Inspired? Would you like to see your name on this website and your book up on those bookshop shelves? This is where we bring you a round up of writing tips, ideas and hints.
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Writing today is big business and becoming a published author takes far more than the desire to write, but that does not mean that it’s impossible. I’ve mentored several authors toward publication, and the first advice I give them is this. Decide which ‘type’ of romantic fiction you want to write. Not sure? Then choose a genre they enjoy reading. There’s Mills & Boon type contemporary romance, chick lit - which I love, Regency romance with sex, without sex, with vampires, with crime, then there’s family saga romances - WW2 is big there at the moment. For myself I must confess I’m a huge fan of contemporary romance and chick lit. I love books with happy endings, and heroines who make it through. Reading them is like eating chocolate and not getting fat; they put a big smile on my face and I can’t resist them. There will be many authors already writing books in your chosen genre. Read those books, especially those by authors at the top of that genre, then analyse what makes readers of their books keep wanting to turn the pages and read them. Find out as much as you can about your chosen genre and the market. There’s no point writing in a genre that is fading in popularity. When you write yourself, compare your writing to that of the most successful authors in your chosen genre. Is your dialogue as sharp as it needs to be, does your plot work smoothly, have you researched the background to your book thoroughly enough to use it convincingly? 1. RNA If you haven’t already done so I do recommend joining a writers’ group and if possible the RNA (Romantic Novelist Association). The RNA is, I believe, the only nationwide writers’ association to provide assessment and a competition for unpublished authors. 2. Plot A good plot is like a good soup – full of a variety of ingredients that you can’t actually see. But which together create something irresistible. By that I mean that the structure of your plot should be so seamless and subtle that the story flows naturally and easily. Yes, surprise the reader by turning a plot twist they could be anticipating on its head, but do it in such a way that the twist feels natural. 3. ‘What if...?’ and ‘But why...?’ When I write, my characters take over my head and have conversations there all day long – most of which never get into the book. Characters have to engage the reader’s emotions, and that means that they have to engage yours and come alive for you when you write about them. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve yelled at my characters for making me change my plans to accommodate them. My tip here, which works for plotting as well, is that to take the book/character forward you should ask yourself ‘what if......’ ie What if just as the heroine comes out of the supermarket with her trolley she has to do a reverse manoeuvre to avoid a mum with a buggy which results in her backing into an ex she’s never really got over? (in a chick lit book she’d be in her worse possible clothes having probably nipped out in the middle of painting her kitchen ceiling. In a contemporary Mills & Boon, she might be brooding on the fact that all her friends are paired up and she’s very much alone and thus she is feeling vulnerable and low. To explain why a character took the action he or she did you should ask ‘but why....’ In the chick lit bit he gave her up she thinks because she’s always untidy and he prefers elegant groomed women, so she reacts to that ‘fact’ from their past by playing up her paint stained appearance. In the Mills & Boon sample, he’s her ex because she’d heard from a friend at the time that he was seeing someone else and she dropped him without telling him why. Now there’s a conflict situation between them. She wants to avoid him (afraid of being hurt again) He wants an explanation (hurt male pride) ‘What if’ moves the story forward, ‘but why’ supplies the back story. 4. Using too much back story This is one of my big faults and I’ve learned to get round it by writing my book with all the ‘but why’ back story in the early pages so that I have explained to myself why what is happening is happening and what motivates the characters. Then I continue with the story. However the back story will have slowed down the pace of the book, giving the reader pages of ‘but why’ stuff to read through before the story begins properly. To avoid this once I’m several chapters into the book, I print off the back story, then cut it and start the book further on with a more dramatic scene. Then I feed the back story through the book ticking off all the things I have to put in as I go. 5. Dialogue/Opening page It is vitally important to grab the attention of your readers by the time they have got to the bottom of the first page. Best way to do that is via a really good sharp piece of dialogue. Try to make sure that your dialogue is appropriate for the ‘type’ of book you are writing, think as a reader. When you yourself pick up a book, from just glancing at a page you can tell from the dialogue in it what ‘kind’ of book it is. – just a few words can tell a reader so much. 6. Language Inappropriate language of the colloquial variety – can be quite funny in some situations – think Sascha Baron Cohen as a Ali G. But normally speaking the language has to be appropriate for the character and should appear ‘natural’. 7. Research It is always best to use a setting you know or have researched. I always think of research like an iceberg – most of it is never seen by the reader. You the writer need to know all about it though because you need to be able to speak from a position of authority in order for the reader to feel they can trust you. I write WW2 sagas and I remember the time it took me to find out how and when people knew they needed blackout curtains – not until I’d found out did I feel comfortable writing about my characters making black out curtains, even though the how’s and when’s never actually appeared in the book. 8. Characters It’s important to create characters who will take the story forward in the direction your plot requires. If you write comedy/ light hearted chick lit for instance, a character who is the exact opposite of what the plot requires, can add to the comedy aspect. A heroine who doesn’t want to fall in love works well in romantic fiction – how you play this depends on the nature of your book. If it’s light hearted then you can bring in ditzy dialogue and situations to underpin her decision. If the plot is darker and deeper, then you would create ‘something’ in the heroine’s past that is unresolved. 9. Conflict Emotional conflict is an essential part of books about relationships. You can ‘try on’ various conflict situations by asking yourself how you would react if xyz were to happen, and then asking yourself if your characters would react in the same way. Always remember that you are going forward in a very specific direction with your book, your characters should only change ‘character’ within the book if this is part of the plot. 10. Titles People are so busy these days that readers will often buy a book because it has the ‘right sounding title’ and cover. The ‘right sounding title’ tells the reader that this book is the kind of book they enjoy. Chic lit titles for instance, sound breezy, funny, and tongue in cheek. Think of the fabulous ‘Shopping’ books, and one of my all time favourites from Jill Mansell’s books ‘Good at Games’ - irresistible in my opinion. Just typing it makes me grin. 11. Publishers Read books in your chosen genre published by the publisher you plan to target. If you can afford it I suggest buying a copy of the Authors and Artists Year book which lists publishers and agents. 12. What’s hot now? Regency romances with vampires is my hot tip right now. 13. Finally Keep it simple, love your characters, and most of all enjoy your writing. Penny Kordan has been writing for over 25 years. In that time, she has written over 170 books and sold almost 90 million copies worldwide. She also writes under the name Annie Groves and is a mentor for new writers. Her latest book Sins is the story of four sisters set in the rag trade in the 1950’s and is inspired by the silk manufacturing industry in Macclesfield in Cheshire where Penny lived for 25 years with her late husband. Sins by Penny Jordan is published by Avon in Paperback £6.99 and is available on Amazon and all good book stores. |
| Posted: 27/06/2009 11:28:03 Last Updated: 27/06/2009 11:37:54 |
Chick Lit > Writing Tips :: How To Write A Romance Novel