More on romance!

Won't you be happy when I get off this? I can't help it. I've somewhat got writer's block. Not that I can't write, but nothing I've written has been good enough for Bryce and Sami. Nothing! So, I write. Erase. Start all over. Research. Look. Think of something. Write. Erase.

It's not a fun marry-go-round. So, in case you ever find yourself in this situation, I'm going to try and get something together to help! I took this from this thread.

I guess this one describes the typical fairytale/standard romance. Think Disney, The Princess Bride, . Usually, the conflict seems to revolve around a quest or rescue mission. They fall in love fast, but some outside force is keeping them apart rather than tension within the couple.

A strong-willed or career-minded character doesn’t intend to fall in love, and happens upon it by accident… with consequences that could destroy their dreams/career…undercover cop falls for a criminal, tabloid writer falls for subject of trashy interview, ect. (How of Lose a Man in 10 Days, Zoolander, Van Wilder movies)
Often, one character needs to choose between love and their career, or must find a creative way to obtain both!

This one seems to fall into paranormal romance, human/vampire (Bella and Mr. Sparkles) Sometimes its as simple as simple as a high school jock infatuated with a "nerd" character, or an office relationship, notable age difference, even step-siblings.

The characters start off disliking each other, and we all know what that means!
Examples: Rhett Butler and Scarlet , Han Solo and Princess Leia

Characters have known each other since childhood. I think of Anne of Green Gables and Gilbert...(though it crosses into love/hate a bit :P
Sometimes the relationship is sweeter and involves a childhood promise. Many anime and romance manga comics feature childhood friends relationships.

The characters all ready know EVERYTHING about each other at the beginning of the story. However, something is keeping them from realizing their true feelings. Does anyone remember Dawson's Creek?

Sometimes this crosses into Love/Hate, sometimes not...I think of Xena and Ares from Xena: Warrior Princess, or if a protagonist character falls for the bad guy/girl.

Pearl Harbor (bleh), Twilight (the whole Bella/Edward/Jacob deal). The main character has to choose between two suitors.

Usually, this one involves a couple that seems perfect for each other, but one of the subjects already has a nasty/ boyfriend or girlfriend or spouse they can't let go of...
Titanic comes to mind...

Shakespeare came up with it first (though he came up with most romance tropes, didnt he?) Think of "Twelfth Night" which inspired a variety of movies and books in which a girl character is in disguise as a boy,causing quite the confusion situation for the male love interest! I recommend a fantastic Asian drama called "Coffee Prince" for this one. The "disguise" situation could also happen for "undercover" characters like detectives, reporters, ect.

Not necessarily forbidden, but this couple struggles with bridging the gap between their two worlds, sometimes causing friction when they don’t understand each other. The different "world" could be literal in fantasy and sci-fi, or could deal with "real world" issues such as class, race, religion, ect. I'm thinking of Pride and Prejudice, Ask the Dusk, or even funny movies like “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”.

Two lovers who already knew each other (and lost contact or broke up) prior to the beginning of the story, meet again and the sparks fly...

I see this on so many crime shows/shows geared towards men. Two characters click well, but one character cannot get over the tragic past of losing a loved one, ect. Usually one of the subjects lost a lover or spouse who died years before meeting their love interest.

One character is captured, goes away to war, college, and the chemistry between them is shown through letters or phone calls, leaving readers in anticipation of their reunion. Sometimes they are tested by temptation or other forces trying to tear them apart...
This probably works well for army stories.


Usually, one character immediately knows who they want and why they want them...but the other character doesn't seem interested, or has a secret reason for not expressing their interest. I find this love trope common in YA-usually concerning popularity or self esteem issues. Peter Parker and Mary Jane come to mind.

Borders on love/hate where the characters tease each other, but in a more respectful playful way. They are often good friends at some point in the story, and get in general conflicts and playful arguments but don’t dislike each other, and often have respect for each other. Usually, one or both characters have a pride issue that keeps them from
confessing their love, or they don’t want to ruin their friendship or work partnership. They’re in love, and everyone else in the story realizes it except for them.

I’d say June and Johnny Cash are real life examples, Lois Lane and Superman, Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from XFiles

I see this in soap operas, dramas, and genre romance...revolves mostly around intense physical attraction/lust at first and sometimes develops into something more...

Lovers that just click, seem sugary sweet, and almost too perfect for each other, usually one or both is/are hiding something…
Ashley Wilkes and Melanie from Gone With the Wind

Two different characters click and deal with each others differences at the same time… usually I see this expressed in YA-between an introvert character and extrovert character. If you've seen the musical, "Wicked", think of Elphaba and Fiyero.

20. "Similarities Attract"
Characters act very much alike, causing both tension and infatuation… Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood (passion for archeaology and similar tempers)

Two characters who work as a “bad guy” team…often do malicious things to those who get in their way, but are actually a loyal and devoted couple.
Think Bonnie and Clyde, or various soap opera teams and super villains.

Passionate, twisted, intense..yet they always come back to each other... even though the couple needs therapy and the characters have done some pretty nasty things ranging from mind games to physical abuse (yikes!)yet there's something about these relationships that keeps viewers or readers waiting for more...
I see this in soap operas, TV dramas, and some YA (gossip girl) Usually involves betrayal, vengeance, dangerous characters, and life-threating situations...

Two characters are set-up and forced to be together by politics or family pressure, sometimes crossing into other love/hate, love at first sight...Did anyone see "The Fantastics" when the parents secretly set-up their children? ((Great musical!))


Usually a YA trope...the ups and downs of first love...the subjects need to figure out how to handle a relationship while trying to discover their own identities at the same time. I'm thinking of the classic 80's movie, "Say Anything".

The couple has already been together for awhile, sometimes married!
However, something other than another love interest (kids, adventure situation, family drama) either them closer together or causes tension
Mr. and Mrs. Smith

Now they could be several of these categories, but I think ScotchBonnet hit the nail on the head whenever she pointed these out.

As for Bryce and Sami? Forbidden lovers, Rivals (My favorite romances always had the antag and protag loving/hating each other!), and of course: Love at first sight!

How the hell am I going to get these two to work out?

Not fair!

This is dedicated to all of those fantasy and sci-fi writers out there.

What makes you decide what monsters make up your world?

Mine was pretty simple to figure out. Because it was based on so many religions, I had to stay true to those religions. Of course there are angels, devils/demons, fallen angels (which is different from a demon/devil in my book, Djinn (Muslim version of a demon). Those were the major races, but when I first started the story, I wanted more than just that. I wanted a real fantasy feel to it, because, well, I love fantasy. One way that I incorporated a fantastical feel is by giving the warriors "gifts" which are supposedly from different Gods. The first four were easy for me: a dragon (because I love dragons!), a leviathan (has a very Christian/Jewish feel to it), a phoenix (kinda like a dragon -- just love the damn creature), and I wanted a pegasus type horse. The last one I knew I wanted to deal with Egypt, but it took me a while to chose between an Anubinite and a sphinx. The first book dealt with the Anubinite, but while making revisions I decided to change to the sphinx.

Now outside of the gifts, there isn't much outside the angels/demons theme. You won't see a leprechaun pop up. You won't see fairies or mermaids.

So, if you're just starting out, and you're wondering -- where do I start?

Sit back. Close your eyes. Picture either your character or your world. Now imagine what can NOT fit. Get those out of your head, and start filling it with things that do. Nymphs? Talking trees? Winged horses? Gryphons? Maybe something else, something that's never been told of before. Start writing them down while keeping your eyes closed. Just make notes. Fill it up until you've got a bursting city or a raging war. From there, you can set rules of the land. You can set disputes between races. You can see how sexism plays a part in your world. You can see how your character is treated and what makes him/her special and different.

Having different races is more than just having a different race. It's about stepping into a book and seeing real characters that you adore even if it's a fluttering fairy or fire breathing dragon. It's about being able to do what no one else can, and most of all, it's about taking your imagination go for a joy ride.

Even if you do have something common, like I do, make sure you add some sense of wonder to it. You want to love this world if you're going to write it. Make it everything you've ever dreamed of.

Goodluck!

As I said in one of my previous entries, I don't do romance. I love to read romance, but I've always felt silly writing it.

Not to mention I've got a huge pet peeve when it comes to authors mistaking lust for love. Sure, there's a fine line, but after most romance books (or subplots for that matter) I rarely think the people will live for and love each other for the rest of their years. "Love" in most books feel shallow.

Since it's a pet peeve, obviously I don't want to do it. So I've been bothered by how Bryce and Sami will fall in love without making it feel like shallow lust, especially since Bryce is the epitome of shallow.

But something happened last night that opened my eyes.

You can have a strong physical attraction to someone, but it not be -the- thing that makes you different from every other man or woman.

There's something to love about everyone in the world. Every single person has admirable characteristics. But I'm starting to think there is only one. There's only one person that walks to the same beating drum. There's only one person who's mind is in the exact same place as yours. Age doesn't determine it. Gender doesn't. Lust and physical attraction doesn't. It's simply a freak-of-nature incident that has molded two people of completely different backgrounds to have the same unshakable beliefs, clever opinions, sunny sense of humor, and common wants/goals.

Even though I've always nailed myself as a hopeless romantic, in the world today, you've got to have a realist view on love.

When I was little, my stepdad used to tell me the same thing after a break up. "There are millions upon millions of people in the world, and out of those millions, there are thousands of people that you could love and would love you equally in return." Don't get me wrong, the advice is completely spot on. But because I believed in what he said so much, I had an idea branch off of it: there's something to love about everyone, but "the one" will be someone that you will accept the worst of and still love him/her unconditionally.

But I've changed my mind.

You really do have one. And it isn't just some hot babe. It isn't just going to be lust. He's going to want the same things out of life as you do. He's going to believe like you do. He's going share the same opinions as you, and not only accept your opinions and what you believe in -- but love each one of them.

I've "loved" a lot of people in my lifetime. All for different reasons. All in different ways. But once you meet that one, even if it's only for a little bit, you realize the relationships before hand were great, but they weren't perfect. They weren't "the one".

So, now that I've gone off on a completely romantic tangent. My eyes have been opened. A shallow womanizer can be turned into a fierce lover, and I intend on doing exactly that. I'll write more once I have it mapped out. Ahh outlines!

So most of my ideas on what to post about on my blog come from either an agent's blog or Absolute Write Water Cooler. I try and answer as many questions as possible, because you see the same questions over and over and over and over. I figured if I could just answer them here, I'll always have a link to provide without repeating myself.

While I haven't seen too many amazing topics lately, one definitely caught my eye.

Question: Ever have an idea that you couldn't write before, but you feel like you can now?

Personally, I've grown an unbelievable amount in my writing. BUT (yes, there's a but here), there will always be the "idea that got away".

Something you may not know about me is that I am an omega-history buff. I love ancient civilizations. I love mythology. So, my first idea ever (I was fifteen or sixteen at the time) was about a soothsayer time traveling, and whenever he came back to his era -- time literally collapsed. All of the greatest ancient civilizations suddenly were overlapping. There were hundreds of different directions the story could go, and I felt completely overwhelmed by it. Honestly, regardless of how I've grown as a writer, I'm not sure I could ever conquer that project. =P

So, life's been crazy, and no -- that's no excuse to neglect my poor baby blog. Sorry!

Between tax season, a vacation, weeks upon weeks of catch-up work after the vacation, and a couple other interesting things -- I've had my hands tied behind my back.

I'm not the strictest writer in the world. I'm really hard on myself about the quality of writing, but as for keeping a set schedule, I just don't do it. I write when I want to, and I'm so in love and so involved with my story that it's always come easy. To keep this easy, I have one simple rule:

Before you stop, finish the chapter you started.

I broke that rule for the first time, and after being gone from my precious manuscript for two months, I'm kicking myself in the ass.

I turn on my laptop, read what I've written, and eagerly started to write. But I can't remember *exactly* where I was going with this scene. I know where it needs to end up. So I try and make it work. Re-read it. Delete. This has happened to me a whole three times now, and honestly, it's getting frustrating.

I'm going to get through it though. Writing challenges you in so many different ways. No matter what situation you're dealing with, there's only one answer to solve it: determination. Don't let anything stop you. You deserve to trip over your plot holes. You deserve to question your character's depth. You deserve to want to claw your eyes out after the third time editing. You deserve the seconds that turn into years whenever you send your query out. You deserve your heart banging against your chest when you are waiting for a publisher's response.

Why?

Because by god, after every step you've taken so far, you deserve it. As do I. So bastard chapter that won't let me continue, be warned. I'm going to get past you.

Now it's no secret that I don't do romance. I like blood, religious undertones, dragons, swords, magic -- everything that doesn't scream contemporary romance.

So doing the romance is making me think more than any other element of my book. We have Bryce Bourbon. He's a womanizing prick. We all know the type. The one we watch on the other side of the bar and roll our eyes at; in fact, I don't even know what bothers me more, the guy being that arrogant or the girl giggling with each lying, flattering word that spews out of his mouth.

Womanizing pricks go after the gullible or the slutty. So how exactly am I supposed to make my little Brycey Pooh fall in love? And I'm talking about real love.

There's lots to consider.

How does he treat this girl different than the other twenty bimbos he's slept with?

Does the girl start off being a superior, an equal, or someone that Bryce feels the need to save?

How does she act to demand his respect? How does she catch his eye? What makes her instantly better?

Will it be love at first sight? Love in denial where they won't actually "hook up" until the very end of the book? A friendship that blossoms into love?

While I don't write romance, I'm quite the romantic thinker, and I love anything that has to do with love at first sight. I love love that is out of control. But, I like love to feel as if it's going to last forever -- not just some freak obsession. Let's face it -- there's a really fine line between some undeniable love at first sight and a freak obsession.

Aside from trying to feel out that particular fine line, I also have to think about what is keeping the two from riding off on a white horse? Let's say it's love at first sight. It's undeniable. She turned this womanizing prick into a lifetime partner. What keeps them apart?

This is one of those times where I can't just do what I want. I can't just write what I want. I have to do what's true to the characters. No love at first sight for Bryce.

Ever been in this situation? How did it work out for you?

My second Teaser Tuesday! This is the first part of the second chapter, right after Gabe's mother and father are killed. First Teaser Tuesday is here!

I couldn’t begin to explain the pain in my chest. Not because of the wounds from the bullets, but from my mother and father’s death. Old people talk about regret all of the time. I wonder if they ever told their mother to fuck off twenty minutes before she died. I wonder if they ever stood there weak as an infant while both parents were shot to death.

I wonder if they would do what I did. Run. Hide. Take the easy way out? Regret did have a positive, though. Nothing is final until you’re dead. Not a damn thing.

I never looked up to my father like every other American boy does. I resented him. Once upon a time, he was the American father. He taught me how to throw a baseball, catch a foot ball, and shoot a basketball. Then he changed. His easy going life as a salesperson wasn’t enough. He had to open a business and work close to fifteen hours a day.

His death hit me harder than my mother’s. I was surprised by that fact. I guess regret makes you do some pretty crazy things. Perhaps it wasn’t just his fault that things changed between us. Maybe I forced him to give up trying. Actually, there was no maybe about it.

I was fourteen years old when I overdosed on cocaine. That’s right. Fourteen. Numerous things happen when you get into that particular situation. You get high blood pressure; heart problems cause internal bleeding, and then the convulsions which cut off the air supply start. There are lucky idiots that don’t have all of that happen to them.

I wasn’t considered lucky, though. After my breathing had completely stopped, I was considered dead by the time the EMTs got me to the emergency room. Everyone around me ignored the science behind my saving. They called it a miracle. After the biggest trip of my life, I called it fun.

That was then. This was now. Pain electrocuted me with every breath I sucked in. I guess multiple bullets through your torso would do that. I didn’t call this fun. And I didn't give all the credit to science either. I didn’t have the nerve to lie to myself. Or the morphine. I’d call this a miracle.

I've done some Teaser Tuesdays before, but I've dramatically changed my manuscript since. So. Here I am, with a Teaser Tuesday. This is the end of my first chapter. It's the first time Gabe has met the devil, and after their not so nice introduction, she (the bleach blonde devil) stops by Gabe's house. While this is going on, his body is literally disintegrating before his eyes. A mysterious voice is warning him, and the devil is trying to take the only two people Gabe loves.

She aimed the gun for my parents’ legs first. Simultaneously the two hit the floor, knee first. Blood splattered across the stainless steel refrigerator. My jaw quivered as I felt the bitch’s eyes on me. The screams were blurred out. The whisper came once more to me.

“Let me take you, before you have to see," the Asian said.

“I – I can’t leave them!” I yelled aloud. My muscles were finally able to move under my command. Before my first step hit the floor, the gun’s shot rang in my head. Fear halted my entire body, I knew what that last bullet meant as my mother’s deafening scream was suddenly silenced. I saw the perfectly round bullet hole in the middle of her forehead before her limp body crashed into the floor.

My father began to mumble uncontrollably. I couldn’t make out if he was mourning or praying, but what I could make out was the feel of cold metal as my hand pushed the gun out of the way. The bullet sounded, but before I could look to see if I was the least bit successful, the blonde woman hit me in the nose with the hilt of the gun. I ignored the blood. I ignored the pain. My eyes simply fell heavy on my father.

The bullet had been shoved off of its path. What would have been a quick clean death, like my mother’s, turned into a painfully gruesome death. I had pushed the gun out of the way, only to make things worse.

The hole was to the left side of his throat. The sounds of gargling blood churned my stomach. I watched my father die – helplessly. “Let me take you,” the whispering woman said once more.

“Anything you want,” I whispered back. The cold metal forced my fingers to flinch while a tear trailed down my cheek.

“You can either make him suffer and try to save the dead man, or you can make his death quick and painless,” the blonde said coldly as she handed me her gun. “There’s only one bullet left.”

Acid began to burn my flesh. Shit. I looked down at the flaking skin. Not now. Don’t take me yet. I focused back onto my objective. My father withered in pain. He had lost too much blood. He would die one way or the other. I closed my eyes for just a second. I turned the gun from his body to hers. I would rather take revenge than attempt to stop fate.

So everyone says you need a damn good first chapter. It's true. Welcome to aggravating little corner where you have a competitive market colliding into ADD America.

The first thing about a good chapter is a DAMN good first paragraph, perhaps if you're talented enough a first damn good sentence. Here are some examples:

The adventure for Mr. Maule began in the fading daylight of a long June evening in Chicago, with the racket made by a terrified vampire pounding on his door. -- Fred Saberhagen, A Coldness in the Blood.

The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault. -- Jim Butcher, Blood Rites.

There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it. -- C. S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Justice?—You get justice in the next world, in this world you have the law. -- William Gaddis, A Frolic of His Own.

While there are some really brilliant opening sentences out there, I wasn't lucky enough to find one. I settled for having a damn good paragraph though. My first paragraph sucked. It was brought to my attention why exactly it sucked, and after the brutal enlightenment, I agreed. It did suck.

So, I went out looking for a change. I wanted something that would grab the reader instantly, and let's face it -- you don't learn much about my MC when you first meet him, so I decided it would be best to give the readers a bit of a sticky note about the character.

In the original version of my book, Bryce Bourbon starts off 15 years old. When I committed myself to the re-write, I up'd his age to 17. I didn't want him to seem like such a frightened child like he was. With the two year age different, my little frightened boy has grown up. I've turned him into a pot head and womanizer. Don't ask me why, but it just seemed to fit.

While I'm still getting a couple of opinions and I might change it around, this is how I started my first chapter:

It was convenient my boss's granddaughter lived only two blocks away from the Arcade; even more convenient that my boss worked almost all hours of the day. I zipped up my pants as Ash's strawberry flavored lips continued to kiss me. Everything seemed normal today. I aced none of my tests. I skipped school after lunch. I hooked up with Ashley, and I was perfectly on time by being twenty minutes late to work.

I would have never guessed such an ordinary day would be the day that I came face to face with the devil.

Instead of using some brilliant catch line, I opened it up about my character. I made sure it wasn't too long and was a bit upbeat. It got the point across without flowery descriptions, storming weather, waking up, and a mirror somewhere in there. My point was it was a normal day. Yep, normal, boring, ordinary day that the reader probably doesn't car-- oh a devil?!

At least that's the effect I'm hoping it'll have. I'm still learning this.

Once you have an eye-catching paragraph, you're going to need a damn good continuation.

You need to start your story with some type of tension. Understand, this does not mean you need to start it with a bloody fight or people screaming and a warzone. It doesn't have to be action-packed, it just needs to have tension to hook the reader.

So get your character(s) out there. What are they doing? What are they struggling against? Why are they even bothering? What happens?

As always, I'm putting my book up as an example. The first chapter has lots of break out moments. You meet the main character. You meet the main antagonist. Bryce's parents are killed in front of Bryce's eyes, and his body literally is slowly getting taken away. Everything I added in there was for a reason.

As the two main characters are introduced (the protag and antag), they're aren't sitting down having tea. They aren't shaking hands and writing each other's names down. He doesn't just become suspicious of her. Shit hits the fan. Yes. In the first chapter.

Not every book can do this. I don't see many romances able to have shit hit the fan instantly, but look at your story. Can it? I saw some good advice floating around Absolute Write where somebody said, "Your opener usually should be what you start writing in chapter three." It makes perfect sense. By the time you hit chapter three, you're comfortable with your characters and the world they live in. Action usually starts once you reach that plateau.

1. Hook the reader within the first five paragraphs.
2. Have constant tension.
3. Put as much action in the first chapter as you can.

---------------

Things you should avoid? (Now, please, realize people can make things work. You might be able to, but by all means, these are standard "nonos." None of the don'ts are truly off-limit. Just use 'em with caution.)

• Memory loss.
• A mirror.
• A question (No matter how cool you think it sounds, my smart ass remark sounds cooler. And I'll set the book down after I crack myself up.)
• A dream.
• A character waking up.
• Info dumps (Don't do these anywhere, though.)
• Flash backs.
• The weather.
• Vague shit ("My life will be over if THE package doesn't come in two hours after noon.")
• A list.
• Too many characters introduced.

Think I've covered it all! Good luck! And remember, if you want great reviews Absolute Write Water Cooler has a share your work area where other members give you feedback. Their opinions are invaluable.

Voice Voice Voice.

If you've read some of my posts, you'll notice I brag about being good with something and terrible at the other 90%.

Here's one of those things I'm terrible at. Voice.

So what is voice? Voice is how a character responds. It sounds easy, until you've got 30 characters and you have to make each one unique. So, I've been working on this and this is a little exercise that I'm doing which might just help you too!

First, list five character's you're pretty damn comfortable with. Mine are: Bryce Bourbon, Hank Jager, Miss Bombay, Jive Mudslide, and Sapphire Sherry.

Now think of something, it can be silly or serious, that happens. Let's go with something serious this time around: abortion. Let's say Tony Martini (yes it's a guy.. I know, but I've got to add a bit of humor to such a serious topic) waltzes up to each one of them individually.

"I've decided to have an abortion." Now, you have to think how each individual character would respond. This means you have to know they're opinion, what makes them believe such a thing, and the shock/tone/voice they're going to express themselves in.

Hank Jager is the calmest of the group. His face rarely shows any emotion, and he keeps his cold stare on the hamburger he doesn't feel like eating anymore. "Are you sure about this?" his voice is as calm as his expression. "If you need anything, just let me know." He says the words knowing no one will come to him for help.

Missy's jaw tightens as her lush lips thin. Everything on her face shows disappointment and disagreement. "Fuck off, Tony. I'll take care of it if you refuse to." Her lean arms quickly press her body up as she stiffly walks away.

Sapphire's baby blue eyes burst into tears the second she hears the words tumble out of Tony's mouth. "Things happen for a reason. They do. Please... just don't do it. Have a bit of faith in God to lead your life. Everything -- everything happens for a reason."

"Man," Jive sighs the word as he tries to encourage his friend. "You're doing the right thing. You don't need a kid running around. You've got a damn good life without one. Plus, this isn't the best place to raise a child if you know what I mean."

"There's nothing stronger or better than family. You're throwing it away before you even get the chance to know if it's right for you." Bryce Bourbon's voice barely shook as he repressed his anger. "It's a gift, Tony -- not a burden." Instead of walking away, Bryce waits for Tony's retort, yet nothing Tony can say will change his mind.

So while they might share the same opinion, they each have different ways of conveying that opinion. It's probably one of the hardest things to me when it comes to writing. Most of the time I say what would fly out of my mouth, not theirs which creates a very, very boring dialogue. These exercises really, really helped me constantly keep in mind what would they say?