house
when
she
goes
to
him
after
her
father
rejects him.
Baby
and
Johnny
are
dancing,
until
.
.
.
yes,
it’s
a
strong
scene
that
we
all
remember.

But
just
because
they’ve
had
the
Wow
doesn’t
mean
they’re
going
to
have
their
happy
ending
yet. That’s
part
of
the
romance.
We
give
them
what
they
want,
and
then
make
them
fight
for
it.
We’re now
going
to
employ
some
Push-Pull
to
create
tension,
so
we’ll
return
to
some
of
the
elements
we employed
in
the
wishing
and
waiting
stages.