You Can Write a Romance

Come on, admit it. Somewhere, deep down inside, you have this burning desire to write a romance novel. If you're even remotely in touch with this particular muse, get off a good start by checking out You Can Write a Romance. Mother-and-daughter writing team Rita Gallagher and Rita Clay Estrada give you almost everything you need to embark on a career as a romance novelist. The talent and the dedication are still up to you. If you're not sure how to define romance, Estrada and Gallagher have you covered from the first page. Chapter 1 delves into The Basics of Romance, including purpose, premise, sexual tension, conflict, point of view, character growth, and goals and motivations. They even draw a line in the sand between romance and chick lit! The next two chapters explore Differences in Romance Novels and The Business Side of Romance. But where, you might ask, is the writing advice? Be patient. Before you get all hot and bothered to put quill to parchment, you have to have a firm understanding of the unique world you're thinking about entering. Trust me, there's plenty of solid writing advice awaiting in the remaining chapters. You just need to be patient and understand the theory before you can move on to the practice. Estrada and Gallagher deftly move through formatting your manuscript, creating the skeleton of your story, defining your hero and heroine, writing effective dialogue, and building a solid story through beginning, middle, and end. And yes, they talk about the importance of revision. The best takeaways from You Can Write a Romance may well be in the last two chapters. Chapter 10 includes a handy Story Checklist that ensures you don't miss any of the planning steps that go into crafting a solid manuscript. And Chapter 11 provides the obligatory but indispensable list of Resources, such as groups and publications specific to the romance genre. Even if, by the end of the book, you realize that becoming a romance novelist isn't in the cards, you can still draw valuable writing lessons from You Can Write a Romance. After all, no matter the genre you tackle, basic writing rules remain the same.

This book gave me the information and confidence needed to begin writing a romance manuscript. The chapters contained a wealth of information and wisdom on: The Basics of Romance, Differences in Romance Novels/Category Romance, The Business Side of Romance, Getting Ready to Write, The Skeleton of the Story, Knowing Your Characters, The Hero and the Heroine, Dialogue, Scenes, Revisions, and Resources. The authors offered this pearl of wisdom on page 112, "One of our most heartfelt sadnesses is to realize there are people who believe that the worst thing to do is help another woman write, and thus grow competition... Yes, there is always someone to take your place. But without competition, there is no rising standard of quality. No industry gets better by being without competition. Competition in the marketplace keeps you growing, enables you to try new things, read new books and make new friends in different fields... Pay forward by helping others."

This is a good book and after reading it, I gained knowledge about plotting, scenery, tone of voice and writing romance, as was my goal. "You Can Write a Romance" heightened my senses, not only for romance in print but for romance on the big screen. I just don't know how this book could have been better.

I really enjoyed this book and think its very helpful. I plan on writing a romance soon and this book broke it all down - what makes a romance sell. You'll need it you plan to write a romance. Buy this.

This short book is full of good basic information including defining a romance novel and listing and describing the many types of romance novels. The authors provide guidelines for creating characters, developing plot, and writing dialogue. The basics of selling your novel are included, and there's even a section on what happens after you have a contract. Thanks to this book, I expect to have my own romance novel finished in a few months--then maybe I can quit my day job!