How to Write a Romance Novel

Sitting at home writing romance novels seems like an ideal way to earn a living to many people. If you read enough romance novels, you start thing that you could do better. Writing professionally is hard work, it requires discipline, and a hard shell against rejection. Romance writers do manage to make a living, a select few do very well. If you want to give romance writing a try, these tips will get you started.

First, you need to know what the public wants in romance novels. Editors at publishing houses will want the same things. Todays romance reader wants a well-written, believable story with realistic characters in an interesting setting. Readers have tired of unrealistic novels about tall, dark and handsome men. Think about the romance novels that you enjoy, they are probably realistic enough that you can imagine yourself in a similar setting.

The opening of your romance novel should grab the readers interest immediately. Action is always a great opener, dialogue is acceptable as well. Describing the setting as an opener is a sure way to lose a reader on the first page. The plot should be as engaging as the opening. People falling in love and getting married is not a romance novel. Conflict, like one person being married to their career adds an element to the plot that will interest readers.

The setting of your romance novel is up to you, the writer. Some people prefer to write about a location that they know well. If you chose a real city and you are unfamiliar with the location, a massive amount of research is in order. Any reader familiar with the setting will be looking for clues that the writer has never visited the location.

Characters need to be interesting, yet a reader must be able to identify with your characters. Never make characters perfect, people have flaws, and so should your characters. Characters should have both physical and mental flaws. Mental flaws can include a fear of intimacy or something similar. You are not looking for characters that have major deep-seated psychological problems, that is another genre altogether. Readers care about characters with minor problems.

A well-written romance novel contains dialogue that is believable and enhances the story line. If your novel is set in the past, make sure you avoid any contemporary dialogue. Avoid slang if at all possible, it will date your book. All the dialogue in your novel should be geared toward moving the story forward, if not, it should provide insight into the character. Use short phrases, people do not talk in long speech-like paragraphs unless they are actually giving a speech. Read your dialogue out loud with a friend. It should sound like two people talking.

Don't be afraid to write the romantic parts. Remember, you are writing about the feelings experienced by your characters while having intimate relations, not giving a play by play description. Talk about what the character sees, smells, tastes and hears. This will help the reader really feel involved in the story. Describe the scenes enough so that a reader will fall in love with the character too. This takes a great deal of practice with lots of revisions along the way.

Writing the great romance novel is a worthy goal worth attempting. You may receive several rejections from publishers at first, just keep writing. It gets easier each with story that you craft. Rarely does anyone get their first story accepted. It is well worth the effort though, once you finally receive an offer.