3 First-Chapter Red Flags: How I Know Your Romance Novel Needs Developmental Editing
May 20, 2026
Table of Contents As a freelance romance editor since 2018, I’ve critiqued about a bajillion opening chapters as free sample edits. By now, from
Tag: plot
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How to Come Up with a Romance Novel Idea for NaNoWriMo
October 20, 2023
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
50 More Romance Writing Prompts
March 9, 2021
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
How to Write a Romance Novel: The Setting
February 23, 2021
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. Setting
50 Romance Writing Prompts
September 11, 2020
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
Romance Writing Simplified: Love Interest = Antagonist
February 26, 2020
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
Romance Writing Simplified: Writing Sexual Tension
February 25, 2020
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,
Romance Writing Simplified: Character Motivation Comes from Backstory
February 24, 2020
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
Romance Writing Simplified: Conflict in Romance Stories
February 23, 2020
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
How to Write a Romance Novel: The Idea
February 16, 2020
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.
A Romance Novel Outline Template
May 20, 2019
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.
The Plot Embryo for Romance Stories
April 15, 2019
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
Romance Novel Structure
July 17, 2018
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
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