How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (25 page)

At
the
end
of
the
core
fight,
your
characters
should
be
naked
and
bleeding.
You
want
them
to
take
a good
look
at
problems
and
grow
from
them.

This
is
just
my
opinion,
but
polite
fights
(unless
it
is
subtexting)
are
cheesy
fights.
You
want
them
to say
something
really
sharp,
profound.
Which
means
it
might
get
rough
out
there.
And
most
of
all, no
apologizing.
Don't
pull
your
punches!
If
she
calls
him
a
jerk,
let
it
hang
out
there.
Don’t
write that
she
feels
bad
and
says
“I
shouldn’t
have
said
that.”
You
might
have
her
think
later,
“I
shouldn’t have
said
that,”
but
at
the
time,
don’t.
It
lessens
the
energy
of
the
fight.
Too
often
a
great
fight,
and great
dialogue,
loses
its
power
because
the
author
pulls
back
from
that
great,
painful
moment.
If
it needs
to
be
said—say
it!

So,
build
in
a
great
fight—or
a
series
of
good
fights
and
conflict
between
the
hero
and
heroine,
and you’ll
have
a
story
with
Sizzle!

Need
more
help?
Here
are
some
ideas
as
you
construct
Wooing
and
Sizzle
Scenes. First, start with their goals. What do they need to
accomplish?

Then ask: how can you put the other person in that scene in a way that stands in their way? Or, if you are creating a Why/Why Not story, how can you put that person in a scene that assists them on their journey, yet still creates mini-conflict in the scene?

Another
way
to
plot
Act
Two
is
to
look
at
the
Why
Nots.
How
can
you
continue
to
insert
these,
one by
one,
into
the
story
until
finally
they
become
glaring?

But
Susie,
don’t
we
want
them
to
fall
in
love?
They
can’t
do
that
if
they
are
constantly
fighting.

You’re
right!
So
after
we
set
off
the
sparks,
we
need
to
kindle
the
fire
with
some
more
wooing. Draw
them
back
to
each
other.
This
is
the
key
to
keeping
the
flame
alive.
You
want
to
always
be adding
more
kindling
to
the
fire,
but
with
both
Whys
and
Why
Nots.
Sizzle
and
Wooing.
For
every wooing
scene,
follow
up
with
a
Sizzle
scene.
And,
the
more
they
fall
in
love,
the
more
they
are wooed,
the
greater
the
fear
of
failure
when
the
conflict
happens,
because
we
want
them
to
succeed!

I
know
I
keep
preaching
about
the
Whys,
but
without
Whys,
we
end
a
story
saying,
“I
don’t
buy
it. Why
did
those
two
belong
together?”
And
we
leave
readers
in
doubt,
without
believing
the
HEA ending.

Let’s bring it back to Act Two construction. You dropped in a hint of one of these Whys in Act One. Now, it’s time to really go for the gusto. Create scenes that really develop these three elements. Even if you are creating a Why/Why Not, you’ll want to strengthen the Why (because the Why Not will be so devastating they will need to have strong Whys to overcome it). Plot moments to build values, to complete each other and to make them into better people. The Wooing is the feeding of the fire, then the nurturing of the Sizzle.

Wooing
is
about
making
us
realize,
slowly,
that
he
or
she
is
the
One
.

So,
as
you
are
plotting
and
writing
Act
2,
ask
yourself:
Are
they
getting
along
too
well?
Is
their relationship
too
easy?
It
could
be
time
to
throw
in
some
Sizzle.
But,
if
they
are
fighting
too
much, give
them
a
wooing
scene.

Wooing
and
Sizzle
can
also
be
accomplished
in
one
fell
swoop
with
a
Kiss
.

We
covered
this
earlier,
but
let’s
recap.

Kiss
One:
An
introductory
“I
didn’t
mean
to,
did
we
just
do
that?”
Kiss Kiss
Two:
An
“I
really
want
to
kiss
you
now
and
I’m
going
to,”
Kiss Kiss
Three:
An
“I
love
you,
and
I
mean
it,”
Kiss

If
you
have
to
save
word
count,
the
last
two
can
be
combined.

Of
course,
before
the
first
kiss
you,
want
to
build
desire,
an
awareness
of
each
other,
an
agreement that
they
aren’t
repulsed
by
each
other,
and
even
a
hope
that
maybe,
oh,
no,
really,
oh,
I
shouldn’t think
that
but
yes
,
I
want
to
kiss
him!

This
progression
of
desire
often
happens
before
the
introductory
kiss.
But
you
can
have
an
intro
kiss that
takes
them
off
guard,
one that
they then
ponder
later
and
the desire starts to
build
as
they decide
they
like
it.
A
lot.

Between
the
intro
kiss
and
the
“I
really
want
to
kiss
you,”
kiss,
there
is
Wooing
and
Sparks
and some
Whys,
until
they
realize
their
heart
is
engaged.
This
kiss
means
something.

The
intro
kiss
should
occur
before
or
at
the
halfway
point
of
the
book.
If
you
were
to
pick
up
a Steeple
Hill
or
Harlequin,
you
could
open
half
way,
and
usually
there
is
the
kissing
(okay,
the
sex scene).
The
second
kiss
occurs
in
the
last
quarter
of
the
book.
Usually.

Often,
after
that
kiss
we
might
have
the
Black
Moment.
However,
the
Black
Moment
could
happen after
the
intro
kiss
and
the
second
kiss
could
be
combined
with
the
last
kiss.

In
my
current
WIP,
my
hero
and
heroine
are
pretending
to
be
engaged.
Which
causes
them
to
be
in romantic
situations.
They
have
a
fake
kiss
half
way
through
the
book
that
leads
to
real
attraction.

The
second
kiss
is
combined
with
the
last
kiss
and
occurs
at
the
end.
(Unless
they
absolutely demand
another
one!
Which
they
might.)

As
far
as
kissing
rules:
Write
the
kiss
you
are
comfortable
with,
one
you’d
like
to
read,
the
one
that feels
real.
Regardless
of
the
amount
or
type
of
kisses
you
have,
they
should
only
cause
more
wooing, more
tension,
and
lead
them
to
toward
the
Breakup
and
Act
Three.

This
is
it.
The
Grand
Finale.
The
messy
Breakup,
the
Black
Moment,
the
Make
Up,
the
Grand Gesture
and
Sacrifice,
the
happy
ending.
Act
3
is
what
we’ve
been
waiting
for.

Act
3
Story
Structure:

HELP!
Or
Climax Overhaul

Perfect Ending
Resolution

Let’s take a look at the
ingredients:

The Breakup: This
is
when the biggest Why Not
rises
to push them
apart. Every romance has
a Breakup.
That
reason
why
they
can’t
be
together.
Without
it,
we
have
no
triumphant
run
into
each other’s
arms!
We
have
no
giant
sigh
of
happiness.
We
have
no
conflict,
tension,
and
late
night reading!

In
Undercover
Pursuit
,
my
hero’s
mission
is
going
to
get
an
untrained
person
hurt,
and
he
can’t
fall
for her,
so
he
stages
a
Breakup.
This
fight
embarrasses
and
hurts
her,
and
she
believes
all
his
feelings
for her
were
just
an
act,
which
gets
at
her
core
issues
that
she’s
a
“leftover.”And
then
she
does something
that
makes
him
think
she
can’t
be
trusted
(his
Why
Not).
Now,
their
Breakup
is
real.

The
Breakup
is
essential
to
a
romance,
because
we
want
true
love
to
win.
If
true
love
isn’t
at
stake, then
there
is
not
fear
of
losing,
no
turning
pages.

So,
how
do
you
incorporate
the
Breakup?

As
we
talked
about
in
the
Breakup
chapter,
the
Breakup
is
separate
from
the
Black
Moment Event—that
event
that
embodies
their
greatest
fear
and
that
causes
the
hero
and
heroine
to
believe their lies. Still, the Breakup is integrally tied to the Black Moment Event. The two affect
each other.

The
Breakup
can
either
happen
before
the
Black
Moment
Event—something
that
then
moves
the character
into
their
Black
Moment
Event,
e.g.
they
break
up,
and
then
(in
a
romantic
suspense,
for example)
the
villain
captures
the
heroine
and
the
hero
(because
of
the
Breakup)
isn’t
around
to protect
her,
thus
leading
to
his
Black
Moment.

Or,
it
could
happen
during
the
Black
Moment
Event—using
the
same
scenario.
The
hero
and heroine
break
up
while
they
are
both
being
held
hostage
by
the
villain,
because
they
realize
that neither
of
them
trusts
each
other.
(Or
some
other
reason.)

Or,
it
could
happen
as
a
result
of
the
Black
Moment
Event—after
the
hero
rescues
her,
he
realizes that
it
is
too
dangerous
for
her
to
be
in
a
relationship
with
someone
who
brings
danger
to
her
door, thus,
he
breaks
up
with
her.

Wherever
you
put
the
Breakup,
it
needs
to
affect,
or
be
affected
by
the
Black
Moment
Event
in some
way.

After
the
Breakup,
they’re
going
to
realize
The
Great
Why.

The
core
reason
they
belong
together
saves
the
day.
After
their
hearts
are
breaking,
they
will,
realize they
can’t
live
without
each
other.
If
you’ve
set
up
Act
2
correctly,
the
reader
will
see
why
they
need to
be
together
(because
you
will
be
showing
us
those
essential
Why
scenes.
But
at
this
key
moment, after
the
Breakup,
the
characters
will
realize
why
they
belong
together,
and
this
reason
is
bigger
than the
Why
Not
of
the
Breakup.
They
will
do
anything
to
be
together.

Think
about
this:
Why
should
some
of
our
heroes
and
heroines
of
our
favorite
movies
be
together?

How
to
Lose
a
Guy
in
10
Days
--
Ben
and
Andie
are
both
competitive,
but
they
appreciate
each other.

While
You
Were
Sleeping
--
Jack
understands
Lucy’s
loyalty
to
her
father,
and
her
desire
to
see
the world,
and
Lucy
understands
Jack’s
desire
for
quality.

Remember,
the
Whys
are
at
the
core
of
a
person.
That
essential
Why
which
is
the
glue
that
holds them
together
despite
your
misunderstandings.