It’s fate. It’s meant to be. It is written Do you believe there is The One for you? Love it or loathe it, The One is one of four key themes that drive all romance stories. Whether we like it or not, romance is driven by the theory that there is that ONE SPECIAL PERSON who gets you. Who knows to bring you vegetarian burgers with extra sauce, or who cuddles up to watch Buffy with you (again). Someone who sees you for all the quirky goodness that you are, and still wants to park their slippers under your bed. When we fall in love, we all like to think we’ve found our PARTNER FOR LIFE, our HAPPILY EVER AFTER (although sometimes it’s a HAPPY FOR NOW). In a romance novel, we want our hero or heroine to find their ONE. The ONE who is obviously meant for them. If you’ve written it right, there will come a point in your romance novel, where each will realise that the other is THE ONE. This is powerful stuff. It links to our primal urges to pair up and mate. We have to believe that the couple we’re rooting for will make it because there is no-one else on this planet who will match up with them so perfectly. We have to believe they’ll make it - because if they can’t, then what hope is there for us? THE ONE is one of four themes that every romance story should have
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Reading romance is often categorised under ‘guilty pleasure’, as though it were something shameful. But, the statistics suggest that there are a helluva lot of women indulging in reading romance. According to the RWA, over 80% of all readers of romance are women (you can read their full statistics here). And, that same shameful pleasure accounts for more book sales than ANY OTHER GENRE. What’s shameful about that? Nothing, that’s what. The romance writing industry generates over a billion dollars per annum and it largely by women for women. Could this be the reason it’s considered shameful? As though something women-centric could not possibly be of any real value? Yet, the figures speak for themselves. Romance readers are voracious and flipping through one of their many authors, it’s easy to see why. For starters, women are having great conversations, great careers, and great sex between these covers. Romance heroines can have it all. The characters overcome some serious emotional conflict to reach their happily ever afters. No matter how dire the situation, love will conquer all. Is there something wrong in investing in hope? I don’t think so. Not in this age where any glance at Twitter or the media shows a world on fire. Why not be part of that hope? Why not write something that will uplift your reader? Give them the hope they need? The smile? The cry? Isn’t it connection that we all crave? |
A little something to get you started on your writing journey:
Do you want to write a romance novel?Everyone wants a HAPPILY EVER AFTER (HEA). Categories
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