
How to Come Up with a Romance Novel Idea for NaNoWriMo
Table of Contents NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an annual challenge to write a novel during the month of November. Its “winning” word
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Your source for no-BS romance writing and publishing advice.
Table of Contents NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an annual challenge to write a novel during the month of November. Its “winning” word
Table of Contents Your romance novel’s title is pretty important. In fact, it’s marketing copy. It’s how readers will search for your book online, ask
Every story must have external and internal conflict. External conflict comes from the world around your main characters, and internal conflict is rooted in your
I recently posted a list of fifty romance plot ideas to help you get inspired to write your next romance novel. Below are fifty more story
Table of Contents Prospective clients often ask what is included in a copyedit from me. The answer is a number of things—so many that whenever
Table of Contents The romance genre is one of the most prolifically read and written. It seems deceptively simple at first, and those unfamiliar with
You’ve written a romance—maybe it’s 25,000 words, maybe it’s over 100,000—and now it’s time to publish it. If you’re like most authors, the few hundred
Before I became exclusively an author and editor, I was also a graphic designer, and I still do all my own graphic design work, including
Table of Contents Repeat after me: World building isn’t just for fantasy authors. In fact, it’s for every author, even those writing contemporary settings. I’ve
For many writers, myself included, coming up with an idea for their next romance novel can be difficult. Looking for inspiration can feel like waiting
Table of Contents At Lyss Em Editing, the ultimate goal is reader immersion. Readers want to get lost in a story, and authors want readers
Many people have the misconception that antagonist and villain are synonyms, but the function of an antagonist is not to be evil. Instead, the antagonist
If you write romance with heat, sexual tension is an essential story element for creating suspense and excitement in the reader. To create sexual tension,
Most story problems, in my experience, come down to a lack of effective character motivation. Oftentimes authors (I’ve been guilty of this myself) will make
Every story, regardless of genre, needs conflict. And this conflict must be relatable and believable to readers or the story falls apart. Romance readers in
Table of Contents A lot of people (including myself) will tell you that story ideas don’t really matter. There are no original ideas, after all.
In a previous blog post, I discussed the six essential plot points (and one optional plot point) readers expect to see in a romance novel.
Table of Contents In a romance, your reader has to fall in love with your characters. It helps if at least one of those characters—usually
Table of Contents As a writer, I love dialogue. As an editor… Well, my feelings are a little less fuzzy, especially when it comes to
Do you want to get better at using romance tropes in your M/M stories? Or maybe you’d just like to have a comprehensive list of
Table of Contents Recently, I have gotten really into bullet journaling, specifically bullet journaling for writers, and it has honestly changed my life. If you’re
Table of Contents One of the most challenging parts of writing fiction is crafting characters who feel like real people. And if you’re someone who
Table of Contents Dan Harmon, the man behind Community and Rick and Morty, created an explanation of story structure called the Plot Embryo or Story
Table of Contents When I first started writing and publishing fiction, which was when I first encountered editors, the two pieces of punctuation I struggled
Table of Contents I threw myself (and all my free time) wholeheartedly into romance publishing in 2015 when I indie-published my first short story. Since then,
My name is Lyss, and I’m addicted to writing craft books. I’ve been consuming books about writing since I was a kid going with my
If you’ve spent any time at all in the online writing community, you’ve heard some if not all of these writing tips. Authors, even the
Table of Contents Graphic design is a skill that requires a lot of practice to master, and making book covers isn’t as easy as some
Table of Contents I’ve been creating websites since I was a teen. At first, I did it all by hand using HTML and CSS. I
A trope is a well-known story convention or plot device. You can find many examples of tropes at TVTropes, a comprehensive tropes wiki. If you
If you’ve read the last post in this series, you may be thinking: how in the heck can a scary villain also be boyfriend (or
In my last blog post, I discussed the building blocks of romance story structure and how the genre of the external plot is what signifies
In 2015, I decided to stop being a bad writer. I was working as a UI/UX Designer at a soulless corporation and hating every minute
I’m currently enrolled in a college course called Digital Writing, and one of the required class projects is a blog on the topic of my
Table of Contents I used to think the three-act structure was nonsense. I know how, however, that I only felt that way because I struggle
Table of Contents Warning: Frank language within. Some authors struggle with sex scenes. I struggled at one point, too—before all those years of roleplaying and
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