Why Conflict Is so Hard to Create in Romance

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Romances don’t usually have a villain, but there is a strong conflict driving the plot.

The romance genre is an odd mix of writing difficulties. On one hand, it’s easy to write because it has a clear structure and set of goals for every story—get two people to fall in love and live happily ever after. 

On the other hand, since both protagonists want the same thing, it’s extremely difficult to create conflict—and plot is created by conflict.

Unlike most novels, there's no mustache-twirling antagonist standing between the lovebirds and happiness. And since the protagonists need to come together in the end, you can’t have one defeat the other, or it throws off the balance of power in the relationship and makes for a bad (and unhealthy) romance.

Without these common antagonistic elements, finding a conflict strong enough to drive a plot can be quite the challenge.

Plotting a Short Love Story

By Rayne Hall, @RayneHall

Part of the Focus on Short Fiction Series

JH: Short fiction is a great way to satisfy readers between novels. Rayne Hall shares tips on how to write a compelling romance short.

Readers enjoy short Love Stories in collections, anthologies, magazines, websites. But Love Stories are among the most challenging tales to write. 

The Challenge: A Relationship in a Short Space

The challenge is the length. A Romance novel follows the couple as they form a relationship to the level of commitment. How can you do that in the limited space of a short story?

7 Tips For Writing Great Love Scenes

By Joyce Scarbrough, @JoyceScarbrough

Part of the How They Do It Series

Joyce Scarbrough is a Southern woman weary of seeing herself and her peers portrayed in books and movies as either post-antebellum debutantes or barefoot hillbillies á la Daisy Duke, so all her heroines are smart, unpretentious women who refuse to be anyone but themselves. The former senior editor for Champagne Books, Joyce now does freelance editing in addition to writing full time. She writes both adult and YA fiction and has seven published novels as well as several short stories available as Kindle downloads. Joyce loves hanging out with other writers and stays active in her local writers’ guild as well as her regional chapter of SCBWI. She’s lived all her life in beautiful LA (lower Alabama), she’s the mother of three gifted children and a blind Pomeranian named Tilly, and she’s been married for 34 years to the love of her life—a superhero who disguises himself during the day as a high school math teacher and coach.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads |

Take it away Joyce...

The 4 Essential Ingredients to a Sizzling Romance

By Laura Lascarso, @lauralascarso

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: As one of the largest-selling genres out there, romance is hot-hot-hot on and off the page. Laura Lascarso joins us today to share a few tips on what makes these stories sizzle. Even if you don't write romance, these are great tips for anyone looking to create compelling relationships between characters (just adjust the romance aspects to suit your story).

Laura is the author of COUNTING BACKWARDS, winner of the 2012 Florida Book Award gold medal for young adult literature. Her newest project, RACING HEARTS, is a series of e-novellas that tells the story of two star-crossed lovers thrust into the world of competitive car racing. The second installment of this steamy summer romance will be launching June 30, 2015 with Leap Books.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iTunes | Indie Bound

Take it away Laura...

Roni Loren and Agent Sara Megibow: A Chat About the Romance Genre

Roni Loren

By Roni Loren, @RoniLoren and Sara Megibow, @SaraMegibow

Part of the How They Do It Series   

JH:A fun treat today. Fellow NLA sister Roni Loren and NLA agent Sara Megibow are here today to interview each other about the romance genre. This is extra fun, because while this posts here, all three of us are at the RWA conference in Anaheim, CA with several thousand other romance writers. It's like time travel. Kinda.
Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. Though she’ll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her reading, watching reality television, or indulging in her unhealthy addiction to rockstars' concerts. She is the National Bestselling Author of The Loving on the Edge series from Berkley Heat.

Sara Megibow

Sara has been with the Nelson Literary Agency since early 2006. Her first responsibilities included reading the query letters, sample pages and full manuscripts that were submitted for representation. In early 2009, she was promoted to Associate Literary Agent and is now actively accepting submissions of her own. From sexy romance to epic fantasy, Sara has loved reading since picking up her first copy of The Hobbit. Sara has a B.A. in Women’s Studies and a B.A. in American History from Northwestern University. She lives in sunny Boulder with her beat-boxing husband, adorable son and two fuzzy cats.

Take it away Roni and Sara...