Write Now Editing

How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Sweet Romance Novel by Victorine E. Lieske (book review)

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Romance novels aren’t like other genres and hitting all the things that romance readers want can be tricky. How do you make your readers believe your characters are falling in love? How do you show that sizzle of attraction?

How do you write a good kissing scene? How do you bring in the much-needed tension but still have your characters flirting and getting closer?

In this book I take one of my romance novels (Acting Married) and I go through the entire novel with you, basically interrupting myself to tell you what I was thinking as I was writing the novel. It’s like watching a movie with commentary. I pull back the curtain so you can see why I started it the way I did, why I decided to put certain scenes in, and what pushes the romance forward in the book.

I preface all this with what I consider the essentials of a good romance novel, and I end with my list of well-loved romance tropes that you can draw from in order to write your own bestselling romance novel.

On my continuing quest to learn everything I can about writing and editing romance and women’s fiction, I picked up this book without knowing anything about the author. It was NOT what I’d expected, but it’s a great book.

This is NOT your typical craft book. Lieske only gives 25 pages of description regarding the romance genre (meet cut, attraction, repelling, dark moment, etc.). Then, there are a few pages at the end of the book where she lists and explains a bunch of romance tropes. The rest of the 320+ pages are actually her novel (Acting Married) which she interrupts to point out all of the things she described in the first 25 pages. She not only points out moments of subtext, she explains why she put it in that spot. It’s very much a hands-on learning experience.

If you’re looking for a how-to-write-fiction book, this isn’t for you. If, however, you have a good understanding of fiction-writing basics (showing; voice; characterization; pacing), this book is excellent for showing you how to take the fundamentals and put them into a romance novel. If you’re interested in writing romance, I highly recommend this book.

Rate PG for some drinking. Get your copy here!

The Story Equation by Susan May Warren (book review)

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Discover The Story Equation!

One question can unlock your entire story! Are you struggling to build a riveting plot? Layered characters? How about fortify that saggy middle? Create that powerful ending?

You can build an entire book by asking one powerful question, and then plugging it into an “equation” that makes your plot and characters come to life. You’ll learn how to build the external and internal journey of your characters, create a theme, build story and scene tension, create the character change journey and even pitch and market your story. All with one amazing question.

Learn:

The amazing trick to creating unforgettable, compelling characters that epic movies use!
How to create riveting tension to keep the story driving from chapter to chapter
The easy solution to plotting the middle of your novel
The one element every story needs to keep a reader up all night
How to craft an ending that makes your reader say to their friends, “Oh, you have to read this book!”

Using the powerful technique that has created over fifty RITA, Christy and Carol award-winning, best-selling novels, Susan May Warren will show novelists how to utilize The Story Equation to create the best story they’ve ever written.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about this book and have been looking forward to reading it. I was especially excited because of the length — it’s a short read.

Here’s the good about it: lots of great information. I love how Warren breaks everything down and helps you identify so many elements of good fiction. It’s definitely worth reading.

Here’s the not so good: I found this book to be really confusing. As a left-brained lover of math, I actually expected there to be an equation here. You know: A2 + B2 = C2 kind of thing. This is more like, I’ll teach you how to get to C2 with X, Y, and Z, which make up A2, but only after G, H, I (which is part of L) and then B2 comes together and we layer it all with 4, 5, 6, 7. Viola! It’s not so much a story equation as it is a mind map of sorts. If you go into it expecting an equation, it can be frustrating and confusing.

As is, I’m planning on applying everything I’ve read to my next manuscript, but first I need to organize the information (as I did find it hard to follow).

Yes, I recommend this book and will use the info in it, but I did find it hard to follow. This might not be the case for everyone though. Get your copy here!

Know What You’re Writing: Novel Lengths

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Writing Tip: most agents and publishers will reject a 100,000 young adult novel without ever reading it.

Why?

Because it’s too long. Without reading a word, we know it’s too long. The fact that an author is submitting it suggests a few different things:



  • The author is too wordy and the book hasn’t been edited for length.
  • The book has been edited for length and the author didn’t listen.
  • The author has doesn’t his/her homework to understand the genre.

Let’s take a look at that last one. That one has nothing to do with the quality of your work, and it’s super easy to fix; there’s no reason any author shouldn’t do it before submitting.

Novels in similar genres are never exactly the same length, but there are guidelines that will at least help you get past the literary gate keeps by providing an appropriately sized book for your target market.

Here’s what Writer’s Digest has to say about acceptable manuscript lengths (with a few personal comments added):

  • Commercial and Literary Adult Novels: 80,000–100,000 words
    • 70,000–80,000: might work, but might be too short
    • 100,000–110,000: might work, but might be too long
    • Less than 70,000: too short
    • More than 110,000: too long
  • Fantasy/Science Fiction (and some historical novels): 100,000–115,000 words
  • Upper Middle Grade (12+ years): 40,000–55,000 words
  • Middle Grade (young adult style with middle grade themes): 20,000–55,000 words
  • Middle Grade (style and themes): 20,000–35,000 words

You’ll notice young adult novels aren’t listed separately because it depends on who you’re targeting. If you wrote a YA fantasy novel with 18-year-old characters that could be read by an adult audience, you can probably get away with 100,000 words. If, however, you’re writing it for the 13-year-old set, you might want to go shorter. The best way to know how long to make it? Check the publisher’s website and guidelines!

Is this list finite and absolute? Of course not, but now you have a good idea of whether or not your 30,000-word historical romance is ready to submit (hint: it’s not, unless you plan for it to be a novella).

What genre do you write? Let me know if you have specific questions about the length of your book!

Novelization or Narrative Retelling?

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I recently read a book that was described as a novelization of a true story. Based on that description, I had several expectations for the story—a structured plot, some character development, incorporating the senses, etc. Instead, I got some history, some explanations, and several chapters of helpful information, but no story.

Overall, the book disappointed me. I wanted to get pulled into the characters heads; to experience their lives with them; to be transported into their homes and situations—everything I expect from a novel. But that book wasn’t a novel, and it never should have been labeled that way.

But, but … it had dialogue! It was written in third person!

Yes, it was, but that doesn’t make it a novel. A book needs to meet certain requirements before you can call it a novel; without those things, you have a creative or narrative retelling, but you do not have a novel.

What does a book need, then, to be considered a novel? Whether you’ve created everything or are telling someone else’s true story, a novel needs:

Take all of those, organize them well, and POOF! A novel. If you’re lacking any of these things, you’re probably not writing a novel. How can you tell?

  • The dialogue doesn’t add to the story; it’s just there.
  • You have whole chapters of information without showing the characters do anything.
  • Your book is more about giving information than it is about entertaining the reader.

If the above bullet points describe your book, it doesn’t mean you have a bad book—it just means you’re not writing a novel. These subtleties make a big difference when you’re marketing your book. It’s important to understand the difference, because mislabeling your book (and thereby mis-advertising it) can set you up for failure.

Take the book I recently read: if it had been called a narrative or creative retelling, it would have been a pretty good book. I would have been better prepared for the history lessons and lack of structure. Because I wanted to read a novel, however, it disappointed me. As much as I wanted to leave a good review, I couldn’t because I didn’t have a good experience reading the book (I do still recommend the book, but I tell people it’s not a novel).

Don’t stop writing your book and don’t change your style. Just know what you’re writing so you can get it into the hands of the right audience.

Have you ever read a good book that disappointed you? What happened?

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How to Write a Novel: How’s Your Platform?

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Have you ever visited your favorite author’s website? Explored her Pinterest boards? Followed her Twitter feed? Those social media accounts are part of that author’s platform.

Why does that matter to you? Because all writers—published and not-yet-published—need to establish and build their platforms.

I’ll be honest: platform building isn’t my favorite part of being a writer. Instead of creating stories or editing my manuscripts, I’m writing blog posts or trying to decide whether or not to share a sarcastic meme on Facebook. But it doesn’t stop there. Social media is about being social, so I can’t just post and share things. I keep checking in to respond to and interact with people who interact with me.

If platform building is so time consuming, why do we do it?

  1. It builds relationships. My husband loves hiking and camping. I didn’t grow up doing anything like that, so it’s not how I would choose to spend my weekend. I’ll go camping with him though because we have a relationship. The things that are important to him are important to me. Something similar happens when an author establishes a relationship with readers: they’re willing to read something different or go to unfamiliar events because of the relationship you’ve developed.
  2. It keeps you connected. When I lived next to my friend and her kids, I bought the kids Christmas presents every year without having to think about it: I saw them weekly, so I knew exactly what they liked. Now that they live thirty minutes away, however, I have to call their mom to ask what the kids are interested in. I just don’t know them like I used to. The same thing happens with your platform. The more you interact with your readers, the better you’ll know them so you won’t have to ask what they like about your stories or what they want to see next. You’ll know because you’re connected.
  3. It keeps you visible. If you can write and edit quickly, you might publish 1-2 novels per year. That’s up to twelve months between releases, which leaves a lot of time for your readers to forget about you and find new favorite authors. If you have an active platform, however, your readers will always know how to find you.
  4. It identifies your buying audience. Before a publisher agrees to publish a book, they want to know how they’re going to sell the book. One place they look is the writer’s platform. How many followers/fans does the writer have? Has the writer even started developing a platform? No one expects an unpublished writer to have hundreds of thousands of fans, but at least having an Facebook account shows the publisher that you’re connecting with and learning how to interact with your audience, and that’s what will help you sell books.

All of that makes sense for published authors, but what about unpublished writers? Why do you need to have a platform if you don’t have any audience?

Because some day you’ll have an audience and you’ll want them to be able to find you. You can’t wait until your book releases because you’ll need to start marketing before then. You’ll want to announce your book contract and share your book cover art when it’s designed—all of that information helps generate buzz and interest in your project, but you can’t do that if you don’t have a platform from which to do it!

That means building your platform now. Here are the three most basic principles to remember as you’re starting this process:

  • Stick with the platforms you already use. If you don’t like Twitter and have never used it, don’t force yourself to use it for your author platform. Instead, use what you’re already using—if you have an Instagram account, set up one for your writing persona.
  • Go to your audience. If you’re writing for young adults, check out Snapchat, Tumblr, and Instagram. If you’re writing for senior women, try Facebook and Pinterest. If you’re not sure where to find your audience, search for the most popular social media platforms for that age/gender. (Pew Research studies this type of information and releases their data to the public.)
  • Be active. Don’t just create a Facebook page. Post to it. Like other people’s pages. Comment on other people’s posts. Share their posts. Comment. Get involved. It’s called social media, so be social!

You can start building your platform at any time, but start it before you submit to agents and publishers. That will show them that you understand the necessity of platform and that you’re already working on it.

Speaking of agents, stop back again in two weeks to look more in depth at the role of the literary agent in your novel-writing journey.

Until then, what questions do you have on platform? Where do you need the most help or encouragement?

My debut novel—Summer Plans and Other Disasters—is now available on Amazon! Sign up for my monthly newsletter and you’ll receive the unpublished prologue: find out what inspired Calista Stephens to make those summer plans. Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for writing tips, updates on Guiding Light, and more!

ABOUT ME

Editor. Teacher. Novelist.
A passionate lover of fiction, Karin doesn't just write novels, she helps others write their best stories! A certified substantive editor with the Christian Editor Connection, her goal is to help authors to put her out of business by equipping them with the tools they need to become better writers.

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