We all know The Feeling.  Shortness of breath, skipping heart, jumping stomach.  It crosses all cultures, all genders, all ages and reads like the side effects on a medicine bottle, when in fact, it’s that human condition we all know as LOVE.  We can’t get enough of it, or all those pulse pounding endorphins and hormones that make our blood heat and our skin tingle.  The world is a brighter place, we can’t stop smiling, we sigh, and yes, (though I seriously hate to admit this feminine trait) we even giggle.  And while our “real” world may, understandably, place limits on our needs and desires to experience this heady rush of happily ever after, with a good romance novel, we can fall in love every single day.   

So how do we, the authors of these heart-healthy books, write up our prescriptions of love and longing?  Here are nine quick tips to help your readers fall hard and fall fast.  Again, and again and again…

Number One: The Strong Hero.

The Alpha Man.  He is tortured, abandoned, betrayed—the more angst you throw at your hero, the better.  The Lone Wolf who dares trust no one and refuses to let anyone close.  This Fantasy appeals to a woman’s maternal need to comfort and heal.  The Alpha Man is physically powerful, but not abusive.  He is the Protector and the Provider.  A Man of Honor.  Your hero is a life long mate who will defend the woman he loves and his family to the death.

Number Two: The Heroine

It’s all about feelings here.  Even if your reader doesn’t wear the same dress size as the heroine or have the same thick, blonde hair, she must feel a connection with your female protagonist.  What she wants, her dreams, her sense of fairness, especially when others are concerned.  The writer must keep her heroine on a tightrope of conflict by creating a delicate balancing act of independence and inner strength vs. the act of trust and surrender. 

Number Three: Conflict

Ah, conflict.  If only it were as simple as wanting that new car and not having enough money to buy it.  But a story, a meaningful story, an emotional, compelling story, must reach down deep inside us, chew up our insides and spit them out.  To create truth, and to make your readers keep turning the pages, the writer must present a believable, damn good reason why these two people cannot, and should not fall in love.  This pesky little thing called conflict is what keeps our hero from dragging the willing heroine onto the back of his white steed and riding off into the sunset, making our story incredibly short not to mention dull. But there is no White Knight in our stories, and our heroine, smart girl that she is, knows this.  And being so smart, she wouldn’t want this mythical guy even if he did ride up--unless, of course, your heroine is resigned to a boring life in a cold, drafty castle with a “anything you say, dear” kind of guy.  In life or fiction, this is snore time.  The hero in your book is the Black Knight, ladies—the bad boy, Mr. Confidence, the “My name is Lobo.  I need no one.  I hunt alone.” (from the romantic comedy, “Don’t Tell Her It’s Me.”  If you haven’t seen this movie, rent it and have a good laugh and cry)    Motivation is everything here.  You, the writer, must dig deep.  No misunderstandings that can be solved with a simple conversation or sudden change of heart. Make these characters work hard for true love and happiness.   A good story might hold your interest to the end, but a great story, a conflict-driven story, will make you hold your breath until that last page is turned at two a.m. and make you want more.

Number Four:  The Real World 

We’re not talking about a reality TV show here, kids.  We’re talking Suspension of Disbelief.  The use of words to create a world that feels absolutely real to the reader.  Doesn’t matter where your world exists, be it a vampire’s lair, a New York deli or a small Texas town.  Your characters, their situation and the setting must all be believable or your story ends up slamming against the wall when the reader throws the book.  God is in the details, so it is said, and you, as the writer, play God.  Do enough research to paint a clear picture, but don’t muddy your work of art with too much paint all at once.  Don’t overwhelm your reader with long passages of the color and texture of the heroine’s sweater; let your reader see how it drapes on her figure, how the color contrasts with her eyes, is it stylish and expensive, or is it worn and drab?  Let the sweater quietly tell a story of its own. 

Number Five: The Senses

We can’t talk about creating a real world without moving into The Senses—all six of them. (Yes, I’m including what we don’t see, hear, etc.)  You must gently draw your reader into your world, seduce them with the taste of warm, rich chocolate, repulse them with the stench of rotting garbage, delight them with a baby’s laugh, anger them with a racist graffiti on a good friend’s front door.  It’s a fine line between pleasing the senses and overloading them, though.  Choose your words carefully, let them add subtle dimension and relevance to your characters and story, without overwhelming or distracting. 

Number Six: Can’t Get You Out of My Mind

At its most basic level, the plot of a romance novel is that the hero and heroine are attracted to each other, but for some reason, can’t have each other.  On the surface, this makes romance novels seem simple, when in fact, we who write them know it is anything but simple.  For the sake of the story, their love can never be.  And while you can and should keep your hero/heroine apart physically or emotionally (or both) you can’t stop them from thinking about each other.  (The most erogenous zone is the brain)  Even as your hero or heroine denounce each other, they can’t help but wonder what he/she tastes like, what their skin feels like, (back to the senses here)  They infuriate and fascinate each other at the same time and it drives them crazy.  When your hero and heroine aren’t locked eye to eye in the same room, lock them together with thoughts of each other.

Number Seven: Create Dimension

The Cardboard Character.  We know it when we read it, and we’re so certain we’re not guilty of the crime.  After all, we have the physical description down to the jagged scar over the hero’s eyebrow and the heart-shaped freckle on the heroine’s breast.  We know what our characters wear, eat, smell like, where they work, where they’re from and what kind of car they drive.  We’ve spent hours sketching, sculpting and shaping.   And still, our work has just begun.  We must now go deeper, reach into the soul and breathe life into our characters.  We must give them thoughts and emotions, establish a code by which they live.  And the why.  Why is your hero/heroine afraid to love?  To trust?  To believe.  Were their dreams shattered by a past crisis?  A childhood trauma?  A betrayal?  Is it revenge that motivates?  What are their quirks?  How are they unique?  Do they think one way, then act another?  Remember, details must mean something.  I don’t care if your heroine had a birthday party with cake and balloons when she was ten, unless the police showed up and dragged her father off in handcuffs in front of all her friends, let’s say because he was falsely accused of embezzlement--by the hero’s father, perhaps?  This is conflict and motivation combined when our story begins fifteen years later. 

Number Eight: Sacrifice

What is the one thing your hero/heroine wants more than anything else?  How is the hero/heroine in direct opposition to this goal?  In a romance, it might simply be the hero’s goal to be left alone and never let anyone close. (Give me a why)  Maybe it’s revenge.  To catch a killer or right a wrong.   This goal must be clear cut and motivated (back to the why) and by the end of the book, they must be willing to sacrifice this goal, or at the very least, hugely compromise, for the man/woman they love.  Not an easy task, especially after 400 pages of creating Mission Impossible.  Your hero or heroine’s revelation must be a profound, believable come-to-realize moment when they understand they must let go of their fear and that life is meaningless without this one woman/man.  The greater the sacrifice, the stronger the emotion, the deeper the love, and the more satisfying the story.        

Number Nine: The Happy Ending

I’m talking Romance Novels, here, ladies.  I will make note that this is my opinion, and some may not agree—that’s fine by me.  But IMO, the true romance is The Fantasy of one man, one woman.  They are single when they begin a relationship.  She is a Woman of Substance, he is a Man of Honor.  Their love crosses all boundaries and is timeless.  Together they are complete and greater than the sum of their parts.  By the end of the story, they profess their love openly to each other, with the promise of marriage and family and they mate for life.  By the time I’ve read The End--or I’ve written The End--my heart is lighter, my throat is tighter, my eyes are misty.  If that makes me The Hopeless Romantic, so be it.  I wear the title proudly, with each and every romance novel I read and I write.  Again and again and again… 
                       

  Click here to read more about Barbara McCauley.

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