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Post by Alatariel on Nov 2, 2022 21:58:33 GMT -6
So, I decided earlier this year that I wanted to try writing a romance novel. I've been reading A LOT of them lately because I desperately wanted brain fluff in the midst of all the terribleness happening in the world. Things felt really heavy emotionally and I wanted to escape within a world of familiar tropes and happy endings. After reading hundreds (literally) of romance novels in the last year (thanks, Kindle Unlimited), I've identified the tropes I love, the plot devices I hate (the black moment is not needed and I read a few without the typical black moment and loved the subversion of the expected plot device), and the best way to build a realistic healthy relationship with plenty of tension without falling back on cliches. There's a big difference between familiar/beloved tropes and obnoxious cliches. (Ex: a fun trope is a marriage of convenience or a fake relationship or forced proximity, a obnoxious cliche is having a fear of commitment or miscommunication or a cheating ex who suddenly wants the MC back for no reason.)
ANYWAYS, on to the main event:
Working Title: Inspire Me or Inspiring My Love
Genre: Romance
Goal: To write past my normal limits each day
Feedback: Any
Summary:
Genevieve Dupont feels like her life is on hold. Her mother passed away five years ago and she hasn't been able to move forward ever since. The man she thought she was going to marry left her two years ago and has since gotten engaged to another woman. As a part-time art teacher, she lives off her famous mother's inheritence and is uncertain what to do with the unfinished artwork she left behind. She knows her mother would want it finished, but Genevieve doesn't feel good enough to try.
Graham Walsh inherits an art studio after his grandmother passes away. He wants to breathe new life into the studio but after his premier artist backs out a month before opening, he's desperate to find a big named artist to feature on a moment's notice. His sister mentions the daughter of world famous Sabine Dupont lives nearby and rumors say she's holding onto her mother's last unseen collection. He decides to try and convince her to show her mother's art at his studio.
Genevieve's heart has been torn to shreds too many times but she still hopes to find someone who can show her love is worth being vulnerable. Graham has spent too much time pursuing the wrong relationships and vows to put all of his energy into work to preserve his grandmother's legacy.
They never expect to find everything they never knew they were missing in each other.
Setting: Monterey/Carmel/San Francisco CA
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Post by pelwrath on Nov 3, 2022 0:19:38 GMT -6
Sounds interesting, though what’s the difference between writing a romance story vs. a story with romance in it?
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 3, 2022 1:28:57 GMT -6
Sounds interesting, though what’s the difference between writing a romance story vs. a story with romance in it? A romance story is where the main focus is the love story. The conflict is in whether or not the two people will end up together, happily, in the end despite any obstacles. A story with a romance sub-plot is like icing on the cake. The romance isn't the main source of conflict and the whole plot doesn't revolve around the two character's falling in love. Most stories have romance in them, but if they didn't it wouldn't make a huge impact on the outcome of the story. There is also a very specific structure to romance novels/movies and very specific tropes that readers expect to encounter. They read romance FOR the tropes. They are searchable and labeled based on well-known tropes. Like "billionaire romances" or "cowboy romances" or "small town romances" or "rock star romances", etc. People want the familiarity and safety of knowing there will be a Happily Ever After even though they also know there will be a lot of ups and downs along the way. |
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Post by pelwrath on Nov 3, 2022 7:28:44 GMT -6
Thank you for that definition, Alatariel.
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 4, 2022 12:46:12 GMT -6
So, my goal right now (so I can at least have some kind of daily consistency) is to write (at least) one page per day.
Progress for 11/4
Page count: 5 full pages
I'm hoping once I get back into the habit of writing every day, the word count will naturally pick up over time and I can pump out MORE than one page per day. We'll see.
I need to remember the mantra first drafts don't need to be perfect. Just get the words down. Finish something.
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Post by Caulder Melhaire on Nov 5, 2022 10:15:57 GMT -6
Oooh, excellent choice! We need more romance stuffs in here to break up the fantasy and sci fi monopoly LOL
What is "the black moment?" Makes me think of black box.
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 5, 2022 15:08:31 GMT -6
Oooh, excellent choice! We need more romance stuffs in here to break up the fantasy and sci fi monopoly LOL What is "the black moment?" Makes me think of black box. The black moment is the climax of a romance story, it's where the couple is torn apart for some reason. Maybe one self-sabotages the relationship because of past trauma, maybe one wants something different in life than the other and they think they can't be together, maybe there's a misunderstanding...it's when all seems darkest, they are in despair, and then you have the grand gesture to bring them back together. Someone has a realization and apologizes, or they forgive the other person for whatever, or they make personal sacrifices in order to have the other person in their life again. I hate it. I find the black moment unnecessary, predictable, and overall annoying. I think it's more interesting to have the couple grow closer over the course of the story and then when something difficult happens they learn the most important lesson in how to overcome it TOGETHER. Like maybe there is a life obstacle but instead of letting it cause a rift, it brings them closer and proves that they are ready for love. That everything they learned over the course of their relationship helps rather than hinders. Now THAT seems like a good story to me. I read a few romances lately with really emotional black moments and it made me wanna throw my kindle across the room. It makes everything that came before (the devotion, the declaration of love, the promises of forever) seem pointless and false. As someone who's been married for 13 years and been through a lot with my husband, it's just not realistic to me. |
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Post by Caulder Melhaire on Nov 5, 2022 16:42:54 GMT -6
Ohhhhh, I do hate that trope too. (I also kind of hate the lesser version in tv shows where there's like a misunderstanding, someone hears only one half of a conversation, or some secret comes out, they have a big fight about it, and break up for 3-4 episodes before coming back together and realizing whatever happened and that they're better together, yak. Daredevil did a good job of it with Matt/Foggy, I thought.) Cause like yeah! What was the point of everything they've been through and the development if one magical misunderstanding is gonna subvert the whole thing.
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Post by pelwrath on Nov 5, 2022 19:09:42 GMT -6
Are you going to use that troupe? Write the romance story you want.
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 5, 2022 19:51:10 GMT -6
Ohhhhh, I do hate that trope too. (I also kind of hate the lesser version in tv shows where there's like a misunderstanding, someone hears only one half of a conversation, or some secret comes out, they have a big fight about it, and break up for 3-4 episodes before coming back together and realizing whatever happened and that they're better together, yak. Daredevil did a good job of it with Matt/Foggy, I thought.) Cause like yeah! What was the point of everything they've been through and the development if one magical misunderstanding is gonna subvert the whole thing. EXACTLY. My goal for this story is to have different kinds of conflict and to have the ending still be satisfying without a typical black moment. Fingers crossed I can achieve that. pelwrath no I'm going to try and avoid writing the traditional black moment, instead I hope to have other conflicts to keep things interesting and use their relationship as the anchor. Progress for 11/5
Page Count: 9 full pages, on chapter 3 |
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Post by RAVENEYE on Nov 7, 2022 10:54:25 GMT -6
Omigosh, Ala, this sounds like an exciting breakaway for you! My mind is blown. Feels good to swerve off into a different direction now and again, doesn't it?
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 8, 2022 12:43:31 GMT -6
Omigosh, Ala, this sounds like an exciting breakaway for you! My mind is blown. Feels good to swerve off into a different direction now and again, doesn't it? Ah thanks! I've been wanting a new challenge, especially one that consists of writing a story devoid of all fantastical, horrific, paranormal, dystopian...elements. So that meant I needed to read a lot of books without those things to see how people form plots and character arcs without someone gaining supernatural powers half-way through or discovering the government is experimenting on them to make them into super soldiers. In the process I discovered a love for romance stories. The tropes. The vulnerability. The exploration of (healthy) romantic relationships and how they can uplift us. It started because I heard a podcast about how the romance genre was BY FAR the #1 bestselling genre, especially for self-published work. So it made me think....maybe I should try it? Might be easier and more fun to write. And guess what? It's been A BLAST so far. Progress for 11/8
Pages Count: 12 full pages done I gotta pick up the pace, though. I want to be done with draft 1 by Christmas (est: between 70 and 85k words) so that means a much heftier word count per day. |
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Post by pelwrath on Nov 12, 2022 10:48:58 GMT -6
It's obvious that you're into your story and that's awesome. Romance is the #1 Genre in book stores and self-publishing. Harlequin makes a fortune on it and so did Fabio. ![]() ![]() |
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Post by Alatariel on Nov 17, 2022 15:23:28 GMT -6
Progress for 11/17
Page Count: 16
I actually started planning out the whole series! My favorite romance novels are the ones that follow a large family or group of friends and they each get their HEA. I love when each book follows a popular trope. My current MH (male hero) comes from a large family (not all of them are single) and each sibling will get their own book. And since I'm planning it out in advance, I can add little tid-bits to this story to entice readers.
One I'm particularly excited about is the one that will be about a female bodyguard. Bodyguard romances are a popular trope, but not many are about a cis-woman who's the bodyguard and an ex-marine. Usually it's the dude. In this case, the MH will be the brother of my current MH. He'll be a famous musician (rock star romances are also a hugely popular trope) who'll be receiving threats (or maybe a stalker situation?) and he hires his former BFF who is an ex-marine working for a private security firm. Haven't worked out the details, but I'm psyched. The musician is gonna have golden retriever energy. I adore MHs with golden retriever energy. Happy, positive, loves people, genuine, loyal...
Anyways, the series will include these tropes:
enemies to lovers romance
single dad/nanny + over-worked chef/live in the moment vegan romance
rock star/bodyguard romance
Sunshine/grump romance
friends to lovers romance
brother's best friend romance
I used to judge people who read romance novels. And now I'm totally addicted and I adore them. My respect for them have grown exponentially. My favorite authors are: Pippa Grant, Meghan Quinn, Lucy Score, Kathryn Nolan, and Claire Kingsley. I just finished ALL of Pippa Grant's books and I'm sad because she's definitely my #1 fav. Her characters are so robustly unique and the small towns she invents are so unhinged yet charming. She infuses so much heart and deep emotion into these hilarious books, I am in awe of her talent. One of her book heroines is a ventriloquist and she has all these ridiculous characters and yet...she made my heart clench with SO much beauty. I just....ugh. It's called The Beauty and the Beefcake (a ridiculous title for a stunning book) and it's free on KU. *spicy scenes, so beware*
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Post by RAVENEYE on Nov 18, 2022 11:06:29 GMT -6
Wow, you are ALL in, Ala. I love it. Seeing you excited is just beautiful. And, oh Lord, that title.  I'm not sure I woulda picked up a book with the title "Beauty and the Beefcake," but I sure woulda snickered at it. |
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I'm not sure I woulda picked up a book with the title "Beauty and the Beefcake," but I sure woulda snickered at it.
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