How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (2 page)

Are
you
ready
to
fall
in
love?

Take
a
romance
off
your
shelf.
It
doesn’t
matter
what
subgenre
it
is—romantic
suspense,
historical romance,
contemporary
romance,
Amish
romance,
vampire
romance,
supernatural
romance,
even erotica—the
plot
will
have
the
same
elements
as
every
other
romance.
They
may
be
in
different order,
but
for
your
romance
to
have
the
right
fragrance
and
to
meet
expectations,
you’ll
need
to recognize
and
apply
these
ten
ingredients.

Boy Meets Girl
– An event, goal, or circumstance occurs to bring our hero and heroine together.
Interest/Need
– Something about their individual situations makes their hearts vulnerable to romance.
Why –
The core reasons why they belong together.

Why
Not
–
External
and
Internal
Obstacles
between
the
hero
and
heroine
conspire
to
separate
them.

Wooing
–
Events
or
situations
that
allow
the
hero
and
heroine
to
fall
in
love.

Sizzle
–
Dialogue
that
creates
romantic
tension.

Kiss
–
The
romantic
tension
leads
to
the
physical
connection.

Breakup
–
The
biggest
Why
Not
(Obstacle)
rises
to
push
them
apart
and
scrape
open
their
wounds.

Make
Up
–
The
wound
is
healed
and
the
Big
Why
(the
core
reason
they
belong
together)
saves
the day.

Big Gesture/Sacrifice/HEA
– The Hero or Heroine are able to prove their love through big gestures/sacrifices in order to stay together and find the love they’ve always longed for.

We’ll
go
through
each
of
these
in
upcoming
chapters.
However,
if
you
are
plotting
a
book,
knowing this
structure
may
assist
you
in
laying
out
a
rough
plot.
Before
you
even
start
your
character
study, you
may
brainstorm
with
these
elements
to
see
if
you
like
the
story,
and
if
it
works.

Let’s
take
a
look
at
how
these
ten
ingredients
might
work
when
you
plot
a
book.
Here’s
an
example from
the
rough
romance
plotting
I
did
on
a
recent
category
romance.

Boy
Meets
Girl
–
An
event,
goal,
or
circumstance
occurs
to
bring
our
hero
and
heroine
together

The
hero
and
heroine
are
attending
different
weddings
at
the
same
location.
They
get
into
the
same cab, mistaking each other
for
people they haven’t
met
but
are supposed to. The hero is
an undercover
security
agent
and
is
supposed
to
meet
up
with
another
agent,
pose
as
her
fiancé,
and protect
the
bride.
The
heroine
is
supposed
to
be
the
maid
of
honor
at
her
sister’s
wedding
and
is
the blind
date
of
one
of
the
groomsmen.

Interest/Need = Why
– Something about their individual situations makes their hearts vulnerable to
romance

The
heroine’s
sister
is
marrying
the
man
whom
the
heroine
loved.
In
fact,
she
believed
the
groom loved
her
.
She
is
tired
of
living
outside
the
romance
novel
and
wants
her
own
Happily
Ever
After (HEA).

The
hero
used
to
be
a
wild
guy
but
has
changed
his
ways.
Now
he’s
afraid
to
be
with
a
woman because
he
doesn’t
know
how
to
date
a
nice
girl.
But
he
wants
someone
he
can
love
and
trust,
and someone
who
sees
him
as
a
hero.

Why
–
The
core
reasons
why
they
belong
together

They
both
value
family,
although
in
different
ways,
as
well
as
honesty.
She
is
reliable
and
he
is surprised
that
he
can
trust
her—although,
for
the
first
time
in
years,
he
wants
to
trust
someone.
And she
trusts
him,
which
makes
him
want
to
protect
her.

The
heroine
enjoys
being
a
“super
spy”
if
only
for
a
day.
She
feels
like
she
is
more
than
who
she
has become.
And
the
fact
that
the
hero
is
depending
on
her
only
makes
her
rise
to
the
challenge.
Finally, he
makes
her
feel
beautiful
and
not
rejected.
Why
Not
–
External
and
internal
obstacles
between
the
hero
and
heroine,
as
well
as
true
love,
conspire
to
separate
them.

The
hero
needs
her
to
be
his
date
to
accomplish
his
mission.
She
feels
like
he
tricked
her
and
now trapped
her
into
helping
him.
They
don’t
trust
each
other.

Wooing
–
Events
or
situations
allow
the
hero
and
heroine
to
fall
in
love

Despite
being
tricked,
she
agrees
to
help
him,
and
her
willingness
to
go
out
of
her
comfort
zone allows
him
to
get
his
job
done.
They
are
put
into
increasingly
dangerous
situations
that
allow
their trust
for
each
other
to
grow.

Because
he
has
“tricked”
her
into
helping
him,
he
has
to
be
kind
to
her,
and
charm
her
.
.
.
and eventually
start
to
be
truly
heroic
as
he
responds
to
her.

Sizzle
–
Dialogue
that
creates
romantic
tension.

At
first,
their
situation
produces
dramatic
irony,
as
they
are
each
talking
about
different
weddings. Then,
because
they
are
supposed
to
be
engaged,
they
are
fighting
even
as
they
are
trying
to
“get along.”
Finally,
they
have
a
staged
fight
.
.
.
that
leads
to
a
real
fight.

Kiss
–
The
romantic
tension
leads
to
the
physical
connection.

They
are
supposed
to
be
engaged,
which
causes
them
to
be
in
“romantic”
situations,
including
a
fake kiss
.
.
.
that
leads
to
real
attraction.

Breakup
–
The
biggest
Why
Not
rises
to
push
them
apart
and
scrape
open
their
wounds.

His
mission
is
going
to
get
an
untrained
person
hurt.
He
can’t
fall
for
her
because
it
will
only
distract him,
not
to
mention
that
their
real
lives
are
vastly
different.
So,
for
the
good
of
the
mission,
and
her, he
stages
a
cruel
breakup.
This
fight
embarrasses
and
hurts
her,
and
she
believes
all
his
feelings
for her
were
just
an
act
(not
unlike
the
feelings
her
ex-
boyfriend-turned-future-brother-in-law).

Makeup
–
The
wound
is
healed
and
the
Big
Why
(the
core
reason
they
belong
together)
saves
the
day.

He’s
always
wanted
someone
he
can
trust—and
the
fact
that
this
non-agent
went
out
of
her
way
to help
him
gives
him
hope
that
there
are
people
worth
trusting.
More
than
that,
when
she’s
tested,
she protects
his
mission.
She’s
exactly
the
kind
of
person
he
wants
to
be
with—trustworthy,
daring,
and even
fun.

She’s
always
wanted
a
man
who
really
wants
her—who
will
fight
for
her
and
come
after
her.
The hero
is
exactly
this
kind
of
guy
when
he
realizes
his
feelings
for
her
and
begins
to
protect
her
instead of
completing
his
mission.

Big Gesture/Sacrifice/HEA –
The hero or heroine are able to prove their love through big
gestures/sacrifice in order to stay together and find the love they’ve always longed for.

The
heroine
surrenders
her
hopes
of
getting
back
into
her
sister’s
good
graces
(and
her
wedding)
in order
to
help
the
hero
complete
his
mission.
The
hero
stays
with
her
after
his
mission
is
over
and acts
as
her
“plus
one,”
proving
to
her
sister
and
new
husband
that
the
heroine
is
not
alone.
(And c’mon,
he’s
about
a
thousand
times
better
than
the
guy
who
broke
her
heart.)

They
ride
off
on
a
motorbike
together
.
.
.
and
maybe
she’s
wearing
a
wedding
dress.
☺

This
is
only
a
rough
sketch
of
the
romance
plot,
but
seeing
it
laid
out
will
assist
you
in
determining
if you
have
all
the
ingredients
you
need
to
start
stirring
it
together.
Let’s
take
a
look
now
at
an easy break down of each
ingredient.

• Boy
  Meets
  Girl
  –
  An
  event,
  goal,
  or
  circumstance
  occurs
  to
  bring
  our
  hero
  and
  heroine
  together.
  
• Interest/Need
  – Something about their individual situations makes their hearts vulnerable to
  romance.
  
• Why
  –
  The
  core
  reasons
  why
  they
  belong
  together.
  
• Why
  Not
  –
  External
  and
  Internal
  Obstacles
  between
  the
  hero
  and
  heroine
  conspire
  to
  separate
  them.
  
• Wooing
  –
  Events
  or
  situations
  that
  allow
  the
  hero
  and
  heroine
  to
  fall
  in
  love.
  
• Sizzle
  –
  Dialogue
  that
  creates
  romantic
  tension.
  
• Kiss
  –
  The
  romantic
  tension
  leads
  to
  the
  physical
  connection.
  
• Breakup
  –
  The
  biggest
  Why
  Not
  (Obstacle)
  rises
  to
  push
  them
  apart
  and
  scrape
  open
  their
  wounds.
  
• Make
  Up
  –
  The
  wound
  is
  healed
  and
  the
  Big
  Why
  (the
  core
  reason
  they
  belong
  together)
  saves
  the day.
  

Before
we
jump
into
the
ten
ingredients,
let’s
take
a
moment
to
talk
about
the
writing
process.
Most stories
start
out
with
an
idea
spark.
A
tidbit
from
life,
or
the
news,
or
in
your
reading
has
ignited
a story
idea.
We
call
this
the
premise,
and
it’s
enough
to
get
you
(and
perhaps
others)
excited
about your
novel.
But
a
story
idea,
or
premise,
does
not
a
novel
make,
so
now
comes
the
hard
work.