I won a Prize!

Cindy L. Beck kindly bestowed this award upon me, and you know what, she made my day, too! Not only that, she "kicked" me into posting again. I know I've been lax lately, and without going into all the gory details as to why, let me just say, THANKS!

Now, in keeping with my "How to Write" theme, let me also add that giving someone a prize or lifting their spirits in some way, in my opinion, is a great way to self-promote. Not that that's the only reason any of us would do such kind deeds, but our names are one of our (as writers) most important assets, and it doesn't hurt to create a soft spot related to our names in someone else's heart, right? It also gives us the opportunity to have our names listed on someone else's site. A good thing.

So, in further keeping with this award and promotion theme, I'd like to now pass this "You Made My Day" award onto Candace E. Salima and Ali Cross, because in past days, your blogs or your responses to my blogs have truly made my day. Thanks, Ladies.

Love Plot

Since romance is a strong part of the books I am currently writing, I thought I'd make a list about the crucial elements of the Love plot, as described in "20 Master Plots." So here goes.

1. Love plots are character plots, and the writer must help the reader strongly identify with the main character and project herself into them.

2. You've heard of boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back? In essence, this plot structure is correct because romance is largely a story of frustration. In other words, something or someone always gets in the way of the character's budding romance.

3. "Happily ever after" is a must if you want to cater to mainstream readers. Literary writers can get away with tragedies, but if you want to make money, stick with happily ever after.

4. "We never feel so alive as when we are emotionally aroused." In other words, powerful, romantic prose requires the depiction of sincere emotions, not fake, over-the-top sentimentality. "Don't just talk about love," show your reader all its various emotions--fear, attraction, disappointment, etc.--as required by your plot.

5. Make sure that when your lovers finally find love, that they have earned it. Love is not a gift, it's the greatest reward to the severest test.

And finally (this is my own advice), make sure you, the author, truly respect this genre. A reader will recognize a phony in a heart beat.