Blog - Page 2 of 3 - Shirley Holder Platt, author at The Write Romance

Five ways to make the holiday season work for you

Holiday stories make for some of the best selling books. Those authors have tapped into a goldmine. Everyone can relate to the myriad of emotions, the stress, the tug of family, the loneliness of having no one, the temptation to overindulge, the wonder in the eyes of children. We can easily get caught up in the whirlwind of activities that threaten to swamp us all. It’s an easy time to let good habits slip, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Here are five ideas to help you stay on track during this busy season.

1. Find fifteen-minute breaks and write as many words as you can in that amount of time. You may find yourself surprised by how much you can get done this way. Or write during commercial breaks while watching television. The words will add up quickly.

2. Consider dictating parts of your story while running errands. I’ve been known to dictate a long text message that I never send. I simply leave the words unsent until I am somewhere that allows me to copy and paste them into the draft of a novel or short story. No special software required. No ideas forgotten.

3. Use the holiday decorating frenzy to fill your creative well. Take pictures of the great ideas you see. Some of them may serve as fodder when your muse seems to be visiting relatives in la-la land.

4. Have crazy relatives? Instead of letting them get to you, write down their antics and you’ll only have to make minor changes to have new and interesting characters for upcoming stories.

5. If you travel, take note of the changing scenery. Do the clouds look different? Describe them in words. Are there unfamiliar smells? Try to capture the essence for later recall. New foods? Describing taste is a great exercise. Feeling weary from waiting in an airport for a delayed flight? People watching will fill a journal quickly.

The gist of it is to use your time and experiences during the holidays to bolster your writing career. You will be presented with myriad opportunities. Keep your eyes and ears open for them. You may find obstacles falling away to be replaced by ideas that boost your energy level.
However you spend the time, I wish you a happy and productive holiday season.

Thanks, Shirley

Developing the Author Attitude: “Author Training Manual” – Nina Amir

The Author Training Manual by Nina Amir came out in 2014, but the material is still quite valuable to authors. Amir starts by describing the attitude an author needs to be successful in the marketplace. She says there is a difference between an author and a successful author. That difference: author attitude. An author who has come to terms with “the cold, hard facts about the publishing industry” is a person with the author attitude.

https://www.amazon.com/Author-Training-Manual-Comprehensive-Writing-ebook/dp/B00IPSCOQW

With so many books published these days, it has become increasingly difficult for readers to find the books they want to read. Amir says the dilemma many authors find themselves in, is usually because they haven’t learned to treat their writing and publications as a business. She then goes on to teach authors to change their attitude to one of a successful business person. She includes chapters to help you get a thorough understanding of what your book is about and who your audience will be. There is a chapter to help you figure out how many books you should expect to sell. She gives instructions on how to determine who your competitors are and who you are comparable to.

She teaches how to create a map and directions, which she calls the Author Training Process, which you can follow to complete a project. She takes no prisoners and sugar coats nothing. She understands that the business of publishing is a tough industry and gives practical advice to help aspiring authors become successful entrepreneurs.

She covers branding in one easy to understand chapter and encourages authors to think of themselves as more than just writers. She asks you to look at not only your book as a commodity but to consider additional products and services. Her principle of “Write More, Sell More” is something I’ve heard from virtually all publishing gurus I follow.

I’m not sure if she coined the phrase, but she asks the author to think of him/herself as an Authorpreneur. In other words, we should all take our blinders off and face the fact that writing is just one facet of our world if we want to become successful in this game. And I’m talking about success in the marketplace. The book will help you determine a business plan, develop your author bio, help you understand why you need to have a platform, and steps you through the process of preparing everything you need to pitch your book to a publisher.

Amir believes that even those who plan to self-publish should follow the steps an author would use to pitch to a traditional publisher. She says you will have clarification through the process and be able to determine if your idea is viable in the market.

I found her book to be an immense help when I was struggling with the idea of learning to advertise/market my books. I resisted the idea of being anything more than a writer. OK, so I learned to publish on Amazon, but that was all I wanted to do. Well, that was great if I only wanted my mom and sisters to read my books.

After reading Amir’s book, I decided to put on the Authorpreneur hat and stop whining. If you’re struggling with the idea of learning marketing, but you want to be a successful writer, I highly recommend reading “The Author Training Manual.” If you finish the book and still don’t want to be an Authorpreneur, at least you’ll know what it takes if and when you decide to bite that bullet.

If you have a comment or another book you’d like me to review, I’d love to hear from you. Send an email to me at splatt@thewriteromance.com

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As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

It’s Not Just a Love Story – 7 Elements for Romance

A romance novel is not just a love story. Romance readers have specific expectations. They will be looking for each of the following pieces, even if they don’t know it. You don’t want to leave any out. The readers may not know why, but they’ll know something’s missing.

Setting – Is your story a contemporary? What about the hero and heroine’s world might conspire to keep them apart? Is she an upwardly mobile executive and he’s the janitor that comes in each night while she’s working late? What scandal would ensue should they get together? Are you writing a Regency Romance? Your readers will know the world of Britain in the 1800s, so do your research. In romance novels, society tends to get in your characters’ way. You may not have to build an entire world like in fantasy or science fiction, but you will need to explore the pressures society imposes on your couple.

Cute-Meet – When your heroine meets her hero it should be obvious that these two are destined to be together. It may not be apparent to them, but your reader will know.

Something in their way – It may be obvious that these two are destined to be together, but as the writer, it’s your job to throw up obstacles that keep them apart. If girl meets boy and they immediately live happily ever after, something’s missing. It’s no fun unless they overcome barriers in their way. So build in external as well as internal obstacles. It’s OK to torture them a little, we know it’ll come out good in the end, right?

It’s no fun unless they overcome barriers in their way.

The profession of love – At some point, one or both should declare their love for the other. You can have them both be in agreement, or you can have one say the “L” word and scare the other off, but somebody has to say it. Make these scenes swoon-worthy, your readers will thank you.

Point of Doom – Near the climax, you’ll need to add a new obstacle that will seem to kill the romance. This is usually something external that convinces the two that things cannot work out.

Dawning – This is an internal awakening to the fact that, despite the horrible external circumstances, the object of your hero or heroine’s love is worth it all and truly lovable. Your story is, after all, about two people growing into better people as they grow into their love for one another. Let the blinders fall off. Reveal the strength and honor that was hidden at the point of doom. If you’ve had a “bad guy” messing with your couple’s bliss, you might want to call him out at this point. That’ll make your readers happy. Everyone likes to see justice served. Maybe your “bad guy” sees the light and turns himself around. That’ll work too.

The HEA or HFN – In the old days, romance novels always ended with a marriage proposal. These days, you might have a Happy Ever After proposal, or you might opt for a Happy For Now ending. Maybe they move in together. They may not get married, but they will make a commitment. It’s always a good idea to throw a party, right? So let your couple celebrate. It’ll make the HEA or HFN more poignant.

Photo by Filipe Almeida on Unsplash

Incorporate these points along with your basic three-act structure and you’re sure to have a winner.

If I’ve left an important element out, or if you have a comment, I’d love to hear from you. Send an email to me at splatt@thewriteromance.com

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top photo by frank mckenna on Unsplash

Just Keep Writing – 12 Steps for New Authors

Of the flood of information about marketing books, the best I’ve found is to just keep writing. So that’s what I’m doing. In the seven and a half months since I retired from full-time corporate work, I’ve written three novels and one book of short stories. I’ve let my friends and family know what I’ve done. I’ve built a website and started a blog for people who like to read and/or write romance stories. I’m making pins and using Pinterest to drive people to my blog. What’s the hardest part of the whole thing? It’s having patience. Here are twelves steps I’ve learned on my journey as a new author:

12 steps for new authors:

Follow the advice of others who have gone before you
Write every day
Study your craft
Read extensively
Know your genre
Let the first draft be crapola, just get the story on paper
Learn how to self-edit
Decide you like to rewrite
Pay a good editor; you can’t find everything yourself
Get a great cover
Understand keywords and metadata and categories
Just keep writing

Step 1. Follow the advice of others who have gone before you.

Think about other things you’ve learned to do in your lifetime. Riding a bike? Someone told you how to get on, get started, keep your balance. Maybe they ran along beside you on the day you rode without training wheels. You took their advice, and it helped you accomplish your goal. Do that with your writing. There are myriad podcasts, books and blog posts out there. Plug in and listen, then do what they say. When you’re established, give back. Until then, learn from the generous people out there.

Step 2. Write every day

This one is huge. You can only get better with practice. Without it, you will grow rusty, start listening to your inner critic telling you that you can’t do this, maybe give in to fear and develop a block. You can avoid all that nasty stuff if you just keep writing. Every single day. You aren’t required to write a masterpiece each day. Just write something. Maybe you’ll toss it out. It might spark something new. Perhaps it will be a masterpiece. You’ll never know what it’ll be unless you write it. So get out that pen and paper, your laptop, your favorite quill and parchment, your recorder – whatever tool you prefer – get it out and use it.

Step 3. Study your craft

If you wanted to become a brain surgeon, you’d sign on for some extensive education, right? Well, you want to be an author, so sign on for training. If you’re like me, you’ve already gathered books on the writing life. Maybe you’ve read half of some, a third of others. But did you take them to heart? Do they have exercises that you never tried? Get them out, work through the activities. On the days when you are stuck and can’t decide what to write, follow prompts available in the books or online. Understand story structure, character arcs, the three acts, pinch points, conflict, story, plot, climax, and resolution. Know these parts so well that you could teach them to someone just starting out.

Step 4. Read extensively

Wish you could write like Hemingway? Evanovich? Patterson? Austen? Roberts? Read their books. How do your favorite authors use timing? Study the way they turn a phrase or convey their sense of humor? How do they surprise you? The more you read (and the better authors you read), the more you will understand how the authors made the stories. If you’re anything like me, some of the “tricks” of the trade will become clear upon closer inspection. Your conscious mind will understand how and what to do. But I believe that some of the knowledge will soak into your subconscious mind. Don’t worry; it won’t stay there permanently. It will float up when you’re practicing. You’ll find your writing improving, and it will come from studying the masters.

Step 5. Know your genre

Your target readers know what they like to read. They know their favorite genre. You should know it too. You should know it better than them because you’ll have studied books by other authors. You’ll have taken the time to dissect the stories and put them back together again. Love the genre you chose. If you do, your passion will show through, and your readers will love your books. If you write historical romance, get your facts straight. Your readers will catch mistakes. If you know you aren’t that detail oriented, maybe you’d better stick with contemporary stories. But for heaven’s sake, don’t try to sell a steamy, sexy romance to someone looking for sweet, clean romance or vice versa.

Step 6. Let the first draft be horrible, just get the story on paper

You can dilly-dally for years trying to make your first draft perfect. Or, you can go ahead and tell the story. Use lousy grammar, forget about how you flunked out on that spelling bee in third grade, stop fretting over the perfect name for the book. Just write the story that’s in your heart. You’ve sought out mentors and followed their advice, be they in person, through books, on podcasts, youtube videos, classes, workshops, etc. You’ve studied your craft, you’ve practiced writing every day, you’ve kept up with your love of reading by devouring your favorite books, and you know the genre you love and want to write. So, go for it. Now. No more waiting.

Step 7. Learn how to self-edit

OK, you’ve taken me seriously. You’re following steps one through six. You’ve finished your first draft. Now, what do you do? Something that’s worked for me before is to set the manuscript aside and let it rest. Get a massage, ride a horse, do the housecleaning you’ve neglected. Give yourself a week to get some distance – more if you need it. Now, and not a minute before you finish your first draft, you can self-edit. Until this moment, you’ve tuned your inner critic’s voice out. Now it’s time to go through the draft and “fix” it. You can leave that inner critic’s voice off. Instead, find your internal editor. You know who I mean; the one who encourages you, the one who loves your story and only wants to make it better. Turn that voice on now and look at your manuscript. Check that your story structure is intact. Did you follow the three-act structure? If so, did you hit all the right points in all the right places? Does your protagonist have the same color eyes all the way through the book? (Don’t laugh, I’ve had a brown eyed woman’s eyes grow a deeper green when she got angry before.) After you’ve sewn up all plot holes and are satisfied that the structure will hold, you can move on to grammar and line editing. Not sure if you need a comma there? Check out Grammar Girl. Get the free version of Grammarly. Pull out the style book you stuck on your bookshelf when you graduated college. Use spell check. Get your story polished as best you can on your own. Don’t expect an editor to do all your work for you, unless you have unlimited funds, of course.

Step 8. Decide you like to rewrite

If you followed Step 7, you’ve probably already done quite a bit of rewriting. I say now is the time to choose to enjoy the rewrite. It’s part of the process all authors go through. It’s essential. It makes your book better. So, why not enjoy it? Decide to make it fun. You’re going to do it anyway.

Step 9. Pay a good editor; you can’t find everything yourself

No matter how good you are, you can not see your own story the way a new set of eyes will. The first set of eyes should be those of your editor. You don’t want your readers to find your plot holes, your dangling articles, passive voices, or grammar goofs. Find an editor that loves your genre. Find someone who will tell you what they like about your story and be honest about what can make it better. There are several kinds of editors; some will help you with structure and plotting, others are line-editors who will comb through line by line to find any typos, punctuation errors, and/or misspelled words. You might want one of each. As in any twelve-step program, if you don’t like your editor, you can let her/him go and get a new one. If you find one that works well with you and gives you the results you’re looking for, you’ve hit gold. Hang on tight!

Step 10. Get a great cover

In this busy market, people take mere seconds to peruse books on shelves or online. You want a book cover that tells the reader of your genre that they’ve found one they’ll like. You have to convey that message in seconds, so make sure you’ve studied best-selling books in your field and pay them the ultimate compliment – copy them. Don’t plagiarize, but see what they are doing and follow their lead. Use similar fonts. If you’re writing romance, use script or something with curlicues. These days, the first look a potential reader has is a thumbnail picture, so don’t get too cluttered. You can create your own, but the consensus is that it’s worth the money to pay for a book cover.

Step 11. Understand marketing terms like keywords, metadata, and categories

After you’ve written, self-edited, rewritten, given your work to an editor, rewritten, had some beta-readers provide you with feedback, revised some more. And all the while, you’ve been reading other authors, continuing to study your craft, found a great cover, and you think you’re all set. Now it’s time to self-publish. Before you hit that button, do a little research on books in your genre so that you can use keywords, metadata, and categories that will attract readers to your book.

Step 12. Just keep writing

I followed these steps to write my first novel. Then I spent hours staring at the report sections of CreateSpace and KDPSelect, willing the public to buy my books. I wasted days on wishing when I should have been writing the next book. Because, when I was writing the second novel, I wasn’t worried about the first one selling or not. I just kept writing. Then I published the second book and started writing the third one. Now, when people read one book, I have prompts in the back to lead them to my other books. It’s not easy getting attention for a new book by an unknown author. If you do finally reach an audience other than your immediate family and friends, and if they enjoy your book, they’ll search for another you’ve written. If you’ve not written another, they’ll find someone else who has. You want repeat customers, so you have to give them something new to read. It’s simple as that. Just keep writing.

Photo by Laura Kapfer on Unsplash

What have you learned on your writing journey? I’d love it if you’d leave a comment below. Or contact me by email.

I write romance stories. If you’d like a free downloadable pdf of my book “What’s Love Got to do with Free Beer? and other short stories,” subscribe to my email list. I’ll send you a message when I publish a new post and keep you updated on the publication of my new books.

9 lessons learned from writing my first novel

I learned a lot when I wrote my first novel. I thought today that I’d share nine lessons I learned. But first, a little about how I got started. I’d always written short stories. One day, I thought to myself, what if I just kept writing a lot more words? Wouldn’t I end up writing a novel? So that’s what I did. I remember telling my husband at one point, “I’ve written 10,000 words. That’s more than I’ve ever written on one story before.” And I just kept writing. When I got to about 45,000 words, I had a complete story, and I liked it. I thought other people would like it too. I gave it to a few friends, and they were kind.

At some point in this journey, I decided to take my writing seriously. I was retiring from my day job and started telling people that I was going to write a novel. Telling others that I’m going to do something is one way I motivate myself to get a job done. As long as the idea stays in my head and I don’t share it, I don’t act on it. If you have trouble getting started, try it. It may help you get off the starting block.

Lesson one: A funny thing happens when you tell people your plans. The universe starts moving things your way. I truly believe this. On one of my last days at work, a senior executive asked me what I planned to do in retirement. I thought about saying, “rock in my rocking chair,” to get out of discussing my plans. Instead, I decided to be honest. “I’m going to take my writing seriously. I want to write a novel,” I said. “I have a story written; I just need to find a good editor.”

She immediately perked up. “You know (Name), don’t you?”

“No, who is she?”

“She just ended a project with our company. She’s a scriptwriter and an editor. Would you like to meet her?”

I couldn’t very well say no. I’d just stuck my neck out and stated that I needed an editor and didn’t know where to find one. So, I said yes, I’d like to meet her.

“Shall I call her? She lives close by,” was the reply.

Lesson Two: Say yes. I said yes. That’s another thing to which the universe pays attention. When we say yes to new possibilities, it’s like the world takes us seriously and starts helping us. Within thirty minutes, I was sitting face to face with a woman who became my first editor. I hired her on the spot. We met later after I’d sent and she’d read my story.

Lesson Three. Listen to what the experts tell you. The comment that I remember the most from my first visit with an editor is, “What you have written is more like a treatment. A good novel needs to adhere to a certain structure. Most follow the three-act structure.”

Well, I’d never heard of a treatment before. I didn’t want to appear ignorant, so I shook my head in agreement and filed the comment away to look into later. What I learned later on Wikipedia was this:

A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. … Treatments read like a short story, but are told in the present tense and describe events as they happen.

Hmm. I read that and honed in on the words “first draft.” She gave me a world of information about story structure using three acts during that meeting. I went away knowing I had a lot to learn, but hopeful.

A good novel needs to adhere to a certain structure. Most follow the three-act structure.

Lesson Four: Learn your craft. I started studying story structure and looking for it in everything I read or watched. Low and behold, my editor was correct. Story structure was everywhere. It’s been around since the first Greek tragedies were written and performed. It was almost annoying. I explained what I was learning to my husband, and he was soon pointing out the different plot points. It’s like how you don’t notice blue cars on the road until you buy one. They were always there; you just weren’t paying attention.

I read every book on writing I could find. It’s funny; you’ll run across all kinds of advice in those books about outlining or writing by the seat of your pants and everything in between. I came to the conclusion that I’d never done an outline in my life, so why would I start now? In school, when outlines were required, I’d always written the paper then gone back through and outlined afterward. Now, I recommend this only if you’ve drunk from the well of structure until it has become a part of your very DNA. And if you’ve always loved outlining, then I highly recommend it as a way to start your book. We’re all different and have to find our paths. So, I learned about structure. I let the information sink deep into past my skin to my innermost being.

Lesson Five: Writing is Re-writing. Then I rewrote that first draft using the knowledge I’d learned. It surprised me. I ended up with quite a different story. It was a story that had more depth, which had a beginning, a middle, and an end. Yay, I’d written a novel, but it needed more work. I combed through line by line looking for extraneous commas, misspelled words, missing indentations, and unneeded adjectives and adverbs. My editor helped me understand where my protagonist should be stronger; my conflict should be more prone to be the kind of obstacles my protagonist could grow from overcoming, my ending should give credit to the story and not end abruptly with everything tied up in a neat bow like a Christmas present.

Lesson Six: Don’t rely on your editor to find everything. Self-edit. Then I published it on Amazon as an ebook and a paperback. I felt an immense sense of accomplishment. I took pictures of myself holding that first book. I posted photos of the cover on Facebook so all my friends could see what I’d done. And then I sat down to read the paperback. It was the most embarrassing moment of my life (well other than the time I peed myself while in the third-grade spelling bee line-up.) There were all kinds of errors I’d missed before. The spelling of one character’s name kept changing; I had quotes where no one was speaking; I had a car stolen from the protagonist then she drove it somewhere. Yikes. Big lesson learned. Take proofreading seriously. It’s going to be out there for the world to see. Take a little time to fine tooth comb your book. The good thing about self-publishing these days is you can correct errors easily. The original books will still have the errors, but new ones won’t. Whew.

Lesson Seven: If they can’t find it, they can’t read it. To be honest with you, I’m still struggling with this part of the process. I’ve got a loyal following of friends and family. Some of their friends and family members are starting to find me. I haven’t paid for any advertising. I have an author page on Amazon.com. I’ve built a website and started blogging. I’m building an email list. I’m learning to better focus my blog posts to attract my “tribe.”

Lesson Eight: Patience is a virtue. I now understand that story we’ve all heard a million times about the person who worked at their craft/art for many years only to become an overnight success when the public discovered them. I’m learning patience. I’m learning to pay my dues.

Lesson Nine: Keep writing. The most important lesson I’ve learned is that practice improves my writing. I write something every day. Sometimes it’s nothing more than stream-of-consciousness nattering on the page; some days it’s golden and doesn’t even need editing because it’s that amazing. But most days, it’s just me putting words down on the page to carry my characters along on their journey. And that’s good because that’s the only thing that will get the next novel written. I can think about it all I want, but sitting down and writing is the only solution. I’ll keep writing and putting my work out there. People will find a book; maybe a friend will loan them a paperback, or tell them about an ebook they read and enjoyed. If I have more books, and people like what they read, they’ll buy my other books. And that’s all I want – for people to find my books and enjoy reading them.

Photo by Dmitry Ratushny on Unsplash

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Thank you and as always,

Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Create Multi-dimensional Characters from your own life

As writers, we’re always looking for inspiration for our characters.

We want them to come alive for our readers the same way they do in our heads. One of my favorite tunes is “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” by Paul Simon. It’s a catchy tune. As it ran through my head today, I started to think of the many ways to find inspiration for our characters. I ended up making a Pin for my Pinterest Board on Writing Ideas. I called it 20 places to find inspiration for characters. Not as catchy as Paul Simon’s title, but then, I’m not a songwriter.

The graphic is shown, so I won’t write the 20 places here. I’ll just say that my best advice to you is this:

Before you write, study people.

Go to the grocery store and listen to people talking in the check-out line. Don’t let the people disturb you when they are behind you talking before a movie starts. Instead, use them as research. Are their voices high and screeching? Do they rumble, mumble, fumble for words? Does your chair vibrate when they talk, or do your ears hurt? You’ll never be annoyed again. The world will become your laboratory. After you notice the tone, the sound of their voices, tune in and see what they’re saying. Did Aunt Martha really have the nerve to tell Uncle Ricky off, finally? Did the dishwasher break and he can’t afford to call a repairman? Does that mean the poor guy is washing dishes every day now, or is he going out to eat every meal? You’ll be surprised to find what people will talk about in public spaces. As an added bonus, they often talk about other movies, or what they’re looking forward to getting out of this one. What do they like? What do they dislike? The same will probably ring true in what they’ll read. It’s all useful.

Are the neighbors outside with their stereo playing while they yell at each other? What are they fighting about? Are they fighting, or are they just really loud people? You need drama, why not borrow some of theirs? Just remember, when you write dialogue, leave out the uh, ahs, ahems. Cut to the chase, get to the point, and don’t be redundant. OK, that was a joke, did you get it?

While you’re gathering these tidbits, start paying attention to how these people look. Did she really wear those shoes to the dog park? How much do you think his sneakers cost? Does anyone like that facial hair? Where does that tattoo stop? Could she get any more jewelry on? Does her bracelet make a racket as she searches through her hobo bag for her credit card? This is good stuff, people. Don’t ignore it, grab your pen and notebook and write it down. You’ll never remember it later if you fail to capture it now.

You can take this further. What are these people doing? Are they constantly typing into their phone? Are they plugged in with headphones, oblivious to the world around them? Did he really just steal that parking spot from the guy sitting there with his blinker on patiently waiting for the driver to back out? (Let’s hope it wasn’t you waiting patiently.) How do all three people in this scenario react? You could get a whole scene out of this one incident.

Did it start to rain? What do people do? Run? Open umbrellas? Curse? Laugh and splash in the puddles? Huddle under an overhanging roof? Do they talk to one another?

Is it hot? What are they wearing? Does she have a thong on or no underpants at all? Wouldn’t it be better if he put a shirt on to cover that belly? Does she need a pedicure to fix that peeling polish?

Get the idea?

It’s all fodder for your creative fire. Ignore it at your peril. Notice it and be thankful for it. It’s free for the taking. Now, get your chosen form of writing material out and go to it! One of the best things about being a writer is being able to have imaginary friends. Take all these traits and throw them together to come out with new and interesting people. When you write a romance, you’re telling a love story.

Invent imaginary people you want to hang out with, that you’d fall in love with.

Give them real voices, things to say, put them into real situations. Make them come alive in the eyes of your readers. If you can create believable characters, you’re at least halfway there.

As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Did this article inspire you, give you ideas of how to start? Send me an email and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

To receive notification of new releases, subscribe to my email list. Every subscriber will receive a free book of 12 short stories in pdf format via email. The book is in editing as I write this, but will be out shortly.

As always, Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

thewriteromance.com

Photo by Marina Durán on Unsplash

20 Inciting Incident Ideas

What is an inciting incident? It’s something that happens to your protagonist that changes the direction of his/her life. The option to remain in the status quo is taken completely off the table. It needs to happen in the first quarter of your story. If you wait any longer, your readers will yawn, reach for a final sip of their warm milk, and mosey off to bed.

And you don’t have to wait that long. You can start as early as you like. Some books begin with a bang, and the action never lets up. That bang is the inciting incident.

Since no inciting incident equals no story, you need something more than a dropped toothbrush.

Are you having trouble thinking of inciting incidents to get your story moving? Here’s a list of twenty. Feel free to use any of them.

20 inciting incident ideas:

You break a leg
You find a briefcase full of one-hundred-dollar bills
Your doctor says you only have three months to live
You get fired
You move to a new city or country
You find that your husband/wife is having an affair
You run away from home
Your spouse asks for a divorce
Your best friend betrays you
You run into an old boyfriend who’s still into you
One of your closest loved ones dies
You start a new job
You get a new boss
You get a promotion
Your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere
You’re caught in a natural disaster
You get kidnapped
You lose your child while shopping
You find out you have a stalker
Your house burns down in the middle of the night

Have other ideas for inciting incidents? Comment below, or email me.

Subscribe to my email list, that I only use to let you know when I publish new titles, and I’ll send you a free pdf of my book, “What’s Love Got to do with Green Beer? and other short stories.”

As always, Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

TheWriteRomance.com

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Review of “Wait For It” by Mariana Zapata

I just finished reading “Wait for It,” by Mariana Zapata, and I recommend it highly. Zapata goes deep with her characters, building the story slowly but deftly. The romance happens organically with well-defined characters that I fell in love with myself. The story starts with Diana, a mother of two kids, moving into a new neighborhood. Before she knows anyone living nearby, she’s awoken in the middle of the night by her five-year-old who’s heard people screaming outside. Diana is doing her best to be an adult but hates getting involved in other people’s drama. Afraid that someone will get seriously hurt, she overcomes her own fear and dashes outside with a baseball bat to break up the fight, saving her neighbor’s life. Instead of a thank you, she is met with insolence. Despite the rude treatment she receives, she knows in her heart that she has done the right thing.

The book moves along and Diana is faced with one obstacle after another, each testing her maturity. Zapata paints a believable woman making difficult choices in a world that doesn’t always appreciate a good Samaritan. The romance develops slowly and quite naturally. Zapata presents no bodice ripping scenes unless you count the one love scene near the end, which could have been toned down for my taste. Instead, the story treats you to a natural progression from mistrust to guarded trust, to friendship, and finally to love. And isn’t that really the way life works for most of us?

Instead, the story treats you to a natural progression from mistrust to guarded trust, to friendship, and finally to love. And isn’t that really the way life works for most of us?

I am ready for Diana and her kids to move next door to me. I was sad when the story ended with an epilogue that was five years after the last scene. I wanted Zapata to write the happenings in those five years, not a summary. That’s how good the story was.

If you’re looking for fluff, forget this book. If you want a story that will make you smirk, laugh, cry, shake your fists one minute, thank the heavens the next, but mostly convince you that true love is worth waiting for, then this book is for you.

Have you read any books by Mariana Zapata? If so, let me know what you think of them using the Contact Me form.

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It’s a book of twelve romance filled stories, one for each month of the year. Subscribe now and I’ll email the book to you as soon as possible.

As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

TheWriteRomance.com

Why does a Romance Book need Conflict?

A good romance book needs conflict like a plant needs dirt and rain to make a flower. First comes the seed. Then dirt and rain. But, you may ask, won’t that make mud? It would if you didn’t add a fourth ingredient: sunshine. Only after the sun shines through can your plant flower. The same is true for your story. You need a seed. I usually start with an idea of who my main characters will be. They’re lovely people in my mind. After all, I want them to fall hopelessly in love. But I know they will never get to that blissful state unless they work through inner and outer turmoil.

Readers want to live vicariously through a romance book. If everything is unicorns and rainbows, who will care? That might suffice for a children’s book but not a love story.

Think of your characters as the seeds. Plant them firmly in the dirt, meaning give them inner demons to fight. Demons who fight dirty. Then make it rain. Put them into outer situations where their love will be tested over and over again. Pull them apart like a summer thunderstorm pouring through their lives. Make the ground slippery, have them fall. Give them the courage to pick themselves up, shake their fists at the sky like Scarlet O’Hara and swear that they will not be defeated.

Your readers will be glued to the pages. They will root like cheerleaders with megaphones for the couple as they work through their trials . When all seems lost and love an impossible goal, bring out the sunshine. Let it send rays of hope into their lives. Have a green sprout shoot up out of the mire of their drama. Your readers will be happy. Your characters will be happy.

Then add one more downpour. Let it rain in their lives until they are like a farmer watching a crop flood with no way to stop the root rot that is bound to follow. When desperation has them giving up, bring out the sun. And I mean bring it out in full force. Let it shine benevolently, so that the struggling sprouts stand tall and put out leaves, even flowers. End the torture of your characters. Give them one last chance to pick themselves up and choose love. Love is like sunshine. Let the love fully flower into a happy ever after.

Now isn’t that a lot more fun than watching unicorns leap over rainbows?

Does this analogy help? Email me and let me know!

Subscribe to my email list, and I’ll send a free copy of my book of short stories, “What’s Love Got to do with Green Beer?” to you as a thank you. I’ll never spam you, but I will send a notice when I publish new books.

As always,

Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

thewriteromance.com

What’s Inspiration Got to do with Writing a Romance Story?

I retired in June from a long career, so I could follow my life-long dreamof writing a novel. My mind was bursting with ideas. In six months, I wrote four books, published two of them, and had two on the editor’s desk. Then I ran out of ideas. I felt as if my well had dried up. My family suggested I might need a rest after so much had happened in such a short time. It bothered me that I didn’t know what my next story might be. Had I run out of ideas altogether? It was a frightening thought.

And then I sat down, opened an Excel spreadsheet and started asking myself questions. I started with the one thought that came to my mind. What if I wrote a sequel to one of the books that I’d already written? If I did, who would be the protagonists? That reminded me of a review I’d received on the first book. The reviewer said something like, “I’d love to read more about this couple.” That helped me decide which book might work for a sequel. But I didn’t want to simply continue the story. What if I wrote about the secondary characters and included parts of the first couple’s continuing story?

Voila! I had my new protagonists. More questions came quickly after that.

How do they meet?

What do they like about each other?

What do they dislike about each other?

What do they want?

What do they need?

What is each character’s main flaw/obstacle?

How do they overcome/change?

And the questions kept coming. Soon, I had a full-blown story in mind. I felt excited and began researching parts of the story about which I didn’t already know. My spreadsheet was filling up fast, and it was past my bedtime!

Photo by Gerrie van der Walt on Unsplash

So, I ask you, “What’s inspiration got to do with writing a romance or any story?”

For me, inspiration came after I started writing. I wrote questions on a spreadsheet, but that’s still writing. It counts. It’s a great way to start, to get those creative juices flowing. If you are feeling stuck, start writing. Use my method, or get out a piece of paper and write whatever comes into your head, stream-of-conscious writing without putting buffers on can birth astonishing brain-children. Take a walk and let nature quiet your mind, then write down things you thought about while walking. Use any method, but make sure it includes writing. You’ll be amazed at the stories that will suggest themselves.

I recently read a blog post by Bryan Hutchinson entitled Do This Crazy Thing to be an Inspired Writer Now! I loved what he had to say about inspiration and writing. Here’s a quote from the post: It’s not a lack of inspiration that causes you to feel uninspired. It’s the desire to not be inspired by what inspiration wants to give you.

Never sit and wait for a proverbial light-bulb to go off.

Pay attention to all notions that come up. Don’t let your internal editor tell you your ideas won’t work. You may just have the next blockbuster waiting inside you.

Speaking of notions, did this article inspire you, give you ideas of how to start? Send me an email and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.

As always, Thank you! Happy Reading! Happy Writing!

Shirley Holder Platt

thewriteromance.com