Components of a Great Romance

Reading in bed

Immersed in your latest romance, you stayed up hours past your bedtime to make sure the hero and heroine arrived at their happily-ever-after. A sigh erupts from deep in your chest. Your lips curve. You put the book down and turn off the light, satisfied that all is well with your fictional world.

A sigh and a smile. What every romance writer hopes to achieve, right? What is it that makes a love story sigh-worthy? I’ll share my top five necessary components, but I want to hear from you, too.

Strong, genuine characters. Don’t you love heroes and heroines who struggle with decisions and don’t always make the best choices? Men and women who may have messed up in the past but want to make things right? If I’m going to invest my time, give me real-to-life characters with authentic emotions.

Natural romantic tension oozes from the pages. Yes, I believe the bedroom door should stay firmly closed, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy ramped up tension. Something like this:

          Did she want Hunter to kiss her? An ache, a need, started in her sock-covered toes and  zapped all the way to her lips. Yeah. She did. Her free palm cupped his whisker-roughened cheek and slid down to his jawline, ending with a caress around his lips. “But I’m not laughing, now.”

       His eyes darkened, his nostrils flared. His jaw tensed under her hand. “No. I see that. But are you sure this is what you want, Teal? I don’t play games where matters of the heart are concerned. Yours, or mine.”

That little goodie is from When Truth Whispers, my novella releasing with White Rose Publishing on 3/15. For me, romance isn’t about the bedroom. It’s all about the journey.

Appropriate conflict. Do you enjoy books where the hero and heroine constantly argue? Aren’t they supposed to be falling in love? Not to be confused with teasing, a somewhat electrified banter between the hero and heroine, which I adore and where the reader can tell they like each other. Arguing, not so much. Conflict should arise internally from the characters’ dreams, ambitions, insecurities, and beliefs; and externally, what stands in the way of reaching their happily-ever-after.

A message that wraps around your heart. Such as forgiveness, that it’s never too late. Or that with God all things are possible and you can overcome your fears. When you read a story with faith and romance seamlessly woven together, it’s like savoring a cup of hot chocolate, dark and sweet, and dolloped with just the right amount of whipped cream. So rich with flavor, so satisfying, so comforting on a cold winter day.

Closure. Wrap it up. Unless I know up front that it’s a continuation (and I probably won't buy it until the series concludes), don’t leave me hanging on whether the hero and heroine get together or not. Nothing makes me want to fling a book (or my kindle) across the room more than when the hero and heroine aren’t even together at the end. How can that even be considered a romance? 

Now it’s your turn. What elements make a great romance for you? 
Happy Valentine's Day!

Coming 3/15
with Pelican Book Group

After a humiliating breakup, best-selling romance author Teal Benning flees to Promise Lake to complete her current novel, minus paparazzi and flashing cameras. Suffering from writer's block and a broken heart, Teal accepts the offer of help from neighbor, Hunter Miciver.

Hunter longs to be more than the friend who picks up the shattered pieces of Teal's heart, but when Teal finds out his secret, will she see him for the man he is—a man of faith and devotion, a man who would cherish her for the rest of her days—or will she lump him into the same category as all the other men in her life, including her father?

Will Teal recognize when truth whispers her name?

It's Just a Little Kiss by Susan May Warren

Hey everyone, Annette here. Welcome to Manuscript Monday. If you're like Dawn or me, you probably have lots of sources for craft material--magazines, ezines, writing groups. BookTherapy.com is one of those sources for us. As members, we receive articles from Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck. Recently, Susan sent out a fantastic article on sexual tension for us inspirational romance writers. Now, not to worry, it's a wholesome treatment, of course. If you're a romance writer, get set for some great tips on honoring God while writing that love story. With Susan's permission, I've trimmed up her article and I'm sharing it here. Have a great writing week!

It's Just a Little Kiss
by Susan May Warren

How do we create sexual tension in a book, and when do we use it?

The components of great sexual tension start with the Wishing – or the Desire. The more our characters wish for romance, affection and a happily ever after, the stronger the tension will become. I usually put it in terms of the PULL toward the object of their affection. The pull takes on three different forms:

The Wanting – The characters must enjoy spending time together. Sure, they might have sparks, but even those sparks should be enjoyable. As the romance progresses they should have an increasing awareness that they like each other. They will also become more physically aware of each other. Increase the Wanting – emotionally and physically.

The Work – The characters will continue to discover the “layers” of each other, and find the “treasures” inside each layer. As they discover the increasing value of each other, the idea of not being with each other – even if they still have considerable obstacles, will seem more and more horrible. The key to the Work is a slow “unlayering” of the characters – and an appreciation of each layer.

The What-if – Your hero and heroine should also begin to picture what a future might look like with the other person. What it might be like to have them in their life (in a positive way – we’ll get to the negatives in a moment!) They need to talk to their friends about this, and even visualize it to the point where they thirst for it.

The Pull is just one half of Sexual Tension. We also need the Push if we want to create adequate pressure. I also call it The Waiting.

The Waiting is that time period where you are building the Wish….but are keeping the hero and heroine apart. This first element of keeping them can be termed The Walls.
The first set of Walls between your hero and heroine are those External Obstacles – or Why Nots that we’ve set up between the hero and heroine. What physical elements in the plot keep these people apart?

These obstacles are key to keeping them apart. However, as the story progresses, these external obstacles will feel less important than their love . . . and this is where internal obstacles come in. Underlying the external obstacles will be the hint of a bigger issue, usually something from the character’s past that make them afraid of love. Whatever the internal obstacle it is, it conspires to keep them apart on an emotional, and even a spiritual level.

However, eventually (usually around half-way through the book), they can’t hold back any longer, and . . . well, they have what I call . . . The Wink. This is that tentative, or quick, or accidental, or even purposeful-but-mistaken first Kiss. It acts as a taste of what could be. Now, here’s a secret – the timing of this kiss is essential because once you allow them the kiss, tension deflates. I often wait for that moment when the tension feels unbearable…and then I hold them back! I wait until the next chapter. And then I give them just a taste, so I don’t deflate the tension.

Now, we’ve had the taste of the happy ending, The Wish becomes overwhelming.
About three chapters later, I then have The Wow. This is the amazing, we waited for it kiss! The one to cement in their minds that Wonderful ending they’re hoping for. But they still need to Wish for it.

Hold them back with a final Warning. The Warning is that internal obstacle that suddenly becomes so overwhelming that it feels insurmountable. Often the Warning happens right before the black moment. The hero and heroine have to believe that they can’t overcome the internal obstacle to love.

To find that internal obstacle, ask your character: What holds you back from love? What inner element keeps you apart?

Of course, true love will win the day – they’ll know that the Why of their relationship is stronger than the Why Not, and armed with some truth that overcomes the black moment, and they are set free to have The Wonderful, foot-raising happy ending kiss.

See with the right kiss, all that tension was worth it.

Susan May Warren is the founder of My Book Therapy, a boutique fiction editing service for writers, and runs A Writer’s Blog. See her Web site to learn more about her award-winning fiction.

Here's info about Susie's January, 2010 release: Double Trouble

With one solved case under her belt, PJ Sugar is ready to dive into her career as a private investigator. Or at least a PI's "assistant" until she can prove herself to Jeremy Kane, her new boss. Suddenly PJ's seeing crime everywhere. But is it just in her head, or can she trust her instincts? When she takes on her first official case-house-sitting for a witness in protective custody-Jeremy assures her there's no danger involved. But it soon becomes clear that there is someone after the witness . . . and now they're after PJ, too.

The next book in the PJ Sugar series, Licensed for Trouble, will release in August, 2010. Thanks, Susie, for visiting these past two months. We've loved having you here and can't wait to host you again!