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If you believe the title to this article, then don't! There are no rules or restrictions for writing romance except those that reside in your mind. Romance is not sex...it's an emotion, an escalating awareness between your hero and heroine that culminates in an explosion of feeling so powerful that your readers will feel what your lovers feel. Now that the month of romance has passed, try expressing those feelings through your character. To get you started thinking, try these free-writing exercises that I came across in this month's Scriptorium e-zine that suggest (a) writing for ten minutes about a romance between two objects--so let's go with fruit, and (b)writing a poem--to your pet. Sound silly? The exercise is intended to unlock your creativity...to unleash those ideas hidden inside. Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down The Bonesgives her rules of free-writing. (1) Keep your hand moving. (2) Don't cross things out. (3) Ignore grammar and spelling. (4) Don't think. (5) Follow your fear. Romance writers in particular need to keep the creativity flowing in order to deliver novels to their readers that are not repetitive. It is a shared feeling of discomfort when writing those steamy love scenes...believe me, those are the ones the readers want. In an article written by Rebecca Vinyard, entitled Love Scenes, she describes the difference between love scenes and sex scenes...sex being about mechanics while love is the emotion. This article describes a workshop about the writing of love scenes and what you should be asking yourself if you are comtemplating writing romance. What do you want to accomplish? 1. Are your characters taking their relationship to the next level?2. Will making love bring them closer or drive them apart? 3..Why do you want to write this scene? 4. Why have your characters chosen this point in the story to make love? 5. Why did they choose each other as lovers? 6. Are they thinking with their hearts or their heads? Just remember. There are no rules, so be creative. Think of what you'd like to happen; think of this as your story. Suggested in the article above is a book called The Romance Writer's Phrase Book by Jean Kent and Candice Shelton. It is a guide to help you describe action...yes, including the sex scenes. If you wish to read more on this article, visit romance-centeral.com/Workshops/lovescenes.htm or visit www.thescriptorium.com to further enhance your creativity. OTHER ARTICLES BY JOZETTE |
