Publishing Tuesdays: Romance Genre

FALLING IN LOVE

Bronwyn Jameson stresses the importance of including “less confrontational scenes that still include conflict. They could be talking, working together, sharing a new understanding... and that may only make matters worse! BECAUSE THE STAKES ARE NOW HIGHER.”

This is to avoid a situation where the hero and heroine hate each other for 399 pages but fall in love just in time for the HEA on page 400.

To add to her advice, I’d also suggest scenes like:

1) Hero and Heroine forced to work together for common goal (such as shared enemy)
2) Hero or Heroine discovers that the other has unexpectedly done something nice/thoughtful for them (or a third party, such as a loved one) without any expectation of reward/compensation
3) Hero or Heroine discovers the other has heretofore unknown skills or qualities (from alto sax to altruism)
4) Hero and Heroine discover they have unexpected common ground, such as shared interests, beliefs, goals, or values