How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (21 page)

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The
heroine’s
wound
is
that
she
hasn’t
found
a
man
fully
committed
to her
cause.
Her
current
boyfriend
is
just
a
little
too
self-absorbed.
The
hero,
however,
is
always encouraging.
He
tells
her
how
to
fight
the
bad
guy
(ironically,
himself).
He
also
loves
New
York,
just like
she
does.
And
he
reads
and
discusses
her
favorite
story.
It’s
these
little
tidbits
that
tell
her
that he
can
heal
her
wounds
of
losing
something
she
held
so
dear.

Drop
these
healing
moments
into
the
story.
Combine
them
with
the
Why
moments.
But
having them
intact
in
their
past
allows
the
hero
and
heroine
to
recognize
them
during
the
Make
up.

The second step is The Grand Gesture, or the healing that comes with the hero’s
or heroine’s
Sacrificial
Gesture.
This
must
be
something
big
that
they
can
surrender
in
order
to heal the wound of the other.

The
Grand
Gesture
or
Sacrifice
convinces
the
reader
that
your
hero
or
heroine
is
truly
a
changed person.
They
will
use
to
make
their
Grand
Gesture
or
Sacrifice
that
heals
the
wound
of
the
one
they love.
In
this
moment,
give
your
hero
or
heroine
something
they
must
do.
It
must
be
a
proactive event
that
will
challenge
their
truth,
but
give
them
an
opportunity
to
prove
their
love.
Maybe
it’s
a confrontation,
or
a
declaration,
or
a
surrender,
or
a
challenge--whatever
it
might
be,
it
has
to
be something
that
will
test
their
heart.

Often,
the
person
with
the
biggest
wound
makes
a
small
gesture
as
a
way
of
healing,
but
the
other then
reaches
out
with
a
Grand
Gesture
or
Sacrifice
that
completes
it.
Or,
you
can
have
the
Grand Gesture
started
by
the
stronger
of
the
two
(we
love
it
when
it’s
the
hero,
but
it
can
also
be
the heroine).
It’s
then
returned
by
the
other.
Regardless,
it
must
be
accomplished
by
both
parties.

For
example,
in
a
recent
movie,
Leap
Year
,
the
heroine’s
wound
is
that
no
man
wants
to
build
a
life with
her.
(Her
fiancé
actually
asks
her
to
marry
him
so
they’ll
get
this
great
apartment.)
The
hero’s wound
is
that
he
invested
in
a
woman
who
ran
off
with
someone
else
(rejection).
The
heroine
finally gathers
up
the nerve to
return
to
Ireland
where she
proposes
to
the hero.
He says
nothing
and
she thinks
that
he
has
rejected
her
and
leaves.
The
hero,
however,
chases
her
down
the
shore
with
a
ring. He
does
want
to
build
a
life
with
her.

The
Grand
Gesture
is
all
about
the
hero
or
heroine
recognizing
(or
at
least
the
author
recognizing) the
deep
wound
in
the
other,
and
healing
it
with
a
sacrificial
(or
vulnerable)
act.
It’s
when
they
lay out their heart for the
other.

Let’s
return
to
Dirty
Dancing,
a
classic
Grand
Gesture
ending.

Baby
is
sitting
in
the
corner
at
her
parents’
table
when
Johnny
roars
in.
He
goes
right
up
to
her father,
who
stands
to
protect
her,
and
says,
“Nobody
puts
Baby
in
the
corner.”
Meaning,
it’s
time for
Baby
to
grow
up.
Then
he
gives
his
record
to
a
friend
and
goes
to
the
middle
of
the
stage
and tells
the
truth:
That
he
always
ends
the
season
with
a
dance,
but
that
this
year,
someone
told
him
not to.
But
he’d
learned,
through
the
example
of
Baby
(whom
he
calls
Frances)
that
when
you
believe
in someone
or
something,
you
stand
up
for
it.
So,
he’s
arrived
to
dance
the
last
dance
to
his
kind
of music
with
his
partner,
Baby.

Another
Grand
Gesture
is
Jack,
in
While
You
Were
Sleeping,
arriving
at
the
subway
toll
booth
with
his family
to
propose
to
Lucy.

A
Sacrifice
is
when
Paul,
in
A
Walk
in
the
Clouds,
humbles
himself
before
Victoria’s
father
at
the winery
to
convince
him
of
his
honor,
and
then
he
nearly
loses
his
life
as
he
fights
to
save
the vineyard.

A
Sacrifice
is
Andie
giving
up
her
magazine
job
in
D.C.
to
stay
in
New
York
to
be
with
Ben
in
How to
Lose
a
Guy
in
10
Days
.
(And
his
corresponding
Grand
Gesture
is
chasing
her
down
in
her
cab when
she
is
on
the
way
to
the
airport.)

The
Grand
Gesture
or
Sacrifice
proves
the
hero
and
heroine
have
changed,
and
are
willing
to
do anything
to
win
back
the
heart
of
the
one
they
love.
It’s
most
often
the
finale
of
the
romance,
right before
they
live
happily
ever
after.

One
way
to
plot
this
moment
is
to
ask:
What
would
you
never
sacrifice,
or
what
would
you never
do
for
love?

Another
way
to
look
at
it
is
to
ask:
What
can
the
hero
or
heroine
do
that
heals
the
wound
for
the
other?

The
healing
of
the
wound
is
the
key
to
a
Happily
Ever
After
(HEA)
ending.

The
HEA
ending
is
one
part
wound
healing,
one
part
Greatest
Dream.
Just
like
when
you
explore the
dark
moment
of
your
character’s
past
and
you
use
the
answers
to
build
the
break
up
and
Black Moment
and
Epiphany,
you
also
need
to
examine
the
hero’s
and
the
heroine’s
past
for
their
happiest moment.
We ask
this
because we want
to
find
that
one moment
when
everything
worked, everything
was
right.
We
want
to
extrapolate
from
that
some
element
that
we
can
then
use
in
the ending.

Consider
the
ending
in
Return
to
Me
:
The
greatest
dream
for
the
hero,
of
course,
is
to
have
his
wife back.
(His
happiest
moment
being
epitomized
right
before
she
died,
at
the
dance.)
But,
we
know he’ll
never
have
that.
But,
he
does
have
a
piece
if
her—and
even
better,
his
wife
has
almost “blessed”
his
relationship
with
Gracie.
Gracie’s
greatest
dream
(her
happiest
moment
was
when
she got
her
new
heart)
is
to
thank
the
person
who
gave
her
the
heart,
and
to
live
a
good
life.
(She
feels
a little
guilty
that
someone
had
to
die
to
give
her
life).
To
be
able
to
“give”
the
hero
a
little
something of
his
wife,
and
know
that
she
makes
him
happy
too,
is
a
fulfillment
of
her
greatest
dream,

The
HEA
ending
is
a
combination
of
healing
the
wound
(for
Gracie,
being
accepted
despite
the cost,
and
for
the
hero,
allowing
himself
to
love
again),
and
the
greatest
dream.

How to find
this?

Determine the wound. What would heal
this?

Determine the greatest
dream. What
part
of
this
can you (as
the author)
give
them?

It’s
Johnny
and
Baby
dancing
with
the
staff
and
the
resort
guests,
all
enjoying
the
same
music
at
the end
of
Dirty
Dancing
.
(This
event
heals
Johnny’s
“bad
boy”
self-image
and
Baby’s
betrayal
by
her father,
giving
them
both
an
affirmation
that
they
changed
“the
world”
through
dancing.)

It’s
Victoria’s
father
telling
her
to
teach
her
husband
how
to
plant
a
vineyard
in
A
Walk
through
the Clouds
.
(This
heals
her
wound
of
shame,
and
his
wound
of
abandonment,
and
gives
them
both
a heritage,
together).

It’s
Jack
putting
a
stamp
in
Lucy’s
passport
(in
While
You
Were
Sleeping
)
and
giving
her
the
world.

What
is
the
hero’s
wound? What
is
the
heroine’s
wound? What
can
the
hero
or
heroine
say
or
do
that
reopens
the
other’s
wound?

What
lie
does
your
hero
believe?
What
Truth
sets
him
free?

What
lie
does
your
heroine
believe?
What
Truth
sets
her
free?

Build the Happily Ever
After

What
would
your
hero
never
sacrifice,
or
what
would
he
never
do
for
love?

What
would
your
heroine
never
sacrifice,
or
what
would
she
never
do
for
love?

What
can
the
hero
or
heroine
do
that
heals
the
wound
for
the
other?

What
is
your
heroine’s
happiest
moment
in
her
past?

What
is
her
Greatest
Dream?

How will she find a piece of this Greatest Dream in the
HEA?

What
is
your
hero’s
happiest
moment
in
his
past?

What
is
his
Greatest
Dream?

How will he find a piece of this Greatest Dream in the
HEA?

Building
the
Perfect
R
o
m
ance
He
r
o
and
He
r
o
ine

Although you have taken time to think through the questions that help you build the ingredients of your novel in Section One, now that you understand how the ingredients work together, fill and hone the elements in the work text questions below. As the ingredients become richer, the story will take on power and resonance and come to life as you deepen each area. In Section Three, I’ll show you how to apply these ingredients into the Three Act Story Structure.

Basic
Bio, Name, Age, Profession.

Tell
me
about
yourself:

• Who
  are
  you?
  (Identity)
  How
  do
  you
  express
  this
  identity
  through
  your
  appearance?
  
• What
  sort
  of
  behaviors,
  mannerisms,
  and
  trappings
  go
  along
  with
  that
  identity?
  
• What
  monumental
  event
  in
  your
  past
  shaped
  you?
  Journal
  it—with
  details.
  (Tell
  the
  story.)
  
• How did that event mold
  your goals
  and purposes
  today? (Noble Cause)
  
• What
  skills
  do
  you
  possess
  that
  you
  might
  use
  to
  save
  the
  heroine?
  (Competence)
  
• (Note:
  If
  your
  character
  doesn’t
  know,
  perhaps
  the
  author
  does.)
  
• What
  is
  the
  one
  thing
  you
  would
  never
  sacrifice
  or
  do
  for
  love?
  
• What
  is
  your
  wound,
  and
  what
  would
  reopen
  that
  wound?
  
• What
  Lie
  do
  you
  believe?
  What
  Truth
  will
  set
  you
  free?
  
• What
  is
  the
  happiest
  moment
  in
  your
  past?
  (This
  helps
  you,
  the
  author,
  determine
  what
  they
  want.)
  
• Why
  do
  you
  think
  you’ll
  never
  get
  it?
  (Obstacles)