The Love, Hate or Date session at the recent RWA conference in Adelaide was where writers were asked to submit their first two pages anonymously in the expectation that it would be read out in public for a panel of top editors and agents to advise on when they’d say no before adding it to the slush pile. Funnily enough, Love, Hate and Date is exactly the path my emotions took when it was my turn. LOVE When I first heard that the RWA conference was holding a Love, Hate or Date session this year, initially, my reaction was – what a fabulous idea. … Read More
E is for Endings – A to Z of Romance Writing
Endings – And Why They’re So Important in a Romance Hello Romance Writers, I’m up to the second ‘E’ post in my Romance Writing from A to Z series. And I think it’s potentially the most important post of the entire series. Do you know why? Because, That’s right. The ending is what defines the romance genre. If you’re an avid reader of romance, then you’ll already know what I’m going to say next. That’s the whole point of a romance. Romance readers what a happy ending, or a happy for now. Think Cinderella – she lives happily ever after and … Read More
Erotic Romance vs Erotica – What’s the difference?
One letter. That’s all that separates the two words, but that one letter means so much. Erotic Romance is a story about the emotional journey of the two main characters, and as part of that journey, they have sex a few times. The sex in this type of genre is generally explicit, but usually restricted to only a couple of times a book. The overarching plot is about the two characters falling in love. Think Fifty Shades of Grey and Sylvia Day’s, Crossfire series. Erotica is a story about the sexual journey and little else. Your characters will be having … Read More
The Dark Moment – Why Taking Your Protagonist To Her Lowest Makes for Great Reading
D for Dark Moment – Romance Writing from A to Z No matter if you’re a plotter, a pantser or a whatever-the-hell-I-want-to-write-liker, there’s one moment in your protagonist’s journey that resonates with your readers most out of any other. This moment is often called the Dark Moment, or the All is Lost Moment, and I’ve heard it called The Darkest Night of the Soul. They’re all pretty similar, but what they have in common is that it’s the lowest of the lowest points for your character. This moment usually occurs just before the climax of the novel, when your protagonist has had … Read More
Work in Progress Update – My Rom-Com ‘You Know You’re a Writer When…’
I think it’s about time I start sharing my works in progress. So … here we go (she says with a gulp). Currently, I’m finishing off a rom-com titled ‘You Know You’re a Writer When…’ I’m pitching this at the RWA conference, so fingers crossed it get’s through. I got the idea to write this novel from a very good friend who is a fountain of ideas. She showed me her spreadsheet once full of amazing concepts and we often joke about how she’ll never have time to write all of them so what if she sold them? Then … … Read More
Conference Confidence – RWA 2016
This is my first conference and I’m a little excited and nervous at the same time. I’m on the RWA committee so, in a sense, I’m at an advantage over other newbies. I’ll already know a few people, so I won’t be going in blind. But nevertheless, I still want to get the most that I can out of the conference. Are you attending the conference? If you see me, please come and say Hi! About the Conference The Romance Writers of Australia conference is in August in Adelaide and has over 400 attendees from all over the country coming. … Read More
Book Review – The Art of Keeping Secrets by Rachael Johns
The Art of Keeping Secrets is the second Rachael Johns has written in the newly coined ‘Life lit’ category. Her first in this genre, The Patterson Girls, won the ABIA Award for Best Book in 2016. The book centres around three women and their families. Each woman gets a chapter from her point of view and as the book progresses, you learn more about their secrets, hopes, and dreams. Felicity or Flick is a taxidermist and a mother whose husband has a habit of secretly dressing in woman’s clothes. Genevieve or Neve is a makeup artist and single mother raising … Read More
D is for Dialogue – Romance Writing from A to Z
Thank you Victoria Purman for writing this fantastic blog post as part of my A to Z of Romance Writing Series. Victoria is the author of upcoming book, The Three Miss Allens. Read more about Victoria at the end of the article. D is for Dialogue Dialogue: a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play or film So, that sounds simple, right? Dialogue is a conversation, with two – or sometimes more – people talking to each other. The aim of dialogue is to move the story forward, to show interactions between your characters. It can … Read More