Musings of a Chocoholic Romance Author: The Idiot's Guide to Writing A Romance Novel...Part 1

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Idiot's Guide to Writing A Romance Novel...Part 1

No, I'm not calling you an idiot or implying you are one. 'K?

Now then... the first installment of *The Idiot's Guide to Writing a Romance Novel... Part 1*.

The first thing you need in order to write a romance novel is an idea.

Yes, an idea-- about the story you want to tell. It's not a requirement for you to know how the story goes from start to finish, so don't let that hold you back. A story is a series of events that build upon the previous events, leading towards a climax (git yer minds outta the gutter) and a resolution. In romance, the resolution is the Happily Ever After/HEA

So, take your idea, even if it's just an inkling at the moment, and get started. It's as simple as that.

For the moment.

Stay tuned. There'll be more entries into my Idiot's Guide to Writing a Romance Novel.

2 comments:

Joanna Sandsmark said...: Ms. Hamby, I know you've been tagged before, but never by me so bwa ha ha ha! Tag, you're it! List five random or weird facts about yourself (click my name to get the specifics).; 4:58 AM
Robin Bayne said...: Just saying hello!; 2:15 PM

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Quotes About Writing

For your born writer, nothing is so healing as the realization that he has come upon the right word. ~Catherine Drinker Bowen

Forget all the rules. Forget about being published. Write for yourself and celebrate writing. ~Melinda Haynes

My purpose is to entertain myself first and other people secondly. ~John D. MacDonald

Writing is the only thing that, when I do it, I don't feel I should be doing something else. ~Gloria Steinem

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. ~Thomas Mann

Easy reading is damned hard writing. ~Anonymous

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to. ~Somerset Maugham

Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way. ~E. L. Doctorow

The secret of becoming a writer is to write, write and keep on writing. ~Ken MacLeod\

Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards. ~Robert A. Heinlein

Never throw up on an editor. ~Ellen Datlow

If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write. ~Stephen King

There are no rules in writing. There are useful principles. Throw them away when they're not useful. But always know what you're throwing away. ~Will Shetterly

Books are never finished, They are merely abandoned. ~Oscar Wilde

You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club. ~Jack London

If you wait for inspiration, you're not a writer, but a waiter. ~Anonymous

We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master. ~Ernest Hemingway

You never learn how to write a novel. You just learn how to write the novel that you're writing. ~Gene Wolfe